Dark Horse WRECKED in transit!!!!

[Dena]

Wow, allot of the responses in here sound like a bunch of entitled brats wearing skinny jeans and hair buns.
I would not squeal about a piece of plastic. It's nothing structural, no paint work or major repairs needed.
Take the car if it's what you really wanted, have the dealer make the necessary repair.
But it seems to me the o.p. is looking for an excuse to back out on the car because he really wants a Vette.
And that's fine, buy what you really want. But I wouldn't fret over a piece of plastic.

You really should avoid tempting me as you never know what I will come up with. For the record, I am a late boomer and the guy in the video is a Millennial.

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[rchandler9]

Now we know what happened to your car. The rail line damaged the car and the truck hauler spotted it. The normal procedure is to get the rail to acknowledge the damage so the trucker's insurance doesn't pay the damage. Nobody at the rail yard would sign the paperwork so the trucker wouldn't accept the car.
The way I see it is if you really want the C8, go for it. If instead you want the dark horse, keep this one and get it fully repaired. If you don't, it will probably be 6 months or more before you can get a replacement as it's not likely to be produced before spring at best. The damage is probably fairly minor and replacing a few parts should restore it to new condition.

You know I really wanted the C8 prior to seeing the DH. The DH surprised me how much I liked it. There are things on each that I like and don't like. The DH is an amazing vehicle. Much better than I ever would have thought! I ultimately decided to refuse delivery due to a gut feeling when evaluating the front end of the vehicle. It just felt like there was much more damage that happened other than the plastic piece coming off. I am no mechanic, but that is all I had to go by. Anyway, first world problems right! Its not like either of the cars are a bad option. The Dealer also said they would be happy to order me another one.

 

[Backflowtester]

The dealer can put a code in on a new order that lets Ford know it was damaged and you get put first in line for a new one. If they will.

 

[Stangerous]

My DH took 3 months to deliver! I sent a message to my salesman today stating I wanted my deposit returned due to the 3 months my DH was in shipping, and because I was afraid something happened to it. 20 min later I get a picture of my DH being delivered…coincidence? I think not. I go to pick it up this evening and they inform me that at some point in the shipping process one of the splash/aero shields had been ripped off. I was told the car was okay to drive, per mechanic, and the part had been ordered (to be delivered and fixed the end of January).

I test drove the DH and LOVED it! Amazing vehicle. I have recently been cross shopping C8s due to the drop in prices. I like the DH just as much as any C8 I have driven. Tech is incredible, sound is INCREDIBLE, and design is amazing.

After the test drive I noticed the drivers side headlight had condensation in it. I checked under the front bumper and saw where the shield had been ripped out! Yes, literally ripped out. I then pushed/pulled on the bumper itself. On the driver side it would move approximately 4-6mm away from the hood and 1/4 panel under pressure. It also made a terrible squeaking sound.

I checked one of the other s650 GT on the lot and the bumper was solid.

I informed my salesman and the sales manager of the issues and refused delivery until all of this is fixed.

At this point, I am unsure if I want to take delivery of a wrecked car at all!

What would you do?

Edit:
I refused delivery of the car completely. My dealer returned my deposit and told me I could order another with no deposit.

I picked my car up September 7. It had quite a bit of scratches, dents, dings and the front splitter was damaged due to loading/unloading off transport truck. Dealer sent it to a body shop for repairs, that took two weeks. I got the car back and was shocked at the shoddy work they did. This wasn’t the dealer, it was a shop they use. It came back with scratches it didn’t leave with, swirl marks all over the car, compound in jambs and between panels, overspray on windshield and side glass, buffer burn marks on quarter panel and tail lights( where they had tried to buff off the over spray but ended up putting burn marks in the black areas between the lights) and they didn’t replace the splitter. I am a paint/body guy by trade so I know what I’m looking for, they didn’t like that at all. After having words with the salesman and sales manager the finally agreed I shouldn’t have to settle for a special order car that had all but two panels repaired and repainted. The replacement car went into production 12/7 and I’m driving the original order car until it gets here. Dealers will do what’s right, eventually. But it is my experience they hope customers won’t find or don’t look for flaws or damage.

 

[Polo08816]

I am leaning toward this. I have been cross shopping the C8s while waiting for my Dark Horse.

This is the problem. By the time Ford gets their act together and starts producing DHs with the Handling package, C8s would have already dropped in price to the point where they may not be that much of a price difference between a lower trim C8 Z51 and DH w/ Handling Package.

 

[rchandler9]

This is the problem. By the time Ford gets their act together and starts producing DHs with the Handling package, C8s would have already dropped in price to the point where they may not be that much of a price difference between a lower trim C8 Z51 and DH w/ Handling Package.

