After a 4 month wait for my car...

[Seven7h]

The idiot at the dealership put a screw meant to go through the license plate plastic insert through the body of the car instead, just above ths square hole for the adapter:

I know the hole will be behind the license plate, but I dont want water getting into the panel when it rains, between the exterior body and interior plastic... it could end up inside the trunk that way.

I also dont want this to be a point where rust starts to develop and the paint degrades.

Also, now there are only 3 sides for the license plate adapter to grab onto instead of 4. Im worried this means the license plate, which is only held on by the top two screws on the plate, might not be secure.

I dont want to go down the messy road of replacing bodywork and repainting on a brand new car... it will never match quite right and there will be overspray etc. So they have offered to just fill the hole in with some silicone sealant type stuff to keep water out. Skeptical it will work.

Thoughts? Ideas on what to do with my brand new car with a screwhole in the body?

Oh yeah, in addition, they:
-Ordered the wrong car configuration
-Gave me order lead time... they said 8-10 weeks, didnt tell me that was when theyd be able to get the order in because of their lack of allocation.

Meanwhile, despite their countless fuckups, the sales guy keeps emphasizing if I dont give him an excellent on Ford's survey he wont get his bonus paid, since they dont get paid on commission. Annoying. They dont deserve to be in business.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Fuck them....you doled out money to buy a car....they should accommodate you....if they don't.....flush them like a turd in a toilet in the survey. Fuck him and his bonus.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[Nightcrew13]

Yep right back to the dealership and get the lift gate panel on order, on them. ^^^

 

[zanethan]

Fuck them....you doled out money to buy a car....they should accommodate you....if they don't.....flush them like a turd in a toilet in the survey. Fuck him and his bonus.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

What ^ said!

 

[M-Sport fan]

My stealership did not even eff me over as badly as yours did, and I gave them a HORRID review on the Ford Corporate survey.

This means so much to them, and their status with Ford, that they offered to 'buy' my decent review on the followup survey with either free parts, or a check.

They would have saved EVERYONE involved A LOT of heartache and bother IF they would have just treated me right/fairly in the first place.
But I guess they are compelled to try and 'get over' on the customer ANY way they can, especially on a low volume, low profit margin car like ours, and then hope the customer forgets their mistreatment/being ripped-off when the survey comes around (or that the customer does not even respond to the survey?).

I hope that you at least got it for a decent price, but being where you are located, I seriously doubt even that.

 

[Seven7h]

Thanks all. My hands are a little tied because when they screwed up my order, after initially being pissed, I said I would take the car but not pay for the Nav they added mistakenly. So I got free Nav on the car, but I have zero intention of using it because of Apple Carplay.

Im really worried about water getting into the trunk now, especially because when you drive there is a rolling air current that throws air/debris/water at the trunk of a car.

I had it out with the sales manager who tried to dismiss my concerns and said it was a small mistake and that I was being too particular... just goes to show you that the dealership business model needs to die. Now I feel stuck between the dealer and Ford.

Im sure I could get the body panel replaced, but it would certainly lead to other problems and I dont want to send my brand new car into the paint booth... have had bad experiences there with another car.

Every Ford dealership here is so shady and incompetent ... Im no longer interested in purchasing Ford products.

 

[JDG]

Thanks all. My hands are a little tied because when they screwed up my order, after initially being pissed, I said I would take the car but not pay for the Nav they added mistakenly. So I got free Nav on the car, but I have zero intention of using it because of Apple Carplay.

Im really worried about water getting into the trunk now, especially because when you drive there is a rolling air current that throws air/debris/water at the trunk of a car.

I had it out with the sales manager who tried to dismiss my concerns and said it was a small mistake and that I was being too particular... just goes to show you that the dealership business model needs to die. Now I feel stuck between the dealer and Ford.

Im sure I could get the body panel replaced, but it would certainly lead to other problems and I dont want to send my brand new car into the paint booth... have had bad experiences there with another car.

