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Because there is so much damage. It took a significant amount of force to break that panel. Plus, there's no way to explain how the paint is actually worn through by claiming one singular incident is the cause. I would bet some serious money that a hold down strap, looped over the top of the tire, was rubbing directly on the corner of that panel for a how ever many thousand mile truck ride across America, then was forcefully pulled out from between the tire and the panel, which is what broke the corner. You can actually see in one pic that the corner is still deformed downward and outward as though force was applied directly to the corner, which would make perfect sense if the strap was caught there.
I can only wish there was a way to make that bet and find the answer. I love to take people's "serious money"!
Wife and I bought a Benz convertible a few years back. Drove it home and noticed a chip in the rear bumper cover. How do you get a chip on the rear bumper ? They told me to take it to their body shop. When I got there, there were about 6 NEW cars with window stickers still on them getting cosmetic/body repairs. Shop guy says it happens all the time.
A few years later, I get a new Mustang. Fender clip is defective and I take it into a dealer that I didn't buy the car at. He puts the car up and sees that a splash pan under the car is damaged. Manager says it was clearly where the chain was secured during shipping. He calls the selling dealer and gets it fixed for me free of charge. This stuff happens all the time. Its annoying but I would hope Chevy fixes it free of charge.
Believe this is to be true. Every time Mike Furham has a delivery post it will show an open carrier. Another thing that bothers me about this post. The factory puts a protected white plastic covering on all cars shipped. Wouldn’t this plastic covering also be damaged in the same location too? Wouldn’t the courtesy PDI have readily noticed this damaged plastic when it was removed?
Guess however it happened and whoever took off the plastic makes no difference to me. IMO the Service Manager at the dealer should look at it and fix it and GM will probably pay them!
Expect the folks who took off the plastic could well have been those who clean the outside of the car in the prep process! This is NOT the C7 Tech or Service Manager! In fact when I asked the Service Manager NOT to wash my car, he said his wife asked for the same thing when she picked up her 2016 Stingray! Since I was going to wash with Dawn, claybar then Zaino -why do I want whoever to wash with a bucket of soap and water and probably create small scratches!
Not making excuses for the dealer as they could have picked up the defect BUT it is in a low funny position. IMO they should eagerly offer to fix it!
Will be interested in what the OP does. But should do it quickly.
I can only wish there was a way to make that bet and find the answer. I love to take people's "serious money"!
Lol ... Yeah.
Its certainly true, none of us here can ever know with one hundred percent certainty.
The best we can do is form an intelligent hypothesis based on the evidence at hand, and that's not the same thing as knowing for certain.
Guess however it happened and whoever took off the plastic makes no difference to me. IMO the Service Manager at the dealer should look at it and fix it and GM will probably pay them!
Expect the folks who took off the plastic could well have been those who clean the outside of the car in the prep process! This is NOT the C7 Tech or Service Manager! In fact when I asked the Service Manager NOT to wash my car, he said my wife asked for the same thing when she picked up her 2016 Stingray! Not making excuses for the dealer as they could have picked up the defect BUT it is in a low funny position. IMO they should eagerly offer to fix it!
Will be interested in what the OP does. But should do it quickly.
agree the dealer should fix. But you still think a note should have made by someone if damaged plastic wrap was found suggesting further examination is needed.
Doesn't seem to have much room for error on the tire holddowns.**** can happen..Your Qtr. To a good hit.
Thought maybe it slid off ramp ?
Hopefully it won't be a PIA To get repaired
I reached out to my courtesy deliver dealer and my selling dealer yesterday. I have not heard back yet. I know once I drive off the lot I own the car and have full responsibility. This I know.
However, that does not change the facts or how/when the damage occurred. I am not in the car business. This is not what I do for a living, but it looks like a strap rubbed or put a lot of stress on that region. There are visiable scuff marks and nylon DNA embedded in the fiberglass when you look close at it.
I am just looking to understand what could have cause this type of damage. I think if someone other than me cause it that it should be addressed. I am not sure how this could be missed when they installed the ground effects or when they adjusted the tire pressure (twice). I did not see it when I was at the dealership, but I also did not get down on the ground to have a look.
Thank you you for your insights. I will update everyone when I hear back. With regards to the selling and courtesy delivery dealer names, I would rather not share it on the forum until I hear back from them. The question I posed to the selling dealer who sells a ton of Corvettes, have they ever seen damage like this and does it come from the transport. I would think that if you move as many Corvettes as they do...they will have seen it all. So I am looking for there advice/guidance.
