Hey Folks,

Any suggestions on how I get more information on damage or work that may have been done to my 2017 Expedition before new car delivery?

I am at 1000 miles and noticed just today that the fenders seem to have had work done on them prior to delivery. All fender bolts under the hood are marred and bare metal showing on the bolts holes after fender was moved.

See pics below.

It could be that the fenders were merely adjusted for gap alignment or maybe the front bumper was replaced, who knows. I would like find out. Any ideas on how I get this answered? My dealer said they did not adjust anything as part of PDI and have no ideas on who worked on the truck. Seems there should always be a record of some kind.

Maybe a Ford rep could help with a VIN?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

I had a similar issue on an '04 F-150. The 'A' pillar took a hit from something, possibly a chain on a train car or trailer during shipping. Either they attempted a fix at the factory or at the dealership who originally ordered the truck. Anyway, the repair was not done correctly or cleanly enough.

Back then there was a limit to the cost of the repair. It couldn't exceed something like 20% of the cost of the vehicle using wholesale costs for both parts and labor. Check with your state AG's office. Basically, there has to be a ton of damage to generate any disclosures or paperwork on the repair. I had to get a Ford customer rep. involved, who physically inspected the truck and then approved a re-repair.

Vehicle damage before delivery is fairly common.

Also, a factory QC check after the build was complete could've spotted the fenders misaligned. They just didn't use any touchup paint around the fender bolts after the adjustment.

 

It looks like the fender was moved, given the shift in the paint spots. I am guessing it was done at a factory pre-release inspection. If the fender had been repainted, would have been more paint over everything. Is there anything inside the fender like the washer bottle or an AC line or vacuum/charcoal canister that might have failed a mechanical test before being shipped? Even a water leak into the cab from a bad seam seal?

My late stepdad worked at the old Cadillac limo plant in Detroit. He was the one who told me paintless dent removal was invented in the car factories, to fix dents that were inevitably made in cars moving down the line....

My '78 Ford F100 pickup (which I ordered) had really thin paint on the flareside bed and one of the bed sides had been masked and resprayed when it came off the truck (it was the single-thickness bed wall that would have been impossible to dent, so it was clearly bad paint caught in the factory). Then the dealer had to respray the B pillars inside the cab because the paint was sheeting off...and replace the grille because that was dented during delivery also. This was a new truck that I picked up within a day or two of delivery.

QC seems to be way better these days. I would certainly inspect that whole corner/end of your truck to see if there are signs of any other repairs or parts replacements... If it's just the bolts, the hood seam might have been too wide in final inspection and the fender moved in to line things up.

George

 

A long tradition. Our '66 wagon had a barely repaired dent in the lower rocker panel.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have looked the whole area over on both sides of the truck and have not yet found anything else unusual. No overspray, etc.

The mentions of a QC fix at the factory make sense and I hope that's all it was. Funny enough the hood to fender alignment on this truck is perfect and is one area that can be a little off on these trucks, along with door and lift gate alignment, etc. So maybe the person inspecting on the assembly line was on it or mine was REALLY bad.

 

Well that's good. If the spots annoy you get one of those color matched paint touch up bottles with the little brush inside. Then you could put a little dab of paint there so A, you don't see the bare spots, and B, to prevent future rust.