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Should I complain about the factory paint job?


scorpionman1958

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My fellow DJ'ers, I would like your input on this paint jot from the factory. This is brand new 2015 blue streak DJ and I've had it a little over a month now. About a week after I bought it I noticed this HUGE mistake in the paint. I took it back to the dealer on a rainy day (BIG MISTAKE), I could see it cause I knew it's there but no one else could. I took it to the paint shop the dealer recommended so the paint shop has a record of my complaint but they couldn't see it either. They even took a paint scanner and checked and they said there are 2 differences in the colors. throughout the paint The paint shop didn't even have a color code for blue streak. This week will be sunny all week so I am taking it in as the dealer is about a hour away from me and this is the first chance I've had. So I'm asking you, would you bitch and complain or leave it alone and live with it? The paint shop did say it would be a hard paint to match and have to paint over half the car to blend it together, and it might turn out worst than it already is now. THAT doesn't say much for the paint shop. So please leave your input and thanks

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I bought a brand new Ford Maverick in 1973 and waited a few weeks to wash it for the first time. When I tried buffing the wax, I noticed that there was a circular spot in the door that caught the wax build up. It looked like another layer of paint in that one area. Needless to say I brought into the dealer and the area rep investigated and found the car had been damaged in transit and all they did was a patch and paint. I had them repaint the whole door, but the paint never set up like the original paint. No comparison with factory paint jobs in quality- that is if they are done properly. Just my two cents - in Canada that would be five cents!

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yea i would continue to follow this up, that would bother the hell out of me.. i had aa caravan that was white and the rear bumper guard was a off white color the dealer buffed it out the best they could but since they don't paint the covers they come in already painted their wasn't much they could do so i let it go but it wasn't as noticeable as your door.. i would go get 2 estimates or letters from some of the paint shops confirming that their is the noticeable paint differences and as far as the dealer telling you that they might have to paint half the car say so what at least it will be a closer match as a whole paint job. good luck... also get paper work every time you talk to them and all work done on it...

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Welcome to the world of metallic paints and Dodge's paint methodology - the doors on my silver Crossroad likewise exhibit colour differences from the body - because apparently the various parts are painted separately.

Repainting will reduce the resale value of the vehicle and will never be as good as the original, and would likely start peeling over time unless they sand to metal (and that isn't going to happen).

Go look at other DJs on the dealer's lot to see if it is endemic. If it is then live with it and explain that 'they're all like that' if and when someone calls you on it.

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Can you get a picture of the whole car? Which part is different from the rest of the car: the door or the fender? There definitely is a difference. Could be "in transit" damage. Maybe your car came across the border on one of those trains with all the people on the roof!

My color is Copperhead Pearl with the sparklies, and the color is even over the whole car.

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Its only on the passenger side rear quarter panel, everything else matches. I will take a picture of it in the morning and post it. it I took a pic of it now at 2:30 afternoon it looks pretty good. It's the most noticeable in the morning sunshine . Thank you for all your input.

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They won't pull the panel off, but they should repaint it for you. There may have been transit damage, or a mishap getting it on or off the car carrier truck. Stick to your guns. It does not match. The rear bumper seems to match the rest of your DJ, so they repainted the 1/4 panel for a reason.

Edited by dhh3
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i worked at the st louis caravan plant for 2-3 yrs before i retired and the car also could have got damaged at the plant and got repaired there and that would not show up on any carfax report or any paperwork. i was in inspection at the end of the line and worked day shift and hate to say this but it is the truth we would put red tags on them going down the line for defects mostly paint defects and they would set them aside and try to fix them and then rerun them later and if we caught them again they would set them aside again an wait for a rainy night and then run them down the line on second shift to get them out the door it would piss us off on day shift but nothing we could do about it.....

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they will, and i am sure you will be 100 percent happy with the repaint and if not keep all your paperwork and be nice but firm and continue up the chain of command until you get it fixed . but i am sure they will take care of you....

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I have that exact color. I've also had some extensive body work done, and significant amount of repainting (rear bumper cover repainted, driver fender/front bumper cover replaced, hood, driver door and passenger fender blended) and it looks just like it did on the lot. Nowhere does mine have patches that look like yours.

That being said, the blue pearl will have some color variation (EVENLY) across the body depending on what angle you view it from due to the metallic flakes in the paint. It sure is a pretty color though! Finally got a chance to wax mine over the weekend - it looks like a mirror!

