Dealership Damaged My Bumper During Warranty Work – What Are My Options?

[Zerkzie]

Car was pristine when I left it. I go to pick it up and find this:

• Scrapes and scuffs on the front bumper
• Bottom edge damage like it was curbed or mishandled
• Nothing noted on the service intake sheet, of course

I immediately messaged the service advisor and told them I’m not accepting the car back like this. I don’t want it “touched up” or repainted at a body shop—that could show up on Carfax and hurt resale value. I want a new OEM bumper, factory-painted if available, not some half-baked repair.


Service team hasn’t admitted fault yet. Waiting on a manager to respond.



My questions:

• Has anyone else dealt with this kind of damage after service?
• Can I force them to replace it with a pre-painted OEM bumper?
• Will Ford Corporate back me up on this?
• Any risk of this ending up on Carfax even if it’s just cosmetic?

Not trying to be difficult, but I’m not taking a hit on value or appearance because someone in the shop was careless. Any advice or similar stories would help—especially if you've fought the dealer and won.

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[AZ_Ryan]

Couple things here -

What were you having repaired? Did you buy it new? Can you circle the damage in your pictures? I don'tsee anythingin the 1st or 4th pictures. Most of what I see looks realy minor, outside of a big tire gouge. Like pry tool marks on the bumper seams. What is the bottom edge damage you speak of?

Not taking possession of the car isn't going to accomplish anything. Document the damage with the service manager before you take the car and wait for them to arrange the repair.

No, you can't force them to replace an undamaged bumper.

Don't take this the wrong way, but are you absolutely sure it wasn't like that already? Did they take pictures of the vehicle when you dropped it off?

 

[dusman59]

Always always take pictures. I end up with at least 25 to 35. Just had my 2011 brakes a coolant flushed. Dealers have the right equipment to do the best job.

 

[TcarterGT2024]

Typically dealership don’t take fault in marring, scratches or small dents. They will usually have the porter wash it and dry it with a dirty towel for your effort. That my personal experience.

 

[RLE55]

Typically dealership don’t take fault in marring, scratches or small dents. They will usually have the porter wash it and dry it with a dirty towel for your effort. That my personal experience.

no different than a bad store, bad service, etc., don't go to it anymore.

 

[Skye]

To All,

- Document the car as best possible when dropping off. Photos, a short video, etc. Confirm with the Service Advisor, on their ticket, what condition anything is in. Be as specific as you like. This does two things: 1) it formally documents the condition of the car, 2) it lets people know you expect to receive it in the same condition

- If I do turn a vehicle in for something, I always leave it detailed; it's clean, inside and out

- At pick-up, review the car, discuss and document anything before leaving

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To the photos, I see what appears to be an untreated car, meaning, it's a stock car without Paint Protection Film (PPF) or ceramic coating. In my area, I take strikes all the time, city and sometimes highway. To the DD, I wear them like a badge of honor. To Skye, she's protected in PPF.

If I've missed something in the following, point it out to us. In general, I don't see where the car struck another, or an fixed object of some type.

Photo 1: I see what appears to be a rock/gravel/chip strike on the far right.

Photo 2: I see some runs in the paint, from the factory. I also see one minor chip in the paint.

Photo 3: I see a blemish in the corner. It appears to be factory.

Photo 4: Could be anything. Two panels rubbing, chip, etc. This is often seen, in the S550 and 650.

Photo 5: I am interested in the headlight gap-to-bumper. Was that like that before? Maybe it's the angle of the photo being taken. Panel gaps are something that, unfortunately, is somewhat common in Ford products. These can often be adjusted quite easily.

Depending on the work done, the Technician might take the car on a test drive. There's a reasonable expectation they'll care for the car, but road debris and similar, common events could happen.

To accepting the car, I think it's OK to do that and get it back under your protection. I'd simply discuss and document before leaving.

To damages, as it was not documented before, it's difficult to see Ford covering anything. Any discussions with Ford and the dealer, be as detached and objective as possible.

