paint issues--please help

[KB Viper]

So I bought #36 of 150 LE on 5/18 and I’ve had a lot of issues and need advice on what to do next. My driver’s door is misaligned and the edge is rubbing the air duct which is causing paint to come off the door and the air duct. The driver’s side rocker panel also has a paint defect as it is showing tape lines around the exhaust outlet. This has been going since I bought the car, at first we didn’t know the door was misaligned and we thought I was just having a window issue. The channel run/track on the driver’s side had a knot in it which was causing the window to improperly seal and sometimes when attempting to roll the window up it would roll up then down several times before it would stay up. I brought the car in and the dealership had it for 3 days, they replaced the widow, regulator, channel track and other related parts and that didn’t fix it, it made it worst. See pics below. A 2nd attempt to fix the same issue took 7 days and the window issue seems to be solved but now I’m dealing with a misaligned door. I asked the Chrysler customer care advocate to have SRT send me a pre painted door, rocker panel, and air duct because a dealership paint job will devalue my new Viper and they said no. Not only that but they are saying since the dealership I’ve been going to is so involved I have to continue to use them when I don’t want to. Does anyone know the difference in the paint guns used at the factory compared to the dealership? Would any owners let the dealership repaint the driver’s door, rocker panel, and air duct? Please advise.

pics of original knotted up channel run and chipped window




pics after first fix. look at how the window is sitting, you can basically stick your finger in the gap and that is the window all the way up and door closed




now after the 2nd fix the window is still hitting the frame and we have now discovered it's becasue the door is hitting the body




pics of the rocker panel showing the paint line

 

[ACPERFORMANCE]

This really ***** to see this happen to such a good guy!. Kris it will probably devalue it. But every visit is recorded as well. Probably wont be the best selling point. You are kinda stuck. I would probably stay at the same dealership and then possibly try to go up the ladder with chrysler.

If theres anything i can do to assist let me know.

Todd

 

[NastyGTS]

WOW. I am awaiting my appointment for next Wednesday for the paint issues also. They seemed willing to send out whatever replace parts are needed after the SM vouches. Your LE paint is going to be much more extensive VS white. Along with actually being a limited # car combo; id be sick. Its obvious with the window. ***?

I had a similar issue with the servicing dealer could not be changed for an existing problem when the 2010 Cummins were first released. Chrysler sent engineers to the dealership and attempted to fix it. Assuming they were stumped the dealership offered to do a buy back. Last I heard the truck was sent back to do R&D and tore apart as a training tool.


All else fails....ask them to buy the car back for the exact amount you gave plus TTL.

 

[KB Viper]

WOW. I am awaiting my appointment for next Wednesday for the paint issues also. They seemed willing to send out whatever replace parts are needed after the SM vouches. Your LE paint is going to be much more extensive VS white. Along with actually being a limited # car combo; id be sick. Its obvious with the window. ***?

I had a similar issue with the servicing dealer could not be changed for an existing problem when the 2010 Cummins were first released. Chrysler sent engineers to the dealership and attempted to fix it. Assuming they were stumped the dealership offered to do a buy back. Last I heard the truck was sent back to do R&D and tore apart as a training tool.

All else fails....ask them to buy the car back for the exact amount you gave plus TTL.

they say they won't send factory painted parts and that if i want it fixed under warranty my only option to have a dealership do the paint work. i'm getting sick thinking about it. I'm going to keep trying before i let the dealership sand down my paint and respray

 

[KB Viper]

This really ***** to see this happen to such a good guy!. Kris it will probably devalue it. But every visit is recorded as well. Probably wont be the best selling point. You are kinda stuck. I would probably stay at the same dealership and then possibly try to go up the ladder with chrysler.

If theres anything i can do to assist let me know.

Todd

thanks Todd, i'll definitely let you know

 

[ViperSmith]

Totally unacceptable for a $140,000 vehicle. SRT should be bending over backwards to fix it, especially since this was a QA issue they missed.

 

[ViperSmith]

As I've learned in business, you bend over backwards to help right a wrong, you'll have a happy customer that will praise you to death. Especially when you as a business dropped the ball originally.

Issues happen, how you handle them is the mark of good customer service.

 

[Nine Ball]

Not sure why they would have to sand down the door to touch up those areas, which aren't even visible when the door is shut. I guess I'm just not as picky, I don't expect perfection in any factory paint job.

 

[MoparMan]

Damn. Sorry to hear you're having these issues; there's no way they shouldn't be meeting your request as this is a ridiculously expensive car for Dodge. Your negative experience is exactly one of the things I was worried about when I canceled my order as I wasn't looking forward to dealing with our local dealers.

 

[ViperSmith]

Not sure why they would have to sand down the door to touch up those areas, which aren't even visible when the door is shut. I guess I'm just not as picky, I don't expect perfection in any factory paint job.

