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Found a paint defect on my Patriot....

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frosty

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Well, I hate having problems with NEW vehicles....I was washing and polishing my Pat for the first time today and I noticed a problem on the rear quarter panel (driver's side)...around the area of the gas cap and more or less, the full length of the rear quarter panel (behind the rear doors)....the paint went from really shiny and smooth as silk to very rough...

At first, I though it was just overspray from the undercoating I had done so I tried cleaning it with some varsol.....nope...it was definitely a paint defect; so, I took it the the dealer's body shop and sure enough...he is going to try and buff it out and if that doesn't work...he will have to repaint it...

....What a drag....having to get bodyshop work on a brand new vehicle...I also noticed one spot where the paint was also flawed....looked like a bubble or two....I guess I'll get that fixed up at the same time....

Don't know if this was a defect from the factory (hard to believe they wouldn't find something like this before it was sent out) or done in transit and they attempted to fix it..

Body shop guy says if it was done in transit and they oversprayed it trying to mask it, they wouldn't tell me about it....nice....
 
#3 ·
I see it. Looks like it was not buffed. They will have to clearcoat it as well.
 
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#4 ·
sucks. You could always try calling DC and see what they can do. You never know, they might offer a gift or two as compensation. Can't hurt to try.
 
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#5 ·
similiar problem with previous car

When I purchased my Focus new I checked the paint job and never noticed anything until few carwashes later a did see some minor scratches which were very well hidden under thick coat of wax.But it would be just about impossible I think to spot these surface deffects without the wax removal.
I can live with little tiny scratch as long as the mechanics and basic operation are sound.
 
#6 ·
If that is a paint defect from the factory, I'd be very very surprised. The paint process is exacting, and the lighting and final inspection post-booth is superb. Designed to make even the smallest defects noticable to anyone in the area. If it is a factory defect, somebody was sleeping on the job.

Hope they get it all fixed up for ya.
 
#7 ·
Sorry to hear this Frosty, I really understand your deception. When you buy something new, you want it in perfect condition. Too bad this Pat got by inspection or has been dammaged and touched up. This shouldn't be your problem. Really hope you get compensation for it. Personnaly, I think your vehicule should be taken back and replace with brand new one. Guess I'm dreaming! Wonder if a research has been done on car companies paint quality. Is the risk the same with all of them? There should be a law to protect consumers at this level of value: No repairs for three months for main problems and dammages (especially paint job) discovered and existing prior to delivery, only replacement of vehicule so quality and warranty are not compromised. This really gets me furious.
 
#8 ·
I can't imagine that a defect THIS obvious got by the inspectors - I bet your Patriot WAS damaged in transport and "touched up." How can you tell if this was the ONLY area of damage? Are you concerned that other, hidden damage may surface. Remember, Chrysler is the company that made the news 20 years ago for disconnecting new cars' odometers and putting hundreds of miles on them, then reconnecting the odometers and selling the cars as new. Some of the cars had been wrecked, repaired and sold as new as well. That ripping-off of the buyer appeared to be an industry-wide practice not limited to Chrysler....

Do you protect yourself and demand a replacement (or at least a verifiable explanation) or just deal with what you got? Tough call.

Personally, I wouldn't eat around the hair in a $1.00 hamburger. Np way would I make 5 years of payments on a car soemone might have wrecked and tried to hide the damage after telling me that couldn't tell how bad the wreck was....

Good Luck!
 
#9 ·
I knew a guy

Jerome10 said:
If that is a paint defect from the factory, I'd be very very surprised. The paint process is exacting, and the lighting and final inspection post-booth is superb. Designed to make even the smallest defects noticable to anyone in the area. If it is a factory defect, somebody was sleeping on the job.

Hope they get it all fixed up for ya.
Click to expand...
Well,I knew a guy and he used to love sleeping on the job so hopefully he isn't working for DC
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
No, I didn't ask for a new vehicle..( I knew what the answer would be)...I did leave a message with the salesperson though telling them about it....but never heard back from them...

The body shop manager is a pretty good guy though, so I have some faith he will get the job done right....I know that this is the only area on the vehicle because I went over it pretty well while polishing it and....

after I found the defect....I felt with my hand over the entire surface of the vehicle to see if there was an uneven or rough area...but this seems to be the only trouble spot....it's actually hard to detect except when you run your hand over it....then you know that it is too rough...it's a good thing I polished my vehicle; otherwise, I may not have noticed it for awhile....

The sad thing is that we had trouble with my dad's new 06 G.C. too....had to take it in twice for two different water leaks...one by the side of the windshield and one in the rear quarter panel window....noticed one leak after taking it through a car wash (rear) and noticed the other leak when snow was melting in the Spring and water was leaking through the passenger handle coming in from the side of the windshield...

