I took it to the dealership today and talked with the service manager (I think) who called the Ford Rep. The Ford Rep. told him to have me contact the selling dealership to replace the truck. I called the dealership and gave them the reps info. I'm just waiting to hear back.

 

They called me back and basically said the guy is full of crap. They want me to take it to another dealership to have pictures taken and sent to Ford.

 

Man talk about the run around. I hope someone steps up to make this right.

 

The dealership where I purchased it said they'd repaint it if I brought it to them, 4 hours away...I really don't want a brand new truck repainted though. They'd have to repaint the drivers side from the rear door back, the roof, the back of the cab, the passenger side of the bed, and the tailgate.

 

I went through a very similar struggle with a 1995 F-150 I bought new in 1996. The factory (red also) paint was soft and stone chipped like no tomorrow. I used to run the painting operation for a major manufacturer (non-automotive) and had access to all sorts of testing means to prove the paint didn't meet Ford specs. The dealership immediately agreed to re-paint the entire truck. Like you, I refused. The clincher was when I asked the Body Shop Manager - in front of the General Manager - ome simple questions. "Can you guarantee that your re-paint will meet all factory specs, be indistinguishable from the factory job, have no masking lines and nobody will ever know it's painted?" I asked. "Get him a new truck" was the Body Shop Manager's exact words. It took another 3 months of battling with Ford, but I got Trade Assistance for a new truck because it was a totally bad paint job that should have never left the factory. Good luck in your case though. You're in for a long battle.

BTW, when my new truck came in, they simply put my old one on the used car lot and sold it to somebody who didn't worry about paint - apparently.

 

The dealership where I bought mine doesn't have a body shop. They would have to contract it out I guess.

 

Nightmare.... Sorry to hear about your trouble. I hope you get it ironed out. I just washed, clayed, polished, and waxed mine. I noticed my roof seams are kind of funky too, but no chipping or primer exposed.

 

Another consideration. Make sure none of this mysteriously turns up on a Carfax report. It might.

 

I went to another dealership during lunch today to have the pictures taken. The guy who takes the pictures was out and after talking to the service advisor the only purpose the pictures serve is to get a yes or no on repainting the truck. I called Ford again and the lady I spoke with said she'd escalate the issue to a higher level and that I'd hear back within 2 days.

 

Sorry to hear about your truck. I used to detail and check-in new vehicles at our Chevrolet dealership. I can honestly say, ALWAYS check your new vehicles after detailing with a fine tooth comb before taking delivery! The most common damage we found were trucks/suv put on the lower deck of the hauler, scratches and dents on the roof galore. Like others have said, when damage is found, the vehicle goes back to the body shop and then put out for new. Another big issue to look for is dings/scratches on the side of the vehicles that are on the lot. After they are put on the lot, the detail crews often wash the cars where they sit. There isn't much space between the vehicles, and many use metal wands/sprayers and hit the vehicle behind them. These usually go unreported.

I know this doesn't help you now, but for anyone shopping. If the vehicle isn't detailed to where you can inspect it, DON'T take delivery until it is!

 

Request to speak directly with the regional rep...send him an e-mail and advise him specifically what has occurred, your understanding and the current reply........I guarantee it will be handled quickly because if he/she authorized a replacement vehicle, it is out of the dealers hands.

next - on the repaint. a good body shop will repaint the entire truck (exterior) because color sanding/blending the remaining 1 or panels will cost them more in time than painting the entire vehicle (you can speak with the shop manager about this and verify- 99% chance he will agree with you!). 2nd- oem uses a laytex paint, 99% of the body shops will use urethane, a much higher quality chip & fade resistant material whose shine is typically better than laytex- really, from a guy who has has 2 trucks repainted (new- 1985 & 1990) by Ford because of paint issues, I can assure you that as quality body shop will make that truck look incredible when they are done!

 

I have never heard of using laytex (correct spelling latex, a water base paint) in automotive applications. The most common paints are acrylic enamel, acrylic lacquer, NC lacquer, and polyurethane.

 

I decided to post a comment and links to the pictures on Ford's Facebook page last night. A lady commented back earlier and is going to have a regional manager call me.

 

I have never, ever seen a paint job done at a dealer body shop that one couldn't easily tell was a re-paint. Why do you think the Body Shop Manager told the GM to get me a new truck when I had the same problem? For starters, he knew he wasn't starting with a "body in white" as they do at the factory. Somewhere, someplace there were going to be some obvious masking lines. And he also knew he had nowhere near the process and process control they do in the factory.

 

That roof was repainted for sure. It hard to keep dust out of a repaint. Around the taillight, I'm not sure.