Looks as if there is something wrong with the door or hinges itself, not just a paint issue.

 

[SRTviper]

Not sure why they would have to sand down the door to touch up those areas, which aren't even visible when the door is shut. I guess I'm just not as picky, I don't expect perfection in any factory paint job.

Has nothing to do with being picky, but the principal. When you buy a 140k hand made car that is inspected over and over again it is unacceptable to let these things go unnoticed. If this was on a assembly line with robots I would understand but when they make 4-5 a day I mean come on. And then they handle it this way? Completely unacceptable, they should be ashamed (but of course they don't care). S**t happens but they should handle it properly.

To the OP: I would say swallow your fear and just let them repaint it and have them wet sand it down just like the factory does. I don't think when it comes time to sell that people will honestly truly care as long as those panels look the EXACT same as all others. But first fix this issue with the door because even if they repaint it, it will just happen again.

 

[Policy Limits]

as a consumer you have the right to choose a different dealership if you're not satisfied with your current one.

This is why When my horn started sounding in the middle of the night I didn't bring it in and instead had SRT engineers contacted so it stays as a factory issue without dealer involvement; my issue seems to have resolved itself(fingers crossed though)

Sorry for this trouble; and on a numbered car...ugghh. On the plus side it appears its fixable and I hope it gets resolved for you very shortly

 

[Nine Ball]

Has nothing to do with being picky, but the principal. When you buy a 140k hand made car that is inspected over and over again it is unacceptable to let these things go unnoticed.

I find it amusing that you'll make comments that a $100K Viper not too special, because Ferrari and such are better because they cost more. "Whaaa, I want to test drive a Viper that only costs $100K"

Then, you also use the Viper price to justify your arguments the other way, too. Now you say the paint is expected to be perfect?

I'm betting I could scour my car for some paint flaws too, but I won't. There was nothing glaring at me when I bought it.

This door alignment issue is another problem though. If it is the hinges or something that can be replaced, then have it fixed by the dealer. I've never heard of a manufacturer doing a repair directly. I don't see why they couldn't send a pre-painted door though, especially on a car and color that is still in production. Time to elevate the issue. If it is just the hinge or alignment, those areas damaged should be easy to touch up without having to worry.

 

[SRTviper]

I find it amusing that you'll make comments that a $100K Viper not too special, because Ferrari and such are better because they cost more. "Whaaa, I want to test drive a Viper that only costs $100K"

Then, you also use the Viper price to justify your arguments the other way, too. Now you say the paint is expected to be perfect?

I'm betting I could scour my car for some paint flaws too, but I won't. There was nothing glaring at me when I bought it.

This door alignment issue is another problem though. If it is the hinges or something that can be replaced, then have it fixed by the dealer. I've never heard of a manufacturer doing a repair directly. I don't see why they couldn't send a pre-painted door though, especially on a car and color that is still in production. Time to elevate the issue. If it is just the hinge or alignment, those areas damaged should be easy to touch up without having to worry.

No I'm using the hand made and hand painted and hand sanded car argument right now that the paint should be perfect. And who ever does the final inspections because obviously the panels are not on the frame when painted. So if these aren't caught well then the inspectors are blind. That is a glaring hole hes got from the body to the window. He is right, you could stick your fingers in there.

And ferrari isn't better because it costs more ferrari is better because well.........it's ferrari. Need I say more?

There is a video on youtube about how the mclarens are painted and you see the guy stand like 5 inches from the paint looking at every millimeter of it. Do the painters at SRT just paint, buff, and say NEXT?

 

[Coloviper]

Kris;

Do NOT let the dealership re-paint the door. The GTS Blue is very hard to match up like other SRT paints due to the metallic in the paint. Granted each dealership is different and skills with vary but when I had my 06' GEN III Coupe GTS Blue with Silver Stripes, I added a new GEN IV hood to it. The Dealership out here (Parker Dodge, now killed in the Fiat Re-org) did their best to paint the hood. I purposely only had them paint the hood and not blend the hood fenders, etc. in case I ever wanted to put the original hood back on. They did a great job BUT in different light and shade condiditons, you could see the difference plain as day (or at least I could). 90% of the people would not care, but if you are looking at your current situation as such, you are detail oriented and will not be happy witha repaint. It will only get worse. Definitely will not help on resale. Hard to tell on resale of GEN V as you are in uncharted waters wiht the MRSP being as high as it is anyway.

Personally from the pictures, I would leave the exterior paint alone and use the issue to better something in your favor with the dealership. Oil changes and free maintenance for life, make them replace the scoops aft the doors with carbon fiber ones, etc., etc. Get something out of the issue but repainting the door is NOT the answer. It is hard to tell from the pictures if the issue is the door misaligned or the window or both, etc.

