posted 03-04-2004 09:52 PM                  

The paint on the rear right fender is screwed and has hairline cracks all through it. This is now the second car I've had wrecked by them, and I especially didn't want it to be my new kat. I didn't even have a chance to be the one responsible

Since obviously this was neither fire, theft, nor vandalism but sheer operator negligence the dealer has assumed responsibility for the damage.

Has anyone had experience with damaged kats and dealers? I of course dropped my kat off near-brand-new, so want it back in that same condition. They're already refusing to replace the right rear bumper saying the impact mark and scratches are just "water spots". To what extent are the liable for returning my car to the same condition in which I gave it to them?

posted 03-04-2004 10:27 PM                  

I just opened a claim with my own insurance company in case for some reason the dealer doesn't wind up covering the damage to my satisfaction. Technically if I don't report it, my insurance has a 'loophole' by which they wouldn't have to cover it.

The service manager of the dealer was of course profuse in his verbal assurances but wouldn't give me anything in writing except a standard DC work order for repairs for "damage done in-shop". They wouldn't give me the name of their insurance company, the name of the operator of the vehicle at the time of the damage, or a copy of their liability policy when I asked. Are they required to provide me with that information?

I thank all in advance for patience...this is the first time I've had a vehicle this drastically damaged by a dealer and all my online searching hasn't given me much insight into how to properly deal with this situation. And I hope my frustration isn't showing through too much either. After all, this was supposed to be the sunny weekend comprised of me, my kat, and the PCH up to Monterey

posted 03-04-2004 11:46 PM                  

This is what I'd do, and please keep in mind I'm used to going straight for the throat.

I'd call the local Police department and file an accident report. That will force the dealership to provide their insurance info/driver info/etc. Then I would send them a demand notification, "cc" to your insurance and theirs, by certified mail. I would include a rental car reimbersment charge, my time charge, and anything else I could think of. I'd give them 7 days to respond and accept my terms, or see me in court. I would take pics of the car AT THEIR DEALERSHIP, and have a few affidavits of neighbors/friends/family/POA members/etc saying the car was in great condition prior to being serviced. And above all, I'd get the car the hell away from them before they accidentally set fire to it.

As I said, I go for the throat, but I have never been taken advantage of, because of this nature.

Give them hell, make them sorry they ever met you, and they will do whatever they can to make you go away. And finally, AFTER all is taken care of, trash the dealership to everyone who will listen. (This last part is a personal favorite of mine, I take great joy out of getting even)

Good luck and let us know what happens.

Regards,

Dr. Mike
"Dali"

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"Dali" is Dr. Mike & Mrs. "Jo-Jo" S. near Dallas, Tx.
Email us at: dealer@suttonplacegallery.com
Visit us on the web at: www.suttonplacegallery.com

posted 03-05-2004 01:06 AM                  

quote:

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And finally, AFTER all is taken care of, trash the dealership to everyone who will listen. (This last part is a personal favorite of mine, I take great joy out of getting even)

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I unforunately am more capatilistic...I'll make sure I get even, but not before I can make sure they think they've gotten the better of the deal

My own insurance company's claims representative was kind of shocked on the phone when I told them they quoted damage estimates in a $2k-$3k range and hadn't yet informed their insurance provider. I, of course, had been looking into the DC MaxCare warranties for kats, but if this damaged vehicles are what I have to look for from my local DC dealer obviously it isn't worth the hassle...

Does anyone know offhand if DC extended service warranties are limited to repairs done by dealers only or if independent service garages can qualify as the repair providers?

As I'm obviously biased against this dealer and not DC shops in general, I just wanted to check whether it's wise to "waste" that $2k+ on a MaxCare warranty to get shoddy DC service that damages my vehicle instead of saving that money and sending my kat to a custom shop. I figure if a shop is used to dealing with Lambos and Ferraris they'll be much more aware about denting vehicles then a shop that has a high turnaround of Sebrings

posted 03-05-2004 07:20 AM                  

THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME.

Why?

