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My RS4 was back at the dealers all last week having a number of minor defects and problems sorted out, that should have been done prior to me taking delivery.

One of these items was to sort out two minor dinks in the bodywork, one in the lower rear wheel arch and one just below the offside mirror. The discussion I had with the dealership was that they would get a dent magician to have a go, but they may not be able to get to them, in which case I told them not to do anything further i.e paintwork etc.

Anyway, I collected the car on Saturday morning, and had a good look at it yesterday and guess what - they've filled and painted my beautiful £50k car

Not only that, it's been done badly, with visible lines in the filled area and silicon in the paint, plus the whole car is covered in overspray.

I've obviously confronted the dealer with this and they are extremely apologetic and want the car back to put it right, however I've lost all confidence in them being able to sort this out to my satisfaction.

These really were very minor dinks that were hardly worth being tweaked by a dent magician, let alone requiring filling and painting!! They didn't even give me the option to not have it painted.

I am understandably, extremely pi$$ed off, and would appreciate peoples opinions as to what course of action I should take with the dealer.

My biggest concern is that this is a six month old car that has now had paint - it's obviously going to affect the resale value.

That is fairly <beep> to say the least.

Although angry i would (& technically you have to), give them 1 chance to rectify their mistake & make the point that if they screw their next repair up then you'll be seeking compensation & taking legal advice.

I know exactly how you must feel, but they have to be given this chance & chances are they will come good. I can vouch for the dent/scratch magicians that most decent dealers use, as i had a little dent removed from both my M5 & the RS6 before that & the work/finish was perfect.

Good luck & i'm feeling your pain.

Yes well said, give them a chance to sort their mistakes out, it wont harm or cost you anything.

Al

Say you want the car to go to an Audi apporved body shop now to do the work properly. I know a very good one in Kent which isnt too far and they are very very good. One of only a few who can work on the R8 infact

Andy,

PM sent.

Thanks,

Paul

I have had to have a new car repainted and it just "Hurts", I really would be ultra P*SSED OFF and would need calming down if I saw it.
I think my actions would be "FIND me a replacement" I really mean this, because you are never going to look at that car with the same love again, garanteed.
Go in big for another car let them sort it for the next unsuspecting perchaser.

Given the apologetic nature of the dealer and the fact he's acknowledged the repair job was sub-standard and has requested to rectify it, I think its fair cop to give him a chance to fix the fix! If they can't or don't fix it properly then your on grounds to return the car under the Sale of Goods act and get a full refund which of course the dealer won't be wanting to do and hence should be an appropriate time to negotiate some sort of compensation...

kman wrote:Given the apologetic nature of the dealer and the fact he's acknowledged the repair job was sub-standard and has requested to rectify it, I think its fair cop to give him a chance to fix the fix! If they can't or don't fix it properly then your on grounds to return the car under the Sale of Goods act and get a full refund which of course the dealer won't be wanting to do and hence should be an appropriate time to negotiate some sort of compensation...

Yes - I think this will be my approach, give them a chance to sort it, and then if it's not right, push for a replacement/compensation.

Thanks for the other comments too

If they fix it properly you shouldn't be able to see the repair. I've worried about work before, had a whole rear quarter replaced on a Clio 16V. The only way I could tell the work had been done was by the fact the rivet welds were smoother on the repaired side.

Proper repair work should NOT be visible if done correctly.

I think once you let them go along the lines of repairing the car you lose the right to reject the car to some degree. Still a decent spray painter should be able to get a near 100% finish - still admittedly not what you want on a new 50k car!

People buying new cars should know that OVER 50% of cars are damaged/repaired before the new owner takes delivery. Most of the time it's just a little ding but some times it's a lot more.

Go to any pound that holds cars and see the great set-up they have for a body shop.

As for getting the car sorted out, if they didn't do the job right then it's up to you to have the car done by person/company of your choice but make sure that they are approved.

Never had a car that didn't need something doing to it during my ownership. More annoying none of the damage was caused by me.
Had parking dent in my RS4 after only 2 weeks of ownership but a dent technician I know well removed it completely. Small dent on read wheelarch needed painting as these are 'double skinned' so you can't get behind them but local bodyshop I've used for years did a superb undetectable job
Not really impressed with Dealer bodyshops Had a 3 series coupe once; scratch on door When it came back had 2 distinct shades of silver on the car, needed the whole side respraying!
It's definitely upsetting when something happens to your car but the pain is eased when the job is superb (and my son + bike caused the dent in rear wheelarch so I wasn't cursing a careless parker)
I would get the dealer to sort, or perhaps persuade then to pay for repair at bodyshop of YOUR choice, I don't think I'd let them use the ones who did the initial cock-up job

how bl---- annoying,i live in devon and iam a concourse judge for autoglym etc so very very fussy,i will accept nothing else but perfect,most main dealer body shops are rubbish and i would be very sceptical at letting them have another go.Living in devon there is only one bodyshop that i would accept and they are aston martin/jaguar approved and there paintwork is 100%,i purchased a new sl55 around 18 monthes ago and on its first night it got damaged by someones suitcase at a hotel,i was in tears but into the bodyshop and there was no way afterwards could i tell it had been sprayed because if i could of i would of sold it,if you need there number mail me.Really sorry to hear your problem.


cheers simon

Thanks for the positive comments & support - she goes back in tomorrow, I'll keep you posted!

S4int,

Did this get sorted to your satisfaction?? Hope so or I might be 'rubbing salt in' bay asking...??

Jason