If I had to guess, they removed the door to replace all the window regulator stuff, etc. and when they put it back on, they missed a spacer(s) by the hinges. They need to fix it, along with the window misalignment but other than the hassle and distrust it causes you, it is not a major, major issue. Frustrating and disappointing for sure but not the end of the world. It is fixable! The rub in the door jamb is not a big deal killer if someone is looking used. I would put the blinders on and learn to forget about it after they fix it so it does not rub further.

Despite what others have stated, some of these things happen to other high end exotics as well. Robots are not the answer, etc. They happen, but the dealership has to step up and resolve the issue and SRT needs to get involved if they do not to any satisfaction. happened last week on one of our Cayenne Turbos. They had to replace the rear door lock switches. Removed the door to do it all and then forgot to realign the door afterwards. Didn't notice it until I filled up with gas the first time. Bottom of the door was out 1/2" from top. They will have to realign/shime it, etc. no manufacturer is immune.

My 06' GEN III Coupe had little flaws here and there and for the money you expect more, but look at a new ZR1 paint job or the top of the line 911, you can not even make out your image due to orange peel. The SRT paint jobs are vastly better than that. My issues with the 07' Jeep SRT 8 I had and the major paint issues in the door jams were a Jeep thing, NOT SRT.

In the end, you have to be satisifed to some reasonable degree and that is an intimate discussion with you, the dealer and SRT if required but looks like a dealership issue. Personally the little rub on the door/scoop is going to look like nothing compared to a mismatched door if they repaint. Looks like it is all alignment issues so I would focus attention there. Definitely not corrected right and obviously was just fine when you bought it so it left the factory right as issue was not mentioned before. Something happened afterwards like the window fell off the track. Dealership did not repair the repair correctly. As they say &*%^ happens!

 

[patgilm]

^^^ I agree with everything you said especially since the paint that is damaged is on the inside edge of the door.

 

[Policy Limits]

Let's face it, this snake is our baby. Things like a passenger door popping open, a horn randomly sounding in the middle of the night or issues like the ones in this thread are really frustrating.

It's up to the factory whether they step up or say take it up with the dealer. Can give an example. I bought a two year extended warranty on the gallardo for about 7k. Unbeknownst to me, my salesman/dealer never registered the warranty with the factory; it surfaced at the one warranty service I needed. Now Lamborghini could've said hey that's your issue with the dealer. Instead the regional manager stepped up, authorized the work under the "warranty" and then re did all CPO tests at a different dealer I chose and gave me two years of coverage prospectively, which effectively gave me one extra year for the same cost as it worked out.

I wish your situation were similar as it seems to be a factory issue though I'm uncertain that it is. Keep up informed as to your plan and progress. Hope it all works out. When I heard my horn sound my heart sank a bit. Not exactly the same situation but I feel for ya.

 

[Viper808]

Kristopher,

As a fellow LE owner I feel your pain. However, I cant help wonder if you could adjust the air duct by pushing it back a 1/16th or so and re tightening it. Simply remove the inside trim panel and you will see two nuts exposed that hold the air duct in place. loosen them slightly and have someone push back the air duct as much as needed and then tighten while they are holding it...

I still think your window is not alligned properly within the door for it to still have that much of a gap... My gap on the driver side is approx 1/8" from edge of window to the leading edge of the air duct..on the passenger side the gap is just less than 1/4" which I never would have noticed until your thread. However both my window seal and look perfectly positioned.

I find it hard to believe that your door could be that much miss-alligned and still latch ... and still have a huge gap that you can stick your finger in the window....I dont think they fixed it properly if that's the fixed image you show..

About your paint around your exhaust tips..its hard for me to see exactly what you are talking about ... from what I see it doesn't look much different than mine or any others I have seen..perhaps I need a better image or angle..

AS far as service from the dealers that is spotty.....a few dealers get it..most dont..

I had a quality issue with the air duct itself on the drivers side..the trailing edge of mine had a couple nicks in it on the edge.. The dealer gave me the run arround and said the part is back ordered... Fortunately , Graham Henckle from the viper factory who visits this site some times was gracious enough to pull an air duct off the assembly line and ship it to me within two days of me asking...along with excellent instructions on how to remove and install... Now its perfect..........and that's why I thought you could perhaps adjust the air duct to get it out of the way of the door.. But I realize that's just half your problem..

I hope it all works out for you

 

[SADVIPER]

dear god, how SRT is failing in this league.
y SRT dont just handle the issues properly **** happens but QA/QC issues as this one and especially for a LE?? damn bro wishing u better luck!

 

[doctorbob]

Maybe I should open another thread. I have been serious looking at a LE. The cars were held to insure the " best quality" this is at least the third LE with issues. A dealership here in Seattle has one and it has a leather deformity in the door arm rest.....I pointed that out and the dealership did not care.

