I need your help!

[2003_MM_FYRE49]

Hello everyone,

When I picked up my MM on March 13th there were a few paint problems. There was a ding in the drivers door from the transport, a scratch in the right rear quarter panel, a stain on the left front corner of the hood and also factory ding that needed to be removed. I took the car back to the dealer for my 1000 mi. oil change, and to get the paint fixed. When I picked the car up the first time the hood, door and quarter panel were a charcol grey color. I took it back again and now the header panel and top of the fenders are the same color grey along with the trunk beacause they blended it. Has anyone had any problems with the dealer not being able to get the paint to match? The service manager told me that the body shop he uses told him there was a problem with the clear coat turning the paint grey. It sticks out like a sore thumb, and I want to get it right. I was wondering if the car could be shipped back to the factory to get it repainted? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,

Tim

[jgc61sr2002]

2003 - See if the dealer can send the MM to another body shop. Had a small scratch on mine at time of delivery and opted to leave it alone for the reasons you mention. John:(

[Thomas C Potter]

Back to the 'factory' is not possible, a high quality paint shop as JGC suggested is the best option. Sorry to hear, hope they gave discount.

[BODYMAN]

Tim, I run a dealership bodyshop and what he is telling you does not make sense. he states the clear turn the basecoat a gray color? I'am I right in understanding you? This could be from several different problems. ! they did not do a simple spray out to make sure thecolor was correct or the entire vehicle the basecoat may not have enough color on and it not covering the original factory sealer. If you look at youre side mldgs in direct sunlight does it have the same cast as youre hood now does? AS for asking them to have the factory fix it. THat wont be a option also you by no means wanting the factory fix it. I have to fix stuff the factory so called fixed all the time. they like to blend in the clear coat in the middle of panels thats right clear in the middle of panels not base coat. are they subletting the work out? IF so you need to talk to that shop directly not the service manager. NO offense to any service managers on this board but I have not met alot of them who know much about paint work. THe other problem you are going to have to consider is you do not want that shop putting 3-4 paint jobs on it trying to get it right that many coats on one panel could cause problems down the road.
THis is why I did not fix any small factory blems on my ride I simply sanded and buffed the spots best possible and left well enough alone. with out seeing youre vehicle in person It is very hard to make assumptions on what is going on with youre car or what they may have done wrong. If I were to see youre vehicle in person I could tell you in 5-minutes what is wrong, as I have 15 yrs of painting on my belt. I really hope this helps.

[RF Overlord]

Originally posted by 93tealcobra
as I have 15 yrs of painting on my belt.

Must be one heavy belt...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[BODYMAN]

RF its heavy enough that at the end of each day I can feel it!!!!
I';am tired of working and ready to retire just not enough money and as the wife always says to way to young.

[joflewbyu2]

i am always amazed how when i sell a car and it might have a small scratch and the customer ask me for my help and does the oppisite and then complains. if the scratch is a surface scratch - not through to the paint - just the clearcoat, just wet sand and polish with glaze and seal with paint sealant. if it is through to the paint or primer - clean and fill with touch up paint. but i never recommend repainting the whole surface - wether just a hood, quarter panel nor door for a scratch. it has never turned out better. i could always tell - wether the color is right or wrong because there are other tell tale signs such as "sheen". sheen is surface texture and shine which is dependeant upon paint depth and quality as well as diffence in paint sprayers and distance. most cars are 4.5-5.0 mils thick. i seen dozens of different body shops work and what i say is the truth.

[BODYMAN]

JO, It would make my life alot easier if other salesman had the same understanding you do. I get salesman bringing me customers with the simplest of problems. Simply sand and buff and leave it alone...

[2003_MM_FYRE49]

93 teal cobra, that is correct I was told that the clear coat was causing the grey color. The SM told me that the body shop they sublet to had a factory rep from the paint company go out to look at the car and tell him what he needed to do to correct the problem. I guess he told him to blend the header, and fenders. The body side moldings didn't get any paint so they are still the original color which matches the parts of the car that didn't get repainted. I too am concered about having the car painted repeatedly, but if you saw it you could understand why I can not accept the car the way it looks. If I could have had it fixed with just wet sanding and buffing that would have been no problem, but the dings and scratches were the first thing and everyone who saw the car noticed.I wish I knew that you worked in a body shop, I was just in Springfield on Thursday and Friday, I could have taken a quick run there.

