Repaint a New Ram?

[HAL9001]

I just took delivery of a 2021 RAM 1500 Limited, Night Edition in black. I always do a detailed inspection before I accept the vehicle, but this time the salesman walked up to me and apologized for a paint defect the dealership found. There is a tiny area on the hood where the paint is slightly raised in a tiny round bump. It's visible but you have to look very closely, most people wouldn't even notice it in passing. It's not really that bad and I might have just let it go, but they insist on fixing it. I also found another slight defect on the right fender where the paint has an area with a very tiny bump like a tiny grain of sand was painted over. Again, it's hard to see even when you know it's there. The dealership wants to fix that too.

While I'm delighted that the dealership is so responsive to making this right, I'm concerned about having the entire hood and the right fender sanded down and then repainted for such minor defects. They have a professional body shop and I assume they do great work, but to have two major sections of a brand-new vehicle repainted is a tough decision. I don't know if the paint will be as good in the long term as the factory paint. I've had vehicles repainted in body shops before due to accidents, and except for one instance, it was fine. But to have a brand-new vehicle repainted for two small defects?

I can't make up my mind. I'm concerned that if I don't, I may regret not to have had it fixed for free when it could have, and if I do, I will regret it if the repaint proves to be not as good as the factory paint over the long term.

I would greatly appreciate any opinions on this either way especially from anyone who's been through this or is an expert on automotive painting.

 

[retired]

do you have photos of the defects? it will show up on a carfax as body work.

 

[Blackdodge2010]

The bump on the hood is likely trapping in moisture. The hood is aluminum so it wont rust out but the bubble will get bigger and bigger. Def want to have that fixed asap.

 

[14hemiexpress]

Fix it now. Those are little areas under the paint that are starting to pop off, it is basically we’re someone with dirty hands touched it between coats. It will do nothing but get worse. Warranty repaint will have a longer warranty than factory. My 2014 had it all over the roof and I had it repainted didn’t regret it 1 bit.

 

[Pudge]

If you do let them repaint, make sure they DO NOT record the work on the VIN because if you sell the truck down the road, the CARFAX will show the body work, and you’ll be discounting the truck below fair value to sell it. Personally, I’d be looking for a rebate plus the paint job.

 

[14hemiexpress]

do you have photos of the defects? it will show up on a carfax as body work.

it won’t go on a carfax. When I had mine done the body shop said insurance companies are about the only ones that report to Carfax.

 

[retired]

it won’t go on a carfax. When I had mine done the body shop said insurance companies are about the only ones that report to Carfax.

I guess my dealership did not get that memo.

 

[Pudge]

it won’t go on a carfax. When I had mine done the body shop said insurance companies are about the only ones that report to Carfax.

Ok, might be different in Canada. All my service appointments and work done show up on carfax for a Honda CR-V I owned, plus my 2014 Ram 1500 Sport.

 

[MADDOG]

do you have photos of the defects? it will show up on a carfax as body work.

That doesn't have to be done by a dealer shop performing warranty defect correction work. Or they can document the "repair" as such. So there should be no worries about diminished value.

 

[14hemiexpress]

If you do let them repaint, make sure they DO NOT record the work on the VIN because if you sell the truck down the road, the CARFAX will show the body work, and you’ll be discounting the truck below fair value to sell it. Personally, I’d be looking for a rebate plus the paint job.

That sucks I was worried when it happened to mine so I had them clarify but they assured me it wouldn’t. Carfax is good and bad just for this reason.

 

[HAL9001]

I was assured that this is considered a warranty repair for factory paint correction and not bodywork due to an accident and thus, the dealer will not report it to Carfax. I was also told that it had to be performed by the dealer's body shop to qualify for the warranty due to costs.

The repair will cost RAM $2100 and had to be pre-authorized because RAM usually only allows $1700 max for such paint corrections. This authorization took over an hour while I waited to pick up the truck. It was required to be on the sales contract.

 

[KeithP]

My biggest concern would be color match. Even black can be difficult to match. Insist on being able to contest the color match after you take it home. Various light types will gloriously display any color mismatch.

After a minor accident, we had the dealer we bought my daughter’s Journey from do the body work. I told them they needed to paint the entire car. They “assured” me they could match the paint perfectly. NOPE!!! Now she drives a calico chameleon. Sometimes you see the difference sometimes you don’t, it’s all about the lighting.

 

[BNeal]

Somebody hit my BMW in a parking lot in Iowa with a shopping cart. Did about $1500 in damage. I paid for the repair out of my pocket and did not even talk to my insurance company. It showed up on Carfax when I traded the car.

As for getting those minor flaws fixed, do it. It happens at the factory all the time. Something gets missed during the paint process and they have to go back and fix it prior to delivery. Todays body shops are not what they were many years ago. Todays technology is very impressive if taken to a reputable shop.

 

[rule18]

Agree with most of the previous posts. Let them do it now, there's no paint weathering yet so assuming they are good body guys (assumption, but still) you shouldn't be able to tell where they made the repairs.

 

[Sandevino]

Pay now or pay later. If you don’t get it fixed yet will likely get worse and affect your vehicle value. If you do get it fixed, it may affect your vehicle value. If it were mine, I’d get it fixed and not give it a second thought.

 

[Purplert]

Yep go ahead and let the dealer fix it now. Kudos to them for offering to fix it.


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[HAL9001]

Pay now or pay later. If you don’t get it fixed yet will likely get worse and affect your vehicle value. If you do get it fixed, it may affect your vehicle value. If it were mine, I’d get it fixed and not give it a second thought.

I don't see how it could get worse, they're both very minor cosmetic-only flaws, nothing that can get worse. I think if you saw them for yourself you would agree. I did try to take photos but with the black paint, they don't show up enough on the photo to even be noticeable. I would need a better camera and much better lighting.

What could get worse is an improper body shop paint job. I once had a car fender painted after a minor accident. It looked perfect after the repair. However, a few years later the paint started flaking off. The body shop was good about it and fixed it at no cost to me, but it did happen. I was lucky they didn't give me a hard time or else I would have had to pay to have it fixed.

So, this is my primary concern. I could turn a couple of minor cosmetic flaws into a much bigger problem.

 

[HAL9001]

Yep go ahead and let the dealer fix it now. Kudos to them for offering to fix it.


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Kudos maybe, but after thinking about it for a while, I'm now a bit confused and concerned about the fact that the dealer immediately pointed out the flaw to me and insisted on fixing it. The flaw was so very minor that I might have just let it go. So why didn't they simply wait until I did or did not complain about it first? Why make such a big deal about it before it was even an issue for me?

Dealers are not known to be so altruistic to customers out of the goodness of their hearts. Think about it, it's a $2100 repair, there has to be some good profit in that amount, probably $500-$1000. That's a nice tidy bonus in addition to selling the truck and they have their own body shop which makes no profits unless it's busy.

I'm not trying to be cynical about this, but you do have to wonder.

 

[Dodge 1500 4X4]

I would leave it alone, to repaint all that they want to do there is a reason for it, are they truly going to repaint it or just pop those 2 spots and refinish those, there are all kinds of Chip repair kits out there, dealers never admit there's a problem!!

 

[BNeal]

Sounds like you've already talked yourself out of fixing it. If you're that apprehensive, I would not do it.