beachcar

I had my first oil change on my brand new S about 3 days ago. It was raining the next day, so I waited to drive it another whole day. That afternoon I notice that the"nose" of my baby has dent in it on the top (dorsal?) aspect right where the hood meets the front bumper. The dent is about the size of an orange and is about .5 cm deep.

It's really noticeable from some angles and looking at it makes me nauseated. I took it to a bodyshop guy I trust really well. (He has done excellent work for me in the past.)
He said that it appeared that someone had put their knee into the top of the bumper/nose piece when they were working on it. There also several 1 to 2 inch indentations that look like a tic tac toe cross hatch on the vertical part of the bumper near the license plate.

My bodyshop guy said it appeared to him that they had nudged the nose into something on that part.

The dealer says they will send a paintless dent removal guy to my house to fix the dent.
I just don't see how he can take a dent out of the plastic. My bodyshop guy was really honest and said that closely matching the Rio Yellow could be done, but would be tough.

I'm not sure what to do? Ask for a whole new bumper and hope that it can be color matched properly? Or should I let the dealership try and make it right with this "paintless" repair guy. There is no way he can fix the cross hatch pattern on the front of the bumper...it will always look like a couple of touched up gouges there.

By the way, my car only has 6000 miles on it

The dealership is squirming and will probably do anything I want repair-wise. I don't think they'll go along with a new car. I'd prolly let the dent slide if they threw in a new Accord Hybrid.

SilverKnight

shit i have my oil change at the dealerr tomm...lol i told them to be really careful and iw ill inspect her when im done

Whitelightning

I work at a body shop and there is no way they can fix a dent in plastic like that... the only way it could be "fixed" is with bondo. Get a new bumper and a good painter. Dont settle for less. With the car being new and low miles, you have a better chance of matching the paint because it hasn't faded much if at all.

edit: and demand some kind of credit for your time and trouble

Cheezmo

Something similar happened to me on my first oil change at the Honda dealership at 2,900 miles. Make a BIG deal and get the dealership General Manager involved. Don't deal with anyone other than the dealer GM or Owner, anyone else will require approval and they'll give you the run-around! Dentless repair - big me a break! My dent was just above the side marker light on the driver side front fender. I took the car to a very reputable shop and told them I wanted the car to be exactly as new.

I had to contact the owner of the dealership to get what I wanted, but don't mention anything about a layer or legal unless they don't follow through. If you do this they will back off.

The dealership initially tried to tell me this was my issue and it would be like getting a dent at the grocery store... I asked them what grocery store took your keys to your car and drove it while you went shopping? It was a lame attempt to blow me off.

I basically told them I was going to take the car to a shop of my choice and have the car fixed at their cost. They were to provide me a rental or dealer supplied car while the car was in the shop. I made sure they understood this was not negotiable.

After making many phone calls I was able to get in contact with the dealership owner and explained my situation. He understood his dealership could not afford a bad reputation and authorized what I was asking for.

Long story short, my car was fixed and the repair work was flawless. It was a bitch to get what I wanted, but it was worth it. The dent was very minor, but it totally pissed me off and I know EXACTLY how you feel. Good luck!

Barry in Wyoming

It is only a car.

TwistedS2k

do it yourself, mang. It ain't that hard

SilverKnight

i would but i want to establish a relationship with my dealer.