Truck Delivered with Dirty Undercarriage and Rust

[thebigdu]

Picked up my new truck on Friday and didn't really have time for a thorough inspection until Saturday afternoon. I'm pretty happy with the overall fit and finish so far; doors are aligned, panels seem straight and tight. I'll post a separate thread with my initial impressions of the truck itself after driving for a week or so. However, I decided to get under the truck and was pretty disappointed with what I found. I was hoping I wouldn't be one of those rust victims, but unfortunately it's actually pretty bad down there. Beyond the rust, the entire undercarriage is filthy. It honestly looks like one or two of the yahoos in Dearborn took this thing offroading during production; there are muddy water splatters everywhere, including well up into the door frames and plastic/rubber bits on the body. This might explain why the truck had 94 miles on it upon arrival at the dealer. It's also possible that it was driven to the dealer for the last leg rather than convoyed...not sure.

I'm not sure what my recourse is here, if any, but I feel like any company should be embarrassed about delivering a brand new $70k truck in this condition. The dealer kind of rushed the prep, but they were good guys, so I don't want to knock them for this. The dealer is also almost two hours from my house, so I have no intention of asking them to make it right. Ford should have cleaned this thing up before it left Michigan. Instead, they probably just slapped on whatever remaining parts it needed after sitting for a while and put it on a railcar. I was about to install my Husky wheel well liners on Saturday, and I found probably 3/16" of dirt caked up inside the top lip of the wheel wells. This should not be normal for a brand new vehicle.

Again, this may go nowhere other than me venting and paying for a thorough detail including undercarriage, but I figured I would share so others know what to look out for and maybe share their related experiences. Let me know what you all think!

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[Harry Dangler]

Could it be possible that there was some kind of issue after they drove it off the assembly line that they corrected and then drove it around to test it. Even so the dealer should have detailed it before delivery, or how well do you know the dealer and their reputation. Maybe they let a potential customer take it for a test drive? Just a thought

 

[Geo]

Looks like someone went wheeling as a test drive ???

 

[SCTYDOG]

WTH! That is unacceptable. But I'm glad you got your truck.

 

[Severdog]

100% cosmetic and will not affect the truck. But if it were me (and I'll be receiving mine tomorrow) I would give it the business, especially in a salty area like NJ. Unlikely that Ford will do anything, they have enough of a challenge on their hands maintaining these extremely complex vehicles.

If you're not doing it yourself, I would have someone wire brush/de-scale, prime and undercoat. Then consider using something like fluid film while they're down there.

 

[RJL1400]

Picked up my new truck on Friday and didn't really have time for a thorough inspection until Saturday afternoon. I'm pretty happy with the overall fit and finish so far; doors are aligned, panels seem straight and tight. I'll post a separate thread with my initial impressions of the truck itself after driving for a week or so. However, I decided to get under the truck and was pretty disappointed with what I found. I was hoping I wouldn't be one of those rust victims, but unfortunately it's actually pretty bad down there. Beyond the rust, the entire undercarriage is filthy. It honestly looks like one or two of the yahoos in Dearborn took this thing offroading during production; there are muddy water splatters everywhere, including well up into the door frames and plastic/rubber bits on the body. This might explain why the truck had 94 miles on it upon arrival at the dealer. It's also possible that it was driven to the dealer for the last leg rather than convoyed...not sure.

I'm not sure what my recourse is here, if any, but I feel like any company should be embarrassed about delivering a brand new $70k truck in this condition. The dealer kind of rushed the prep, but they were good guys, so I don't want to knock them for this. The dealer is also almost two hours from my house, so I have no intention of asking them to make it right. Ford should have cleaned this thing up before it left Michigan. Instead, they probably just slapped on whatever remaining parts it needed after sitting for a while and put it on a railcar. I was about to install my Husky wheel well liners on Saturday, and I found probably 3/16" of dirt caked up inside the top lip of the wheel wells. This should not be normal for a brand new vehicle.

Again, this may go nowhere other than me venting and paying for a thorough detail including undercarriage, but I figured I would share so others know what to look out for and maybe share their related experiences. Let me know what you all think!

They clearly did not inspect it when it came into the dealership. When I got mine they detailed it and everything. The rust was on Ford, the filth is on the dealer, he should have never let it go out the door like this.

 

[discothan]

de ja vu.......all over again.

 

[Alexk]

I’d highlight it to them, likely all they will do is detail it.

 

[3DogKnight]

I've said this many times before..... Where did quality, craftsmanship and accountability for crappy product go in the USA? Is it lost forever? $70 grand for a truck? That thing better give you really big smiles for that kind of money.

 

[hotrodmex]

Where did quality, craftsmanship and accountability for crappy product go in the USA?

Into shareholder's pockets.

 

[Mtnman1]

96 miles??? I would have bitched about that. No way that is acceptible for a new vehicle

 

[Olds120]

There have been many complaints of this nature but this is the worst I have seen so far… disgraceful.

 

[thebigdu]

There have been many complaints of this nature but this is the worst I have seen so far… disgraceful.

Yeah, I was surprised how bad it was. It's one of those things when you see something happen to everybody else and figure it won't happen to you...until it does. Glad I won "worst yet" though...haha!

 

[thebigdu]

96 miles??? I would have bitched about that. No way that is acceptible for a new vehicle

Yeah, and I wish the dealer had any info whatsoever, but based on my own tracking of the vehicle, I believe them that this mileage was put on before they took delivery. And Ford's lips are sealed, of course.

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