Dealer messed up my paint - what do I do?

[hanfrac]

I had my 91 911 turbo (Guards Red) in at the local dealer to replace a bad steering rack. They had the car for a total of 5 days, including a weekend. I picked the car up this morning and noticed some residue on a panel. The guy who brings the cars our saw it and volunteered to wash it off. He came back 10 minutes later and it was still there (looks almost like a gasoline stain).

We then started examining other parts of the car. There is significant spotting/stains on other panels. The kicker is the rear deck lid - it looks very oxidized, as does the "turbo" plate beneath the whale tale.

I had to take the car, as I had an appointment I needed to be at, but I intend to take the car back. The service advisor seems (1) willing to help, but (2) said something like "it must be something that was already in the paint. and if this were a problem that we caused, why is it only on your car?"

Any suggestions on how to deal with this up-front?

Note that I would have qualified the paint as a solid 8-8.5/10 in condition, if not higher, before I took it in. But now I feel like I'm going to have to prove that it wasn't damaged. One piece of good news - I had this same dealership detail the car about 4-5 weeks ago, so I have that going for me.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[ChrisBennet]

Some (most?) places store customers cars inside over night in the service bays. Maybe the car was parked under another car and got leaked on?
-Chris

[Maxx1]

I would maybe first take it to a good paint shop and get their evaluation on it. Brake fluid, octane booster, brake cleaner and many shop solvents can etch paint and ruin it. If that's the case, then you will probably have to prove it wasn't that way before.

If it can be polished out, the Porsche dealership should if nothing else have their detail shop polish it out as a courtesy.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I'd get it back there asap. You run the risk the longer you keep it that they'll "forget" the conversations you had, say it happened after you picked it up, etc. Probably should have left it there or resolved it prior to accepting the car. I dealt with a torn seat in a boxster a few years back that the body shop did while it was in there for work. It was a royal PIA. If you have a shop try and detail it, if it doesn't work you've now given them another thing to argue with you about.

[Gene Wilkes]

Guess it depends on the dealership! I've had a couple of incidents over the years and were quickly resolved with NO QUESTIONS ASKED! Maybe your stealership doesn't subscribe to quality standards in their operation! Remember, one unsatisfied customer will tell ALL of his friends!