Removed moldings, found paint defect but dealer won't cover

[Wicked_3s]

I took off my side moldings on Sunday on my Winning Blue Mz3S. All the doors are perfect, with the exception of the front passenger door. There is a ridge from clear coat being sprayed on the door with out removing the molding. The painter for the dealer said it is most likely from the factory where there was a scratch in the door and they corrected it before it left the plant. I can't get the paint to blend by buffing it even with a compound and the clearcoat ridge is an eyesore. Dealer (monkey) refuses to cover under warrenty becasue I can put the moldings back on. Any ideas?

[mountjonas]

that blows. that happened to me, ecxept the car was damaged on the lot before i bought it and the dealer repainted it without taking the molding off. so they took full responsibility for it and resprayed it. good luck.

[TampaSport20]

you modified your car....warrantee doesnt have to cover it...period...

[cheapmiata1600]

Indeed, since 99.999% of people don't remove the door mouldings from thier cars, me included, it wouldn't have been an issue if you had left it alone. I hate to agree with a dealer denying a warrany claim, but you're clearly at fault here.

I know this may be a stretch, but you could always put the door moulding back on...

[goldwing2000]

You could probably get a competent body shop to fix it for under a couple hundred bucks. All it needs is a good wet sand and another shot of clear.

[Wicked_3s]

You could probably get a competent body shop to fix it for under a couple hundred bucks. All it needs is a good wet sand and another shot of clear.

So I wouldn't need the whole passenger side repainted/cleared like the dealership said? That's a good thing to know.

[Wicked_3s]

you modified your car....warrantee doesnt have to cover it...period...

Only reason I took them off was because the passenger door lookd like it had rust (which was the clearcoat/adhesive mixing) Took off the others to check on them too. Should have taken it in b4 removing them I guess.

[mazda3zoom]

So I wouldn't need the whole passenger side repainted/cleared like the dealership said? That's a good thing to know.

i dont know if the whiole side would have to be recleared. I know when painting, you would want to blend it in, but being clear coat i dont know how that works. I would think you could just reclear the door.

[goldwing2000]

Yeah, a good shop should be able to just prep, mask and spray the door with clear and get a match. Call around to your local shops, explain the situation and see who thinks they can do it.

[curacer1]

first off, go back to the dealership that denied your claim and beat the hell out of the service rep that screwed you over. go to any random mazda dealer, go to the service department, if they show a lot of "zoom zoom" stuff available and the service rep looks to be younger than 35. i will bet money they will take care of it. the dealer i bought my mazda from had young service people and were into the mazdaspeed stuff, they will still do paint defects for me and i have a complete bodykit on mine. they even alligned my car after i lowered it and put new wheels and tires on it for free. you have have to find a dealer service center thats not a bunch of old ass'

[mazda3zoom]

first off, go back to the dealership that denied your claim and beat the hell out of the service rep that screwed you over. go to any random mazda dealer, go to the service department, if they show a lot of "zoom zoom" stuff available and the service rep looks to be younger than 35. i will bet money they will take care of it. the dealer i bought my mazda from had young service people and were into the mazdaspeed stuff, they will still do paint defects for me and i have a complete bodykit on mine. they even alligned my car after i lowered it and put new wheels and tires on it for free. you have have to find a dealer service center thats not a bunch of old ass'

I agree with you on the old guys at service being ass holes, but at the same time their not really responsible for that cuz he took off the moldings. If it were younger guys there i bet they would fix it. The dealer by my house is a bunch of jerks too, it sucks.

[goldwing2000]

first off, go back to the dealership that denied your claim and beat the hell out of the service rep that screwed you over. go to any random mazda dealer, go to the service department, if they show a lot of "zoom zoom" stuff available and the service rep looks to be younger than 35. i will bet money they will take care of it. the dealer i bought my mazda from had young service people and were into the mazdaspeed stuff, they will still do paint defects for me and i have a complete bodykit on mine. they even alligned my car after i lowered it and put new wheels and tires on it for free. you have have to find a dealer service center thats not a bunch of old ass'

First off, your sig is too big (http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110369). Cut the black bars off the sides of the picture and you should be ok.

Secondly, the service rep did not screw anybody over. The dealer was well within their rights to deny a warranty claim. The "defect" never would have been an issue if the car hadn't been altered from factory configuration. You may have a dealer with very liberal warranty policies but that is definitely the exception to the rule.

That being said... Wicked_3s: feel free to try another dealer. You might get lucky. Don't be surprised if they tell you the same story, though.

[Brian MP5T]

I took off my side moldings on Sunday on my Winning Blue Mz3S. All the doors are perfect, with the exception of the front passenger door. There is a ridge from clear coat being sprayed on the door with out removing the molding. The painter for the dealer said it is most likely from the factory where there was a scratch in the door and they corrected it before it left the plant. I can't get the paint to blend by buffing it even with a compound and the clearcoat ridge is an eyesore. Dealer (monkey) refuses to cover under warrenty becasue I can put the moldings back on. Any ideas?