I would bet some serious money that a hold down strap, looped over the top of the tire, was rubbing directly on the corner of that panel for a how ever many thousand mile truck ride across America, then was forcefully pulled out from between the tire and the panel, which is what broke the corner. You can actually see in one pic that the corner is still deformed downward and outward as though force was applied directly to the corner, which would make perfect sense if the strap was caught there.
Yes absolutely. Those photos you have are very revealing, and now that I have seen them, I think I would give JALLEN twenty to one odds, on our hypothetical bet. Lol.
I am not sure how this could be missed when they installed the ground effects or when they adjusted the tire pressure (twice). I did not see it when I was at the dealership, but I also did not get down on the ground to have a look.
I reached out to my courtesy deliver dealer and my selling dealer yesterday. I have not heard back yet. I know once I drive off the lot I own the car and have full responsibility. This I know.
I don't agree! You can't see everything when you pick it up! As you already called both expect you should get satisfaction.
IMO that can be successfully repaired and you won't be able to tell.
Believe this is to be true. Every time Mike Furham has a delivery post it will show an open carrier. Another thing that bothers me about this post. The factory puts a protected white plastic covering on all cars shipped. Wouldn’t this plastic covering also be damaged in the same location too? Wouldn’t the courtesy PDI have readily noticed this damaged plastic when it was removed?
The white plastic wrap was damaged in the same place as my car when my Grand Sport was delivered this Friday. I am glad the dealer saw it and is not making me take the car. I plan to reorder a replacement unless the repair is very good and GM offers a further discount. There is no point in paying full price for repaired junk.
From: Pottsville, PA. USA Home Of America's Oldest Brewery Yuengling
Since you are in California think about this.
1. Your car is loaded on a truck at the Corvette plant.
2. It is unloaded at the railroad yard.
3. It is then loaded on a train.
4. It is unloaded off the train
5. It is loaded on a truck.
6. It is unloaded off the truck at the dealer
That was six times the car was moved by four different people driving it
That was three times the car was strapped down.
Now your car is at the dealer
Someone drove it from the unload area and parked it.
Service department now drove it in the shop put it on the lift to do the PDI
Car gets driven back out of the shop
Car goes to recon to get cleaned for delivery
Car gets driven to get gas for delivery
If the damage didn't happen in shipping my money is on it happen while it was in recon or while it was getting gas?
Most of these recon guys at dealerships are cowboys driving these cars.
Last edited by Corvette ED; Mar 25, 2018 at 11:57 AM.
I think if it was damage from driving, the area in question would look different. But again, I am not in the car business. If someone moves a lot of cars, they probably will be able to look at that damage and within a few seconds make a educated determination if that was from transport or normal road damage.
I will wait to hear back from them.
Last edited by Carlos Thomas; Mar 25, 2018 at 12:06 PM.
I have always been weary at the thought of a courtesy delivery for the off chance of just this sort of thing, with the suspicion that some courtesy dealers would act a bit salty towards a courtesy delivery. I know the letter of the law of the PDI is there and expectations of the delivery that GM puts forward; however, I can imagine a courtesy dealer doing the bare minimum, turning a blind eye, and walk away thinking, "well, they should have bought it from us instead". Heck, I've seen enough of the "you should have bought it here" attitude of some dealers in just having regular maintenance/warranty work at both GM and non-GM dealers. I know there are conscientious dealers out there who would treat such a delivery as their own, but I can imagine some dealers who would treat it otherwise.
I'm still not as averse to long-distances purchases and have done many, but I think the selling dealer is generally going to be a lot more likely to be diligent in PDI inspections.
I think if it was damage from driving, the area in question would look different. But again, I am not in the car business. If someone moves a lot of cars, they probably will be able to look at that damage and within a few seconds make a educated determination if that was from transport or normal road damage.
I will wait to hear back from them.
The only plausible explanation for this being road damage would be something like if you hit a piece of wood that had a nail in it, the nail punctured the tire, then as the tire was rotating, the piece of wood was carried around and struck the body panel. The problem with that theory is it doesn't explain how the obvious rub marks were created, and that's why I reject that theory. Forget about the part where you don't have a damaged tire and you did not hear this hypothetical situation occur.
