Had damaged hood replaced, bad work?

[dennis885]

Maybe 6 weeks ago I was on the highway and had something (literally looked like a squirrel) flew over the median and smack the hood of my 2019 Civic Si on the front drivers side portion of the hood. I decided to go the insurance route, and had the work done at a nearby body shop that has excellent reviews. When I picked up the car approx 2 weeks ago with the new hood, it looked fine and life went on.

Today I actually rode in my car and when I got out I noticed the gap between the passenger side fender and hood was noticeably larger than the same gap on the driver side. After getting a ruler, I confirmed what I thought my eyes saw. The entire gap between the fender and hood on the driver side is about 4mm but, on the passanger side it's 4mm near the headlight but 6mm near the windshield. Also it seems like the lines of the hood are not as flush with the fender (actually seems higher at one spot and lower at the other).

The body shop claims to guarantee their work for the life of the vehicle, so obviously I will call the owner and ask that he take another look at the work. Best case scenario, he agrees it's sub par work and they fix it no issues. That said I was looking for some advice:

- If they try to say it's fine/normal, what are my options, how should I proceed?

- Is there a way I can confirm they used an OEM hood without being rude? I was told they did and the insurance paid for OEM, but I'd like to make sure. I don't suspect an aftermarket hood at all, but I'd like to check.

- I uploaded a few pictures, but my phone camera is shot and it was night time before I could get any photos. Is the single rubber piece on the underside of the hood correct or should there be another on the passenger side?

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[dennis885]

 

[Pbergmann]

That really looks like a standard manufacturing tolerances. When the car was assembled, they had the option to adjust fenders.
Sadly, it will never be perfect, in spite of all things going on today... I'd let it go. First world problem.

 

[Sonic20ST]

A 2mm difference is not much of a variation and there are going to be some tolerances when things are installed. Imagine if they centered it, it's only going to be now a 1mm difference on both sides. I mean you are talking 1/16 of an inch....

 

[Drake]

I think if it bothers you enough it would be worth taking it back to politely ask if they could slightly readjust it. However, if they say this was the best they could do I'd probably give them the benefit of the doubt and try your best to ignore it. Take comfort in that it's highly unlikely anyone else will notice.

 

[dennis885]

I stopped by the body shop yesterday. The owner agreed it was off and is going to take care of me.

I know 2mm doesn’t sound like a lot (and my pictures sucked too) but it just doesn’t look right in person. They did have to remove the fenders as part of the original work so that’s where they are going to check it over again (the hood itself doesn’t really have any adjustments).

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