Garage scratched my car..

FelinePrincess

My car got keyed all along the drivers side a couple of weeks ago and I took it into the garage on thurday to be repaired. When I took it in they inspected it and reported 1 scratch on the rear bumper, which I was already aware of.

When I went to pick it up today, they told me to go and check it before doing the paperwork. Went to the car to check, it was parked with the drivers side closest to me and all looked fine, so I started to walk back into the garage but my instinct told me to go and check the rest of the car just incase and I'm so glad I did because the passenger side had several scratches!

So I went in and told the man at the desk, he came out and checked it and one of the mechanics came out and rubbed the scratched, they didn't go so he took it in to polish it. The man from the desk told me it would have happened when they used the brush to wash it.

A while later, the mechanic brought my key back and said the scratched were gone. I went out to check and they were still there, slightly better but still white scratches. The man from the desk then decided that the scratches must have already been there when I brought the car in. I told him they were definitely not, and they were not there when he inspected the car. He then tried to say he wouldn't have picked up on them because the car was dirty! It did have a bit of silt on it but it was only washed a week before it went in so it was pretty clean! The man said "if you polish it they will come off" so I said "so, if you polish it they will go?" and he said "yes, if you want to polish it yourself they will go" !!! Why should I be lumbered with the work to sort out their mess? So I said "So, are you going to polish it now then?" and they took it to polish again. This time the scratches appeared to have gone, although they were still going on that they must have been there already when I left.

I am so angry! I accept that accidents happen but the fact that when they failed to correct it the first time they tried to blame me, they were very rude about it and they were still blaming me when I left! Anyway, there are 2 reasons for my post - 1st to rant and second to ask, will the polish wear off and leave me with these scratches? They told me at the garage it wouldn't and if it did to get in touch, but that was before they started getting difficult and trying to say they were already there.

FelinePrincess

One other question, I want to write a complaint, should I write it to the garage or Ford head office?

almillar

Wax wears off, that's a protective layer.
Polish - ie T-Cut etc, proper polish, CUTS the paint. imagine a scratch close up, it would look like the grand canyon, a massive deep groove with rough edges, and flat all around. This looks really obvious. Polishing/cutting the paint is an abrasive process and will wear down these rough edges, making a smooth surface where the scratch can't be seen any more.
So no, it won't wear off.
I take it we're talking about a main Ford dealer? If so you should probably try the dealer's manager, and if you don't get satisfaction with him, move onto Ford UK.

Horizon81

Reading this I thought you were talking about some backstreet paint shop but it sounds like a main Ford dealer? If so then their level or service is unacceptable (mind, in my experience, consistent with Ford main dealers).

Are you sure the scratch they caused has gone? Look at it in different lights. You said it was 'white' before which will be the primer underneath the paint colour. No amount of polishing would get rid of a scratch where the primer is exposed.

T-cut or any other cutting compound is only any use for surface scuffs, nothing deeper.

And complain to Ford HQ. Your garage would probably just bin the complaint but worth writing to them to. Address it to the Dealer Prinicpal, not the boss of the paint shop.

FelinePrincess

Thanks for the replies

Yes it was a ford dealer - I really would have expected to be treated better then this by a dealership, and I have been using them ever since I brought the car (from a different dealership) a year ago.

Anyway, this is the latest, this morning I noticed that where the 3 main scratches were the paintwork is now discoloured and dull looking. I spent ages cleaning it with a microfibre cloth to ensure it wasn't just greasy fingerprints. So, I rang the dealership and spoke to the manager who said he was made aware of what happened yesterday and was waiting to see the inspection report and told me he would get back to me today. I have just phoned the dealership again as I hadn't heard anything and was told he will get back to me tomorrow as he is in a meeting. I told them this wasn't acceptable as it doesn't take all day to look at an inspection report and I'm really not happy with it after how I was treated yesterday. They couldn't tell me what time he is out the meeting and just said he will phone me asap. :mad::mad::mad:

Should I go straight to head office now or wait till I speak to the manager? I am sooo angry! Also, any ideas what they have done to the scratches to hide them? I suspect they have put something black on them to hide the white scratches which has discoloured the area around the scratches.

