Help! Dealer put 4" scratch in lft mid corner panel

[ncbambi]

Ok came to this dealer on the rave reviews of the forum members. Putting on lg awning in driver side they put a 4" scratch that is thru the clear coat. They said it would take only 6 hours to put anew one on and that they will use bucket rivets not Olympic since that would require taking apart the inside. Is this true? I have friends that had the same panel replaced at JC and they did Olympic rivets without taking the inside apart. I would like to have it like it is. Have only had this new trailer since Dec 08. They said they would not pay for me to the it to JC. Seems they would give me a discount on the awnings.. Please give advice, I am sitting here waiting for their response. I don't see how this will have a happy ending, please advise ASAP. Sitting here waiting!

Nancy

[FLYNCLD]

The Olympic rivets are the ones that do not require skin removal.

[ArtStream]

So sorry to hear of your misfortune

Can you post a picture?

[purman]

Ok, the buck rivets they have to take the inner skin off to put it on with. If they put a scratch in the clear coat they should fix it.

I if they are willing to take money off the awning and install it should be what it would cost you to get the scratched fixed somewhere else.

[ncbambi]

I took pics with my iPhone if you pm me with your email address I will send pics.

[VIKING]

If repairing the scratch is not acceptable then let them replace the panel. They know what to do to make it right. Olympics are the rivets that can be installed from the outside only, and they are accepted replacements that Ohio uses also.
Are they being arrogant or otherwise giving you the impression that they are not going to take care of the problem? If so, call your insurance company and get them started on it. You can then have the option of having it repaired at a place of your choosing.

Sorry for your loss, Nancy

Rich

[ncbambi]

Hey Jason if they figure about six hours to fix at 90.00 retail hourly charge, $600 credit + install? I know that my friends got theirs fixed at JC for over $1200+

[ncbambi]

Hi rich thanks for the info. They did start giving me attitude, and if they continue, I will get the insurance co involved. I think the dealer would much rather deal with me than a claim against them. That's why they have liability insurance anyway. I don't think there is any way to fix it other than replacing the panel.

[jcanavera]

Keep in mind that they would rather deal with the problem themselves, than send you to JC. Why? First their labor cost is truly directly what they are paying their worker. Not the inflated $90 an hour or so. Also note that the materials will be purchased at their cost, not marked up.

Bottom line if they sent you to JC, the repair would cost them much more money. I can tell you that stuff sometimes happens and their willingness to replace the panel is a pretty good offer. You could also ask for some allowance in their original pricing for the awning.

I added an awning at my dealership on my 2001 Safari on the street side. The installer drilled the mount holes in the wrong place which would have made the awning too low. To fix the problem they ended up putting a rivet in the incorrectly drilled holes. Since the holes were on a support vertical support strut, and there were other rivets in the line. Unless you knew differently you would not realize that I had two extra rivets. Yeah it shouldn't have happened, but it did and they took what I felt was the best course of action. They did walk me out to the trailer and showed me what they did, prior to me taking the trailer home. I probably should have asked for some allowance but on the other hand, cosmetically for 99.9% of anyone looking at that trailer, you would never have known that there was an extra rivet in the line of rivets in that vertical strut.

Jack

[Over59]

Let them fix it. If they do it right you are starting a working relationship that may come in handy. If they screw it up you can take it somewhere else and suit them. Which is alot of trouble. The dealer in Connecticut just denied they damaged mine and that was that. So far you are ahead.

[Astroboy]

Without knowing how serious or big the "scratch" is or its location...

Option #1, Olympic Rivets: I would hesitate to have an exterior panel replaced because of a "scratch", the original buck rivets will be drilled out, and re-riveted with Olympic rivets (weaker), and the seam will somehow need to be sealed. The original seal from the factory is thoroughly pressure-tested. The new seal will not be.

Option #2, Buck Rivets: It requires removal of inner skin, which means, miscellaneous fixtures in the interior will also need to be taken apart, then put back together later (properly, without any mistakes). I would hesitate more going with this. Many things can go wrong.

It seems that replacing a panel for a scratch will risk possibilities of introducing unforeseen troubles.

