Car Scratched during Dealership Service

TightAl on 06/10/2023 - 14:21

Wanted to put this out to the brain trust that is OzB:

  • OP takes car for first month complimentary service (1 month/1,000KM)
  • Service rep askes if the car needs to be washed and informs OP it's a machine and will likely scratch
  • OP declines car wash
  • Car comes back wet and Service Rep mentions it was 'rinsed'
  • OP drives out to the shops and notices all the scratches from this 'rinse'
  • OP drives straight back to the dealership and claims its residual from the stickers that were from factory
  • Service rep tries to clean marks but they are still evident

https://pasteboard.co/V4ERPVO6ld5s.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/wjrvR0zDyHLm.jpg
Another 7 scratches on the bonnet and on the roof

What would OzB deem as an acceptable remedy?

Automotive

Comments

  • bobbified on 06/10/2023 - 14:29
    +2

    Looks like it's just the clearcoat, so cut and polish might do the trick.

    Does that dealer have the full drive-through car wash with the big spinning brushes? Most places rinse the car off with a pressure sprayer after service.

    • TightAl on 06/10/2023 - 16:44

      They've got a drive through with the spinning brushes yep, even found bristles left over from the wash on the roof.

      • bobbified on 06/10/2023 - 23:20

        That's so old school!

        • TightAl on 07/10/2023 - 09:47

          it's weird because they recently did a huge renovation, no clue why they didn't do a touchless one at the very least

  • MS Paint on 06/10/2023 - 14:57
    +2

    OP drives straight back to the dealership and claims its residual from the stickers that were from factory

    Did the dealership agree it was from the stickers as well?

  • Euphemistic on 06/10/2023 - 15:09
    +3

    Sounds like it went through the wash machine. Sounds like they need to have the paint buffed/polished to remedy.

    Note: also sounds like OPs side of the story and we haven’t heard any thing from the other side.

    • HeWhoKnows on 07/10/2023 - 09:06
      -1

      Correct!
      We havent heard the other partys story.
      happens so often here and many people pass judgement on a biased, one sided claim.

      And if washing the car caused any damage, then this would not be the first time.
      So the dealer would have been aware of this issue and either rectified the problem with the washer or simply stopped using it.

      So far, other than breaking radio antennas, I havent heard of any car wash machine damaging cars.
      That would put them out of business in no time!

      • MS Paint on 07/10/2023 - 09:51

        I havent heard of any car wash machine damaging cars.

        Unless it's touchless they are continuously damaging car duco. The people that use these car wash places don't notice or don't care. Those who care and use common sense know that these car wash machines slowly damage your duco.

      • Euphemistic on 07/10/2023 - 12:51

        Service rep askes if the car needs to be washed and informs OP it's a machine and will likely scratch

        Quoted from the original post.

        • HeWhoKnows on 09/10/2023 - 14:30
          -1

          Never heard of this before.

  • Kenb0 on 06/10/2023 - 15:14
    +1

    OP drives straight back to the dealership and claims its residual from the stickers that were from factory

    This part is a bit ambiguous. Who claimed it’s residual from the stickers, the OP or 5e dealership?

    • TightAl on 06/10/2023 - 16:06

      The dealership, they had microfibre and spray and tried to "clean" it which of course didn't work.
      Scratches remain

  • Drakesy on 06/10/2023 - 15:30
    +1

    That'll buff out.

    • TightAl on 06/10/2023 - 16:06

      Hope so

  • Loot N Plunder on 06/10/2023 - 15:46
    +2

    Now days you have to cover yourself so you can prove its 100% their fault. People don't give a shit anymore as its not theirs

    You needed to do a walk around and a close up with your phones camera at the dealership before you handed them the keys then there is no excuse for them at all.

    • TightAl on 06/10/2023 - 16:06
      +1

      Absolutely 100% my mistake for trusting them :(

      • Maths Debater on 07/10/2023 - 18:32

        If they don't rectify the problem (which they probably won't), now is a good excuse to get paint correction and protection. Going by the colour of your car, that's the first thing I would've done after taking delivery.

        • TightAl on 07/10/2023 - 21:55

          Will be definitely getting it coated now, hope it's worthwhile

      • TiredKitty78 on 08/10/2023 - 15:12

        Well "nobody's a traitor until they are"
        - that guy Pullo from the HBO series ROME which is and remains A.M.A.Z.I.N.G

  • FoxJump on 06/10/2023 - 16:28
    +6

    When you buy a new car, drive into a bollard immediately.
    Then you'll be able to enjoy the car without dealing with the oopsies of life and bat droppings

    • chrisie on 06/10/2023 - 17:18

      I think your on to something there :)

    • Kenb0 on 06/10/2023 - 18:51

      I inadvertently did this with my first "fancy" car. Bought a Merc with $100k cash, drove it out of the dealership and because it was a convertible where the driving position was very different from the cars I was used to, severely underestimated a turn about 300 metres away from the dealership and scraped the hell out of the back wheel on the curb with the corresponding scraping noise. That was lots of fun…

      Luckily wasn't too much to get the alloy wheel refinished so I couldn't tell it had ever been damaged, but that was a very quick "first scratch" moment

      • FoxJump on 06/10/2023 - 19:52

        :)

      • MS Paint on 06/10/2023 - 22:17

        because it was a convertible where the driving position was very different from the cars

        What?