I hope this is the end of our bad luck with Jeeps....I will let you know how things turn out...my appointment at the body shop is for this Wednesday (supposed to be there all day)....
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Well, got my Pat back from the body shop....as it turns out they had to paint the rear quarter. (couldn't buff it out)..but it looks okay...

The body shop manager definitely believes it was damaged in transit and the transit guys noticed it and tried to fix it up.... but he says, there will be no record of it occurring anywhere and they certainly won't tell you about it...He also says this is not the first new car that he has had to repaint because of damage in transit....

I'm not sure that the 'no tell' is a good policy to go with....especially when we are putting out hard earned cash and we think we are buying a 'new' car, not a defective, damaged, and/or repainted one....
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
This is the message that I received from DC after telling them about the paint defect

We have received your email of April 28, 2007, regarding your 2007 Jeep Patriot. We are sorry to learn of the paint problem experienced with your vehicle, and of the resulting inconvenience.

It is never possible to predict the service requirements of a particular vehicle. As the manufacturer, we offer the assurance that there will be no hesitancy on our part to comply with the terms of your warranty, or to provide technical support to the dealer during repairs.

The final terms of a retail Purchase or Lease Agreement are the result of negotiations between the customer and the dealer. As the manufacturer, DaimlerChrysler Canada cannot influence these terms, particularly after both parties have approved the contract by signature. In such cases, concerns can only be reviewed with the dealership management.

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
silvermike said:
frosty, What specific terms are under dispute?
Click to expand...
I don't know that there are any under dispute. I just told them in my email that I didn't like the policy that a car can be delivered to its' new owner without the owner knowing that the car had a paint defect that had been touched up.

I also said that I think that the buyer has a right to know this before he/she takes delivery of the new car and that we should have the option of either:

1) ordering another vehicle (hopefully delivered with no defects)or
2) getting a full refund

I guess those are the terms they are talking about.
 
#15 ·
Sorry frosty, Sounds like a form letter produced by the first level of "customer service" that knows enough to select from a menu of form letters. Unfortunately the problem of hiding damage in transit is nothing new as my wife had that with her 1983 Dodge. It was disclosed to her but that was not required. In the states you do have to disclose "significant" damage in transit. Not sure what Canada's laws are. That's why Mazda tried to sell the cars from the ship which listed on its side in Canada rather than the U.S. Ultimately Mazda scrapped them.

If you want to push it I would send a letter to Dr. Z. Get a higher level of automatons.
 
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#16 ·
If you want to push it I would send a letter to Dr. Z. Get a higher level of automatons.
Click to expand...
Don't bother. I work for Daimler-Chrysler and I get the same automatic robot responses. I think if you tell them something important it probably has to go through about 12 levels of departments before it gets to anyone who can take action on it. The odds of that happening are pretty small.
 
#17 ·
It does not look like a factory defect. It was most probably hit by the dealer while it sat at the lot. Dealers do that more often what we think, and they don't disclose this when selling the car.

Make sure they do a good job buffing the piece or ask them to repaint it. If they have to paint it, be very pushy about having the job done right. Ask them to mask the car really well.
 
#18 ·
frosty said:
I'm not sure that the 'no tell' is a good policy to go with....especially when we are putting out hard earned cash and we think we are buying a 'new' car, not a defective, damaged, and/or repainted one....
Click to expand...
Yea. I agree I would not want to learn that everything is not perfect on something I bought that was "new". I have had a job delivering "new" appliances. From my experience though, when products as big as cars and appliances are transported, there is a large percentage (one third from what I had to deliver) that arrive less than perfect. If it is cosmetic, then you touch it up. Having your rear quarter panel repainted is a hassle for the customer, but thats what goes with buying a high ticket product. It sounds like some of the people you dealt with were very helpful so I'm glad to hear it was handled in a professional matter.
 
#19 · (Edited)
That really sucks and I also think that this was done in transit...either while on rails or on the truck.

You can never discount the dealership though. I've seen employees tear around the lot in brand new cars...some with sold signs on them. Heck, when I picked up my Patriot last night, the receptionist was outside having a smoke and had put her Tim Horton's coffee on my hood while she chatted away with co-workers. I came out and told her that this truck was sold and that the kid who detailed it wouldn’t be impressed. Her: “Yah, it’s sold. It’s really nice”. Me: “Yah, it’s sold TO ME! Can you take your coffee off please?! HAHA! I winked at her and she laughed. Ahhh, some people :)
The point is that they just don't care.
 
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