Would you request a "fix" for these minor issues?

[askjeffro]

Took delivery of my 2013 less than a week ago. Before putting any miles (less than 1 from the dealership to my house) I noticed two small defects with the car. They are admittedly small and I've come to think of them as my car's "finger prints" but I'm curious if others would complain.

1. Front bumper, paint issue. Dark orangish/red paint splatter under the clearcoat. Its really small, but if you know where to look you can see it, and it feels raised relative to the rest of the paint:

2. Passenger rear quarter panel, vinyl stripping. The pinstripe portion appears to have been cut/ripped but installed so it lines up well. The driver side is all one piece where as this has a clear cut in it:

At this point I think I'm just going to let them go as my local dealer is not great with service period and I'm afraid that any "cure" might be worse than the disease. Just curious what others would do to see if I come across any opinions that would persuade me to go a different direction.

Thanks all.

 

[2012YellowBoss]

I would have the stripe fixed but leave the bumper alone. My car has a big black splotch on the rear quarter wheel lip. I was going to fix it but the guy with car 7 said his had it also, adds character. Plus I took the chance of the color not matching up.

 

[askjeffro]

Another thought I had was requesting the replacement vinyl graphic and taking it to a shop I know that wouldn't screw it up. I wonder if Ford would give me the replacement part without letting their dealership do the work.

 

[2012YellowBoss]

Another thought I had was requesting the replacement vinyl graphic and taking it to a shop I know that wouldn't screw it up. I wonder if Ford would give me the replacement part without letting their dealership do the work.

I doubt it but ask. Sorry to hear you have a dealer that you don't trust with the work, try to find one that you can trust. This way if the work is completed and there is an issue down the road it will still be covered unlike taking to an outside shop.

 

[MNG_BOSS302]

I would have the stripe replaced, that isn't right. I had to have my passenger side front fender stripe replaced due to a nick in it from delivery. It was done on warranty claim against shipping. I had no experience with the dealers body shop. The guy heated up the stripe, pulled it off - aligned the new one and put it on. Took less than an hour. It lined up fine, can't tell it was ever replaced.

 

[CaliMR]

I would have the stripe fixed but leave the bumper alone. My car has a big black splotch on the rear quarter wheel lip. I was going to fix it but the guy with car 7 said his had it also, adds character. Plus I took the chance of the color not matching up.

That. I have black pits in the clear coat on the right fender, I got the lighter ones out but there are still a few that nobody but me will ever notice. It is not that uncommon, it seems. Ford offered to respray it, but I decided not to because it would be more noticeable than just leaving it after I got the light ones out. Especially since the edges are not fully painted, you would definitely see the taper is different even if the color match was well done.

I also have a couple chips that I think the dealer did because they have a very poor touch up done to them, they offered to fix it but they I rather have the chip properly filled than have the dealer try to respray and match the color.

 

[JonW]

If the bumper can be color sanded or buffed (and you trust the body shop), than I would fix it. I would not under any circumstances repaint the bumper.

Here's some food for thought. When I bought my '06 Charger, the hood decal was defective. I have a friend who owns a vinyl graphics shop, and I asked the dealer if he would pay for my friend to do the work under warranty. They agreed. They really didn't want to replace that huge hood decal in their shop anyway. A friend of mine had paint issues on his Challenger. The same dealer agreed to let him take his car to a detail shop that he trusted and let them color sand and buff the car under warranty. You might check around and find a good graphics shop and then ask your dealer if you can have that shop replace your stripe. The dealer orders it under warranty, then sublets the warranty repair to the graphics shop. It's a common practice and shouldn't be a problem.

 

[CaliMR]

My dealer said no to that.

But mine was damage from the dealer so it would not be warranty work. They would be paying for it, so they only would go with their bodyshop. Not worth 2 4 hour trips for me since it would have to be there a couple days.

 

[askjeffro]

I requested the stripe be addressed, but left the paint issue as is.
The service manager that helped me seemed nice (quite a change from normal); he was new. Previously worked at a BMW dealership and said not to worry about complaining, good guy.

 

[JeffIsHereToo]

I requested the stripe be addressed, but left the paint issue as is.
The service manager that helped me seemed nice (quite a change from normal); he was new. Previously worked at a BMW dealership and said not to worry about complaining, good guy.

You did what I would have recommended. If you're uncomfortable with them contracting this out to the lowest bidder, which they will, I would still ask to take it to a shop of your choice. I would ask what the Ford reimbursement hrs/rate is and then tell them you will pay the difference, if any, and be responsible for the outcome. In other words if your ship messes up YOU buy the next set.

Good luck!