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Damage on new delivery

SickSix

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April 13, 2015
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City, State
Dirty South
Year, Model & Trim Level
2015 Explorer Limited
Long story short, I bought a brand new 2015 Limited that had to be factory ordered because I wanted one without the extra equipment options (NAV, moon roof, etc) and they couldn't find one nearby. When it finally arrived, it had a small dimple or dent on the passenger dashboard. It was barely noticeable, only in the right lighting, from the right angle. The dealer made a note of it and said they would figure out a solution and get back to me. 3 months later, the call me and say that Ford has offered to give me a $500 check vs actually replacing the dash (which they say is the only way to fix the dent).

My question: should I take the money and run, ask for more money or coupons for service/parts, or tell them to replace the dash?

I know if they actually replace the dash, I may end up with other problems like squeaks or rattles, or bad fitment. That would annoy me a lot more than the dent I currently have (which I barely notice anymore). I'm thinking about taking the money and maybe asking for a couple free service appointments. Your thoughts?
 



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I was also thinking about asking for some free accessories instead of service appoinments... splash guards, hood deflector, window deflectors, etc.
 






Long story short, I bought a brand new 2015 Limited that had to be factory ordered because I wanted one without the extra equipment options (NAV, moon roof, etc) and they couldn't find one nearby. When it finally arrived, it had a small dimple or dent on the passenger dashboard. It was barely noticeable, only in the right lighting, from the right angle. The dealer made a note of it and said they would figure out a solution and get back to me. 3 months later, the call me and say that Ford has offered to give me a $500 check vs actually replacing the dash (which they say is the only way to fix the dent).

My question: should I take the money and run, ask for more money or coupons for service/parts, or tell them to replace the dash?

I know if they actually replace the dash, I may end up with other problems like squeaks or rattles, or bad fitment. That would annoy me a lot more than the dent I currently have (which I barely notice anymore). I'm thinking about taking the money and maybe asking for a couple free service appointments. Your thoughts?

That is exactly what would happen too, probably... Take the money and ask for some other perks.
 












Hmm lets see.

Labor charged back to Ford Motor Company would be $750-1000 I would say, if they replaced the whole dash.

New dash would be roughly 500-1000 bucks their cost depending on what they switch back over.

When they find these issues at their plant no big deal. They just chargeback the labor/part cost to the supplier that builds the ****pit assembly.

Since it was found in the "field" they have to eat the costs.

I would get a least 1000 out of them. Either 1000 cash or 500+ 500 worth of extras.
 






Long story short, I bought a brand new 2015 Limited that had to be factory ordered because I wanted one without the extra equipment options (NAV, moon roof, etc) and they couldn't find one nearby. When it finally arrived, it had a small dimple or dent on the passenger dashboard. It was barely noticeable, only in the right lighting, from the right angle. The dealer made a note of it and said they would figure out a solution and get back to me. 3 months later, the call me and say that Ford has offered to give me a $500 check vs actually replacing the dash (which they say is the only way to fix the dent).

My question: should I take the money and run, ask for more money or coupons for service/parts, or tell them to replace the dash?

I know if they actually replace the dash, I may end up with other problems like squeaks or rattles, or bad fitment. That would annoy me a lot more than the dent I currently have (which I barely notice anymore). I'm thinking about taking the money and maybe asking for a couple free service appointments. Your thoughts?
I'd take the offer and leave it at that. The $500 would come from Ford, anything extra that you ask for would be at the dealer's expense. The dealer is not the party that is at fault here.

Peter
 






Long story short, I bought a brand new 2015 Limited that had to be factory ordered because I wanted one without the extra equipment options (NAV, moon roof, etc) and they couldn't find one nearby. When it finally arrived, it had a small dimple or dent on the passenger dashboard. It was barely noticeable, only in the right lighting, from the right angle. The dealer made a note of it and said they would figure out a solution and get back to me. 3 months later, the call me and say that Ford has offered to give me a $500 check vs actually replacing the dash (which they say is the only way to fix the dent).

My question: should I take the money and run, ask for more money or coupons for service/parts, or tell them to replace the dash?

I know if they actually replace the dash, I may end up with other problems like squeaks or rattles, or bad fitment. That would annoy me a lot more than the dent I currently have (which I barely notice anymore). I'm thinking about taking the money and maybe asking for a couple free service appointments. Your thoughts?

That small dimple on the dash will catch your eye every time you drive the vehicle. Annoying! It should not be there! I would go for a dash replacement. When done properly, it should not cause any rattles.
 






