What would you do?

[thumper]

We just got our Sundance back from the dealer for some minor warranty work before the warranty expired and found the dealer crunched the front drivers side of the fiberglass cap (you can see the insulation). Nothing major, the dealer admitted to doing it and said it was no big deal, they could patch it easily.

Can they really? I would have thought they would have to paint the whole cap and reapply the decals. What should I watch out for?

I should have not bothered and down the work myself. Very frustrating spending the time and money to take it back. Over an hour each way.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Doug

 

[jmgratz]

We had a crack in our rear cap and a fiberglass man in Elkhart repaired it and painted it. You cannot even tell. But, ours was just a crack and not as bad as yours sounds. I don't know????????????

 

[Dougstdig]

I'm sure it was an accident and not intentional, but they shouldn't get out of the situation in a way that benefits them the most. I would push real hard to have the cap replaced. Part of the reason being...you really don't know what may be damaged behind the cap. Also, a patch is a patch. They didn't damage an area that was patched. You shouldn't leave with a patch.

...and see if they will compensate you for your mileage. A full tank of fuel should do it.

 

[pmmjarrett]

First off, thank your lucky stars that you have a dealer honest enough to admit they goofed up, then thank the dealer for having the guts to admit they did it.

Fiberglass is one of the easiest things to repair when no major chunks are missing and and the repair can be as strong or stronger than the original when the area is properly scarfed and patched. If there is no structural damage and it's not major damage the cap doesn't need to be removed. Paint can easily be blended and buffed out, body shops have been doing that for 20+ years that I know of, no need to paint the entire cap and reapply decals that are not involved in the vicinity of the repair and paint.

 

[Netem]

A friend had a repair done to the front cap on a sob and after a year the repaired place became a big dull spot so if you go with the repair I would want a warrenty on their work.

 

[DougLynne]

We had a small gouge repaired and I have no idea where it is, you can't tell by looking. We had it done in Elkhart when were at the rally last year..../Doug

 

[thumper]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to get a tank a fuel and a lifetime warranty for the trouble.

 

[Gary Steeves]

On my first trip with my new BH, I was "mis-guided" into a site, made contact with a golf cart (the rangers) that made a hole down to the exposed fiberglass on the rear cap. I put some bondo on it, sanded it down, painted with a spray can and nobody would ever know. That was over a year ago and all is well. The toughest part was the paint match.

Your professionals should do a seamless job as long as there is no structural damage.

 

[jpmorgan37]

Ever see a Corvette with a body damage repair? They don't replace the whole car. A good fiberglass repair will be as good as the original. Let them repair it and don't worry about it. It will probably be better than having the whole cap replaced. JMHO

John

 

[davebennington]

Gary,

John is correct, I just had my end cap repaired. The cost if a new end cap installed about $3000.00 vs cost to repair $1200.00. Best of all you cannot tell it was ever hurt.

Dave