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Thanks everyone for your help and support in this as I have a hard time looking at it. you pay that kind of money for a suv/truck and you don't want it to look like a 5 year old painted it with watercolors. I hope it doesn't have to be cleared by the service manager as he and I don't get along. Don't want to give to much info but I had a 2014 Jeep Cherokee and it had so many problems. I had it in the shop 6 times for the same thing, grinding noise coming through the steering, A new steering assembly, 2 weeks with a rental car and I lost track of the hours waiting in their waiting room and looking at cars on the lot. The last time # 6 the service manager tries to convince me that its normal and all Cherokee's do it even after service manager, the salesman and the guy behind the service counter heard the grinding noise. and get this the dealer charged Chrysler over 2000 bucks trying to fix it....and this bonehead says it's normal??? I was so pissed off I called him a lair as HE HEARD IT, he then said "WE'RE DONE HERE" and called Chrysler and says it's fixed and signs off on it. Chrysler said to take it to another dealer and low and behold this dealer finds the problem first time. By now I was so mad at the jeep I didn't want it any more and Chrysler did help get me out of it with 5% off dealers true cost invoice which wasn't much. But the DJ is 10 times better that a Jeep Cherokee there is NO comparison. I will keep everyone posted.

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A good, reputable bodyshop will match the paint just right. Mine is Copper Pearl and has been hit three times (another story, see thread "Hit this weekend") Anyway, the last hit was major and required lots of paint. Copper Pearl is very difficult to match, but it does match just as it should. I also have a paint defect in the tailgate door, but because of it's location and size I decided to leave it alone as you don't notice it unless the light is just right or when the gate is open. At the rate I'm going, the car will be hit there also and it will get fixed by default. The second hit was just opposite fo where the blotch is.

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Thanks everyone for your help and support in this as I have a hard time looking at it. you pay that kind of money for a suv/truck and you don't want it to look like a 5 year old painted it with watercolors. I hope it doesn't have to be cleared by the service manager as he and I don't get along. Don't want to give to much info but I had a 2014 Jeep Cherokee and it had so many problems. I had it in the shop 6 times for the same thing, grinding noise coming through the steering, A new steering assembly, 2 weeks with a rental car and I lost track of the hours waiting in their waiting room and looking at cars on the lot. The last time # 6 the service manager tries to convince me that its normal and all Cherokee's do it even after service manager, the salesman and the guy behind the service counter heard the grinding noise. and get this the dealer charged Chrysler over 2000 bucks trying to fix it....and this bonehead says it's normal??? I was so pissed off I called him a lair as HE HEARD IT, he then said "WE'RE DONE HERE" and called Chrysler and says it's fixed and signs off on it. Chrysler said to take it to another dealer and low and behold this dealer finds the problem first time. By now I was so mad at the jeep I didn't want it any more and Chrysler did help get me out of it with 5% off dealers true cost invoice which wasn't much. But the DJ is 10 times better that a Jeep Cherokee there is NO comparison. I will keep everyone posted.

Funny. I went into my Dealer to buy a Cherokee Trailhawk, and ended up buying myDJ, saving $5,000 in the process! You are correct: a lot of car for the money.

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Chrysler kept the first 1,000 or so off the line in Toledo until they got the programming right. They upgraded all of them, and then road tested them all before they were released to the Dealers. I guess they still don't have it completely worked out. I like my 6 speed!

Edited by dhh3
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On the Jeep Cherokee, the grinding noise in the steering wheel? I'm not sure were exactly but they had to special order the synthetic grease to lube it. It did correct the problem for now but who knows in a few months down the road.

Yes, the grease is for the upper strut bearings. So far that has corrected the problem on all that we have repaired.

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I've heard that the 9 speed auto in the Cherokee is garbage. I think they have Windows 98 operating the transmission.

The transmission itself is OK, but the software has undergone a few revisions since its release. While my Journey was in the bodyshop (for the third time :( ) I rented a 2015 Chrysler 200 with the 948TE nine speed. Shifted smoother than the 62TE overall and there was a ratio for any speed which kept the engine in its powerband. This tranny is well-suited for a four cylinder engine. The 3.2 and 3.6 have so much power that the extra ratios really aren't entirely necessary, IMO. If the Journey had this transmission it would be a rocket from 0-60, but you'd have to have AWD otherwise the front tires would go up in smoke, or the traction control would be constantly engaging to keep that from happening.

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