I would give ford corporate a call and see what they will do for you. I would not be incredibly concerned about the damage. I would try to rig up a "gasket" out of some rubber hose or an o-ring to prevent water intrusion. Sounds like you should forget the dealer at this point, give them the shit review, and find a new dealer for your service, maintenance, and warranty work in the future.

This is precisely why I avoid the dealership at all costs. I didn't even let them put the plate on my car when I bought it because I couldn't trust the salesman with the simplest of tasks. The stupidity of some people really blows my mind sometimes.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Im sure I could get the body panel replaced, but it would certainly lead to other problems and I dont want to send my brand new car into the paint booth... have had bad experiences there with another car.

I don't blame you ONE BIT on that!

They wanted me to get a whole new passenger side skirt, and have it painted/installed by their shop, for just the front section peeling away from the rocker a little bit as they are prone to do.

I said NO THANKS, and that I would let them re-glue it with that $$$ 3M sealant stuff, but I don't want the car tied up there for a week or more (and who knows what other damage they would inflict on the poor thing while in their custody ), only to get it back with un-matched paint on the skirt.

 

[M-Sport fan]

This is precisely why I avoid the dealership at all costs. I didn't even let them put the plate on my car when I bought it because I couldn't trust the salesman with the simplest of tasks. The stupidity of some people really blows my mind sometimes.

Their (and even the WHOLE parts/service/etc. dept. people's) lack of even the most BASIC automotive/mechanical knowledge sometimes ASTOUNDS ME, let alone their total incomprehension of the model specific details/nuances.
It seems that these people are hired SOLELY and COMPLETELY on their 'cult of SALES personality' traits, and being able to persuade the equally auto-ignorant general public to BUY BUY BUY EXCLUSIVELY!!

 

[TrickSTer]

How about trying to get the dealer to swap the hatch with one from another new car?

 

[jmrtsus]

The idiot at the dealership put a screw meant to go through the license plate plastic insert through the body of the car instead, just above ths square hole for the adapter:

I know the hole will be behind the license plate, but I dont want water getting into the panel when it rains, between the exterior body and interior plastic... it could end up inside the trunk that way.

I also dont want this to be a point where rust starts to develop and the paint degrades.

Also, now there are only 3 sides for the license plate adapter to grab onto instead of 4. Im worried this means the license plate, which is only held on by the top two screws on the plate, might not be secure.

I dont want to go down the messy road of replacing bodywork and repainting on a brand new car... it will never match quite right and there will be overspray etc. So they have offered to just fill on the hole in with some silicone sealant type stuff to keep water out. Skeptical it will work.

Thoughts? Ideas on what to do with my brand new car with a screwhole in the body?

Oh yeah, in addition, they:
-Ordered the wrong car configuration
-Gave me order lead time... they said 8-10 weeks, didnt tell me that was when theyd be able to get the order in because of their lack of allocation.

Meanwhile, despite their countless fuckups, the sales guy keeps emphasizing if I dont give him an excellent on Ford's survey he wont get his bonus paid, since they dont get paid on commission. Annoying. They dont deserve to be in business.

If you call Ford Customer Care they will take care of it. As to surveys TRASH the dealer.........they will respond with a "what can we do to fix this"............I raised hell about a front plate on my car and the rivets in my new bumper.......not required in this state.....dealer orders all cars with it to put dealer name tags. After bad review the offered to pay for removal and the correct plugs to fill holes if I would change my survey! Same with rip off "Dealer Fees", Ford dealer refunded $600 due to complaint with Customer Care. RAISE HELL WITH FORD......the dealer only cares if Ford gets on their ass and my experience with Customer Care is they are an owner advocate and will chew some dealer ass.

 

[zanethan]

I agree that raising hell on reviews will get some action but you have to be persistent and patient.

That being said water was going to get "inside" the hatch even with the little square pieces. Those plastic squares are not water tight and the hatch is designed to disperse any water that might get in. There are drain holes on the bottom to allow water that gets into doors/hatches to get out. Open your hatch, look at the bottom lip, and you'll see them. They are little rectangles.

