Dismantling area before taking in to dealership?

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Gimpy1
Don't dismantle the area. Take good quality and detailed pics of your dash for before and after, cya is the name of the game. Talk to the service writer and do a pre inspection and have him sign off on how they received the car. If there are parts damage after the repairs get the service writer, tech and the general manager and document everything including names times dates and concern. If they still blow you off escalate and get the manufacturer involved. Make yourself a PITA and document everything. I gurantee if you get a regional manufacturer rep involved they will make it right.above all remain calm,polite and document everything. Don't threaten to sue. Just keep escalatinig and if you document everything you will get results. And find a dearler with a good rep. Your owners manual should have the info on who to contact. Good luck and remember pictures speak a thousand words.


This.

 

[Gixxer46]

They couldn’t void anything if you took it apart. I noticed this with a few dealerships. That’s why I do my own work. I found broken clips, etc. I would definitely show them the broken pieces and how things weren’t properly put back.

Most people won’t treat it like it’s your baby. If the customer can’t see it then can’t assume it will look good.

When I had my door taking off a different vehicle I noticed it wasn’t sitting flush at the bottom. I found one clip broken and told the dealer. They said meh, can’t say it was us.

Even if they laugh at you, who cares? I’d rather put in some of my time knowing it’s done right vs relying on someone’s word.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
But I believe the faster the tech does the job, the more they can make because they get the book time that the shop bills out at. I knew one mechanic who could do an 8 hour book job in about 2 hours, but of course he said he wouldn't tell tell the customer, just leave the car parked out back and work on the next car.


That is correct as I understand it. Our Fusion was part of a recall related to the door latches and I spoke to the service lead about it - he LOVED that recall. He said Ford pays for "x" hours (at a lower rate, admittedly) but they are able to complete the job in half the "book time". I have to presume they aren't billing Ford for the actual labor time....

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Gixxer46
They couldn’t void anything if you took it apart. I noticed this with a few dealerships. That’s why I do my own work. I found broken clips, etc. I would definitely show them the broken pieces and how things weren’t properly put back.

Most people won’t treat it like it’s your baby. If the customer can’t see it then can’t assume it will look good.

When I had my door taking off a different vehicle I noticed it wasn’t sitting flush at the bottom. I found one clip broken and told the dealer. They said meh, can’t say it was us.

Even if they laugh at you, who cares? I’d rather put in some of my time knowing it’s done right vs relying on someone’s word.


If more people complained about shoddy work the situation would change; the problem is that most people consider their vehicle to be an appliance- a door panel not fitting correctly isn't even on their radar- as long as the door panel doesn't completely fall off they are happy.

 

[jeepman3071]

1. Find a different dealer.

2. Never disassemble.

I work on small engines and hate when people bring me stuff that is all torn apart that they "attempted" to fix because it is usually missing parts and harder to figure out how it went together.

 

[kc8adu]

never think you are "helping" by messing around with it before you take it in for service.
you wont ever save money.
i see this too often where a maintenance guy would try to fix industrial electronics before they brought it to me.
it costs more every time for the time spent correcting what he messed with.
and it only gets worse!
had a shop bring me a cnc control with parts rolling around inside.
it had a big blotch on the screen where the loose monitor chassis had slid around and hit the crt neck.
that doubled the cost of the rebuild right there.
i asked who had been inside it.
the look from the guy who brought it in told me everything.
and of course it was an oddball crt i had to order and wait for.
so when is it going to be ready?
well i might have been able to get it out by closing time if someone hadnt busted the crt!
i never saw that guy again.
the next unit in for repair was brought in by a new guy.

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
1. Find a different dealer.

2. Never disassemble.

I work on small engines and hate when people bring me stuff that is all torn apart that they "attempted" to fix because it is usually missing parts and harder to figure out how it went together.

 

[eljefino]

My dad reads and clears codes before he goes in. I'm sure shops hate him.