Take the money and get some accessories - roof rack, wheel upgrade, etc.
 






UPDATE: I dropped the Ex off this morning to have a different issue fixed, and they already had the $500 check ready for me. So, I may have lost any bargaining power I had since I already have the check from them. I think I'm still going to talk to the manager this afternoon when I go back and see if they can throw in something for me. Worst case, it's $500 free money that I didn't have yesterday.
 






Unless YOU take the check into your hands/sign a release on the check ... you DON'T have it. :) Go back to Ford (not the dealer) and push for some accessories (if there are some you want) or pressure your dealer to lean on Ford. Bottom line, Ford is getting off easy and NO WAY would I replace the dash for something like this, otherwise the potential rattle box you will have down the road would be worse.
 






It is obvious that replacing the dash would be more expensive than 500 bucks. I don't see how anyone can think a flaw like that is acceptable on a brand new 40K truck. I would definitely request more from Ford because they should have had better quality and control checks at the factory.

I would either get them to replace the dash or they reimburse you at least 1,000. With that, you can easily go out and buy accessories to your own liking like a steering wheel protector, splash guards or bumper protectors that are cheap on Ebay, roof racks, and that is well deserved because you shouldn't be having that happen to you on a brand new 40K - 50K car. Plain and simple.

If I were you, I'd be pissed and especially be more pissed with Ford beating around the bush like that.
 






Sounds like a typical warranty issue to me. I would treat it like one. I would get Ford to fix it until it's fixed right. Ford is just trying to take the easy way out. If you're ok with that, then take the money. Just hope that the dealer that you go to when it comes to trade-in time or the buyer that you sell your car to doesn't notice the dent. If they do, hope that they don't try to ding you on the price for it. If you get dinged, then that $500 isn't really free money anymore, or at least some portion of it, because you just handed it to the next guy. And that check that you got from Ford isn't going to be worth anything once you tear it in half. Just my $0.02.
 






NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, did I say NEVER, have a dash removed if you don't have to. The $500 was a good and fair offer from Ford. Everyone else is blowing smoke up your rear end. You did well, and actually got something for nothing.

I had 2 dashes removed in prior Explorers and rattles and squeaks were a never ending problem. Luckily mine are leased vehicles so I only had to deal with it for a short period of time.
 






I'd push for them to offer their extended service plan like the PremiumCare or ExtraCare. $500 is nice and all for a defect in the vehicles condition but since you bought it new you should expect the vehicle to be flawless.
 






How bout a pic of said dent? What are we talking here 1", half an inch? If I paid 40K on a BRAND NEW vehicle I would make them replace it depending on size, location, and and noticeablility. I'm a very detail oriented person, once I see it I'm always going to see it, I'm sort of a perfectionist. It will always catch my eye and bug me, but that's just me. Either way $500 would not cut it for me, I'd want a new dash with extra warranty on that in case squeaks or rattles develop over time.
 






Thanks all for the suggestions and opinions. I know Ford is getting off very easy since actually replacing the dash would cost a lot more than $500. That being said, I really don't want the dash replaced because I don't want to deal with any new issues like rattles, or bad fitment. Also, this dent is really very minor, and I seriously doubt anyone would notice it when I sell/trade-in. I'll try to load a picture so ya'll can see what I'm talking about.

I'm still going to ask for more money and/or other perks. The worst they can say is no, and then I just keep the $500.
 






I really don't want the dash replaced because I don't want to deal with any new issues like rattles, or bad fitment. Also, this dent is really very minor, and I seriously doubt anyone would notice it when I sell/trade-in.

This might sound a little harsh but this is exactly how companies want us to think about their solutions to our problems. Throw some cash around (and whatever other extras we might be able to pry away from them) that is (are) worth less than what it costs to actually fix the issue and we go away. Seems to be working.

With that said, I can't really blame you. I've had to deal with rattles myself on other vehicles and while they may have been covered under warranty, warranties don't cover the hassle of drop off/pick-up from the dealer, time away from work, home, having to deal with getting other transportation, etc. It may just not be worth the trouble to many.
 






Pic for reference.
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Take the offer and call it a day.

Peter
 



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Take the offer.. Remember, when dashes are installed at the factory, they go into the vehicle as one unit. I seriously doubt the dealer can remove it in one piece.. they don't have the machinery to slide it in and attach.

Do not have the dash replaced unless absolutely necessary. Think of all the nuts and bolts and if everything doesn't go together just right.. squeak/rattle city!!
 






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