Dealership Side-swiped My Truck

[Thor’s Stormboost]

Well, wanted to do a little research on the forum before I decided to post my situation. Saw someone had a raptor taillight that was scratched.
Mine is, well, unfortunately a little worse than that.

Service technician was pulling a work truck with a long steel lined flatbed into a service bay, didn't pull forward far enough before starting his turn. This is what I got to see: (more info after the pictures)

I brought my truck in last Wednesday after waiting over 2 months for a part to get shipped to the dealership that had to be body painted. Back story: Bought the truck from Antelope Valley Ford in Lancaster, CA on Black Friday (I have a post in the rapid red club #117 ). Brought the vehicle home to the central coast on Sunday and upon detailing it noticed that the front right mid-fender (what I call it) was out of alignment. Took it to the dealership the following week and after an hour or so of the technicians looking at it they found that the bracket holding it in place was broken. Dealership decided to order the whole assembly to make sure all the hardware came with it. Fast forward to mid/late February, and the part finally comes in. They take my gas cap to get the new mid-fender paint matched, and service advisor says he will call when that is done. From the time I bought the vehicle and drove it home to bringing the truck into the dealership last Wednesday, I have had the following issues:
-Driver side rear door has some loose hardware bouncing around in there, can be heard when "waving" the door.
-After startup when idling, truck will shudder while in park. No specific fuel level, temperature or any other discerning factor. Randomly happens.
-Transmission will lurch when downshifting, can see some gears being skipped and a definite harsh feeling. Also sometimes happens during acceleration just not as rough.
-Reverse brake assist not available warning message popped up twice, no factors specifically associated with occurences.
-Reverse camera would not display. Shifted to reverse, apple CarPlay connecting message appeared and stayed on that screen when shifting back to park, to reverse, to drive, back to reverse, and back to park again.

ALL of those issues were brought up last Wednesday, to which the service advisor said hoping to have it done by Friday. Gave me a loaner vehicle, which funny enough has its own transmission shifting issues, and have had that since then. On Friday I call and ask what the status of my truck is and he told me that Monday afternoon is what we are looking at for picking my truck back up. I call today (Monday) during the day to see what the status is, and leave a voicemail. The dealership is on my way home, so I am expecting to pick my truck up and be on my way. Cashier doesn't have my work order ready, and ends up speaking to the assistant service manager. She told me there was an accident earlier that afternoon...I was speechless. This is my first full size $56k truck and I have nothing but problems overall.

Service Manager said they will take it to a body shop first thing in the morning and get it fixed, no ETA on when it'll be done. I am fuming

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[Newton]

I hate to tell you this, but you need a lawyer. The problem is that even if the repair is made perfectly, it will show up as damage to the truck on Carfax and will seriously diminish the resale value of the truck. It is going to look like collision damage on the report, well technically it is.

Years ago I backed into a mailbox and had dented the rear tailgate a bit. We took it to a bodyshop for an estimate, decided that it was not worth the amount that they wanted to fix it, and went on our way. When I went to sell the truck to a dealer they said that it did not have a clean Carfax (despite no other accidents) because even taking the car to a bodyshop will generate a report if the damage is above a certain amount. They were nice and it wasn't a problem (they were the only dealer selling under MSRP at that time so I was pretty thrilled with the deal and they were thrilled that I wasn't negotiating) but you had a new undamaged truck, and now you don't.

 

[Newton]

Note that at the moment the used car market is pretty hot, but with gas at $5.45 at my local pump big pickups might not be to be easy to sell in the future.

 

[Regular150]

I hate to tell you this, but you need a lawyer. The problem is that even if the repair is made perfectly, it will show up as damage to the truck on Carfax and will seriously diminish the resale value of the truck. It is going to look like collision damage on the report, well technically it is.

Years ago I backed into a mailbox and had dented the rear tailgate a bit. We took it to a bodyshop for an estimate, decided that it was not worth the amount that they wanted to fix it, and went on our way. When I went to sell the truck to a dealer they said that it did not have a clean Carfax (despite no other accidents) because even taking the car to a bodyshop will generate a report if the damage is above a certain amount. They were nice and it wasn't a problem (they were the only dealer selling under MSRP at that time so I was pretty thrilled with the deal and they were thrilled that I wasn't negotiating) but you had a new undamaged truck, and now you don't.