To repairs, I'd hit the pause button and think things out. Let's say the panel is resprayed or replaced. You'll encounter a common issue: the job might look a bit "off". By that I mean, the tint looks a bit different. Not that it looks bad or wrong. It just looks different, because 1) one panel is plastic, 2) another panel is metal, 3) it's metallic paint. Further, there's always the chance (hoping not), that after the repair, you'll notice something else. A boot scuff, tool mark, etc.

Spit-balling...I'd take the car to a detailing shop, one that does Paint Protection Film, ceramic coatings, touch-ups, etc. Someone who is a local business that's been doing it a few years. Have a sit-down about fixing the chips, maybe aligning a panel and then pricing out some PPF. There are some great touch-up products out there. You care about the car. PPF should be seriously considered. Modern cars often have thin paint. Not like previous generations.

I can empathize with anyone looking after their car. Process our feedback and think of a way ahead. Anything I've seen can be repaired quite easily. As to this dealer, that could certainly be a sign to look for someone else. I encountered same with my local Toyota dealer.

Finally, a link, referencing a Ford GSB on paint, what's often covered and what's not.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/gsb-23-7003-exterior-paint-warrantable-vs-not.202747/

 

[Zerkzie]

Update dealer admitted fault. And is replacing the bumper. The service manager looked at it and literally said "yep we messed up. We will fix it." The car is still at the dealer wanting on the repair to happen...

 

[RB281]

I had the same thing happen. My car went in for a recall and when I went to pick it up, the hood and bumper were covered in paint chips and a few gouges. The dealer didn’t admit fault and said I must’ve got a few rock chips on the drive in. I went postal and then I showed a picture of the car when I dropped it off. They repainted the hood and replaced the bumper, then asked me to not come back. Damn crooks

 

[Zerkzie]

I had the same thing happen. My car went in for a recall and when I went to pick it up, the hood and bumper were covered in paint chips and a few gouges. The dealer didn’t admit fault and said I must’ve got a few rock chips on the drive in. I went postal and then I showed a picture of the car when I dropped it off. They repainted the hood and replaced the bumper, then asked me to not come back. Damn crooks

Dammmmn man at least you got it repaired. That's crazy.

The GM just called me from the dealership and gave me the speech about how he was sorry this happened and he was going to personally make sure this is taken care of. The sad thing is it was the shop foreman that did work. I told him it was completely unacceptable a shop foreman looked at this car and said this was acceptable and to give it back to a customer this way. The gaps on the headlights alone should been enough reason to not give it to a customer this way....he agreed.

 

[roket]

I had the same thing happen. My car went in for a recall and when I went to pick it up, the hood and bumper were covered in paint chips and a few gouges. The dealer didn’t admit fault and said I must’ve got a few rock chips on the drive in. I went postal and then I showed a picture of the car when I dropped it off. They repainted the hood and replaced the bumper, then asked me to not come back. Damn crooks

best thing you can do in this situation is leave a very negative review, and do it while connected to dealer wifi. dealers GMs will get an e-mail from Ford questioning integrity and potentially a strike if one of those Ford surveys is completed while connected to the dealer wifi; an effort to prevent employees from doing the surveys

 

[RB281]

The service manager is terrible and I told him that he’s a thief. The GM tried saying that it was rock chips as well, but I said he’s out of his mind, among other things. He begrudgingly agreed to fix it. The body shop manager was honest and said “these aren’t rock chips…looks like someone dropped their tools on your car”

 

[AZ_Ryan]

How does a car get rock chips while being serviced?

Glad it's being fixed, but I'd love to know the story here. I still can't make out much in those photos. Oh well.

 

[Zerkzie]

How does a car get rock chips while being serviced?

Glad it's being fixed, but I'd love to know the story here. I still can't make out much in those photos. Oh well.

How does a car get rock chips while being serviced?

Glad it's being fixed, but I'd love to know the story here. I still can't make out much in those photos. Oh well.

They blend in from the picture but it's way worse in person I promise. Here are some zoomed in pictures. (And obviously the huge bumper gaps at the headlights)

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