From: Pottsville, PA. USA Home Of America's Oldest Brewery Yuengling
Here something else to think about? When the tech did the PDI he had to put the car on the lift. The front jacking puck goes into the rocker right behind the damaged area? He would have seen the damage it is almost impossible to miss? With the car on the lift while installing the wheel caps you would also see the damage? That's why I would bet it happen after the PDI?
Last edited by Corvette ED; Mar 25, 2018 at 12:33 PM.
I have always been weary at the thought of a courtesy delivery for the off chance of just this sort of thing, with the suspicion that some courtesy dealers would act a bit salty towards a courtesy delivery. I know the letter of the law of the PDI is there and expectations of the delivery that GM puts forward; however, I can imagine a courtesy dealer doing the bare minimum, turning a blind eye, and walk away thinking, "well, they should have bought it from us instead". Heck, I've seen enough of the "you should have bought it here" attitude of some dealers in just having regular maintenance/warranty work at both GM and non-GM dealers. I know there are conscientious dealers out there who would treat such a delivery as their own, but I can imagine some dealers who would treat it otherwise.
I'm still not as averse to long-distances purchases and have done many, but I think the selling dealer is generally going to be a lot more likely to be diligent in PDI inspections.
I think that GM should seriously consider incentivizing the use of a Courtesy deliveries to all their dealers. The world is changing. Business practices should change also. Who would have thought of purchasing an auto over the Internet 20 years ago? The old model of one dealership providing all your needs and serving as an intermediary between you and the manufacturer is outmoded. If you have a problem with your vehicle you have to go through a dealership and GM has limited control over them. Look at Tesla. They are involved in every aspect of the car from manufacturing to even owning their dealerships and performing service. It’s in their best interest and the customer ultimately benefits from this. Better service with better trained maintenance staff, more responsive to customer needs. Customers shouldn’t get caught up in these adversarial situations like this where the burden of proof is on the customer to prove damage was a result of the delivery and not while the vehicle was in the owner’s possession. The receiving dealer should have caught this damage. A thorough PDI would have caught this. If you incentivized Courtesy deliveries then the receiving dealer is not going to treat you like a toad. They will benefit and so will the customer.
I have always been weary at the thought of a courtesy delivery for the off chance of just this sort of thing, with the suspicion that some courtesy dealers would act a bit salty towards a courtesy delivery. I know the letter of the law of the PDI is there and expectations of the delivery that GM puts forward; however, I can imagine a courtesy dealer doing the bare minimum, turning a blind eye, and walk away thinking, "well, they should have bought it from us instead". Heck, I've seen enough of the "you should have bought it here" attitude of some dealers in just having regular maintenance/warranty work at both GM and non-GM dealers. I know there are conscientious dealers out there who would treat such a delivery as their own, but I can imagine some dealers who would treat it otherwise.
I'm still not as averse to long-distances purchases and have done many, but I think the selling dealer is generally going to be a lot more likely to be diligent in PDI inspections.
I have not had an issue with my last 3 Vettes all bought from a dealer Out of State. The large Chevy, BMW, Mercedes dealer in town's service folks could care less if one of their salesman made a commission on my car! They are in the service business! Have had great service from them when needed. They do not like doing Courtesy Delivery and don't have to accept it! The dealer I found who would does it all the time for the largest employer in this small town (they have >3000 employees, salesman etc!) A Dealer does not have to accept to do it and many in our area won't!
The young lady Chevy service writer became a friend and was very helpful. She would tell me the words needed to get my diff fluid changed, the rattle in the top fixed etc on my C6!
When I brought my 2014 C7 in when I just got it because of a GM notice to have my diff fluid level changed, as I had done before I told her to be sure they use my 4 jack pads placed in a clear plastic bag on the passenger seat. She said don't worry! I'll be sure they use the alignment rack as we just cracked a Vette rocker panel and we are having to have it fixed! (They have ~12/14 center post lifts.)
My Grand Sport Courtesy Delivery dealer's alignment rack was suited for the many trucks they sell and my splitter would hit their ramps! The Service Manager and I looked when I picked up the car as I knew I would ask to have it aligned after 400/500 miles.
The large Chevy dealer in town (new service writer) gave me an appointment in two days was happy to set all cambers where I asked by giving him a sheet with the GM range and what I wanted. The C7 Tech was pleased he met my request and let me in the Service Bay to watch the Hunter alignment screen! All the Service Writer cared about was getting an "Excellent" rating when I received a call. Which I gladly did!
