Dealer Door Ding- To Fix Or Not Too Fix

[F4DPhan]

Dropped off my 6-month old IS 250 AWD for its 5000 mile service, and after 2 hours at the dealer, was horrified to find two prominant puncture-like door dings right next to the driver door handle!!!!! (this, of course, after I had spent all weekend washing off the winter salt& sand and waxing my car....)

Well, the dealership acknowledged the problem, and had a 'dent-guy' right there, so after about an hour, he was able to 'pop' them back out, and overall, its looks almost back to normal; problem is, one of the dings caused chipping of the paint......so the dealer is offering to 'wet sand' (?) to fix the problem, which will require the car to go to the body shop overnight, etc...

My question to the group is, 'is this worth it?' At this point, the door contour is almost perfect, and the paint chip is TINY; so why don't I just put a drop of touch-up paint on it and call it a day? I'm just VERY nervous about leaving my car with the dealership overnight, and possible problems and things that can go wrong with this minor body work....(of course, I could kick myself for not getting a picture of it with my cell phone...)

Any thoughts or insites appreciated....

Thanks!

Mike

[dcfish]

Dropped off my 6-month old IS 250 AWD for its 5000 mile service, and after 2 hours at the dealer, was horrified to find two prominant puncture-like door dings right next to the driver door handle!!!!! (this, of course, after I had spent all weekend washing off the winter salt& sand and waxing my car....)

Well, the dealership acknowledged the problem, and had a 'dent-guy' right there, so after about an hour, he was able to 'pop' them back out, and overall, its looks almost back to normal; problem is, one of the dings caused chipping of the paint......so the dealer is offering to 'wet sand' (?) to fix the problem, which will require the car to go to the body shop overnight, etc...

My question to the group is, 'is this worth it?' At this point, the door contour is almost perfect, and the paint chip is TINY; so why don't I just put a drop of touch-up paint on it and call it a day? I'm just VERY nervous about leaving my car with the dealership overnight, and possible problems and things that can go wrong with this minor body work....(of course, I could kick myself for not getting a picture of it with my cell phone...)

Any thoughts or insites appreciated....

Thanks!

Mike

Let the dealer take care of it, Get a warranty with it, Go over the car with the service mgr. with a fine tooth comb before you leave it overnight with the dealer. When it is all done Kindly explain your frustration, Loss of time and overall concerns about how they handled your car in the first place and maybe they will throw extras your way. Don't hold your breath though.

[new2mud]

Let the dealer take care of it, Get a warranty with it, Go over the car with the service mgr. with a fine tooth comb before you leave it overnight with the dealer. When it is all done Kindly explain your frustration, Loss of time and overall concerns about how they handled your car in the first place and maybe they will throw extras your way. Don't hold your breath though.

Good suggestions above.

In these cases, responding with sugar rather than vinegar goes a long way. Especially if you keep your calm and explain how you have been let down by Lexus' own proclaimed standards of higher quality of dealership experience. Definitely point out the inconvenience it has caused you, and let them know that you "trust that they will find a way to make it up to you."

These guys are professionals, and they respond very well to professionalism.

[SW03ES]

Absolutely true. A lot of the customers are raving egomaniacs too, so when you respond calmly, professionally, and treat them with respect they will really go out of their way to make you happy.

Personally? I'd ask for $150 in a service credit and let somebody else fix the chip.

[Rx330driver]

lol the simple dab of paint thing...? yeah thats not gonna work

I have the paint for my car color, and touching up rock chips is harder than you think. It doesnt fit in evenly, and its not as shiny at that spot. much more noticable. lol. I just use it to fix my bumpers.

[F4DPhan]

Thank you everyone for the reply and suggestions.

I agree, I'm not flying off the handle about it, but I have expressed my suprise at such an occurance for a presumed luxery brand...

...still trying to decide whether or not to repair....

Mike

[denslexusgx470]

Your call. Just have a thorough walk-through of the vehicle, and specify the damages, scratches, or dings (which I presume there's only one) so you would have leverage if more damages pop up. That's what I like about my Toyota dealer, they have a thorough walk-through around the vehicle so the dealer and customer are in good agreement That's probably one of the reasons why the dealer replaced my rim when they scratched it, because I noted the scratch right after the service, and they acknowledged it. :D