1) They assumed full responsibility.
2) While replacing the bumper, I discovered that my MTD filter had seperated, and my engine was sucking in dirt! I would hae not found that out if the side panel wasn't off.
3) Now they treat me and my car like gold. I'm allowed in the shop and always help the mechanic bacause I know how to get the side panels and headlights off quicker...LOL.
4) Noone gets in my car now except the service manager and the ace mechanic that works on it.
5) It was an accident, and they felt bad, and I stil happily drive an hour to go to my dealer, as I have the best relationship a customer could have with a service dept.

posted 03-05-2004 07:35 AM                    

quote:

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Originally posted by sexlessape:
This is now the second car I've had wrecked by them, and I especially didn't want it to be my new kat.

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This begs the question, "Why did you go back after they wrecked the first one???"

As far as them not giving you information or anything in writing, explain to them "politely" that they can either give you or your attorney the correct information.

posted 03-05-2004 01:55 PM                  

McLean's Auto Body
c/o Mike McLean
650 S. Fairview Ave.
Golita, CA 93117
Ph: 805 683-1551

Hope this helps!

------------------
Metalcrafters Aftermarket Accessories
"Formerly TGF Automotive Enhancements"
11161 Slater Ave.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Ph: (714) 444-2000 ext. 460
www.metalcrafters.com / nschroll@metalcrafters.com

posted 03-12-2004 03:55 AM                  

On my records, the paint is listed as only "PVF - Prowler Orange Pearl Coat". Is it even possible to order this paint from DC? The dealer contacted me and said that this paint was on order from Michigan. This is after they said the shop in town was having trouble matching the paint and was having to call DC to get the formulation. I have a strong suspicion they're feeding me a line of BS now. Anyone have any hints on how to color match the stock orange paint or is this body shop and DC dealer giving me the workaround? I personally think they should be liable for the depreciation of the resale value of my kat now that it's original and unique paint job has been damaged, but obviously this sketch dealer feels otherwise.

I again thank all on the board for the warranty feedback. I'm probably going to go ahead and grab the extended warranty coverage even if it means I need to get my kat serviced in Ventura or even down into LA. Reviewing the service contract coverage it seems that the warranty only covers service at Chrylser dealer service shops though.

I've talked to a lot of people in town, and apparently the Santa Barbara Chrysler dealer has an *amazingly* sub-par reputation. I haven't heard of a positive experience with them yet. The standard reaction I get is..."I'm sorry about the damage to your car. I wish I had known you were taking it to the Chrysler dealer beforehand or I would have told you to take it to 'XYZ' instead" followed by someone else's horror story from the same dealer

Apparanetly a number of vehicles have either been damaged by this dealer or owners have had to pay for repairs that other DC dealers have said should have been covered by factory warranty. These SB slimebags have had a horrible repair reputation and apparently have even been sued for illegal sale slamming practices according to some of my coworkers. I didn't badmouth them before this...but apparently my long-time SB resident friends have been badmouthing them for years

I'm just miffed that I brought my kat into them for warranty service on my top adjustment seeing as they're the only DC shop in town! If I get the extended coverage (which I most likely will, given feedback here), I'll have to take it at least 30 miles away to another DC dealer and shop in Ventura or further south. No way am I going to let the in-town DC shop touch my kat again. How in the name of all that's holy can DC let dealers like this exist?!?

posted 03-12-2004 07:46 AM                  

It's unfortunate that there are dealers out there like that.....but it seems to be a common thing..........and not just Chrysler dealers. For the most part, dealers are independent businesses and I know that people think the manufacturers can control what they do, but the reality is they can't. You could file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in your State, the local Chamber of Commerce (most of them belong to things like that), get in touch with your Regional office / District Manager and file a complaint with DC Customer Care so it is as least on the record.

Hope everything works out okay. Perhaps you can take it to a reputable body shop instead of the dealer body shop and make them pay the bill??

------------------
CJ - The One and Only
1999 Black - PPROWLR 2002 Deep Candy Red - CJPROWLN

posted 03-12-2004 09:00 AM                  

FIRST PAINT REPAIR. A month after I bought GRROWL, my dealer couldn't hit the color in two tries in repairing some stone chips on the mirror and side panel.