I get how frustrating and annoying this is but it sounds like you got a decent deal with the free nav (even if you don't plan on using it, I'll attest that it's a decent system and has prevented numerous fights between my wife and I). I would push for a free/greatly reduced extended bumper to bumper warranty instead of a new hatch door. That way if it (rust) becomes an issue in 5 years it'll be covered and you don't have worry with paint matching or sending it back to a clearly incompetent dealer.

 

[ZREXER]

I feel your pain. I literally got my Fiesta right off the truck. All the protective wrappings in place except what they had to remove once it came off the train so it could be moved to a transport truck to the dealer. No PDI, no dealer wash (with complimentary swirl marks), no dealer sticker. I even put on my own plate when I picked it up.
I requested this exactly because of my fear of them F'ing up my pristine new car.

Personally, I would tell them to stick the car and go elsewhere. You really don't want it fixed as the paint will never be as good or match correctly.

 

[TomCat]

Bummer that this happened, but easily fixable on your own.
Use silicone (get some good stuff, and present the bill to the dealer------under 5 bucks).
Insert the nylon nut then dab & smooth the silicone above the nut. A popsicle stick would work for this.
As you said, it's behind the plate so isn't noticeable. BUT YOU KNOW IT'S THERE DAMMIT! I'm the same way, so I understand. Do what I do with these little imperfections, consider them "Beauty Marks". Keeps ya from going batty.
As for the integrity of the nut in the maimed hole, for peace of mind buy a set like this, which includes 2 additional nuts & screws for the bottom.
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...258/5015324-P?searchTerm=licence+plate+screws
I have this set on my ST because the bottom of the plate would make a racket when the hatch was closed.

 

[Sil3nt611]

As much money as a car costs they need to give you the cutomer service to warrant a good review. This is why I drove an hour and a half out of my way to order at a good dealer and I regret nothing about my purchase. And we have countless Ford dealers here in the DFW metroplex but I went to several and none of them seemed to care too much.

 

[PIPLUP]

I was there when my first FiST came off the truck to, I also washed it my self and no dealer stickers either.

 

[Seven7h]

Thanks all for the feedback and reassurances.

Glad to see Im not crazy for being upset. Havent even made a single payment yet. I told them that when it showed up, leave plastic on everything, dont remove anything, park at the back of the lot, and don't let people sit in it, and don't wash it. So it is frustrating to have the one thing I forgot to mention (don't install plate!) be something they cant manage to do without damaging the car.

Also they made me feel crazy for asking them not to wash it... they have a built-in car wash like the ones at gas stations, or they offered to use the pressure washer and chamois. Both would swirl up the paint. They kept saying "we're careful, we've never had anyone complain before!" Lol! But it came from Mexico completely filthy... I didn't want to be the guy who comes back after taking it off the lot and says there was already a scratch there.

So to compromise, when I picked it up I let them quickly hit it with the pressure washer but not dry it so I could be more comfortable that the paint was fine. Sure, hard water isnt good to be left sitting on paint, but it got cleaned up pretty quickly after at the high end detailer.

Good to know that I should add the lower two mount points so the plate doesnt rattle. Also good to know its okay to have water and it will drain out. I'll look for the drains you mention. It may not be perfectly water tight, but they put rubberized/foam material on the backside of the white plastic clips which seems to keep most of it out. I recognize its probably mainly there to protect the paint from the hard plastic of the backside of the clip, but I just didnt want to tempt fate by having a big hole there above the clip, allowing more water in than normal.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^The reason they think we're crazy (I told them the same thing, that THEIR lot people are GUARANTEED to put swirls into the paint with their washing!) is because they 99.999% of the time are dealing with people who ONLY buy cars as a point A to point B 'appliance', and could not give a half a shit about the car's condition, since they are going to lease a new one in 2-3 years anyway!!!

