Brand New Dented Car - What would you do?

[xyrth]

On Dec 26th I bought a 2013 Mazda2. I love it. For some reason, every car I've bought I get there during daylight, and drive off at night. On the 28th I noticed a dent in my car, above the rear driver's side door, and immediately called my dealer.

I had put ~20 miles on it, and knew the dent was before my time, it was just hard to see in the dark.

The local dealership had a paintless dent guy look at it, but he said it wasn't possible, so they offered to have it pulled, filled and painted.

At this point, I cringed. I didn't want a repaired new car, I don't want to deal with 2 different paints, and fade in years to come. So I said no.

But I asked for the money.

There is more to this story, but I want to stop here and see what other people's reactions are -- I want a sounding board for this, so please don't hold back your opinion. What would you do if this was your brand new car?

If it makes a difference, I paid 13.8k before tax, I didn't haggle much, this was their internet price and matched by another dealer.

Thanks!

 

[Font Motorsports]

Did the dealer offer to fix the dent at no additional cost to you? If so, then I'd have them fix it. If they aren't going to fix it for no additional cost to you then you're going to have to b**** at them like there's no tomorrow until they fix it for no additional cost.

 

[eyeballs]

I think if it was a sizeable dent...I'd want a new non-dented car. I'm not sure how many dealers would be willing to do that though. At least they offered to fix it. If you wanted money instead, I think you ought to get a substantial amount...enough for a HIGH QUALITY repair at a reputable shop. Not Maaco.

 

[ngd298]

Mine had a bad scratch on the back fender when I brought mine home. Didn't notice it until I pulled in my driveway. I didn't bother telling the dealer because I didn't think they would do anything since I didn't point it out before I took the car. Oddly enough my truck had a golf ball size dent on the roof that I didn't notice until I got it home...

 

[ScorpioGTX1]

1. Drive car off cliff
2. Call it an "accident"
3. Collect insurance payout
4. ????
5. Profit

 

[PGTBrow]

^^ Insurance fraud lol

No but seriously in most of today's bodyshops the work is normally good forever. Lots of new tech nowadays.

 

[ScorpioGTX1]

No but seriously in most of today's bodyshops the work is normally good forever. Lots of new tech nowadays.

One day my brother found a massively deep scratch in his metallic blue 3, only a few months after he bought it. All the way to the metal (to the point where it dented the metal), and on the rear quarter panel. Not an easy thing to fix. But the Mazda-authorized shop did a great job feathering around the repaint, and you can't tell anything happened. Good quality work does exist.

 

[extremez31]

I would be very pissed at myself for not going over the car in detail. To be honest, i would be surprised if they offer you anything at all. They dont really need to fix it.. how do you prove it was there prior.

 

[xyrth]

Did the dealer offer to fix the dent at no additional cost to you? If so, then I'd have them fix it. If they aren't going to fix it for no additional cost to you then you're going to have to b**** at them like there's no tomorrow until they fix it for no additional cost.

I would be very pissed at myself for not going over the car in detail. To be honest, i would be surprised if they offer you anything at all. They dont really need to fix it.. how do you prove it was there prior.

Agreed - I've already told my sales guy that that I won't take ownership of my next car at night, and will be taking 50-100 pictures of it on the lot. I bought a CX-5 on the same day, and it came with some interior damage I'm sorting out.

Thankfully I'm a repeat customer. This is my 3rd new car from this dealership, the sales person knows me by name. This has done wonders for my credibility. So when I called the next day, with ~20 miles on the car and said I found a dent, they didn't even say "COME IN RIGHT NOW", it was a "come in next week to show us".

One day my brother found a massively deep scratch in his metallic blue 3, only a few months after he bought it. All the way to the metal (to the point where it dented the metal), and on the rear quarter panel. Not an easy thing to fix. But the Mazda-authorized shop did a great job feathering around the repaint, and you can't tell anything happened. Good quality work does exist.

I've heard good things, but have a handful of horrible experiences. Last car I had got rear-ended, and was Ford white. Took a good, reputable body shop 3 times to get the bumper right, on WHITE. It was crazy. My car is green, and with the metallic is hard to match correctly. Also, I live in CA, which has ridiculous air quality/paint issues, so will be a different product over the factory paint.

I think if it was a sizeable dent...I'd want a new non-dented car. I'm not sure how many dealers would be willing to do that though. At least they offered to fix it. If you wanted money instead, I think you ought to get a substantial amount...enough for a HIGH QUALITY repair at a reputable shop. Not Maaco.

The dent is about as big as a quarter, and it's tough to see from the side (because of the color), but easy to spot from the front.

My thought process is this - the car is damaged. Even with the dent repaired, KBB rates the car at least $500 lower in value. Because of this, I feel that Mazda shoudl compensate me somehow for this. By offering to fix it, the dealership has taken on the responsibility of the damage.

Currently, the car is in Mazda's hands, they're getting it looked at by a "very good" paint-less dent company. We'll see how soon they report back.

Mazda was very nice and gave me a loaner, partially because there are 2 other issues - the AC condenser squeals, and the clutch smells/slips.

 

[DrWebster]

I have a similar experience -- I have a very shallow dent above the driver's door, only noticeable if the light is just right and you're looking for it. I'm just ignoring it because of the way the universe works -- if I got it fixed, I'd get door dinged the very next day.

If I were you, I'd get it PDR'd if possible, and if they can't PDR it, negotiate for some cash or freebies then just live with the dent. I love my 2 just as much as anyone here, but realistically, it's an economy car. In a few years, if you go to trade it in, they're not gonna say "well, if it wasn't for that dent we could offer you $500 more..." Mileage matters more than anything when it comes to condition.

 

[xyrth]

the best thing possible happened -- I just got off the phone with the dealer and they said PDR fix it 100%. Hopefully I can pick it up tonight.

 

[Font Motorsports]

the best thing possible happened -- I just got off the phone with the dealer and they said PDR fix it 100%. Hopefully I can pick it up tonight.

Great!

 

[EconoBox]

Pics.

Or it never happened.

 

[firespirit]

I was going to say, some dickwad gave me a nice sizable dent in my passenger door and the PDR guy fixed it on the cheap.