Help - Issues with Ford OEM Hood!!!

Haven't been following the boards like I used to, but I figured if anybody could help me you guys could.

My wife had an accident in my 2006 Explorer last month.

I insisted the body shop use Ford OEM parts, and they say they did.

However, the hood has waves in it!

They did a great job with the paint, mirror finish and not a hint of any orange peel, but if you follow surface reflections along the hood there are waves and ripples in places where there shouldn't be (i.e.: the front half of the hood in locations where they are no bends or corners).

The shop is giving me a hard time, and they are saying they obtained another hood from the local Ford dealer and "it looks the same and this may the best that Ford can provide".

The body shop has implied they will not do anything for me unless the Ford dealer warranties the hood and pays the shop for their wasted labor and paint, which the Ford dealer will likely dispute.

Has anybody had any issues/defect with Ford OEM body parts?

Is it possible the local Ford dealer is selling the body shop aftermarket hoods?

I'm having a tough time figuring out what recourse I have here.

Help?

 

[MONMIX]

post a pic if you are able to catch the waves in the picture.

Wile some waves are normal, if it is as bad as you make it seem that is not normal.

Look around underneath. There should be an R-DOT sticker. If you find one it should have FORD on it.

 

[71cutty455]

If you went through insurance then contact the insurance company and advise them you are not satisfied with the job the shop did. Your vehicle is supposed to be returned to pre-accident condition and if they replaced the hood with one that isn't straight then the insurance company should make the shop correct the problem.

 

[Anime]

If you went through insurance then contact the insurance company and advise them you are not satisfied with the job the shop did. Your vehicle is supposed to be returned to pre-accident condition and if they replaced the hood with one that isn't straight then the insurance company should make the shop correct the problem.

This.

It doesn't matter what parts were used, if it wasn't done right and restored to pre-accident condition, the insurance company has to eat the cost and make it right.


Ford usually supplies OEM body parts for several years after production, BUT they do stop making OEM body parts at some point, usually shortly after production of that body style/model year is over and they've moved on to the next one. In that case, the dealer either doesn't sell body parts after the OEM supply runs out, or if it does, they sell aftermarket ones as 'approved' body parts. Some dealers have their own in-house body shops, and these would be the parts they'd use when OEM parts are no longer available. In such cases, sometimes it's better to get an OEM part from the salvage yard. Even better if it's the same paint color and doesn't need any work, but a re-painted OEM part is often better than a new, freshly painted aftermarket part, especially if the aftermarket part is thinner sheet metal and has imperfections a body shop would need to fix with body work.