Thing is this. SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE knows what happened to that truck. For them to act like they did not is dishonest.
Kitty and I bought her new 04 Escape in December of 03. We almost got one off the lot. I opened the door checking it out and the plastic trim on the door hit the front fender as the door opened, popping the trim off the door.
Dick Marcott's (RIP) son Adam was our salesman. He said "no, this ain't workin" jumped in the car and drove it around back. They didn't know what happened to it, but knew something did and they were not gonna hide it.
They didn't have another one on the lot like it, so he apologized, did a dealer search and found one. Although it was much more expensive than what we chose. Adam matched the price without question and it was there later that afternoon.
This whole thing to me sounds unscrupulous. I don't give a damn whether it is "just a scratch" or "just a warranty repair".
That said, the deal killer now is the fact that you have waited so DAMN LONG to do anything. That shows acceptance of the product. A new car is supposed to be just that. A new car. Anything less is not. But since you've waited so long, I think you're gonna have a long row to hoe to get anything done about it.