And that is exactly why I have been looking at C8s. Why not spend another $10-15K and get a C8.

I will say the Dark Horse is impressive for its price (I ordered non HP and MSRP was $66.5k). Ford did a great job with the car. I would have purchased it instead of the C8 if it hadn't been wrecked already.

 

[Upacurb]

The real problem is if you let a body shop or do any kind of body repair work to your car- how do you know that wont show up as a minor incident on your vehicle history report?

It could take 1000s off the value of your car when you go to trade it in - not to mention these guys are trained to look for paint work that is not factory- you can say whatever you want but the minute you paint a panel- you just lost 1000s on the value of your car

At the end of the day when it comes to performance cars- people want 100% clean records with 100% factory paint - its one thing to have it happen to you after the fact- its another to purposely buy a new car with the potential for that stuff to show up on your vehicle history as minor damage

 

[rchandler9]

The real problem is if you let a body shop or do any kind of body repair work to your car- how do you know that wont show up as a minor incident on your vehicle history report?

It could take 1000s off the value of your car when you go to trade it in - not to mention these guys are trained to look for paint work that is not factory- you can say whatever you want but the minute you paint a panel- you just lost 1000s on the value of your car

At the end of the day when it comes to performance cars- people want 100% clean records with 100% factory paint - its one thing to have it happen to you after the fact- its another to purposely buy a new car with the potential for that stuff to show up on your vehicle history as minor damage

Exactly why I refused delivery.

 

[Dena]

One owner, three people hit the back bumper but only one required a visit to the paint shop, about 180,000 miles, the factory paint showed a flaw at 50,000 miles possibly a dealer retouch. If I could have gotten thousands for it, I would have traded it but I think the dealer preferred it not be left on their lot.
A used car is not an investment unless you keep it for a very long time. We sold a Dodge Daytona with 40,000 miles that wasn't restored for enough to buy the house to my back. Unless you're wealthy or a little bit wacky in the head as in this case, cars are transportation and you shouldn't worry too much about what it will resale for. If you drive the car, one collision and your plans will be ended.
Kermit has given me many memories but parts are getting a little difficult to find so his replacement should provide me with as many trouble free years as Kermit did.

 

[Mustang1987]

Exactly why I refused delivery.

You just want the c8, which is totally fine The car was missing a $75 plastic shield at the bottom. Would take two seconds to install lol

 

[DevilDog]

You can say what you want about accepting a slightly damaged vehicle, but at the end of the day it's a brand new car that someone has worked hard for and waited months to get. Most of the performance/sports cars I've owned over the years have just been toys. I've been a gearhead for over 60 years and my cars have always been special to me. Unfortunately, most dealers or transport services don't care about how passionate we are about them. It's just another car to them, whether you paid $30k or $130K. I've found that to be true with Chevrolet, Ford, Mopar, and Pontiac. I'm extremely picky about my cars. Maybe my expectations of what a "new" car should be are too high.

 

[rchandler9]

You can say what you want about accepting a slightly damaged vehicle, but at the end of the day it's a brand new car that someone has worked hard for and waited months to get. Most of the performance/sports cars I've owned over the years have just been toys. I've been a gearhead for over 60 years and my cars have always been special to me. Unfortunately, most dealers or transport services don't care about how passionate we are about them. It's just another car to them, whether you paid $30k or $130K. I've found that to be true with Chevrolet, Ford, Mopar, and Pontiac. I'm extremely picky about my cars. Maybe my expectations of what a "new" car should be are too high.

I am right there with you. I have been excited about this Dark Horse for months now. Watched/read countless hours worth of reviews. Love cars in general. But a "new" car should be a NEW car. That does not include a wrecked new car. If it was only the plastic protective piece under the car I probably would have accepted the car and had it replace. But my gut was telling me there was much more damage involved, especially after evaluating the front end and hearing/feeling/seeing the movement. I could not accept the DH.

 

[rchandler9]

You just want the c8, which is totally fine The car was missing a $75 plastic shield at the bottom. Would take two seconds to install lol

I believe it was more than the plastic shield. And I did really like the DH. I would have purchased if it had no issues.

But yes I have always wanted a C8 since they were released. And unfortunately for my dealer the prices have fallen significantly and the C8 has become relevant $ wise for me. I can say that the C8 prices did make it much easier to walk away from the DH.

 

[horned-toad]

But yes I have always wanted a C8 since they were released

rent one for 3+ days and make sure. I was "enamoured" to a degree as well till I drove one. Nyet!

 

[Q6543]

The word WRECKED is hyperbole.

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