Dealership Scratched My Car Badly...

haced

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UPDATE: Added resolution as a response below.

So I just picked up my car from the dealership after my first oil change and having the e-brake recall software update and after I got my keys I was getting in my car when I thought I should check the outside of my car. I immediately saw a HUGE scratch on the car and proceeded to go back inside and complain.

The dealership (cashier) took down my phone # and said they will call me tomorrow. After going back outside I noticed a total of 4 more scratches! The longest one was on the other side of the car too. Now I am kind of pissed and I want to know what will the dealer typically will do about this and what I should do about this?? This is my first new car.

pics for reference
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1205.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1206.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1207.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1208.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1209.JPG
 
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Billy4202

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TBH I would have held them accountable and gotten a solid resolution before I left, even after seeing just one scratch. Otherwise they can deny that it occurred in their care. Some of those scratches look deep, and you shouldn't have to spend the time/$$$ fixing when you didn't do the damage.

I'd escalate, I think the only recourse would be going straight to the service manager and be polite, yet firm. Good luck, 'cause this situation is kinda iffy.
 

dmitri

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That sucks.
But I gotta ask, how sure are you that they weren't there before you took it in? Also from the pictures, they look like someone keyed it or something, i.e. they look like damage done on purpose, not like it was a result of an accident during regular service work. Just my $.02...
 
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TBH I would have held them accountable and gotten a solid resolution before I left, even after seeing just one scratch. Otherwise they can deny that it occurred in their care. Some of those scratches look deep, and you shouldn't have to spend the time/$$$ fixing when you didn't do the damage.

I'd escalate, I think the only recourse would be going straight to the service manager and be polite, yet firm. Good luck, 'cause this situation is kinda iffy.
Yea I went in immediately after seeing it and brought it up. I took photos in the parking lot with GPS and time stamp. I will certainly be raising a fit tomorrow.

That sucks.
But I gotta ask, how sure are you that they weren't there before you took it in? Also from the pictures, they look like someone keyed it or something, i.e. they look like damage done on purpose, not like it was a result of an accident during regular service work. Just my $.02...
Yes that's what others I have show have said. They were 100% not there before I took it in. I check my car almost every time I get in it and take great care for it. No idea why someone would do that, I didn't do anything to anyone. I am a friendly guy.
 

Andy123az

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The service writer/technician should have marked down any vehicle damage before working on the vehicle. This ensures that they are not to blame for damage they did not cause. If they bring up the tech sheet without any notes on the damages, they are fully accountable for all the scratches and marks. I truly do not know how they will fix this issue. Good luck and keep us updated.
 


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So I just picked up my car from the dealership after my first oil change and having the e-brake recall software update and after I got my keys I was getting in my car when I thought I should check the outside of my car. I immediately saw a HUGE scratch on the car and proceeded to go back inside and complain.

The dealership (cashier) took down my phone # and said they will call me tomorrow. After going back outside I noticed a total of 4 more scratches! The longest one was on the other side of the car too. Now I am kind of pissed and I want to know what will the dealer typically will do about this and what I should do about this?? This is my first new car.

pics for reference
IMG_1205.JPG
IMG_1206.JPG
IMG_1207.JPG
IMG_1208.JPG
IMG_1209.JPG
Dealers inspect the vehicle before you give them the keys.. Or are supposed to.. Its a paper with a picture of the car.. They should be able to show you this and either it will have those scratches notated before they took the car to be serviced or they wont be notated... If they are not notated then its on the dealer to fix it.. Some techs dont do this.. And get in big trouble once the customer complains.. Not always a tech sometimes a lot attendant..

Note* some more modern dealerships have a camera array as you pull into the garage that photograph every side of the car.. These dealers dont notate it on a paper as they have physical photos of your car.

Tip* as a best practice always take your own photos of every side of the car once you pull into the lot so you have your own proof and they dont try to manufacture something that says the damage was already there.. Yes dishonest dealerships will do this.. They cant argue the photos.. As a modern smartphone can log the time/date and the location of were the photo was taken
 
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The service writer/technician should have marked down any vehicle damage before working on the vehicle. This ensures that they are not to blame for damage they did not cause. If they bring up the tech sheet without any notes on the damages, they are fully accountable for all the scratches and marks. I truly do not know how they will fix this issue. Good luck and keep us updated.
I'm going to call them shortly. Will post once I have an update.
 

WOPcivic

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Does your dealer give complimentary car washes when you take your car in for service? If so, maybe they scratched it by improperly washing your car, and dragged towels or a brush embedded with rocks across your paint.
 


