Cali Engineer/Mechanic

[Better Call Saul]

Hi all,

Would there be any Cali engineers/mechanics/body shop experts on the group that wouldn’t mind me messaging for an opinion on something?

Thanks

 

[sidepod]

Hi all,

Would there be any Cali engineers/mechanics/body shop experts on the group that wouldn’t mind me messaging for an opinion on something?

Thanks

Why the big secret, just spit it out?

 

[westfalia]

Could be a spy from Mercedes.

 

[Better Call Saul]

Haha no just looking for some advice from a professional regarding some damage that has occurred to my Cali before I’ve collected it from the dealership!!

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Haha no just looking for some advice from a professional regarding some damage that has occurred to my Cali before I’ve collected it from the dealership!!

Happens now & again...damage during sea transit, port carpark etc. Buyer is normally none the wiser. Damage gets repaired before it gets handed over to the delivery dealer.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Haha no just looking for some advice from a professional regarding some damage that has occurred to my Cali before I’ve collected it from the dealership!!

It all depends how serious the damage is/was.
If it’s a small amount like a couple of dents that have been repaired I wouldn’t worry. If it fell off the transporter onto its roof than that’s a different thing.

 

[Better Call Saul]

Valet dented the left side somehow.

 

[dspuk]

But what is the question? We used to deliver hundreds of thousands of cars on the transporters, it is inevitable some will get some damage. The dealer and manufacturer is obligated to put it right, and as mentioned, most don’t even know. Are they saying they won’t fix it, or it’s your fault. Or did you drive away without noticing it and they are saying they never did it? Some specifics would help.

 

[Better Call Saul]

Sorry, it was more a reach out to a professional so I could try get an opinion on the damage (I know it’s hard with just one pic).

Dealer rang day before collection date to say the valet damaged it and it’s gone to a bodyshop to get repaired. We going to meet the dealer to discuss how we proceed from here.

 

[dspuk]

Still don’t understand the issue or question. The dealer will repair it, you should not notice the difference when you get it back and the best you can do is negotiate something for your inconvenience. Or am I missing something?

 

[Better Call Saul]

I wanted an opinion on the damage and how likely is it to appear in the future, will it be noticed by a professional, will it affect the value of the van. Especially the damage to the sill. I’m not here to discuss any inconvenience or the fact that our new car experience has been negatively affected etc.

I guess you’d have no issue paying for a brand new vehicle that’s been damaged?

 

[Corradobrit]

Sorry, it was more a reach out to a professional so I could try get an opinion on the damage (I know it’s hard with just one pic).

Dealer rang day before collection date to say the valet damaged it and it’s gone to a bodyshop to get repaired. We going to meet the dealer to discuss how we proceed from here.

You want the advice and opinion of a competent bodyshop, not a Cali Engineer or worse, a mechanic.

Sorry to see this. No new owner wants this to be their first experience. I hope you can get this resolved to your satisfaction and can begin a life of adventure.

 

[dspuk]

None at all. Don’t disagree it’s a massive pain and initially sours the feeling, but these things can and do happen and the pants situation here is it has happened to you. The repairs should be completely unnoticeable (refuse it if they are not) and have no effect on the resale. In fact unless you tell anyone they will never know. As it’s a main dealer the warranty will be unaffected and that includes paint and any reoccurrence of issues due to the repair. Reality is you have two choices - accept it and negociate something for your time (or not, depends how you feel) or reject it and have no van. Dealer won’t care - he can sell it for likely more than it’s worth day after it is out the bodyshop. The type of damage in the picture is bread and butter work for any competent bodyshop.

 

[Better Call Saul]

None at all. Don’t disagree it’s a massive pain and initially sours the feeling, but these things can and do happen and the pants situation here is it has happened to you. The repairs should be completely unnoticeable (refuse it if they are not) and have no effect on the resale. In fact unless you tell anyone they will never know. As it’s a main dealer the warranty will be unaffected and that includes paint and any reoccurrence of issues due to the repair. Reality is you have two choices - accept it and negociate something for your time (or not, depdns how you feel) or reject it and have no van. Dealer won’t care - he can sell it for likely more than it’s worth day after it is out the bodyshop. The type of damage in the picture is bread and butter work for any competent bodyshop.

Thanks very much. This is exactly what I’m thinking. Any compensation will purely depend on how important good customer care the dealer cares about.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks very much. This is exactly what I’m thinking. Any compensation will purely depend on how important good customer care the dealer cares about.