Yes and no to diminished value, but that's another thread. Our 18 Platinum was damaged to the tune of $11,700 by a driver pulling running a stop sign. When we traded for the 21, dealer asked about Carfax, I had pictures and it had very little effect in trade. Florida allows diminished value and has a formula for claiming it. So I would check your states laws and claim against the dealers insurance.
Now here's the thing, if the dealer has their own body shop, they control what is reported on your truck if they take a loss and don't claim it on their insurance, the only data you'll see is, "routine service by dealership name."

The bigger issue is whether you can feel the same about your 'First New Full Size Truck' as you did before the damage ever happened. If the answer is yes if it looks like it never happened and your compensated with a like loaner, as well as diminished value amount then let them correct it. Our 18 came back and you literally couldn't tell.

If it's always going to bother you, don't sign or text any direction to the dealer and figure out what you need them to do to make you whole. The attorney isn't a bad idea, but it's going to cost money and you weren't injured so it's not as lucrative to them. Oh here is our mishap, hood, grille, left adaptive light, sensors and passenger fender.
I know nobody died in either case but it sucks nonetheless.

 

[Pedaldude]

Other than the cab damage, none of that is anything that is going impact the future of the truck aside from potential paint issues. Even some of the best paint jobs can age differently from the factory paint. Oftentimes, it's the clear coat that starts peeling or discoloring years after the repair.

As for the cab, because of aluminum construction I have no idea what Ford's recommended repair would be but I would pick an autobody place with lots of F-150 repairs, which hopefully will be whatever place that the dealer is going with. Aluminum is highly notch sensitive, which means that even a light surface scratch can propagate into a crack in a surprisingly short period of time. As you can see in the door, that flatbed peeled through it like a can opener. You don't want the repair to be them just pulling the cab back into shape and adding body filler like the repair for steel would be. Ideally the repair would involve brazing a replacement cab corner in place, which would keep the integrity of the original structure and add negligible weight. A very close second would be welding in a new corner. That has an added risk of weakening the nearby aluminum though. Either way, Ford has a dealership search function on their website and if you click 'Advanced Search' you can find approved collision repair facilities and make sure that where the dealer took your truck is on that list.

If you don't plan to keep the truck more than a couple years, I wouldn't worry about it at all. However, if you had plans on keeping it long term, this coupled with your other issues would be a good opportunity to leverage your way into a new truck. It sounds like the dealership has been cool so far and the demand for used trucks has never been better, so really the dealership shouldn't take too much issue with it. The truth is that the new paint job will never be as good as from the factory and depending on where you are in California and where the truck is parked the majority of its life, it could see a lot of sun and that's what will damage your new paint. Often the service department is separate from the sales, so if you speak with the sales manager and explain the situation; they might be more on board with the solution than the service department, who are probably hoping to get this repaired ASAP and then act like it never even happened. In fact, I know that there are some dealerships that would have never even told you that this happened and quickly repair minor damage like this without even telling the customer!

Just be cool and calmly insistent if asking for a new truck, they will likely tell you that it will be a simple repair, that it will come out great and that you will never even notice. Reply back and say that means they will have little difficulty selling it. Whenever they seem hesitant, remind them that it was their tech who damaged it and not your own doing and that you know mistakes happen but they are the car dealership, so they shouldn't have any problems ordering a new truck and making things right. You might have to make some concessions regarding mileage but really other than that, you really shouldn't be too far from making a deal.

Good luck!

 

[Newton]

It would certainly affect the offers that you get if you sell it privately, I would expect a good discount on the price of one that had been damaged over one that had a clean carfax. In reality, my wife would not even consider a used vehicle in that price range with known damage. Some sites allow you to only search for vehicles with "clean" carfaxes.

At least talk to your insurance company agent, ours is pretty good about giving advice. I agree that selling it back to the dealership is probably the best end game, probably for all concerned.

 

[SILVERBULLET69]

this ^^^^ dont even look at dirty car fax vehicle when shopping for cars

 

[elk275]

I personally don't care about the resale value, I'd be pissed because of it being your new truck. Id would be working on them keeping that truck and getting you a new truck. Its on them, they need to bend over backwards to make you happy.

