nanos

so I took my car in for the roof rattle this past monday, I get a call today to inform me that they have damaged my roof. I arrive at the dealership and the service guy showed me the damage. He explained that when they were trying to create some clearances in some spots (after taking off the roof liner n such) the service guy unknowingly dented my roof sheetmetal from within. Basically, my roof has a bulge about 2 inches long, half an inch thick. Where the bulge is, the paint has cracked. They told me they were going to fix it "back to normal" but man am I ticked off right now. Should I do???? He said they need to bring it to their bodyshop to remove the bulge/repaint the whole roof. Need your guy's advice. Thanks!

KES

That really sucks. Unfortunately shit happens.

How old is you car? If it is less than 3-4 months I would fight for a new one.

Otherwise, I would have them provide a lifetime guarantee on the roof paint job (i.e. if in 6 years it does not look right- they redo it) as well as a lifetime guarantee on the roof liner, trim etc.

At this point you need to make the best of a bad situation.

Also, you should be driving a nice loaner while this is underway and push for your next service to be complimentary.

Good luck.

Cap'n Preshoot

I guess it somewhat depends on what it is, how old it is and did you buy it new and whether or not it's leased. Also, how many miles are on it?

For a leased car it is common that any damage, regardless of how it happened and regardless how well it's repaired often results in "diminished value" at the end of the lease. That diminished value will be collected from you at lease return and could amount to several hundred bucks.

If painting will be required (and it sounds like it will) your Factory Clear Coat will be permanently compromised. This may or may not affect the shine, but it will absolutely have a noticeable impact on the gloss (depth of shine). It's impossible to obtain a "factory finish" paint job in any dealership's body shop.

Since the damage is on the roof it's not likely you or anyone else will notice the difference in the gloss.

Since you are a young person it is also likely the dealership may try to take advantage of your lack of worldly experience. If it were my car and I sensed for for even a fleeting moment that they were trying to jerk me around, I might sue them. At a minimum I would have my personal attorney send them a letter demanding that I be compensated. What action you take will be up to you. Attorneys cost money. Small Claims Court might be an option.

007Acura

Ask for the maintenance to be covered for 3 years.

nj2pa2nc

It does suck that your car was damaged. I would be annoyed also.
I would wait and see how well the damage is repaired before I did anything else (wait to contact Judge Judy). Do not except the car back until it is repaired the way you want it.
I would also ask for some kind of extended warranty along with some free service for the troubles they caused. Good luck

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

cars get fixed and painted all the time...sometimes you can tell and sometimes you cant....

i am not really down with them doing the damage, and if the car is new then i would tell them they just bought a car and get a new one....otherwise, you may just have to live with it, and i would push for something like an extended warranty or some other form of compensation....let us know what happens...

jspagna1

Yes, all that everyone suggested above. Definitely get everything documented and keep it in a file so that if anything down the line gets screwed up you have back up.

nanos

Thanks for all the advice so far. I have never dealt with this type of circumstance so I was confused on what should be done. I got the car about 7 months ago brand new and is being financed. They gave me a tsx (base) but that was before they did the damage. Right now I told them I want further compensation but when I told them that, they said we'll talk about it later. I do have the feeling they're trying to weasle their way out seeing that they are dealing with someone young. They are in the process of fixing my car and may take until the middle of next week.

KeithL

A few things, I would file some sort of claim with the dealer's insurance and you should have your choice of where you want your car fixed. I would also file a diminished value claim and see what else the dealer may do to compensate you for the damage.

PaulNY

Try and escalate things with the service manager if you haven't already, and bring a camera to document the damage if at all possible...I had a similar issue with a dealership not taking me seriously because of my age, but once they seen I wasn't clueless it worked out in my favor. And if things don't seem to be going right, threaten to call Acura directly.

Cap'n Preshoot

If you know a lawyer, it's probably time to have a chat.

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

Stuff like this happens more often than one would think. Accidents happen. I see absolutely no need to contact a lawyer, just make sure they have the incident on file in case something happens, and be done with it. Sorry to hear. Your car will be good as new again soon.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

7 months old, i might have to push for a new car or some kind of compensation on top of the repair....and that repair will have to meet my standards, which is going have to be nothing short of perfect....i can sniff out the most minute flaw in paint...

VQPower37

if nothing else go for dimished value