SECOND PAINT REPAIR. After repainting the rear pan (panel that holds rear license plate) the shop went through the following:
1. Vendor (DuPont) mix - WAY off
2. Tweaked - a little closer
3. Tweaked - WAY off
4. DuPont sent out a tech with $20,000 a color analyzer - WORST Yet
5. Sent gascap cover to DuPont to use a $50,000 analyzer - WORST OF ALL.
6. Dropped back to #2. Insurance company wrote me a check for $6,000 to repaint the entire car (i.e., get rid of me) since their "guaranteed" shop couldn't return the car to pre-damage condition.

THIRD PAINT REPAIR. Before the 3/36 warrantee was up, I told my dealer I expected repair #1 to be made right. They subbed the car to a local Dodge Dealer. The bodyshop manager made a personal commitment to do whatever it takes to make it right. It took two tries to hit the color, can't tell the difference from factory. He said it HAD to be PPG, (original paint manufacturer) and you needed a "good color guy".

FOURTH PAINT REPAIR. Awash in euphoria from the above success (and getting GRROWL down to two colors from three), I brought the car back to successful Dodge shop to do the rear pan at my expense (actually, using a SMALL part of the insurance settlement above). THEY COULDN'T HIT THE COLOR. Trying twice per day, it took them a week to finally hit the color that second time. Same shop, same spraybooth, same "color guy".

Here's what the shop manager told me (and some comments):
1. There's minimal pearl in the yellow. That wasn't the problem.
2. Don't even try to hit a color like this without using the original manufacturer (in this case, PPG)
3. The paint is translucent and "build" makes a big difference. The factory specified two coats plus clear; they needed to go 3 to match the depth and translucency. Again, the right color-guy.
4. The paint is acting like a "flip-flop". As you move around, the color "jumps" in intensity as compared to adjacent panels (goes light-to-dark, and vice-versa).
5. If you spray from right-to-left it's different than left-to-right. Had to spray one way, let dry and compare. If it didn't match, do it again the other way.
6. He recommended against "blending" adjacent panels, as all of the other shops recommended. "If you hit the color, you don't need to blend".
7. The ONLY answer is commitment to do whatever it takes because nobody is going to hit it the first time. It only took a factory mix and one tweak the first time; it took MANY tries the second time.
8. I don't know if the first two shops COULD have hit it or not, or just gave up after a couple of tries.

My suggestion: find a shop that's committed, and know it can be made perfect.

-GRROWL

posted 03-12-2004 10:58 AM                  

quote:

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Originally posted by 01BLUE:
Please tell me they are not trying time in and time out on your actual car , building layer upon layer of paint . In the long run this is a bad thing to do the paint will indeed fail due to to hi a mil thickness.

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-GRROWL

posted 03-12-2004 12:28 PM                  

More importantly, I guess I'll just have to be really patient to make sure it's done properly especially as it doesn't seem to be as straightforward as other car colors like rusted-out-el-camino-brown-and-primer. It'll be difficult to be patient since I'm already ancy to get back in for a drive...and the 70-80 degree weather in SB this week didn't help

posted 03-12-2004 11:01 PM                  

quote:

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Originally posted by JRL:
My god.
You're in CA, land of custom cars and great auto painters.

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And odwalla, in 'n out, and of course...vanity plates...not that mine have even arrived yet...

Right now my kat's at John Briggs Motorsports which, ironically, is just two buildings down from where I work. I stopped off to pick up my sunglasses from the console and had a nice conversation with John and he seems cool and more then wiling to treat my kat's surgery with love. Apparently this is his sixth Prowler in for paint, but it's his first orange. He already had tried PPG paint after failing with a BASF batch he put together in house but it didn't match, probably for the reasons CJ mentioned. He's currently working on a custom BASF coating. He mentioned that he thought some of the Prowlers might have had some BASF coatings on them...anyone hear of this before? Will keep up to date as to how things progress or any solution he can find.

It was still sad to see my kat sans bumper, sans taillight assembly, and with stripped paint. I felt like weeping

On an utter sidenote, he did have a great story, even if only a yarn...a few years back he had to paint an Inca Gold that had been damaged just minutes after its sale by a dealer. The buyer apparently got "excited" after agreeing to the sale and goosed one of the sales reps in exultation...who promptly recoiled in surprise and fell backwards in surprise smack onto the rear left fender while the kat was still on the showroom floor .