Dealer broke retaining tabs, glued part in place!

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Percival P. Cassidy, Feb 13, 2009.

  1. The power mirror switch (the L-Off-R rocker part) of our then brand-new
    '02 300M either was broken when we took delivery or (I no longer recall
    which) broke within a day or two. It was replaced under warranty, and I
    thought no more about it. Not long ago the switch broke again, and I
    bought a new one on eBay. The service manual says to pry off the switch
    with a trim stick. One side came away quite easily, revealing what
    looked like hardened crazy glue on one surface. The other side was much
    more difficult to get free, and eventually I was able to remove it, but
    it showed every sign of having been glued in place with crazy glue or
    something similar.

    Are such improper (incompetent, fraudulent?) repairs even by authorized
    dealers common? SOP?

    Perce
     
    Percival P. Cassidy, Feb 13, 2009
    #1
  2. Find out what kind of crazy glue it was. A glue that will hold for
    seven years is worth having.
     
    Pete E. Kruzer, Feb 13, 2009
    #2
  3. I'm not sure if the broken retaining tabs your referring to are part of
    the trim or the switch. But I'll assume the switch.

    It's entirely possible the dealer parts department ordered the switch from
    the factory and it arrived with the tabs broken off, and the dealer decided
    not
    to return the switch to the factory - maybe the factory claimed that was the
    only switch in stock, etc.

    Unfortunately it is not uncommon to have parts arrive at the dealer parts
    counter from the factory which are clearly used. I've had it happen to me
    twice when I went to the dealer to buy parts. Both times I noticed it
    because
    I opened the package AT the counter IN FRONT of the parts guy, pulled
    out the part from the sealed bag, inspected it closely, and pointed out the
    evidence. In one case the part was covered with greasy fingerprints and was
    missing some mounting screws.

    Both times I tried having them re-order the part and they refused, claiming
    that the part might not be new but it would work. I ended up taking the
    parts
    anyway, but I did get them to knock the price down.

    As long as the switch worked electrically, and the glue didn't destroy the
    mounting hole, while it's not an optimal repair, it did work and didn't do
    any
    lasting damage.

    Ted
     
    Ted Mittelstaedt, Feb 19, 2009
    #3
  4. No, I was referring to the tabs on the trim. So they were dealing with
    an existing part, not with a replacement they had to order in.

    Perce
     
    Percival P. Cassidy, Feb 19, 2009
    #4
  5. Percival P. Cassidy

    QX Guest

    I once had the battery on my '97 Neon replaced at Sears. After I got
    home, I noticed that the entire air shroud assembly used to insulate
    the battery from the underhood temperatures was missing.
    Seems the installer thought it wasn't needed with his "Die Hard"
    battery. Since they admitted to losing the part they credited my
    account with the amount of a new shround assembly from the dealer.
    All subsequent battery replacements have been done by "me" and
    AutoZone.
     
    QX, Feb 20, 2009
    #5
  6. Percival P. Cassidy

    C-BODY Guest

    You didn't carefully read the repair order for the vehicle when you
    picked it up from having been repaired???? IF they had a switch charged
    out, there should have been a new switch installed. Not to say that the
    tech might not have damaged the new part in the process of installing
    it, hence the adhesive issue. Or the tech wanted to make sure it didn't
    re-break again. So much for full size "snap fit" model cars that have
    engines, these days.

    C-BODY
     
    C-BODY, Feb 22, 2009
    #6
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