So...

Last night I picked my car up from the dealership (2012 All4) after repairing some rust that had developed under the rear hatch lift. Minor, but they covered it - no fighting or anything. Up until pickup - great experience.

I get to the dealership after the service writers had left (well after closing) to find my car with the rear looking great, but overspray on both rear wings, rear doors, and roof.

I previously worked at a dealership, so I'd seen this before - albeit never this bad. This was bad. Really sloppy.

They called to ask how things were this morning (great experience - seriously, the dealer and service writers are pretty great) and after telling them how disappointed I was and how I had to fix it myself because I didn't want their body shop to even look at my car again - the manager asked me what he can do to "make it right."

Appreciate the thought, but was taken off guard since I hadn't thought about that yet.

So - my question is this: what would you ask for? What would you consider fair? I didn't spend any money on the repair, but had to spend 4-5 hours of my own time that night to fix it myself in order for things to be how i'd expect.

Thanks

 

Sounds like you are very meticulous about your car, how about asking for a free detail.

 

Thought about that - but, I wouldn't let them touch it. As angry as that sounds, I am admittedly OCD with both cars. I even ask them not to wash it when I take it in for service (they do free washing and such).

That's a perfectly good request, but not something I'm personally interested in.

 

Since you didn't let them fix the issue I'd consider it done with.

 

I'm thinkin' trip to Hawaii or Tahiti or....

 

The only reasonable thing they can do is fix their sloppy work. Anything else would be unreasonable. I would consider it a done deal.

 

Tell them thanks but no thanks, but because of this sloppiness you will not able to recommend them for body work to anyone.

 

a few free oil changes?

 

Maybe a T-shirt, polo, hat, or some other item from the parts department.

 

Nothing, just get it done elsewhere and move on.

 

How about bringing it to your own detail shop and sent them the bill.

 

Yeah if you aren't going to let them attempt to clean it up, then I wouldn't ask for anything else...

 

Ask for a Flex 3401 or a Rupes Big Foot so you can correct their sloppiness faster.
Similar thing happened to me for a scheduled service. They marred and put nice clear coat scratches in my bonnet while installing wiper blades. Took me a couple of hours to correct to about 95% and a clear coat scratch can still be seen. They offered to fix it, but I already did and wouldn't trust their detailer either, so I politely declined.
It is an awkward request. I agree with the MINI schwag idea. T-shirt, license plate frame, etc.

 

Just thought I'd throw an update out there.

The service manager called me back and I answered his question, "I don't really want to ask for anything - if you want to do something, great, if not - that's life. I will continue to get work done there, buy cars there, etc. I will NOT, nor could I every recommend your body shop - but, as for sales and service, I'm happy."

He thanked me and told me he'd put something together for me.

This was last week Friday. I haven't heard anything since.

At the end of the day, I got my rust repaired and the car looks great - it was just more of a team effort than I had hoped it would be. We'll see if he calls me back.

 

Very well handled. Congrats!

 

I hate to sound pessimistic, but I feel pretty confident telling you that the service manager won't do anything about it. My guess is that the minute you hung up the phone without any hassle, it was gone from his mind...

If you don't mind my asking... When you say "overspray"... I'm assuming that you meant that the paint was oversprayed? .... Meaning they oversprayed onto parts of the car that did not need to be sprayed? In which case I would've thought that would be a HUUUUUUGGGGGGGGEEEEE deal!

 

I feel good about not making a huge stink about getting free stuff - this is my only choice for dealers unless I want to drive 3.5 hours away and since I've got two MINIs, a good relationship is important. The best thing was the sales manager saw what happened and when it comes time to ordering a new MINI, I may reap the rewards then. We'll see - that's life.

When I say "overspray" I mean overspray of paint on parts of the car that shouldn't have been painted. The paint overspray is not directly sprayed on, just a result of a really terrible taping job. It would be a huge deal for another car that isn't well protected or has a really weak clear coat. This is when good wax pays off, also handling it that night helped so it didn't dry any further. Clay bar and polish compound (and a lot of elbow grease) took care of it. Just have to be careful not to burn thru the clear. I detailed cars for years, so while I was upset that this happened, I also knew it could be solved if done correctly.

I'll continue to update if I hear anything further. Thanks for the input everyone!