 

[Thor’s Stormboost]

Update (Tuesday March 15th):
Yesterday before leaving I was able to speak with the shop foreman and tell him that I wanted a new loaner, something more updated than the escape that I had. He was fine with that and said come by around 8am and I will have something for you. Totally fine with that. No other manager was available at that time (was 530pm when I first got to the dealership) but I did explain that I still wanted to speak to one.
I go in the morning today to drop off the escape and get a new loaner, first one the foreman tried had a dead battery. He told me that he doesn't know when the higher ups will be there, and also that they don't have a general manager at the time. They also didn't have a service manager, just the assistant service manager with whom I spoke with yesterday that told me about the accident (she also explained yesterday that they were gonna call me in the morning today to let me know what happened, and boy am I glad I stopped by unannounced (my service tech was not there Monday)).He ended up bringing a 2019 chevy Colorado zr2 around, to which I was pleasantly surprised and was okay with. As I am about to drive off, the foreman comes over and says the owner of the dealership was here and coming over to talk to me. He brings me inside to have a conversation, shop foreman was there, assistant service manager previously mentioned and another service advisor. I tell him that my main concerns are resale value, and the integrity of the actual truck itself as well as getting the things I had done to it/dealership I bought it from were gonna be replaced. He told me that it would not get reported to CarFax and he was gonna pay cash for the whole thing to be fixed once it was done. He also told me they are taking it to Caliber Collision, nationwide business with a lifetime warranty on all the work they do. After hearing those two things I was slightly less worried/annoyed/pissed. I explained to him that I understand it was none of the people in the room that caused the damage, but it is still my vehicle, one I paid lots of money for and no one expects to find their vehicle worse off than when they brought it in.

I did not bring up the thought of wanting a new vehicle at this time as I want to make sure they fix the first one and its not reported so that I have the maximum amount of leverage when *possibly* bringing up acquiring a new truck to replace this one. I have a lien on the truck, so maximum buying power is the name of the game, as well as the waiting game. It is still something I am constantly thinking about, but I don't want to over do any of it and have a bad taste in my mouth with that dealership. I don't owe them anything, but boy do they owe me!

Finally, as I am actually about to leave the owner comes over and says you want to drive something fun (I already knew what he was gonna offer as they have a Race Red 4dr Bronco lifted with Method race wheels and 35x12.5" tires, soft top though), and said yes without hesitation. He had them fill it up with gas, wash it and that will be my loaner for the next two weeks while waiting for my truck.

 

[elk275]

Update (Tuesday March 15th):
Yesterday before leaving I was able to speak with the shop foreman and tell him that I wanted a new loaner, something more updated than the escape that I had. He was fine with that and said come by around 8am and I will have something for you. Totally fine with that. No other manager was available at that time (was 530pm when I first got to the dealership) but I did explain that I still wanted to speak to one.
I go in the morning today to drop off the escape and get a new loaner, first one the foreman tried had a dead battery. He told me that he doesn't know when the higher ups will be there, and also that they don't have a general manager at the time. They also didn't have a service manager, just the assistant service manager with whom I spoke with yesterday that told me about the accident (she also explained yesterday that they were gonna call me in the morning today to let me know what happened, and boy am I glad I stopped by unannounced (my service tech was not there Monday)).He ended up bringing a 2019 chevy Colorado zr2 around, to which I was pleasantly surprised and was okay with. As I am about to drive off, the foreman comes over and says the owner of the dealership was here and coming over to talk to me. He brings me inside to have a conversation, shop foreman was there, assistant service manager previously mentioned and another service advisor. I tell him that my main concerns are resale value, and the integrity of the actual truck itself as well as getting the things I had done to it/dealership I bought it from were gonna be replaced. He told me that it would not get reported to CarFax and he was gonna pay cash for the whole thing to be fixed once it was done. He also told me they are taking it to Caliber Collision, nationwide business with a lifetime warranty on all the work they do. After hearing those two things I was slightly less worried/annoyed/pissed. I explained to him that I understand it was none of the people in the room that caused the damage, but it is still my vehicle, one I paid lots of money for and no one expects to find their vehicle worse off than when they brought it in.