If the damage had happened a week or so before collection day I doubt if the Dealership would have even phoned you, just send the vehicle to the body shop.
On the day of collection you would have been none the wiser.
I understand the Dealership is not legally obliged to tell you about what is considered minor damage suffered during the delivery process.

 

[Better Call Saul]

If the damage had happened a week or so before collection day I doubt if the Dealership would have even phoned you, just send the vehicle to the body shop.
On the day of collection you would have been none the wiser.
I understand the Dealership is not legally obliged to tell you about what is considered minor damage suffered during the delivery process.

100% agree with you.

 

[westfalia]

So you accept it and everything is grand.
Then you come to sell it in a couple of years and the dealer that
you're selling to walks around it with a paint thickness gauge, finds something
that ain't quite right and wants to knock a grand off his offer...

I think some compensation should be offered to you.

 

[JimP1992]

So you accept it and everything is grand.
Then you come to sell it in a couple of years and the dealer that
you're selling to walks around it with a paint thickness gauge, finds something
that ain't quite right and wants to knock a grand off his offer...

I think some compensation should be offered to you.

I’ve never had anyone / a dealer ever go around with a paint thickness gauge when selling a vehicle … is this common practice, in your experience?

Otherwise agree r.e. try for compensation or freebie accessories for the inconvience.

As others have said, you would not know it’s there when it’s done and you won’t notice it at all day to day, and it’ll remain in warranty as it’s dealer repaired. Personally, I’d accept and push for compensation / freebies, but that’s me.

 

[westfalia]

I’ve never had anyone / a dealer ever go around with a paint thickness gauge when selling a vehicle … is this common practice, in your experience?

Yes it is for me. I borrowed one from my dealer mate to use when
I bought a 6 month old expensive car.

 

[dspuk]

So you accept it and everything is grand.
Then you come to sell it in a couple of years and the dealer that
you're selling to walks around it with a paint thickness gauge, finds something
that ain't quite right and wants to knock a grand off his offer...

I think some compensation should be offered to you.

I worked in the auto industry for 27 years and never once saw a dealer rock out a “paint thickness guage”. I think there seems to be a general misunderstanding on how proper bodyshops do their body paint repairs vs cars sprayed at home by a hobbyist.

Compensation for sure though. But for the inconvenience. Not some imaginary grand being knocked off.

WG is right. Minor bumps and scrapes usually never mentioned. Technically until the customer takes the car it’s still owned by the dealer.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

I disagree as far as the paint thickness gauge. A couple of years ago I had a problem with Lacquer peeling off both bumpers exactly at the same time. The van was over 5 years old so out of the standard 3 year warranty. VW asked me to take it to their body shop for them to take a look at it. They went over the whole vehicle with a paint thickness gauge. The gauge was the magnetic type so couldn’t measure the thickness of the plastic bumpers so was a bit pointless.
Anyway they checked every steel panel and every panel had a perfect paint thickness.
After all that VW refused point blank to respray the bumpers so I ended up paying myself.
The job was gone properly with the bumpers taken off and not sprayed on the vehicle.

But I still had to pay myself.

 

[Corradobrit]

I worked in the auto industry for 27 years and never once saw a dealer rock out a “paint thickness guage”. I think there seems to be a general misunderstanding on how proper bodyshops do their body paint repairs vs cars sprayed at home by a hobbyist.

Compensation for sure though. But for the inconvenience. Not some imaginary grand being knocked off.

WG is right. Minor bumps and scrapes usually never mentioned. Technically until the customer takes the car it’s still owned by the dealer.

Its actually fairly routine in the USA to go around a vehicle with a paint meter and a magnet. Any non factory paint work is immediately obvious when the new paint is layered over the old.

 

[WelshGas]

As the Dealership has already notified the buyer then the buyer could ask for a letter detailing the repairs, that they are to VWs standard and fully warranted as per the Factory Warranty.

 

[Better Call Saul]

As the Dealership has already notified the buyer then the buyer could ask for a letter detailing the repairs, that they are to VWs standard and fully warranted as per the Factory Warranty.

Yes he has said he will supply such a letter. Most likely I will be trading in at same dealer but who knows.

 

[Perfectos]

If a buyer has a vehicle inspection done by one of the big firms, they will use a paint thickness gauge to determine if the vehicle has ever been repaired, the findings will be stated in the Buyers report, which they can then use to negotiate after finding out what / why the vehicle had been repaired.

personally I would specify (make it a requirement of the deal) that the damaged panel (removable) is replaced entirely with new OEM panels & have then supply a written report on The damage & the works carried out to repair the damage with photos to back it up, together with a a written guarantee that the repair will be covered in line with VW standard paint warranty.