Next step?

nismo9132

Hey guys,

I'm new on here - just bought a '12 Certified Pre-Owned 370Z NISMO 7 weeks back. Well, I had an issue with the clutch pedal having a tapping when the pedal was depressed, so I brought it in to have it looked at. The dealership has had the car for 3 weeks and has replaced the clutch assy, throwout bearing, clutch pedal, and just recently the dual mass flywheel. The dual mass flywheel ended up fixing the issue (see thread here with updates about the issue: 370z 6MT Clutch Tapping - Nissan Forums : Nissan Forum). When I went to pick it up today, I found that they dented the plastic side skirt right behind the driver's front wheel. It's gouged in pretty decent in two spots (one right above the other) and they're very obvious. There's also another scuff further back, almost in the dead center of the skirt.

They suggested that they can fix it, but I don't know how it's going to match being Pearl White. I told them that they essentially just bought the car back from me, but I was wondering if it was worthwhile giving them a shot to order a new side skirt and have it painted. I know Pearl White is near impossible to match, so is it worthwhile to even have them try it? I'm ridiculously particular about my cars.

Any/all opinions or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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kenchan

There are no next steps. We just solved it... google

cigarclifford

Can you help me shop for a airplane..... Find a lawyer and a doctor.... Than
again I'm not a real doctor.....................

Drex

i think you are underestimating the ability to match your paint, but i'm no expert.

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2011 Nissan 370z | 6MT | Magnetic Black | Sport Package

falconfixer

When I bought my Silver 2011 new it had a scratch on the driver's door. They assured me they could buff it out and had their best dishwasher repairman/body guy on the job. Less than a year later I had to have the driver's side rear quarter fixed because some twatwaffle dented it in. When I traded it in the driver's side was 3 different shades of silver. Albeit, very hard to tell but from an anal retentive prick like myself, it was noticeable.

So, good luck having them match up the Pearl White and you not wanting to burn the car to the ground if you are particular about it like I was.

dP3NGU1N

PW body panels are all different from the factory anyway. I assure you the parts that are metal (al) vs the parts that are plastic look completely different depending on the lighting situation and the angle that you're looking at.

I'd say relax and have them fix it.

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SmokeEater27

OP I have to agree with dP3NGU1N. My brother in-law backed in to my PW Z that was parked in his driveway and I had to get my front bumper painted. When I picked it up from the bodyshop the white on the bumper matched perfectly to the rest of the car in sunlight. In a dimmer lighting such as in my garage the bumper (plastic) looks a bit whiter compared to the hood (Metal) from a straight on angle but from the side view it looks spot on. As I looked around the rest of the car my rear bumper also looks the same way which has never been painted. If its a side skirt it may not be so noticeable that it was painted. Worst case scenerio see if they'll give you a sideskirt off another PW nismo since its their fault yours is damaged. Just my

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nismo9132

Thanks to those who provided valuable input. The most frustrating part of this is that they're claiming that because I have the paint protection film on the car (bought it from them with the film on there already), that the damage could not have been caused while the film was on there. I have pictures that prove I bought it without any damage (with the film on) and yet they're refusing to acknowledge that they did it stating that, "we don't look over the cars to that level of detail when they come in" and that because we're "valued customers" they're willing to fix it. I know the body shop that they use and there aren't many reviews out there, but the one that is there states they have horrible customer service and don't take responsibility for their mistakes. I might go by the dealership just to get pictures of the damage and talk to the service manager since I was so frustrated that I didn't even think to get any pics and he wasn't there when I went to pick it up.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. On an Altima or something like that where it's only at the bottom of the door, it might not be so bad, but where the Z's skirts wrap up into the rear quarter, I'm afraid that paint color difference is going to be noticeable.

I don't even know if there are any other new Pearl White NISMO's in my area. I personally haven't seen any and I know it's pretty rarely that a dealership around here has one in stock. The white's tend to sell faster (they've had a new '13 NISMO Gunmetal w/ Gunmetal wheels for over a year now).

cigarclifford

Cut your stress level. Take charge of a bad situation. Put the car in a
first class reputable body shop. The dealership will pay the bill. Move on...
Then again I'm not a real doctor..GL

cooltoy

PS. I am not a real doctor either, but I play one in the bedroom.

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nismo9132

I'd bet that if your dealership damaged your NISMO Z you'd be just as upset and concerned about the paint color match as I am. It may be easy for you to say to put it in a first class reputable body shop since there are plenty out on the west coast, but it's a bit more difficult finding a decent shop over here on the east coast in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut. Part of the issue is that I've been lucky enough to not have to deal with body shops before so I don't know of any. Any suggestions?

Z-Girl 12

Sorry to hear, what a pain.

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axmea?

They will take it to their body shop and it is usually not in-house unless it is for basic, run off the mill body work. I'd say let them do it and if you are not happy, they get to start over.

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L33T Z34

Dude, y u let the dealer try 2 fix a problem that Nissan can't make propper in the first place? Dual mass flywheel is for pu*&^$, plastic/leaky OEM CSC, DOT 3 hydr0 fluid and the clutch restrictor connection = fail!

nismo9132

I'm not here to argue about the parts the car came through with. That topic isn't related to this post. The dealership didn't know what the issue was at first, but it ended up being the dual-mass flywheel. I wanted to be sure that I gave them sufficient time to fix the car so if it was deemed unfixable, I could legally return it under the Lemon Law.

Anyway.. I spoke with the service manager and I picked up the car today. They're going to let me look around and find a shop that will end up doing the work. I found one today with a 4.9 out of 5 star rating with 32 reviews. Spoke with the owner and he said that they can paint if without blending into the doors or fenders. Visited the place and looked at some of the cars that they recently painted. One was a fairly new pearlescent blue BMW Z4 which had a new bumper. The paint between the hood, fenders, and bumper matched pretty much dead on from all of the angles that I saw. Another was a 2000 Toyota Camry that was side swiped (paint was faded a bit) and they also matched the color really well.