Dealer scratched my car during service - advice needed

So far Porsche ownership has been an eventful experience. Took my car in for RMS leak last week. At the same time they were going to replace the window seals since there was a lot of wind noice. Went to pick up the car today. Paid, walked out to the car and saw a big scratch on the drivers side, right beneath the rear window and just over the rear side window. Good size scratch that caught my eye immediately. I suspect someone scratched it while replacing the seals. Very dissapointed that the car was returned to me like this. I immediately went back in and showed them the scratch and told them I'm not taking the car anywhere tonight. I'm leaving it there until it's fixed. Can't believe someone thought they would get away with this. So, please help me. How do I approach this problem? It's on the left rear side and there is no natural body panels where you would end a re-paint. The only solution I can see is to paint the whole rear side and the roof line all the way to the front window. Any advice? Also, now I'm paranoid about how this will affect the price of the car when I go sell it later. What to do?? The car was at a very reputable p-car dealer in the Bay Area so I'm hoping they will take care of this properly. The main concern is how/if this repaint will affect the resale value.

Dude that sucks and I know which dealer you are talking about. Looks like I may stay away from them now. They had better repair it and repair it good. I think they have a shop a few miles away that does there body work, not familiar with them but I am suppose to go to them to get my spoiler put on my rear wing, so I will be interested to hear how that goes too, if it goes there that is. As for the repair, hopefully it is not too deep and will not require a respray of the entire door or side. Keep us posted. BTW...and not to take your mind of the issue, did you see the CHP Porsche and the girl at the cashier counter?

If it's done right, it shouldn't be a huge deal when you sell it. I'd make sure you get a copy of the invoice stating the paint was for cosmetic reasons only and that the car had no body damage.

See pic for location of scratch. I don't see how they can fix it without repainting the whole side panel and roof line. The scratch is very deep and wide. Like if you took a screwdriver and scratched it. It's down to the metal and the white undercoat. Speeddemon, yeah I saw the CHP car. Very cool. The rack was nice but I think you were there on a better day. It was covered up pretty well today. The thing that really pisses me off is that no one said anything and they just give it back to you like that. It's soooo obvious that there is no way anyone could miss it.

Good idea. That should help for sure if they give me a document stating that they scratched it and repainted for cosmetic reasons only. Thanks!

Dont sweat it....Tell them you want it fixed to your standards and you are very particular...they will have a good shop repaint the section and you wont know it was done, and neither will anyone buying the car from you....this kinda stuff happens ALL the time....Tell then you NEED a Porsche loaner in the meantine while they fix your car. My Rover was damaged at the dealer and I drove around for a month in the GM's brand new one until my car was finished....

Document the scatch with pictures and the dealers fix. Keep all the receipts. This is totally cosmetic and should not effect resale value.

I will have to get a photo of the CHP P car. As for the rack, yes it was more visible when I was there Yeah that just is not right, not to say anything. Shows how much they take pride in the work they do. If they did something like this they should have said something about it, but they probably thought you would not see it and drive off, and if you returned they would say it happened after you left, so good catch before you left.

I would like to think that the dealership should be given a chance to take care of this without convening a court of public opinion from the get-go. All too often these things get going like a snowball downhill, and the dealership isn't given a chance to offer up what they're going to do. Why dont you let them deal with you first....then if they decide to short change you, you have the option of going to the court of public opinion. I would think that they would much rather take care of you rather than have a bunch of guys form a verbal lynch mob and hang their dealerhip name all over Rennlist. I would agree with you that it wasn't very professional for them to hand you back your car without saying anything....but chances are, the service manager never saw it...it was a worker bee who didn't want to get into hot water, so he just put the car back on the line hoping no one would notice. Well, someone noticed....so once you bring it to their attention the ball is then in their court....how about waiting for their response.

Duane & Newport, thanks for the input. Makes me feel better. The dealership has a very good reputation so I'm hoping they will take care of this to my satisfaction. I want to think that it was a new guy in the shop who didn't understand that anyone with decent eyesight would catch it right away. The service manager was great and very helpful so I'm hoping everything will go well when I talk to him tomorrow.

Swede: I always try to think of it like I was the service manager...this would be an "OOPS"...and the first thing I would do would be to assemble staff and say..."OK...who dunnit"....then go from there. I have always has pretty good luck dealing with the management on a professional level without getting all frothed up and going into it easy....if you can keep from polarizing this issue, I'm sure you'll come out of it with a feeling of satisfaction. The other part of this equation is that you've got to go into this with a reasonable mindset. You can't expect them to give you a new car...but you can expect them to paint it to your satisfaction. Some folks just demand too much and it becomes unreasonable...then the polarization sets in and you have the UP YOURS relationship from then on. No one wins in that case.

Chuck, totally agree with you. All I want is to have it fixed in a professional way and no issues with resale afterwards. I'll take pics and document the repair so I won't have issues when selling it later. I'm going to approach it in a reasonable way and with the mindset that they will fix this for me. So far they have been great to deal with and I'm hoping it stays that way. It's great to get some feed-back from all your guys. Helps to put my mind at ease and to deal with it in the best possible way.