        • [Deactivated] on 06/10/2023 - 22:29
          +2

          The wind musses up your hair so maybe they couldn't see to drive properly ??

        • Kenb0 on 07/10/2023 - 05:40

          Might have described it wrong, may have nothing to do with the fact it was a convertible, its more the shape of it and the fact that it was a 2-seater. Just that the front of the car was a lot longer than the back of the car, so where you're sitting in relation to the car body and rear wheels is different than if sitting in a big station wagon which was what I was driving previously

          https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/mercedes-benz/slk-class/r17…

          If you look at the cars there, you can see if you're sitting in the driver's seat, you're sitting a lot closer to the back wheels than if you were driving a big sedan/station wagon. I wasn't expecting that so when making a turn, I turned the car too much into the turn(and subsequently hit the curb with rear wheel)

  • Protractor on 06/10/2023 - 17:21
    +1

    Name the dealer or live with it. You haven't made any claims online to walk away from.
    Besides once upon a time dealers had actual human cleaners looking after this role.Bloody automation…..

  • Transient on 06/10/2023 - 17:52
    +2

    When a car is left at a dealership for servicing generally a bailment is created. The dealership should owe a duty of care to the owner. The service contract may restrict this duty of care. You might have a right to remedy or compensation if damage occurs. Best to consult a solicitor if you are not satisfied with what the dealer offers. This does not constitute legal advice.

  • lovesabargain77 on 06/10/2023 - 18:46
    +3

    Service rep askes if the car needs to be washed and informs OP it's a machine and will likely scratch

    This part blows my mind. Why even offer the car wash service to people?
    I mean in all honesty there aren't going to be many people who say that they don't care about it getting scratched.

    • spackbace on 06/10/2023 - 18:57
      +2

      I mean in all honesty there aren't going to be many people who say that they don't care about it getting scratched.

      You'd be surprised by how many older, beaten up cars get put through service and they wouldn't care about scratches

      • lovesabargain77 on 07/10/2023 - 16:12

        That's true. I was looking at it from the point of view that I wouldn't expect there would be a lot of people with beaten up old cars having them serviced at a dealership (which of course I could be wrong about)

    • TightAl on 06/10/2023 - 22:36
      +1

      Alot of fleet vehicles at this brand, I doubt those people care who drop them off/pick them up.

  • The Value on 06/10/2023 - 19:25

    Which brand?

    VW washes their cars by hand.

    • TightAl on 06/10/2023 - 22:38

      Toyota

  • MrFrugalSpend on 06/10/2023 - 21:56
    +5

    You bought a dark coloured car…. you should have expected this .
    They are not great for this… Yeah a black car looks great… for 10 minutes after it is washed from 10 feet so you don't see the scratches.
    Not to mention less safe on the road for visibility, and hotter to get in when left in the sun…

    However regardless, this is a new car bought for the same dealership - doesn't matter who and what, they should fix it… after sales service.
    Not an acceptable remedy, as a business selling the car then not following your instructions, I'd rip them a new one for how they are not taking full responsibility and offering whatever required to remedy.

    However that is principle of the thing, regarding the scratch, I recognise it's going to happen and move on in many other circumstances.
    It's all about how people treat you that is important.

    I'd previously had someone hit and run it with minor damage and was pissed as hell about that scummy aspect.
    However, in a different incident a young P-plater driver backed into my car in a carpark and dented it and gouged paint.
    He waited for me to return to the car, was the most apologetic guy, saying how he will save up to pay for it, giving me his details etc. Clearly not well off student, old car.
    So I just said thanks for owning up to it and don't worry about it, I'm not going to make you pay and moved on.
    I touched up the paint myself to protect it from rust, but had a dented car for the rest of the years I owned it, but I felt way better about that cause of how he treated me, and I had no regrets at all about not taking his money and getting it properly fixed… cause it doesn't matter.

    • Protractor on 06/10/2023 - 22:10
      -1

      Good story. Kudos to you.

    • TightAl on 06/10/2023 - 22:35
      +1

      I absolutely agree, to be fair, if i scratch it myself, i would totally be ok.
      Treatment, firstly didn't appreicate the lie that it was "rinsed" - and being treated as a liar and gaslighted.

  • srhardy on 07/10/2023 - 07:38

    If a service department offers a car wash I go checkout how they do it and if I decline and they scratched my car I’d complain and demand the next service free and a hand cut n polish

    They make a lot of money from you, this is just basic Scrooge tactics

    • MS Paint on 07/10/2023 - 10:28

      demand the next service free and a hand cut n polish

      You can demand all you want but that ain't happening.

  • AryaTheExplorer on 07/10/2023 - 12:15
    +1

    That's really crap but honestly it'll be a lot of time wasted chasing the dealership up for what the damage is worth. A cut and polish might help. By the time you trade it in or sell it, that little scratch won't make any difference to your resell value. Let the dealership manager know and threaten to leave a bad review if they won't do anything, but anything further is not worth your time.

  • eddyah on 09/10/2023 - 10:55

    WTF machine wash? That would be like straight / swirling marks.

    This is like someone leaned on your car with keys / something on their belt and moved around

  • chris666 on 11/10/2023 - 18:20

    Just had a similar issue with our new kia sportage they scratched it when taking the new car stickers off 3x had to go back before they had sorted the issue

    • TightAl on 11/10/2023 - 22:15

      Horrendous, No doubt i've got these too. Uselss lot they are.

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