I have a fairly new (purchased three months ago) 2002 Dodge Grand with metallic silver clearcoat exterior. What, if anything, do you all think I should do (or not do) about two problems:
1. I noticed what could best be described as a raised "pimple" in the paint on the hood. It is definitely under the clear coat. In addition, it looks like the factory tried to remove it before the clear coat was applied as the paint in an area of several inches around the "pimple" has a slightly different color. I spoke to the manager at the body shop of the Dodge dealer and he said that it would be considered a defect covered by the Dodge warranty. Unfortunately, this would mean grinding down the paint in the surrounding area to bare metal and then re-painting. I don't think that my demanding an entirely new factory-painted hood would get a positive response. My concern is that I would have to use a dealership body shop for the repair and would I be able to see a difference between the refinished area and the rest of the hood. In other words, would I be making the situation worse than it currently is? As a side note, a relative works at the Toyota factory in Kentucky and is involved in final quality control. She looked at the hood and called the defect a "paint seed" and said that it should not have left the factory and that if it was her car that should would have it refinished. She seems to have a lot of faith in dealership bodyshops.
2. The second problem is in the interior. A passenger recently scratched a gray-colored plastic piece that covers the center console bin. This piece has a somewhat grainy texture to it. Can the scratch be buffed out somehow or perhaps colored with a flat paint?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Boongie
1. I noticed what could best be described as a raised "pimple" in the paint on the hood. It is definitely under the clear coat. In addition, it looks like the factory tried to remove it before the clear coat was applied as the paint in an area of several inches around the "pimple" has a slightly different color. I spoke to the manager at the body shop of the Dodge dealer and he said that it would be considered a defect covered by the Dodge warranty. Unfortunately, this would mean grinding down the paint in the surrounding area to bare metal and then re-painting. I don't think that my demanding an entirely new factory-painted hood would get a positive response. My concern is that I would have to use a dealership body shop for the repair and would I be able to see a difference between the refinished area and the rest of the hood. In other words, would I be making the situation worse than it currently is? As a side note, a relative works at the Toyota factory in Kentucky and is involved in final quality control. She looked at the hood and called the defect a "paint seed" and said that it should not have left the factory and that if it was her car that should would have it refinished. She seems to have a lot of faith in dealership bodyshops.
2. The second problem is in the interior. A passenger recently scratched a gray-colored plastic piece that covers the center console bin. This piece has a somewhat grainy texture to it. Can the scratch be buffed out somehow or perhaps colored with a flat paint?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Boongie