I did not bring up the thought of wanting a new vehicle at this time as I want to make sure they fix the first one and its not reported so that I have the maximum amount of leverage when *possibly* bringing up acquiring a new truck to replace this one. I have a lien on the truck, so maximum buying power is the name of the game, as well as the waiting game. It is still something I am constantly thinking about, but I don't want to over do any of it and have a bad taste in my mouth with that dealership. I don't owe them anything, but boy do they owe me!

Finally, as I am actually about to leave the owner comes over and says you want to drive something fun (I already knew what he was gonna offer as they have a Race Red 4dr Bronco lifted with Method race wheels and 35x12.5" tires, soft top though), and said yes without hesitation. He had them fill it up with gas, wash it and that will be my loaner for the next two weeks while waiting for my truck.

It's good that they are trying to make things right. You're handling it very good. I do agree that having maximum leverage is important. If you keep the truck, should have them take it to professional detailer and have paint correction done and ceramic coating applied.

 

[Scrambler68]

I took my 2016 in for service a few years ago. The tech had the truck running and in gear when he lowered the lift. The truck jumped forward when the tires hit the ground. The tech got pinned between the truck and the lift post.

Fortunately he wasn’t killed but he was out of work for months. Broken ribs and other issues kept him out. He was not a newbie but was actually one of the most experienced guys they had.

As for the truck damage, they had an in-house body shop. They replaced all the parts with new OEM parts. They had to paint it twice to get the color right but it looked good when I accepted it.

They did not report it to any agencies so there wasn’t a concern about diminished value. I ended up trading the truck a couple of years later with no issues. In fact, I got very close to my original purchase price, despite having over 100k miles, just because used car prices have gone so crazy.

Hope all works out as well for you.

 

[Thor’s Stormboost]

I took my 2016 in for service a few years ago. The tech had the truck running and in gear when he lowered the lift. The truck jumped forward when the tires hit the ground. The tech got pinned between the truck and the lift post.

Fortunately he wasn’t killed but he was out of work for months. Broken ribs and other issues kept him out. He was not a newbie but was actually one of the most experienced guys they had.

As for the truck damage, they had an in-house body shop. They replaced all the parts with new OEM parts. They had to paint it twice to get the color right but it looked good when I accepted it.

They did not report it to any agencies so there wasn’t a concern about diminished value. I ended up trading the truck a couple of years later with no issues. In fact, I got very close to my original purchase price, despite having over 100k miles, just because used car prices have gone so crazy.

Hope all works out as well for you.

Thank you I appreciate it. I had actually viewed your post prior to posting my story and it is good to hear that they took care of you as well. I was shocked that it resulted in bodily harm, but glad to hear the tech wasn't killed! For me, it's just been heart wrenching looking at the photos over and over again

 

[Newton]

Unfortunately, I have been there. You have a lot of work ahead of you to make sure that it is done right. There are cheap ways to do it and the right way to do it. This is probably at least a $10K repair to do properly and if this is coming out of the owner's pocket rather than his insurance, well his kids need to go to college too.

A quick call to your insurance broker might be in order, they are experienced, bored, and quite willing to give you their advice. Don't (like I have done) just let it disappear for somebody else to take care of. You could get lucky, there are many decent people in the world I am told but I rarely encounter them. You need to know what the body shop's plan is, and you are going to be in the painful position of being the person who wants the work done but not the person who is paying for it. I spent two years in that position on a larger issue and the temptation is to 'go with the flow' but it just led to enormous frustration especially when I realized how much of a sucker I had been.

I am not a bodyshop expert but I am pretty sure that the door needs to be replaced and that frame looks concerning. Try opening and closing the door, if it sticks then you walk away from this project. Make sure that you insist on *new* *OEM* parts, and that the body shop knows it and is willing to prove to you that is what they did. You will want documentation of everything, because any (pro) used car buyer with experience will be able to tell that the repair was done.

 

[Snakebitten]

The Red Bronco loaner tells me one thing for sure!

YOU handled yourself well. There's no way the owner would have approached you with that kind of goodwill if he felt otherwise about you.

Good job. And good luck.

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