Tim

[BODYMAN]

Tim, at this point I would suggest having another quality shop simply look at youre vehicle with you and see what they say get another opion, I wish I could see it and see what they did excatly. Like youre saying it is a bummer they did not get it right the 1st time. In my opinon the 2nd try better be right. Can you see in direct sunlight were the gray color stops within the panel or did they color the entire panels which they painted? If you are ever in my area feel free to stop in just send me a PM.

Todd

[2003_MM_FYRE49]

It's obvious where the grey ends and the black begins. even with the overcast and clouds today you can pick it up immediatly. the grill is black and the header back and tops of the fenders are grey. I do have a body shop in Batavia that does outstanding work. He fixed my 2000 Vic's quarter panel after it got hit. I couldn't tell where he fixed it and that car was Harvest Gold which I would think could be a pain to match. I'm taking the car there first thing in the morning, and then calling the dealer after he tells me what needs to be done. How far is it to St. Louie from Elgin, I might have to go down and see ya if need be.

TIm

[jrzygrl]

Fyre,
Get an attorney and demand a new car!!!

[bugsys03]

with hundreds (maybe thousands) of MMs sitting on car lots around the country not selling it amazes me why you would take delivery on a $35000 vehicle with all of those defects and have to go through the bs

[BODYMAN]

Tim, you are correct gold is one of if not the hardest color to blend. you are on the right track getting a second opinion. Were is Elgin? !! from springfield St Louis it is approx 2- hrs away from springfield.

[2003_MM_FYRE49]

Cobra, Elgin is about 35 minutes NW of Chicago. Lynn, it took me a long time to find this car, because it's a pre-decontented 300B. I can't really say anything bad about the dealer itself. They have bent over backwards trying to make me happy, so I'm gonna give them a chance.

[UncleLar]

Chicago to St.Louis is 300 miles,pretty close to the same from Elgin,which is around 35 miles directly west of Chicago.
Sorry to hear about the problems you're having,especially after what you went through to get your car.

[jrzygrl]

Tim, that's fair enough, it's just too bad to have to deal with it. I feel your frustrations though, am finding out some things the original dealership did cause' I brought her to someone else today and they're telling me bad install on the spoiler and the hood paint is messed up too. So, back to the original guy I go.......

[LincMercLover]

I feel your pain jrzygrl... Cousel damage here. :mad:

[jrzygrl]

Hope they get it right FYRE........

[RF Overlord]

Originally posted by LincMercLover
Cousel damage here. :mad:

:confused: :confused:

[LincMercLover]

They marred it up when they replaced my cracked shifter bezel. Went in for "a new one," however, they just had a vynal guy touch it up, and I could still see the marks. So, I POLITELY guided my SM to his computer so he could push the correct buttons to order me a new one. I also told him this will be the last time he touches my car, as I have now found a new SM.

[jrzygrl]

Originally posted by LincMercLover
I feel your pain jrzygrl... Cousel damage here. :mad: Failed Spelling did ya' LML? :D

[LincMercLover]

Counsel, happy?!?! Geez... I got YOU to add to "the list" now too? :shake:

[jrzygrl]

Don't you mean console? LIST! OH MY GOD! NOT THE LIST!:cry:

[LincMercLover]

That too...

And yes, you are now on my list! :D

[jrzygrl]

But, LML, I promise I'll be good, please take me off the list...what do I have to do? :bows:

[LincMercLover]

NOPE! I already had to close down a thread you started and now this? I don't think so...

I take it you took lessons from TAF on thread replies? :lol:

[jrzygrl]

What did you close down?