 

[TrackAire]

Let's face it, this snake is our baby. Things like a passenger door popping open, a horn randomly sounding in the middle of the night or issues like the ones in this thread are really frustrating.

It's up to the factory whether they step up or say take it up with the dealer. Can give an example. I bought a two year extended warranty on the gallardo for about 7k. Unbeknownst to me, my salesman/dealer never registered the warranty with the factory; it surfaced at the one warranty service I needed. Now Lamborghini could've said hey that's your issue with the dealer. Instead the regional manager stepped up, authorized the work under the "warranty" and then re did all CPO tests at a different dealer I chose and gave me two years of coverage prospectively, which effectively gave me one extra year for the same cost as it worked out.

I wish your situation were similar as it seems to be a factory issue though I'm uncertain that it is. Keep up informed as to your plan and progress. Hope it all works out. When I heard my horn sound my heart sank a bit. Not exactly the same situation but I feel for ya.

Sorry to hear of the problems Kristopher is having. But, as you just stated with the Lambo situation, it's how the manufacturer (not the dealer) really steps up to take care of this situation. The sad part is potential Porsche or Vette owners that are looking to move to the Viper look at a thread like this and make decisions based on the outcome. Although these issues should not be happening on a car that goes through so many sets of live eyes & hands, stuff happens and how it's handled is what really matters in the long run.

Cheers,
George

 

[George Farris]

I got a factory painted door for my 1993 after a defect started showing up in 1994.

 

[ViperSmith]

Sorry to hear of the problems Kristopher is having. But, as you just stated with the Lambo situation, it's how the manufacturer (not the dealer) really steps up to take care of this situation. The sad part is potential Porsche or Vette owners that are looking to move to the Viper look at a thread like this and make decisions based on the outcome. Although these issues should not be happening on a car that goes through so many sets of live eyes & hands, stuff happens and how it's handled is what really matters in the long run.

Cheers,
George

It boils down to, this is something that fell through QA (his window issue). The dealer did a bad job of fixing the door (hinges) and now Kris is stuck in a hard spot.

Two failures here for a man that dropped $140k on a car. Sorry, I would be upset if I were him as well.

 

[SADVIPER]

$140k holy canolli I hope someone genuine from SRT calls him and fix it.

 

[VIPER 93]

It just goes to show that not all Vipers
go through the water test. When I had
fuel door issue with my coupe, I emailed
SRT direct and Dick Winkles took care of
it right away.

 

[wikkid]

Man that really *****. Ive caleed and dealt with SRT hotline for my srt8 jeep, and they have been great. Sorry to see this happening on a new car. I would be beyond pissed.

 

[KB Viper]

thanks for all the advice, i really do appreciate the feedback. i do want to let some of you know the reason i'm being so picky about this is because i did pay 139k for this car and after tax, tag, and title it came out to 153k and that was 10 weeks ago so not even 3 months. One of the main draws for me was how Ralph talked about the perfect paint with no orange peels and the detailed process for painting on the the stripes. The car is my daily driver and the dealership has had it already for 10 days and they along with SRT & the chrysler customer car advocate say to adjust the door so it won't hit anymore and do the paint work correctly they would need the car for 2 or 3 weeks which means i get to ride around in a dodge avenger or chrysler 200 and still be on the hook for the $11 a day minimum insurance coverage (I'm sure i can get them to pay for that). i have fought tooth and nail for them to send factory painted parts to replace my damaged parts so the fix would only be two days but they say they won't do that. One more thing the dealership did "touch up the rear brake duct (see pic) and i want everyone who said not to worry about it look at this and tell me, would you let the dealership now touch up your door? Let's face it with the inability to devalue the car with performance mods since the PCM is locked why would I let the dealership devalue the car with modding the paint? what would you do?

 

[wikkid]

In my younger days i would of probably drove it through there front window...lol. I would be beyond patient at this point, its more ridiculous then anything else. They should replace the parts with brand new parts.
Example, my srt8 jeep wheel skirts were literally coming appart on the truck, 3 times they tried gluing them on. Finally SRT and Chrystler ok'd new parts. I love SRT but there overall fit and finish on these vehicles is ****.....

 

[speedracervr4]

Yea that's a B.S. "touch up". I'm not on twitter, but it seems like Ralph answers questions rather quickly. If your problems persist I would look at sending him a message directly. Good luck and don't settle for half A%# repairs.

 

[02 Graphite GTS]

Hi Kris,
I'm sorry to hear about the issues you are having.
I am helping another Gen V owner with issues that he is having and have been talking with our Dealership up in our area who has been very helpful. I am also working with the Chrysler Customer Service group too.
Send me an email when you get a chance and I'll see what I can do to help you out as well.

[email protected]