A Maryland woman paid extra for a dent-and-ding policy for her brand new car, but when she needed to cash in on it her claim was denied.
To keep her car looking like new, Mary Snitch bought the third-party policy for $580.
“The salesman was doing a very good job of selling this policy,” she said. “He never said, 'Make sure that you don't get a dent more than 4 inches in diameter.”
When she noticed a small dent, she assumed she was covered.
“It wasn't even a dent,” she said. “It was more like an impression.”
She sent the warranty company pictures of the dent, but it denied her claim because the dent was in excess of the 4-inch threshold, she said.
“It was really hard to see where the diameter was,” she said.
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She took the car to the dealership where she bought the warranty convinced once they saw the dent they'd agree it should be covered.
“The service manager said, ‘You're not covered, it's more than 4 inches, but come talk to our body manager,’” she said.
Then the person Snitch thought was the body manager offered her a deal.
“The man said, ‘Nope we don't have the ability to fix this under your policy, but if you will pay cash $1,000, I will be able to fix it like new,’” she said.
He gave her his business card for a nearby auto body shop and wrote on the back “$1,000” and “perfect like new.”
Over the next several months, Snitch and her husband reached out to the dealership for an explanation but didn’t get a response.
NBC4 Responds contacted the general manager of the dealership, who immediately responded to Snitch.
“Within a matter of hours, the GM called us and said get over here and we're going to make this right,” she said.
According to Snitch, it took the mechanic a few minutes to pop the dent back into place.
NBC4 Responds also called the auto body shop and learned that man was not an employee of the dealership but had just gone there to buy parts the day he offered to fix the dent.
The general manager of the dealership referred NBC4 Responds to his corporate office, which sent emailed this statement: "After careful review and consideration we respectfully decline comment."
“It shouldn't have taken five months to make it right, but they did make it right and I'm very happy about that,” Snitch said.
As for added warranties, while they may sound like a great deal, take the time to read the fine print and make sure the list of what is covered is longer than what is not.