[RCSignals]

Sheesh, you let the guy go to a Prom and look what happens

[studio460]

Originally posted by bugsys03
with hundreds (maybe thousands) of MMs sitting on car lots around the country not selling it amazes me why you would take delivery on a $35000 vehicle with all of those defects and have to go through the bs

When shopping for my Marauder in March 2003, to my surprise, none of the LM dealers near me had any Marauders at all! Los Angeles county's largest Ford/LM dealer told me, "They stopped making the Marauder in January--can I interest you in a Grand Marquis instead?" I had to drive to a dealer 65 miles away (who had one 300A w/96 miles, one 300B with 47 miles, and one 300B w/4 miles).

[JamesHecker]

Where did you end up getting yours, shooter?

[studio460]

James Hecker:

Answered you in a PM.

93tealcobra:

Since we're on the subject of paint, can anyone suggest/point me in the right direction to exactly how to repair the buffer burns (see photo) I have on my black Marauder? I was about to take it to a Ford body shop for warranty repair, but after 2003_MM_FYRE49's horrid tale, I think not.

My concern is not to further abrade the clearcoat finish (how many mils thick is the clearcoat?). Abrasions, burn marks, scratches--they all go away by doing one of two things, yes? 1. Fill it. 2. Abrade the rest of the clearcoat around the affected area (bringing the clearcoat down to the same "thinness" as the affected area), yes?

http://newsfile.tv/nbcburn400.jpg

From another paint thread here, I was planning to first apply the 3M Swirl Remover product, and then diligently proceed through the entire Zaino Bros.' product process.

Could you possibly provide any more specifics on the "just wet sand and polish with glaze and seal with paint sealant" process that you had mentioned? How many mils of clearcoat would this procedure take away? Any more specific guidance would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks to all . . .

[2003_MM_FYRE49]

Well I took the car to my body shop yesterday that I have been dealing with for several years now. After he looked at it he pointed out that my MM is now three different colors. I had the service manager from my dealer contact the body shop I deal with. I told him that I want the car repaired there. The service manager called me back later yesterday afternoon, and said that he would not allow me to have the car fixed at my body shop because the bodyshop wants $1500.00 to repair it. He told me that I can bring it back to the dealer and they will give it a third shot. I told him that was not an option. I've been trying to contact the salesman that sold me the car today but he seems to be unavailable each time I call... (imagine that). What do you guys think? :help:

Tim

[Macon Marauder]

Oh man. That stinks! But if they won't go for it, you may be stuck. Might be time to bump this up the ladder. Maybe take your Marauder in for a look see by the General Manager? Ask for a time you can meet with the factory rep?

In short: time to escalate!

[prchrman]

NBC...try a $5 tube of maguires scratch romover...did wonders for my paint and just waxed after...could not see any defects, nada, nill,zero...

[ChuckB]

NBC,

and you should be concerned about the thickness of clear and base! i reshot my front bumper skin - courtesy a gravel truck and my grill - did some custom work and got rid of that big silver zit in the middle. (looks much better without the LM advertisement)

3 or 4 passes with 320 grit went right thru the color and clear on the bumper skin - man it was thin, maybe 2 or 3 mils at most. i also noticed there was no clear on the underside of the bumper skin and inside the back of the driving light "tubes".

2003
no problems matching the paint though - even for a garage operation. i used Dupont color and clear. but the MM's black is widely used. at the paint shop there must have been this black going back 10 years - it's nothing special or difficult to work with.

the dealership screwed it up make them fix it. of coarse the dealer is going to say no. go the the dealer's GM tell him it's now the 2nd time to get it fixed and tell him you have lost all confidence in "HIS DEALERSHIP". The dealers do this stuff all day long - he'll get the paint guys to do it right. The squeeky wheel gets greased.

[SergntMac]

Originally posted by 2003_MM_FYRE49
I can bring it back to the dealer and they will give it a third shot. I told him that was not an option. I've been trying to contact the salesman that sold me the car today but he seems to be unavailable each time I call. What do you guys think?