I think it may be better to accept that "stuff" happens in life, and live with it. Not sweat the small stuff, and figure out what may be your best interest in overall scheme of things, or in this case, overall long-term health of your lovely trailer.

I suggest brushing on some clear nail polish, and ask for some money back from the dealer...

Sorry for your misfortune.

[jcanavera]

I also don't know how bad it looks but you could attempt to clear coat the scratch. I had a pop of the Alcoa finish on my new trailer which was about half the size of a dime. The dealer and I looked at it and while the dealer could have replaced the panel, I was wondering whether the panel would place me at more risk than dealing with the pop itself. He also noted he could recoat the entire panel but that wouldn't be the same material as what Alcoa uses, thus it might look different.

It ended up I bought some automotive clear coat in one of those small paint touch up bottles at the local auto parts store and covered that small spot with several coats. That clear coat has held and now over 4 years later, I've seen no further deterioration of that spot. Mine is high enough to be pretty much out of direct site. My dealer noted in the warranty that if we had further deterioration, he'd be prepared to deal with the panel. I have this in writing in the records for my trailer. Now obviously it's not warranted forever, but on the other hand I have inspected that spot at least twice a year and when the trailer was stored outside, I did recoat the spot annually. Now that it spends most of it's life indoors, wear and tear on that clear coated spot is minimal.

You might be able to deal with this in a similar manner for your problem with a promise to replace the panel, if covering the scratch with a automotive clear coat doesn't hold.

Jack

[Happycampers]

Nancy ... So sorry to hear of your misfortune...

[ArtStream]

I'm in agreement with Astroboy.

Having a new panel can only lead to leaks plus added weight.

You know, they do not remove the old panel, just slap a new panel on top, really!

Take the discount, apply some clear to the scratch and you're ahead of the game.

Wait a little while, you'll get another scratch, that's how it goes.



Michael

Originally Posted by Astroboy

Without knowing how serious or big the "scratch" is or its location...

Option #1, Olympic Rivets: I would hesitate to have an exterior panel replaced because of a "scratch", the original buck rivets will be drilled out, and re-riveted with Olympic rivets (weaker), and the seam will somehow need to be sealed. The original seal from the factory is thoroughly pressure-tested. The new seal will not be.

Option #2, Buck Rivets: It requires removal of inner skin, which means, miscellaneous fixtures in the interior will also need to be taken apart, then put back together later (properly, without any mistakes). I would hesitate more going with this. Many things can go wrong.

It seems that replacing a panel for a scratch will risk possibilities of introducing unforeseen troubles.

I think it may be better to accept that "stuff" happens in life, and live with it. Not sweat the small stuff, and figure out what may be your best interest in overall scheme of things, or in this case, overall long-term health of your lovely trailer.

I suggest brushing on some clear nail polish, and ask for some money back from the dealer...

Sorry for your misfortune.

[ncbambi]

Hi All, well the dealer did come through and ended not charging me for the large awning, including all the labor. I really do appreciate all of your comments: astroboy, jack, marvin and annie, 2air and all of you helped me come to the same conclusion, that it is a little thing really! As you all have stated, replacing a panel is not a good thing, clear coat on top will remove the shine to some extent, and it is on the "other" side of the trailer - Just how much will I see this!

I managed to get home last night and had to drive through several torrential thunder/rain storms. It's amazing how much your perspective changes as you are concentrating on driving safely and making sure you stay away from those who are not! Got home and just plopped it in the drive, and finished backing it in this morning. Rinsed off the road grime, chocked it and didn't even think about the scratch (well maybe a bit!).

So, @#$% happens, life goes on. I really can't thank you enough with all the comments, as I was posting all that with my iphone yesterday! It is a good feeling that when you need a helping hand, the forum is just a click away.

Nancy

[purman]

Sounds like a good deal in the end If you are happy.

The first big trip I took with my trailer I pulled into a gas station at midnight and forgot I was pulling and hit the post on the way in. Dented my hub caps and put a dent in the AS fender... @#$% does happen....

[bob34787]

I have had my 08 28' for 2 months and probably put a 3" scratch in it when I broke the claw bar on the awning. I would gladly trade a scratch for a new awning. Just consider it as not as new as it was and enjoy camping.