Question: Is the car dealer responsible for peeling and cracking paint on a truck I recently purchased from them?

July 21, 2005

Hi Tony

I bought a used truck from a Ford dealer and bought the extended warranty.

Little to my knowledge did I realize about 6 months after purchasing the truck the paint on top of the roof would crack and peel off and now the hood is doing the same thing 3 months later.

I was wondering how would you suggest dealing with this problem and is the dealership responsible?

It won't fall under the warranty I am sure, but shouldn't the dealership be responsible for repairing this problem? Ford said "Not their problem!"

Any recourse that you are aware of to resolve this issue?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

Cheryl H.

Answer:

Hi Cheryl,

From the way you describe the problem it sounds like the areas that are cracking and peeling have been repainted in the past. It also sounds like these panels were repainted numerous times causing a build up of paint.

It's possible that whoever did it didn't know what they were doing and/or used faulty materials.

The only other thing that may cause this problem would be if these panels came into contact with some sort of chemical. For example, someone may have vandalized the truck by putting paint stripper or some other chemical on the body. These are just speculations, and there is no way for me to know for sure.

Take the truck to a reputable body shop and get an educated opinion as to what is going on with the paint.

If they think it was improperly repainted then ask the selling dealer if they did any paint work on the vehicle before selling it. If they did they should stand behind it.

If on the other hand the truck had paint work done on it before it came into the dealer's possession, you are more than likely on your own.

Certainly Ford wouldn't be responsible and your extended warranty doesn't cover any paint problems.

One thing is for sure; the cracked and peeling areas will have to be stripped to bare metal and properly repainted.

All my very best...

Tony Iorio