They are not used to enthusiasts who might just be holding onto their rides for longer than that, and are therefore much more OCD about things like paint for the long term.

I told them I will NOT accept the car for delivery IF there are even minor swirls in the paint, so the salesman told me he will take it to the high end detailer with a GREAT rep/approval rating literally across the street from the dealer to have it washed for delivery.
I also told them to park it in the back before that, and that NO ONE is to test drive this car WHATSOEVER!!

The whole reason I ordered it, and then waited almost 5 months for delivery is because I did not trust what the salespeople/dealer's drivers would/could do to it during that almost 100 mile trip back to the dealer for the ONE optioned the way I wanted it (fully base Magnetic color car, NO options save for the PS AS/3s), they 'found' for me at a 'swap friendly' dealership they do business with in the state.

 

[Seven7h]

The problem is threefold:

1) Water getting in (but it has drains on the bottom so not a big issue)
2) Exposed metal means oxidation and paint problems down the line
3) The square hole is actually dented!

Brought it in today and opted not to go with any messy silicone/sealants since this doesnt need to be totally water tight.

You can't get the white plastic pieces that came with the car that you mount the license plate to anymore... Ford doesn't sell them. Ford superseded that part number to a different black piece that has no foam on the back side and only grabs the square hole on 2 sides of the square hole, instead of 4. So I had them cut some foam to go behind it and extend up a bit further on the damaged hole to mostly cover the hole where the screw went through the body.

I also had them swap the two little rubber bumpers on the bottom 2 square holes to 2 more of the hard mounts.

I asked about the possibility of rust of the raw metal where the screw went through leading to future paint damage and the tech said he would recommend I let them use some touch up paint to seal it up again. They didnt have it in stock so it will be another trip.

Also now I definitely see thst square hole is dented in... grrr! I'd need to take it to a body shop to have it fixed and for a brand new car I'm just not willing to risk it. A brand new car and all of this hassle and stress!!! The detail shop at the dealership who didn't even wash it... just mounted the license plate frame with their stupid advertising insert and still managed to fuck that up... must've used a power tool and a ton of force to put the screws in when they shouldve used a damn screwdriver. How do you dent that??

I'll probably live wih it dented for a year or two since it is behind the license plate anyway and going to the body shop is just another risk factor... they'll fuck somehing else up. In a year or two I'll just get the new model, so for now I'll just drive this one like I stole it

See how its dented?

 

[Nightcrew13]

The problem is threefold:

1) Water getting in (but it has drains on the bottom so not a big issue)
2) Exposed metal means oxidation and paint problems down the line
3) The square hole is actually dented!

Brought it in today and opted not to go with any messy silicone/sealants since this doesnt need to be totally water tight.

You cant get the white plastic pieces that came with the car that you mount the license plate to anymore... Ford doesn't sell them. Ford superseded that part number to a different black piece that has no foam on the back side and only grabs the square hole on 2 sides of the square hole, instead of 4. So I had them cut some foam to go behind it and extend up a bit further on the damaged hole to mostly cover the hole where the screw went through the body.

I also had them swap the two little rubber bumpers on the bottom 2 square holes to 2 more of the hard mounts.

I asked about the possibility of rust of the raw metal where the screw went through leading to future paint damage and the tech said he would recommend I let them use some touch up paint to seal it up again. They didnt have it in stock so it will be another trip.

Also now I definitely see thst square hole is dented in... grrr! Id need to take it to a body shop to have it fixed and for a brand new car Im just not willing to risk it. A brand new car and all of this hassle and stress!!! The detail shop at the dealership who didnt even wash it... just mounted the license plate frame with their stupid advertising insert and still managed to fuck that up... mustve used a power tool and a ton of force to put the screws in when they shouldve used a damn screwdriver. How do you dent that??

Ill probably live wih it dented for a year or two since it is behind the license plate anyway and going to the body shop is just another risk factor... they'll fuck somehing else up. In a year or two I'll just get the new model, so for now I'll just drive this one like I stole it

See how its dented?

Yuck