Since you ask, Tim, I think the Dealer should get his third try. It's a requirement of Illinois "Lemon Law," should that route be necessary later down the road. Worst case is that he screws it up one more time, and if what you want is another MM or a full pro re-paint, how could a third screw up harm your case? OTOH, he may have approval for a full repaint, but only in-house and not a cash pay-out to a third party.

BTW, I also think your salesman is out of the loop now, no sense beating a dead dog, eh? You own the car now, the deal is closed and you need to deal with the SM, or better. Give him one more shot, he owes you. If that's not satisfactory, then go up, and I mean way up, let your complaint trickle down through their chain of command, because by the time it gets to the Area Rep's desk, there will be a lot of signatures, (and eyes) on your paperwork.

Fight smart, Tim, this is just your first experience with this MM, you may be back here in a year with other issues. Don't blow the bridge yet, just let them know you have your explosives set in place...IMHO.

Anyone got change for a dollar?

[studio460]

Everyone:

Thanks for all your help, especially 93tealcobra (haven't read your PMs yet 'cause I'm still at work, but much appreciated!!!).

2003_MM_FYRE49:

I'm sorry to hear about all your paint problems. IMHO, this is way beyond acceptable, and I think the dealership's General Manager will only go as far as others have stated. I think it's time to contact Ford's Customer Relationship Center (CRC) if you haven't already done so.

[RCSignals]

Originally posted by NBC Shooter
When shopping for my Marauder in March 2003, to my surprise, none of the LM dealers near me had any Marauders at all! Los Angeles county's largest Ford/LM dealer told me, "They stopped making the Marauder in January--can I interest you in a Grand Marquis instead?" I had to drive to a dealer 65 miles away (who had one 300A w/96 miles, one 300B with 47 miles, and one 300B w/4 miles).

That reflects what I have talked about all along. Ford's distribution and dealer allocation of these cars, (as well as the Thunderbird) has been screwy and very disproportionate.

Stacks of them out east and in the south, few out west. Bigger dealers out this way might have been able to get three MM in over a period of time.

[jgc61sr2002]

Originally posted by RCSignals
That reflects what I have talked about all along. Ford's distribution and dealer allocation of these cars, (as well as the Thunderbird) has been screwy and very disproportionate.

Stacks of them out east and in the south, few out west. Bigger dealers out this way might have been able to get three MM in over a period of time. RC you are correct, most dealers in the NY area have several MM's in stock and most of them are 300a's. John

[DHULK]

I`VE HAD MINE IN TO FIX A LITTLE KISS IN THE A$$ FROM SOME OLD LADY AND IT CAME OUT GREAT, EVEN FIXED A SCRATCH IN THE DOOR AND YOU WOULD NEVER KNOWN IT WAS THERE!

[merc406]

03 MM, this sounds like the shop their using doesn't clean their spray equipment well enough and has dust in the air giving it that gray look in the clearcoat.

[jrzygrl]

Anyone heard from Fyre? What's the outcome of his situation with this? I hope it's good news......

[2003_MM_FYRE49]

Well here's the latest. I have to take it all the way out there next week on a sunny day so they can see it. THe body shop wants to have both Ford Reps, and paint manufacturer Reps there so they can see it and decide what to do. When I talked to the bodyshop personally, he acted as tho I was lying about the difference in colors. He even went as far as to say that they didn't shoot the header panel the second time it was in. I know he's full of it because it matched the grill when I got it back the first time, now it doesn't. I guess we'll see what happens next.

Tim

[WolfeBros]

Stay on them Tim. Its your car, they screwed it up, you want it right and we are behind you. Good luck with the reps. :up:

[merc406]

Ask them if that couldn't be primer dust in the clearcoat. ---Back in the 70's Chrysler had a black and a metallic black out at the same time, and the metallic was sprayed more than once by accident.

[BODYMAN]

Tim's problem stems from the basecoat. THey are trying to tell him the clear chaged the color!!! I have only see that happen with the new urethane on either a white or very similar light color. There was either a improper mix of the color or something related to the basecoat. Of course I have not seen tims car so I'am only speaking from what I have been told.
I wish him the best of luck getting it resolved.

Todd