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Here is the final update/story:

I ended up talking to the service rep over the phone about my problem and quickly brought over my car for them to look at. They assured me that this wouldn't come from their techs, but agreed to fix/paint it anyway since they can't prove otherwise. (Hurray!)

  • So I took my car in 3 weeks ago on a Thursday and expressed my concerns about what "painting" the car meant as I did not want off-colored paint on various panels that could ruin the car further. Their paint/scratch guy agreed and said the best course of action would be to touch it up and go from there. I agreed.
  • Fast forward to the next Tuesday I dropped off my car, got a free rental (Honda Fit 2016 LX I think). It was not as nice as my car, but it worked just fine.
  • Came in that Thursday after they said it was "done" and inspected the car. The scratches still looked pretty noticeable and they even missed the ones on the driver side doors. I could tell because it was still dirty so they clearly hadn't even wiped it down.
  • (SIDE NOTE: As I was driving the Fit back a rock flew up and cracked the windshield -__- hurray for me. I settled this later with the dealership.)
  • Because the "scratch" guy is only there on Wednesdays I had to come back this past Tuesday and drop off the car again. Sure. Got a second Fit 2016 and drove that until this past Thursday again. They also agreed to do a full detail of my car to get it looking clean again (outside was pretty dirty)
  • Picked up the car at around 6:30pm (it was pretty dark at that point) from the cashier (Service closed at 6pm). Payed $70 to fix the Fit windshield, which is not so bad, but still sucks. The car looked amazing in the dark (mostly because it was professionally washed/waxed), but I could still tell the scratches had occurred in the right light.
  • Friday after work once I got home I took these photos below. As you can see, the scratches are definitely still visible in the right lighting, but overall I'm pretty satisfied. I just wish it could have been fixed sooner without a cracked windshield.

TLDR; Car got touched-up and detailed. Cracked the rental windshield. 6/10 would not do again.

Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1243.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1244.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1245.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1246.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1247.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1248.JPG
Honda Civic 10th gen Dealership Scratched My Car Badly... IMG_1250.JPG
 

dc2turbo

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Here is the final update/story:

I ended up talking to the service rep over the phone about my problem and quickly brought over my car for them to look at. They assured me that this wouldn't come from their techs, but agreed to fix/paint it anyway since they can't prove otherwise. (Hurray!)

  • So I took my car in 3 weeks ago on a Thursday and expressed my concerns about what "painting" the car meant as I did not want off-colored paint on various panels that could ruin the car further. Their paint/scratch guy agreed and said the best course of action would be to touch it up and go from there. I agreed.
  • Fast forward to the next Tuesday I dropped off my car, got a free rental (Honda Fit 2016 LX I think). It was not as nice as my car, but it worked just fine.
  • Came in that Thursday after they said it was "done" and inspected the car. The scratches still looked pretty noticeable and they even missed the ones on the driver side doors. I could tell because it was still dirty so they clearly hadn't even wiped it down.
  • (SIDE NOTE: As I was driving the Fit back a rock flew up and cracked the windshield -__- hurray for me. I settled this later with the dealership.)
  • Because the "scratch" guy is only there on Wednesdays I had to come back this past Tuesday and drop off the car again. Sure. Got a second Fit 2016 and drove that until this past Thursday again. They also agreed to do a full detail of my car to get it looking clean again (outside was pretty dirty)
  • Picked up the car at around 6:30pm (it was pretty dark at that point) from the cashier (Service closed at 6pm). Payed $70 to fix the Fit windshield, which is not so bad, but still sucks. The car looked amazing in the dark (mostly because it was professionally washed/waxed), but I could still tell the scratches had occurred in the right light.
  • Friday after work once I got home I took these photos below. As you can see, the scratches are definitely still visible in the right lighting, but overall I'm pretty satisfied. I just wish it could have been fixed sooner without a cracked windshield.

TLDR; Car got touched-up and detailed. Cracked the rental windshield. 6/10 would not do again.

IMG_1243.JPG
IMG_1244.JPG
IMG_1245.JPG
IMG_1246.JPG
IMG_1247.JPG
IMG_1248.JPG
IMG_1250.JPG
fuck that....
why would you agree to a touch up. they need to repaint the panels if you are 100% sure it was them that did it
 
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fuck that....
why would you agree to a touch up. they need to repaint the panels if you are 100% sure it was them that did it
My basic thought was that a repaint won't match factory
 
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They can paint match/blend so easily with technology these days unless its a shitty painter
I tried researching it and couldn't come up with a definitive answer.
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