WHAT TO DO?! Dealer drilled license plate bracket into bumper!

[sspddmn]

Before reading this, I know some of you here may think this is a minor thing and not as major as CAM ZL1's engine problem but this for me still sucks as I put everything I had into the purchase of this car. Now on to the story...

My Z finally got delivered to the dealership yesterday (Friday 7/27). Dealer didn't call me to tell me it arrived. I had to call the dealer today (Saturday, at 4pm) to ask if it arrived. Sales mngr says yes it did. He claimed it got there just a couple hours ago. So I was in the neighborhood of the dealership at around 8pm tonight so I figured to swing by and see my car. I dont want to use names so sales manager "A" that I had been dealing with and he's the only one that deals with courtesy deliveries, had left already but other sales manager "B" and sales people told me it got there on Friday afternoon. Ok so whatevers, what's another few days.

So when I first contacted this dealership (a courtesy delivery) the first thing I asked sales manager "A" was not to put the license plate bracket on the car. He assures me that they will not because they don't put them on the camaros or corvettes. So when i went to visit my car tonight, what is the first thing I see, a license plate bracket with the dealership's name on a paper plate mounted/drilled into my front bumper.

So what do I do. I know they will fix it but now the car's paint wont be factory original. Not only that, I'll have to wait 1 month for the newly painted bumper to cure before i can put on the clear bra (Cause that's how long i had to wait after i had the bumper on my SS painted.)

So I am sorely sorely upset at this dealer After waiting this long for my car, I'll have to wait a whole month before I can drive it again if I have the bumper fixed. And that new car feeling will be gone, the paint on the bumper won't be original, and the chances of the paint (if they dont paint the entire bumper) will fade under the clear bra.

So what should I do or ask the dealer to do for me? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

[jaysonstuart]

To be honest there isn't much you can do. It's your car now and the damage has been done. I'd just make sure they repair it to your satisfaction.

[jameslk55]

Originally Posted by sspddmn

So what should I do or ask the dealer to do for me? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Grats on the ZL1 and sorry to hear about your front bumper. I would take the free repair. Maybe see if the dealership will take care of the clear bra.

[fielderLS3]

If it were mine, I'd just leave it as is at this point. The dealership paint job won't be as good as the factory paint. At the very least, the plate there will offer some protection against idiots who can't park attempting to do so anyway.

[Taser Deployed]

If you're like me and paying 60K hard earned then you want everything to be right. I'm very particular about stuff like this and knowing me it would be something that bothered me for as long as I owned the car. You really only have 2 choices which sucks. You can either have the dealership paint the bumper or look for another car which fits your build. The later being a little extreme but with all the 13's starting to roll out it might not be that hard to find another one.

[dragon2368]

This is what I did with my front plate and it has grown on me over time. It has just become part of the looks of the car I suppose. LOL! I do get compliments on it from time to time. Granted I knew it was on there when I went to pick up the car and I didn't drop $60,000 on it either.

[Taser Deployed]

Originally Posted by dragon2368

This is what I did with my front plate and it has grown on me over time. It has just become part of the looks of the car I suppose. LOL! I do get compliments on it from time to time. Granted I knew it was on there when I went to pick up the car and I didn't drop $60,000 on it either.

Nice ride! Yeah it's the fact that the car is 60K that would be the big problem for me. Every month when the note would be due I would be thinking "Damn I'm paying this much and I have a repainted bumper because the dealership drilled holes into it". It would drive me crazy. 60K might not be alot to some people but I work 40+ hours a week to have my toys and I value them. I remember before I purchased my Z I looked over it for about 20 minutes to make sure there were no scratches or dings and everything was as close to perfect as could be expected.

[dragon2368]

Thanks! You have a nice ride yourself! I must admit that if I had showed up and spent that kind of money on a car and had specifically told them NOT to put the front plate on I would have to walk away.

Furthermore why do dealerships put the front plates on any vehicle for anyway. I understand it is a law in some states, however shouldn't that be at the customers discretion and or request before installing on any purchased vehicle???

[Taser Deployed]

Originally Posted by dragon2368

Thanks! You have a nice ride yourself! I must admit that if I had showed up and spent that kind of money on a car and had specifically told them NOT to put the front plate on I would have to walk away.

Furthermore why do dealerships put the front plates on any vehicle for anyway. I understand it is a law in some states, however shouldn't that be at the customers discretion and or request before installing on any purchased vehicle???

I agree 100% I just didn't want to sound too extreme. I would walk away and just find another car that fit my build. The cars are not as hard to get as when they first hit the streets.

[alyssasdad]

I dont think your being extreme at all. Look at it like this,if you take the front plate out of the conversation all together. The dealer drilled 2 holes into the front bumper of your new ZL1!!! What would you do if you walked up and there were just 2 holes drilled into the bumper? I would walk away. Just my 2cents!!

[pierre777]

Exact same thing happened to me

[Ghost1LE]

The fact that you specifically told them not to do it and they did it anyways would make me that much madder. I would walk away, you could order a new one and get it in 6 weeks ready for a clear bra and it wouldn't be repainted rather than waiting the 4 weeks curing time. Don't settle, I did on my first Camaro and I'm ordering a new one this month and if it they put the front plate on I will walk away as well, I already dealt with that once.

[DangerZL1]

Originally Posted by alyssasdad

I dont think your being extreme at all. Look at it like this,if you take the front plate out of the conversation all together. The dealer drilled 2 holes into the front bumper of your new ZL1!!! What would you do if you walked up and there were just 2 holes drilled into the bumper? I would walk away. Just my 2cents!!

I'm glad you said this. I had the same conversation with my dealer prior to delivery about the license plate and dealer sticker along with one about not washing the car. He kept his word, but if they had of drilled holes in the bumper I'd of declined the car without a second thought. It's the OPs hard-earned money and there's no excuse for the holes. If the car is accepted I'd have the cover replaced.

[WCoolBreeze]

Tell them to order and replace the bumper/front end. They wrecked it after being told not to drill into the bumper/front end or no deal. Or refuse car and order a new one. I made it very clear when I ordered my car that if they drill the bumper/front end I would walk away from the car and order it again somewhere else and that the plate frame would be either handed to me directly or placed in the trunk.

Walt B.