Nujer

Was looking over my new 2008 RL yesterday when I noticed an issue with the front bumper. The dealership mounted the front license plate holder correctly by fastening it to the car with the screws that bolt underneath the car, but they mounted the plate by using long sharp screws and the two top screws end up protruding through the mount causing them to make contact with the bumper. The result is two holes in the front bumper. Just wanted to see if anyone had this happen to them? Its upsetting to me even more because the license plate mount on my '99 TL encases the top plate screws so they cannot come through.

I'm taking my car in on Tuesday for the A-Spec suspension installation, so I've notified the dealer of the issue. They have said they will take a look at the damage. I think a new bumper might be the only way to fix the damage, but I'm sure they are going to want to go the paint and patch route. I'm not sure if I'm making too much of this, but to me it seems like somebody made a mistake. Short screws, or a better designed mount would have prevented this.

robarsan

Bottom line is, they damaged your car. Your "new" car. If it were me, I would have the bumper replaced. They shouldn't give you a hard time as it was a careless act by the person who caused the damage.

lumpulus

I recall this happening to someone else here awhile back. Keep us posted on what happens and good luck. I'm with Robar....you deserve nothing less than a new bumper skin.

drolds72

I am ashamed to say that I watched them do this exact same thing to my rl, but by the time I could verbalize anything, the tech had already run a screw all the way through my bumper. Guy was an animal with his screw gun.

Nujer

Well, got some feedback from the dealer this evening regarding the bumper on my car. They took a look at it today while it was in and they would like to schedule a follow-on appointment with the body shop so bumper can be repaired. They told me that it would be done to my satisfaction and that the puncture and scratches will not be noticable. I'll give it a shot. The damage is small enough and will be hidden by the plate mount that I'm not going to push too hard for a new bumper. We'll see though. Hopefully the body shop can do a stellar job on this.

In any case, the appointment is set for next week. They said they would need the car for 2-3 days and will provide me with a loaner vehicle. I'll post an update when the job is complete. Thanks to all for posting your opinions on this matter.

TL_Captain

had a similar problem and dealer fixed by patching the damage and repainted the bumper. the new paint wasn't as good as the original. started to crack about 1.5-2 yr later.

neuronbob

[QUOTE=Nujer]Well, got some feedback from the dealer this evening regarding the bumper on my car. They took a look at it today while it was in and they would like to schedule a follow-on appointment with the body shop so bumper can be repaired. They told me that it would be done to my satisfaction and that the puncture and scratches will not be noticable. I'll give it a shot. The damage is small enough and will be hidden by the plate mount that I'm not going to push too hard for a new bumper. We'll see though. Hopefully the body shop can do a stellar job on this. [QUOTE]

I think this is reasonable. Keep us posted!

Nujer

Well, dropped of my car with the dealer earlier this week. They sent it over to the body shop so the bumper could be repaired. I was skeptical and was going to push for a bumper replacement if the repair didn't look good. I went to pick the car up yesterday and I have to say the body shop did a great job on the bumper. The area that was damaged has been repaired and it looks perfect. The dealership apologized for their blunder so all is good. Thanks to everyone for the feedback on this.