Dealer scratched my Prius

Dealer scratched my car, if you want to skip my sob story, feel free to skip to the end.

Today was very frustrating and disheartening. I had an appointment with service and wound up not getting any work done but since I was already there said they would wash it. SO SAD I DIDN'T READ THE FORUM FIRST. While I waited I was talking to my sales rep and was asking him about suggestions on how to get rid of a small cluster of fine scratches on my driver door - hardly noticeable, except to me. As I went out and showed him the little scratches I looked up and noticed a deep gash in the back door/driver's side. My jaw dropped and I said, "they scratched my car". He said he thought, just like the hairline scratches that is could easily be buffed out. I walked around the car and there were long hairline scratches everywhere now, some very fine but deep. I walked back to the service rep and just said, "you guys scratched my car". He said he'd come out and look. Long story less long...he kept insisting that there was no way they could have done it. I told him, it was not there before I brought it in and now it's there, I want it fixed. He agreed to fix it while insisting that they didn't do it. And it came back buffed down (you could no longer feel it to the touch) and looked better but still there. I said "I want it gone". Again, long story less long (sorry but I'm too frustrated to be brief right now), he denied that it could have possibly happened in their care and every time I responded he rebutted me. I would like to go into more detail but I'll spare you so much to say that he was rude and while I kept my attitude in check and spoke to him in a straightforward but respectful manner I felt more and more aggravated the more he lashed back and did not show respect or sympathy for my plight. I felt truly disheartened when I saw my car, only 1233 miles on it with scratches throughout and a glaring gash. Granted it is only about 3/4" long, I don't see why I should have to live with their accident. I didn't press them on the fine scratches because while I think it's shitty that they use a crappy machine to wash new cars, I feel it was ultimately my responsibility to ask the questions and find out what method they use (I would not have put it through a machine had I known). The machine was hidden in the back and I saw cars being shammied up front, so I had a false impression that they washed and dried them by hand. I'm leaving out a lot, but I'll leave it at that, unless someone has a question.

I have a (highly discouraged) appointment to bring my car back on Monday for them to repair the scratch. Has anyone on here pressed the dealer to fix their mistake? Any ideas on what I can expect? Anything I should do to further protect myself in this process?



Thanks in advance! I was in a light and jolly mood when I went in today and thought a car wash sounded nice. Wish I would have read the warnings on this forum first.

 

Yeah, I have the Winter Grey. Love the color. Congrats on your new V. My car only had 2 miles on it. It was perfect and I'd been hand washing it. I have no idea what I was thinking! I wasn't. Anyway, the wash caused the fine scratches but the gash must have been someone's belt clip or clipboard or something. He was busy explaining how the car wash couldn't have caused it and I assured him that I agreed, but someone there scratched it with something metal. Gheez@!

After this I have no idea where to go for service since none of the dealers in San Diego seem to have good reviews. This one is so close to home I can smell it...I sadly am thinking of driving to Anaheim and beyond if I can find trustworthy service.

 

Ah, I told them to keep on file that I do not ever want my car washed there in the future. And of course will remind them should I ever have the misfortune of having to go there again after my repair.

Not only is it close but I bought my car there from a very nice salesman. Would love to have given them my loyalty.

 

Yeah, I've been washing it by hand. This car was freshly delivered to the lot the night I bought it. No hidden scratches on this one. The one deep scratch that I'm pressing them to fix though is not possible to hide with any wax, glaze or finish.

 

Thank you. Could someone offer suggestions or experience with handling this situation going forward? I'm scheduled to go in on Monday. I'm wondering if I should write a letter/if there's any chance that they could make things worse or cause other damage when I take it back to get fixed and what to do to prevent that/if the guy I dealt with will try and blow me off when I return and how to prevent or address that should it occur/etc. I also would prefer not to have to deal with that rep anymore. I find him rude and patronizing. Could I complain to management and have them handle it so I don't have to go head-on-head with this service rep anymore? I just want the car fixed as simply and painlessly as possible, and realize I may need to prepare myself and do what I need to do to make that happen.

 

So sorry to hear about your car! Please keep me posted on how it goes getting it resolved. Wishing you the best!

 

Thank you, I think this would be appropriate and helpful.

They took it somewhere offsite and tried to buff it out the first day and it does look much better but I still don't like the fact that there's a visible scratch, it will definitely need more than buffing.

The 3rd objective is that they don't cause additional damage while it's in their care for the repair. Therefore I think I will speak to a higher up about this and make sure to do a walk about before releasing it to them. I wonder if it possible I could stay with the car?? I hate the fact these days that you have to leave your car in the hands of a mechanic while sitting in some room blindly. I much prefer to be able to see the mechanic working on my car. In the past I've had this good fortune now it's all about liability.

Thanks for the suggestions. I agree it's not worth escalating beyond my initial attempts at repair.

 

Hey, so happy to bump into a fellow SD prius owner on here. Well, I'm not afraid to say it's Mossy. If they repair the situation I'll speak up for them.

Looks like you were buying the same car as me only 6 days earlier and a damned good deal! Congratulations! If you're open I'd love to discuss mileage and such with you, considering we are driving on the same terrain and in the same climate. Where did you buy your prius? And have you found a service department you trust? Maybe from when you had the 2008..

 

I live on a hill, too, and work in La Jolla Village (big long hill going in). My round trip to&fro work is 20.6 miles and I can eek out 50mpg if I drive eco and don't hit the power range when accelerating. If I drive normally and just try to stay up with traffic going just about anywhere I'm only averaging about 42. Sounds like you're getting really good mileage, also sounds like your trips are longer, so that might account for my lower mileage(?). I'll be driving to Santa Anna today, so we'll see how she does on a longer trip at this point in the break in process. I'd be curious to know how your El Centro trip goes and any driving tips you employ.