Well, I just washed my truck for the first time yesterday and found some disturbing things. I'd like to get your impressions and suggestions:

• the roof was either repainted in a dirty environment or It's rusting as there's a bunch of 'zits' under the paint.
• there's another zit on one of the bed rails.
• there's a couple of 1/4" diameter bubbles or raised areas in the paint right in the middle of the right fender (not near an edge)
• the roof has a scratch straight down the middle of it like it was driven against whatever caused it.
• the right front fender has a starburst dink looking thing either in the paint or sheetmetal (normal paint defect?)
• the tailgate has the same thing up near the top edge
• the left front fender has a crease directly centered above the wheel well that is ~3" vertical (normal tooling issue?)
• the truck smells like gear oil and has since I drove it home. (I can't locate a leak yet)
• the badges on the sides are corroding already. It looks like the chrome has bubbled where the badges curve outwards

Obviously, what concerns me most is whether most of these are corrosion issues or if this truck has had body work that wasn't disclosed. Does anyone know what a dealer must disclose for rework on a new truck?

I took a good look at the truck when I picked it up but I didn't notice these things until I washed it. I've put around 700 miles on the truck and have had it for 2 weeks. I plan to keep it NICE. It's not a job truck.

This truck was transferred from another dealer maybe 4 months ago for a deal with a buyer that fell through (hmmm...). It was made 11/06. It has spent the last few months in 'storage'. I called the dealership yesterday and am expecting a call back today. I want to know what the deal is with this truck. How would you handle this?

My 2006 bought new (now sold) had NONE of these issues.

 

I know exactly what you meanabout looking at the truck well then finding things when you went to wsh it. Next time I find a truck I am going to take it to the car wash before I buy it. Thats the only way I ever catch all the dings etc...

 

I feel for you. I considered buying a "new" 5.9 2007, but after seeing a few left on the lots recently, I waited on a used one. The "new" ones had yellowing on the seals, there was lots of dust collecting underneath and on the engine, and who knows if they were being maintained at all. They had been sitting on the lot for almost a year and I just had to pass on them.

I would love a new truck and all, but Im glad I went with the used truck since it has been maintained.

It's hard to say if the truck had body work or if it was a defect from the factory without seeing it in person. Id see what the dealer has to say and try and get it fixed right. Especially if it is "new" it should be perfect.

Thats my .02

 

I noticed this on my rear fenders above the wheel well - not sure what caused it, I thought it was something I did, now I think maybe not...

My badges on the doors seemed to be doing this, it was almost as if they had a plastic coating on the top that was getting bubbled... not sure, I debaged it - problem solved. My Cummins "C" was not doing this however, I left that one on.

Let us know what you find out from the dealer, I would like to know what the creases are on my fenders.

 

Funny you guys say that...both of the rear fenders on my truck (and my buddies truck) have the creases!!!

 

your worrying me im looking at an 07 right now

 

I love the truck, dont get me wrong, like I said earlier, I thought it was something I did to it and dismissed it, but this makes me wonder. It is not bad and can't notice mine unless you look down the side of the truck - and the light hits it at the right angle... most people would never see it unless they owned it....

 

I always make the dealer detail it (wash, check or change fluids, make sure all electrical or mechanical parts work) before I drive it off the lot. It's free along w/ free fill up of fuel. Atleast ever dealer I did business w/do it. Then I look over it again before leaving the dealer.

 

Maybe it was vandalized or damaged some how. Not likely, of course, but I've heard that one of the cruelist things to do to someone's car is to put gear oil in the hvac intake in front of the windshield -- smells to high heaven and isn't ever coming out without stripping the paint from the firewall with it, not to mention replacing the entire HVAC system.

 

Dont get me wrong either, I love the truck.

 

If its really new, take it back to the dealer, tell them what you found. They will fix it. I did the same with mine with some little issues I found.. they had no problem fixing them..

 

You might try going by a high-end body shop and get their opinion of the cause of bad paint.

Pete
(xploretx)

 

Here's one about the interior. On my passenger side door I have three light marks or lines on the top of the door where the gray part ends and the window starts. They are in perfect spacing and exactly the same size. If you were sitting in the passenger seat with the window down and rested your arm on the top of the door the lines or light marks would be under your forearm. They are about 2" long and spaced perfectly about 12" apart. They don't follow the body of the truck. Not facing front to back of the truck but pointing towards the driver. Not sure if that describes them well enough. Anybody else have this show up. The dealer told me it was from a cleaner that I used. To bad I hadn't touched the door with anything before I noticed them.

 

I notice on my 3500 badge on the driver side that there is chrome missing on the "Y" of heavy duty that is molded inside the clear part. I know about injection molding and the such and am amazed that this got past all the quality of the supplier that made the badge let alone through Dodge's receiving and onto the truck and through their quality, and through the dealer and their quality all the way to me the CUSTOMER. In my business niche this is a big NO-NO. I'm looking at it as "character" until I decide to take the badges off...

I also found a dimple on the outer edge of the door. I think it is a spot weld and a low spot... Got some door edge guards to cover it up.

Also, before I took delivery, the tail gate had a nice surface scratch on it. They buffed in out before taking delivery. The fins on the condensor (which is extremely exposed with the hood open) were pretty folded over at the top too which I anally tried straightening one by one...

The truck was on display in the front of the dealer and I'm sure a lot of somewhat abusive people had their dirty mits all over it and caused some of these issues... Luckily none of them are as big or bothersome as what you've described.

Definitely try having the dealer fix. It don't hurt to ask.

 

I have a crease on my passenger side rear fender. Hard to see unless you look down the body.