Dealer dent

[Kmarcella4]

Bought my truck out of state, before signing papers, I looked over the truck and found issues with the drivers side rear door panel not staying clipped in and noted a gap between the headliner and plastic molding covering the airbag on the opposite side. Dealership said it was warranty work and any dealership could fix, took $500 off the top and sent me on my way. Fast forward a month and had my appointment today at my local dealership that is an hour away from me (I live in the middle of nowhere).

After three hours, the service tech was able to finagle the door panel to stay clipped… but must have been pushing hard on the door while it was up against something else. Left a nice, vertical crease right on the body contour line of the door. Not at all like someone took a baseball bat to it, but super noticeable to my eye on my brand new truck.

Service advisor/tech didn’t say anything about it(shady) but fortunately I noticed it before leaving the lot. They set me up with “a guy” who does paint less dent repair to fix the door but I have little to no faith that I won’t be able to still see it.

My dilemma is this: it’s a truck, it’s gonna get dings and dents, but it’s gonna get dings and dents from MY use, not because of some paid worker’s carelessness. If they can’t get the door to look like new to my eyes, to what extent do I push this? The truck is literally in perfect condition otherwise.

As far as the airbag and headliner gap, yeah it’s insignificant, and I know there are irregularities in manufacturing but I just have a hard time swallowing that when the truck’s msrp was almost $65k.

I feel like I’m being ridiculous as stuff inevitably happens, but I worked hard for it and I try to keep my stuff nice.

What would you guys do?

 

[LakesAZ]

My opinion, don't let up on them. They damaged it and they need to make it right. And for what its worth, I can see that dent, so it's not just you.

 

[Jako]

PDR may be tough with the crease but I would allow them to give it a shot. I've had work done on the Ram and my wife's civic, all to my satisfaction.

 

[Hawkshot99]

There is a crease in that metal. I'd be shocked if they can fix that with pointless dent repair.

As far as how far to push it? Very far. You bought a new truck.

 

[mikeru82]

A good PDR guy can work magic. Give him a chance. If you don't like the results then elevate it at the dealership.

As far as the airbag and headliner gap, yeah it’s insignificant, and I know there are irregularities in manufacturing but I just have a hard time swallowing that when the truck’s msrp was almost $65k.

The amount you paid has no bearing on build quality when all the trim levels are built on the same line. An $80k Limited is treated the same as a $38k base Tradesman. It might seem like the build quality should be better the more you pay, but that's not the reality. If you don't like it, keep up the pressure with the dealership. Eventually they'll fix it just to shut you up. Of course, they may break something else like they did with the door. It's a calculated risk.

 

[Trykonkid11]

I had a dent just like that, and looks to be a little smaller then mine. Had a PDR come to my house. Was amazed, it just disappeared. Like it never happened. Good part is, the easy access to the back of the door.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cbty2050]

Amazed that any excessive force was needed to hold a door panel clip in place, they clip easily. Or did another clown door ding you? I have a similar crease in my door from a dumbass.

If the paint isn't broken a good PDR will make that disappear.

 

[Kmarcella4]

Amazed that any excessive force was needed to hold a door panel clip in place, they clip easily. Or did another clown door ding you? I have a similar crease in my door from a dumbass.

If the paint isn't broken a good PDR will make that disappear.

From what I could tell, looks like the 3rd clip back was misaligned. Don’t know how or why, but i imagine the service tech tried to do the same thing the sales person did when I showed him the day I bought it… tried to force it into place. If you squeezed them together with enough force, the first two clips would fall into place but the 3rd clip failed to do so and after about 10-15 seconds, provided enough pressure to pop the first two out again.

I have seen some magic worked with pdr, I’m hopeful, but my OCD won’t accept “pretty good”.


I appreciate the insight. Will update on Friday if the PDR guy worked a miracle or if I’ve had to escalate the fight to Stellantis to replace my basically totaled ram with a Trx on the tab of the oblivious tech.

 

[scottmoyer]

That's an easy fix for a PDR guy. I know, I am one! If the guy has any skills, that crease will be gone. They probably hit the lift support when opening the door.