They should be able to spot blend the paint, then clearcoat the entire panel. Sorry this happened - I know I'd go nuts if it happened to me.

Matt, I would ask to go for a ride, with someone from the dealer, to ensure they fixed the original issue with wind noise. Do it before they begin their repairs. That way if not corrected, you won't have to go thru the whole ordeal again after repairs. Just a thought to ensure you'll be happy in the end, RB

This doesn't make you look cool, but it does protect you, the service people, and your car. Go through a walk-around much like you would do with a rental car and have them sign-off on the as-is condition of the car. That way, if you end up dealing with dealerships that aren't as reputable as the one in this example, you have a leg to stand on. Sorry to hear you have to go through this. Other people aren't going to care about your property as much as you care for it. You may not look cool, but who freaqin' cares. It's your $, it's your car. P.S. When a person sees your car and you explain to them what happened, you should be fine. There are some who want "factory" paint all over and not a single imperfection, but then usually those people bend over and buy new and have a desire to marry a virgin so you kinda want to avoid those buyers anyway.

RB, good idea but no chance since they already sent it off to the body shop. Benjamin, the exact same thought crossed my mind yesterday. Next time I'm leaving my car anywhere I'll do a walk through with the service guy. Talked to the dealer this morning and it was a very good conversation. They acknowledged this happened while in the shop. They had talked to the staff already and they suspect it happened after the work was completed. Probably got scratched when they washed it. They will take care of it and the service manager said he will do whatever needs to be done to put this right. I asked to make sure they paint the whole rear quarter panel so there is no visable signs of repainting. So far so good. They are doing everything that I could possibly ask for. Will let you know how it turns out in the end. Car should be done early next week. Thanks for the support guys!

That's a total bummer... I agree with Chuck to see how the dealer responds, but it is also good arm yourself with some helpful information. I have one comment to this point. The clear coat on my door is peeling slightly just where the window rubber trim is located. I had a body shop inspect my car and he said this is common in P-cars with paint/body work. It was determined that there was some previous paint work done, and the rubber trim was not removed in this case - which he said was common since it usually gets ruined when removed and its expensive to replace. The paint was done as close to the rubber as possible, but eventually it peeled, it is small and probably only noticeable to me, but it is there. I do not know if the rubber sealings around this area on your car fall into the same category, or if the paint/clearcoat has to get right up to the edge (I assume it does based on the location), but I would ask. It may look perfect for a year, then start to peel down the road. Just my .02. Sorry to hear this, and good luck!

I don't know what to say. Glad to hear they are treating your right. In the past I have always declined the "free" car wash from the dealer because of just this sort of issue. Sounds like they are already in the process, but if you need a recommendation for a good paint shop in the BayArea let me know. PM me with the dealer name, I'd like to know. Thanks

Went there today to make sure we were on the same page regarding the repairs. They are repainting the whole quarter panel and the whole roof line to make sure it's done right. I definately think they are doing everything they can to put this right for me. They had a Cayenne waiting for me to drive until they get my car done so they are taking care of me. No complaints so far.

Good to hear this Matt, and that dealership I have heard is top notch so starnge to hear this happened, that is they didn't say anything, oh well. Let me know how the paint comes out and who did it as the dealership does not have one onsite as far as I am aware.

Interesting if this is Carlsen. A local 987 Boxster owner had her car in for an oil change about 2 weeks ago. The service guy called her and said an air hose went wild and scratched her door. Her door was repainted.

Now tell us the name since they're looking after you. Others will remember how they fixed thier mistake, and remember everybody makes them. People are remembered for 2 things the probs they caused, or the probs they solved. (Eureka)... or even the probs they solved because they caused

OK, figured I should follow up and tell you all how this all ended. A lot of stories on the message boards are about negative experiences so it's good to share some positive ones as well. Picked up my car last week and it looks great. The dealership really did take care of this in a very good way. The whole quarter panel is repainted, even the strip of metal that runs along the roofline all the way to where it meets the front hood. The paint job looks great and there is no way for me to tell it's been done. Steven (Speed Demon) saw it live last weekend as well and liked the result. I'm glad this had a happy ending and my baby looks better than before the scratch =)

mate

Matt - I'm glad that worked out for you!

Awesomundo! I just invented that word, but it's nice to hear a story that worked out well.

Fantasticamundo....I invented that word. LOL

It's a mundo kinda day.

It's a humpdaymundo

No, that would be humpdelicious.

Hate to date you guys... the 'Fonz' invented the 'mundoism'. I'm a college student studying the social impact of early 80's television on the American idiom.

Heeeeeyyyy! Fonzie is god! Nothing wrong with the 70's and 80's you young 'uns would have been lucky to live through them! Better than growing up in the bland 90's!

Remember watching Fonzie as a little kid (yes, they even had it on Swedish television) and I thought he was the coolest thing ever. Watched it again as a grown up.....and it wasn't as cool. More comical than cool I would say. Thanks boys. I'm happy this turned out good.

As an interested Bay Area resident and P-car owner, since they took care of you could you post up which dealership it was? It's good PR afterall... ;-)