Hi guys, so after delaying for almost a year, I finally, and reluctantly went to go put on my rear license plate. After taking off the dealer plastic and frame, I came across the photo you see below.

I cleaned it a bit to see what exactly happened. From what I can discern, the dealer glued a jaguar plastic directly onto the bodywork?!? Then proceeded to rip it off, albeit unsuccessfully?

Before I go ape $hit on the dealership, you guys have any advice on how to proceed with this? On top of that, did this happen to anyone else?!?

 

Consistently amazed by inexplicable things that dealerships do to their cars

 

A good dealership General Manager (GM) will agree to fix that. Perhaps my own dealer experience with a similar F-Type delivery screw-up will illustrate that.

I live in a state that is very strict on front plate enforcement. If you don't run a plate in MD, you WILL get stopped and receive a real, expensive citation, no "fix it" stuff here. When I was taking delivery and tied up with paperwork, the dealership installed the front plate and mount, and I didn't give it much thought, not really thinking about the fact that it required drilling 2 holes in the front bumper bar.

About a year later, I learned on this forum about the "Sto-N-Sho" mount and purchased one, which requires no drilling, but I figured I'd just put a couple of bumper plugs in to hide the two holes. When I took the plate and mount off, I discovered 4 holes. Whomever mounted it made a mistake and drilled 2 uneven holes too close to the top of the bumper bar, which made the plate mount not fit properly, so he drilled two more lower holes in the proper place.

When I discovered that, I took it back to the dealer and talked to the GM. He immediately agreed that it shouldn't have happened, and said he would pay to have the bar removed and repaired or replaced, which requires taking the nose off the car. After talking to the high-end body shop the dealer uses, they said a repair would be better and they could put a nicer matte finish on it, so I went with that option. It took 3 days, and I had a nice RRS loaner throughout that time.

Take your car back to where you purchased it, and ask to speak to the dealership GM. In addition, I would recommend that you not go "ape $hit," but be as nice and reasonable as anyone can be. You almost always, catch more bees with honey"

 

+1. That said, it also looks like they went at it with a Brillo pad where they were able to remove the plastic applique. The whole panel will likely need to be clear coated if the scratches can't be buffed out.

 

The problem with bringing it back to the dealership is that I purchased it from Newport Beach and I live in San Francisco. I don't think British Motors will do anything for me

 

You're welcome.

Sorry, it's not a warranty issue, but you do have a case with the selling dealer.

 

I'd suggest getting the sales manager on the phone and sending him the pics you have. Given what's there, they pretty much signed/autographed their own damage.

 

Thanks guys, I'll keep you guys posted