You are SOL...

If you had come to me and I was your dealer, I would have giggled and told you lo leave.

"You probably did it yourself when you removed the mouldings" is what I would say.

It's common, mine had a slight defect in the door as well..

So I did this..

http://www.msprotege.com/members/Brian%20MP5T/Door3.jpg

[TampaSport20]

That being said... Wicked_3s: feel free to try another dealer. You might get lucky. Don't be surprised if they tell you the same story, though.

They will tell him the same thing...Warrantee claim denials are noted on a dealer/manufacturer database that all dealers will check before performing warrantee work

[neoturner]

Indeed, since 99.999% of people don't remove the door mouldings from thier cars, me included, it wouldn't have been an issue if you had left it alone. I hate to agree with a dealer denying a warrany claim, but you're clearly at fault here.

I know this may be a stretch, but you could always put the door moulding back on...

Really cause I would argue, and loose, that the car was sold to him defective and not as advertised so the contract all together should be void and he should get a brand new car.

The warranty may be void because he took a modded car but the fact that he has a scratch on the car and the repair was defective isn't his fault at all.

[trees]

my trim started to fall off a bit one day, thats when i took mine off. but i bet you could tell them that your trim was falling off, and when you removed they hanging trim piece this is what was under it. might help.

[dominoy2k1]

you would lose.


Really cause I would argue, and loose, that the car was sold to him defective and not as advertised so the contract all together should be void and he should get a brand new car.

The warranty may be void because he took a modded car but the fact that he has a scratch on the car and the repair was defective isn't his fault at all.

[Brian MP5T]

my trim started to fall off a bit one day, thats when i took mine off. but i bet you could tell them that your trim was falling off, and when you removed they hanging trim piece this is what was under it. might help.

No you goofball..

They would just give you a new sticker for the trim..

$0.50 worth of 3M tape and he'd flip you the bird.

[Brian MP5T]

This Is A Dumb Thread..

Dumpster Time!

[neoturner]

you would lose.

thus the "and lose"

[Wicked_3s]

My gripe tho is that they told me the car had never been repainted, or any work other than routine maintainance EVER. And I clearly see a re-paint on the door. That's the gripe. I could easily do what Brain did. That's a nice idea too. Cause with the paint being lighter I could ghost it and I bet it'd look hott.

[DERA]

when i was talking to my dealer when i bought my car, he told me that the only mods that would kill the warrenty were ones that altered the performace of the engine, and that body parts wouldn't effect the warrenty, and you just took off the side moldings, so i dont see why they dont just man up and deal with it. but then, i'm not a buisness man, so what do i know

[TampaSport20]

when i was talking to my dealer when i bought my car, he told me that the only mods that would kill the warrenty were ones that altered the performace of the engine, and that body parts wouldn't effect the warrenty, and you just took off the side moldings, so i dont see why they dont just man up and deal with it. but then, i'm not a buisness man, so what do i know

the warranty covers the entire car, not just the engine...A modification to a part will void the warranty on that part...

[Brian MP5T]

when i was talking to my dealer when i bought my car, he told me that the only mods that would kill the warrenty were ones that altered the performace of the engine, and that body parts wouldn't effect the warrenty, and you just took off the side moldings, so i dont see why they dont just man up and deal with it. but then, i'm not a buisness man, so what do i know

Ok, so removing a part of the door is not Modifing?

[trees]

not if it falls off

[MP5cd]

first off, go back to the dealership that denied your claim and beat the hell out of the service rep that screwed you over. go to any random mazda dealer, go to the service department, if they show a lot of "zoom zoom" stuff available and the service rep looks to be younger than 35. i will bet money they will take care of it. the dealer i bought my mazda from had young service people and were into the mazdaspeed stuff, they will still do paint defects for me and i have a complete bodykit on mine. they even alligned my car after i lowered it and put new wheels and tires on it for free. you have have to find a dealer service center thats not a bunch of old ass'Madza has real issues with warranty repairs.Most time problem is Dealership, they don't make as much on warranty repair.They would rather not do.

[TampaSport20]

Madza has real issues with warranty repairs.Most time problem is Dealership, they don't make as much on warranty repair.They would rather not do.

:bs:

I personally have seen what dealers bill Mazda for repiars...they charge just as much as they would joe blow off the street

[goldwing2000]

:bs:

I personally have seen what dealers bill Mazda for repiars...they charge just as much as they would joe blow off the street

You're wrong, there. Warranty work pays less than Customer Pay work. Period. Full stop.
I know because I've worked as a stealership mechanic.

The rate may be the same but the time is less. You have to think about flat rate. A job that pays 1 hour CP may only pay .75 or .5 on warranty.