FelinePrincess

Right, I have just had a call back from the manager who had the cheek to have a bit of a moan that he cut a meeting short to phone me back, and that I was rushing him into making a decision! He told me he would phone me back today, therefore he set the deadline himself - all I asked is that he stick to it!

He basically said that the inspection report didn't show any damage and if it is now damaged they are liable to put it right, all the time insinuating that it was my fault. My car is booked in for monday to correct it, it will be in for the whole day so I requested a courtesy car, which he tried to charge me £10 to cover insurance - to which I told him it was their fault I had to bring my car in again in the 1st place so I shouldn't have to fork out for it! Towards the end of the call I said "shal I take this as your way of accepting responsibility and apologising" and he said they will be correcting something which I believe they have done, and if I felt it warranted an apology then sorry - this was said with quite an attitude!

I told him it wasn't something I believed they had done, it was something they have done because it wasn't there before and it is there now and why would I spend £500 having one scratch fixed if I had a car covered in scratches anyway! I also reminded him that I had only just told him how upset and insulted I felt by the way I was treated yesterday so he should see that warrants an apology!

So basically they are begrudgingly fixing the work and apologising in the manner of an angry teenager who doesn't think he has done anything wrong!

I am dreading taking my car in on monday as all 4 members of staff I have dealt with on this issue have been pretty nasty and I'm not sure I trust them with my car. I know it sounds ridiculous but how do I know they wont do something else to my car, say under the bonnet which I wouldn't notice till things went wrong in a few weeks time?!

ROY47

well done for sticking to your guns

before you take it in wash the car ,walk around it with their service manager and agree on all the marks visible allready ,then inspect it once completed

I had the same problem earlier this year when the wife's car sported a new dent after repair work
They denied it straight away , I knew it wasn't there before the service manager pulled out the inspection report they make before working on the car showing any defects

Shot himself in the foot as the dent wasn't marked and all the other 4 car park door dents were

Still denied it plus I told them not to wash the car which they did as it had been washed and polished the day before and I knew every mark on it

Eventually I sent the general service manager a polite e-mail pointing out the facts ,he came to my house to inspect it and agred to repair it at their expense

FelinePrincess

Thanks for sharing your story Roy, sounds like your garage has slightly better customer service then mine - even the branch manager is speaking to me like I'm just taking the p!ss and getting them to repair damage which was already there. If there was any doubt in my mind that they hadn't scratched my car I would have given up but I know for a fact that they weren't there before and their inspection confirms this. What makes it worse if when I first spotted the marks, they said they had been done by the brush when they cleaned it, but as soon as they failed to get rid of them when they polished it the first time they changed their minds and started insisting it was my fault!

Did you ask the garage not to wash your car for fear of them scratching it? I think I will do that in future.

I feel so insulted by the way the have treated me, especially saying the car was too dirty for them to inspect it properly, it had been washed a week before it went it and although it wasn't spotless it was pretty clean. I have never known such poor customer service, especially from a manager.

ROY47

I always tell them NOT to wash my cars as they use a manky old sponge and dirty water or a pressure wash and brush

My cars are my pride and joy , they are not just washed and polished they are whats known as detailed

as you can see here

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=70717

so I know every mark on the car

Yes I take the whels off and clean the inside as well :eek:

I get more part exchange for my cars because of the way I look after them when it's time to sell :T

FelinePrincess

Wow, that looks fantastic! Can you get this done professionally anywhere? Bet it would be expensive but couldn't be bothered to do it myself!

ROY47

yes it can be done professionally

take a deep breath and read here at prices

http://www.miracledetail.co.uk/treatments-and-applications.html

but what these guys do is amazing (pictures below were not the guys above in the link )

prices vairy for what you want done there are many professional detailers around

I do it as a hobby

an example here lots of pics to look at but look at the first and last ones :eek:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=192189