Jeep is s**t quality, according to reputable repairer... Help?

[Reinaldo]

In short, a repairer has placed the door hinge in a way that it scrapes with the door itself as it shuts. Inspector says it's within tolerance and that Jeep is simply a s**t brand and even worse quality build and I need to prove to them with photos that the hinges don't normally scrape paint off. What I am asking is:

A) Photos of your driver door hinge (see attached) to inundate their inbox for their ridiculous request.
B) Suggestions on how to handle or further actions I can take. E.g. Ways to inform Jeep that they should recommend against people sending their cars to this repairer which clearly doesn't appreciate business.

I’d really appreciate any help as I’ve pretty much exhausted the local dealers and car yards.

Cheers
Reinaldo


Backstory, in case you're wondering: I got t-boned by a deer in the Victorian bush around September 2018 and damaged both driver side doors. Took to a reputable repairer in the Mornington Peninsula to get fixed, on recommendation of a very reputable insurance company who was paying for it since it happened on a public road.

Had a few issues with paint being wrong and not set properly, some part being damaged during repairs, and others not being repaired/replaced at all. After getting it back for the second time the driver door had not been seated properly and was howling when travelling anywhere above 50Km/h. When I got it back it seemed all good (apart from missing part that appears to no longer be in production, but that’s another matter). But later the door started to squeak and grind when being shut, and it was because the hinge has been set too low, causing it to hit the door.

When I took it back to the repairer this time, an assessor from the insurance company was also there, I thought to represent me, but turns out they weren’t there for consumer support. He had a look, says it’s within tolerance because it’s within 5mm of where it is meant to be. I of course pointed out that’s ridiculous because it’s scraping and visibly lower than it should be. His response: “what do you expect? It’s a Jeep, they are a s**t quality build, pardon my French”. Seems it didn’t matter to them that paint was being ripped off by it grinding, and somehow the other doors and hinges were no indication of how this one should be. Also they went on to say that it was my fault for taking it back to them when it was making the screaming wind noises, and that if they didn't need to have altered it it wouldn't be like this now. Go figure. Anyway, the conversation ended in them saying I had to prove to them that pain scraping is not normal.


----EDIT: Couple of months on and still unresolved, so thought I'd share with you all so that you can avoid, or at least be aware when dealing with these guys.
Insurer: RACV (to be fair, they just referred me to the assessor)
Assessor: IAG
Repairer: RMA - Repair Management Australia, Mornington (AKA: BDS Panels, Mornington)

[Jimmyb]

Weak as piss, hope you can get it sorted, name and shame is always a good method.

[NTRubicon]

I see no hinge bushing in place. it looks like metal on metal. There should be a small sleeve in the door hinge that would provide a small gap for the door and possibly prevent the rubbing you are seeing there.

I had to replace mine with a nylon product out of the US. https://www.quadratec.com/products/55014_6103.htm

Does the door move at the hinge pin when you lift it while open? I'll try to snap some photos of my own and send through

[Banshee]

Even without the bushing, ( I replaced mine a couple of years ago as well), the repairer can adjust the mounting of the hinges on the door.

I pulled mine off over summer & cleaned off all the corrosion & repainted them all. The biggest issue was refitting the doors so they lined up & closed properly, because the reinforcing plates the hinges bolt into in the doors move to allow for adjustment.

It's shit quality, all right. But not the car, just the work they did on it! Him thinking the JK is shit quality is no excuse for him to get lazy & sloppy when repairing it.

Here is a pic of mine. You can clearly see both the gap & the Delrin bushing that seems to be missing from yours. (The original is aluminium.)



https://photos.app.goo.gl/gHmxeNDh6CCKbMce7

I just had another thought: If the door is sitting that low, it probably won't seal out the water when it rains the next time...

[eksjay]

I am not sure why the JK is sheat quality. How did the assessor make such an assessment and generalisation of Jeep? I would be looking for a less reputable insurer that charges a much lesser premium. Also, find a less reputable panel beater.

[BNEJK]

take it up to the supervisor of the inspector.

[Reinaldo]

Not sure how to tag, but:

@Jimmyb
Haha agreed. I think I will wait to see how it all ends though, but definitely let you know who it was.

@NTRubicon
Good point. There was something there I think, but looked broken. My guess they just left whatever was there from the old doors. Not sure, I heat a faint click as I lift but it could be the hinge bolts themselves as I notice the hinge also is way out of centre, to the point that you can see just bare metal (see photo attached). Thanks heaps for the link though! I think I'll do that myself.

@Banshee
Agreed on all. That’s what I was saying to them, and genuinely couldn’t believe I was having that conversation. No water leak, but did start making wind noises again. I know, it should have just been a case of lining up the door properly, and I think I could easily do it myself, but would like them to repaint it and not tell me some BS like they are not responsible because I tampered with it. And yeah wow that bushing is a lot more prominent than I’ve seen.