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A buddy of mine got a 2007 Subaru LEGACY 2.5 GT LIMITED SEDAN in Obsidian Black Pearl on Dec. 30, 2006.
When these picture were taken it had been driven for one week and had not been washed by anyone but the dealership. Here you go:
How bad is that? Apparently the salesman bragged that they spent three hours prepping it. It was three hours too long.
We had discussed the idea of not letting the dealer wash the car, but while dealing with all the nonsense of buying a new car he forgot to discuss it with them.
It's really a heart breaker because he is all set up with Megs wash tools, grit guards, water magnets, knowledge, etc. His trade-in Subaru was a mess. But he knows the error of his ways and is committed to keeping this finish looking good.
Plus his property is basically a detailer's utopia. It has a shaded wash area, excellent water, and a huge, free standing, well lit, garage, with it's own HVAC system. It's also a quiet neighborhood with some wilderness, good music, good food, and good people. To me it's a blessing and a privilege to be able to work on a machine such as this, in an environment such as that. It's almost as much fun as fishing.
We figured on a wash, clay, Color-x, and #21x2 by hand to get it through winter and then we could tweak it and mess around with different things in the spring. That would have been awesome. It didn't play out like that.
I got to see the car for the first time on thur. January 4, 2007, during the work day. Luckily I was able to see it in direct sunlight. Naturally, I was quite upset about this. It is criminal what they did to this car. Have you guys seen that obsidian black? It's a totally sick finish. As I started pointing out more defects, he became increasingly angry. He had a feeling all was not well but he wanted me to see it.
He called the sales manager at the dealership and told them that the car was badly scratched. The sales manager retorted by saying that technically he shouldn't have qualified for the VIP pricing that he received. How is that relevant? The guy basically said "You didn't pay enough for the car so it's OK that we wrecked the finish." How do you like that?
So we got together yesterday, Sat. January 6, 2007 and decided to take some pictures before we even laid a hand on it. Those are the pictures above. While we were doing this my buddy called the dealership. They asked him to bring it in so they could see it. We drove out to the dealership. When we rolled into the parking lot there was a black Forrester right next to the entrance. The passenger side was completely exposed and it was lined up directly with the sun, exactly how you would position your car for that money reflection shot. That black Forrester looked bad. It was so swirled it looked like an old vinyl record album (for you younger folks, that's what we had before CDs and MP3s.) I was thinking if they are going scratch cars that badly they should at least put a white or silver car in that spot. Anything but black!
So my friend parks his car in direct sun. A few guys from the dealership come out to look at it. I am not sure of their positions or rank. One guy did all of the talking. He said "Yeah I see swirls in a black car," in a tone that implied "what do you expect." Apparently this is their standard.
We pointed out some of the deeper scratches and he said that they were just adhesive from the plastic. He tried to remove one from the trunk lid with his thumb. He realized it was a scratch.
After we pointed out a few more things he offered to wet sand the car and shoot it with clear, but he showed no concern about what had been done to this car. He acted like it was no big deal and we were just being difficult.
We told them that we would discuss it and get back to them on Monday.
We took the car back to his house, washed it, and got a better look.
My assessment of the paint is as follows:
To remove these defects it will require #83 followed by #80 as well as some special attention in various spots. I'm pretty sure this will set it straight. But I shouldn't have to 83 a brand new car, should I? Even my neighbor's old beaters usually only need 80.
So here are the options:
A: Let them wet sand it and clear coat it.
B. We just fix it and don't let them put their hands on it again.
C. We try to work a deal where he bears the brunt of the defect removal ($0.00 and some time well spent) and they just shoot the clear.
D. Something we haven't thought of yet.
The car doesn't need to be wet sanded. It doesn't even need a rotary. This can be fixed with a PC. It seems to me that it would be better to remove the scratches while removing as little of the clear as possible, and then shoot it with clear. He might have a unique opportunity to get an extra thick clear coat for free if we try for option c. He could actually come out ahead of the game. Imagine that.
Option A. scares me because I don't know who will be doing the wet sanding. This dealership has clearly demonstrated a lack of knowledge and concern for the care of their stock. They have low standards. Are they going to make the edges too thin or sand down into the pearl and then put clear over it? I can't fix that. They could make things worse.
It scares me.
While option B. is probably our safest choice, it really irks me. We basically let the dealer get away with something. It's just ridiculous to have to remove that much finish from a car with 800 miles on it. They should be held accountable.
What do you guys think? I really need some advice from some experts who I trust.
When these picture were taken it had been driven for one week and had not been washed by anyone but the dealership. Here you go:
How bad is that? Apparently the salesman bragged that they spent three hours prepping it. It was three hours too long.
We had discussed the idea of not letting the dealer wash the car, but while dealing with all the nonsense of buying a new car he forgot to discuss it with them.
It's really a heart breaker because he is all set up with Megs wash tools, grit guards, water magnets, knowledge, etc. His trade-in Subaru was a mess. But he knows the error of his ways and is committed to keeping this finish looking good.
Plus his property is basically a detailer's utopia. It has a shaded wash area, excellent water, and a huge, free standing, well lit, garage, with it's own HVAC system. It's also a quiet neighborhood with some wilderness, good music, good food, and good people. To me it's a blessing and a privilege to be able to work on a machine such as this, in an environment such as that. It's almost as much fun as fishing.
We figured on a wash, clay, Color-x, and #21x2 by hand to get it through winter and then we could tweak it and mess around with different things in the spring. That would have been awesome. It didn't play out like that.
I got to see the car for the first time on thur. January 4, 2007, during the work day. Luckily I was able to see it in direct sunlight. Naturally, I was quite upset about this. It is criminal what they did to this car. Have you guys seen that obsidian black? It's a totally sick finish. As I started pointing out more defects, he became increasingly angry. He had a feeling all was not well but he wanted me to see it.
He called the sales manager at the dealership and told them that the car was badly scratched. The sales manager retorted by saying that technically he shouldn't have qualified for the VIP pricing that he received. How is that relevant? The guy basically said "You didn't pay enough for the car so it's OK that we wrecked the finish." How do you like that?
So we got together yesterday, Sat. January 6, 2007 and decided to take some pictures before we even laid a hand on it. Those are the pictures above. While we were doing this my buddy called the dealership. They asked him to bring it in so they could see it. We drove out to the dealership. When we rolled into the parking lot there was a black Forrester right next to the entrance. The passenger side was completely exposed and it was lined up directly with the sun, exactly how you would position your car for that money reflection shot. That black Forrester looked bad. It was so swirled it looked like an old vinyl record album (for you younger folks, that's what we had before CDs and MP3s.) I was thinking if they are going scratch cars that badly they should at least put a white or silver car in that spot. Anything but black!
So my friend parks his car in direct sun. A few guys from the dealership come out to look at it. I am not sure of their positions or rank. One guy did all of the talking. He said "Yeah I see swirls in a black car," in a tone that implied "what do you expect." Apparently this is their standard.
We pointed out some of the deeper scratches and he said that they were just adhesive from the plastic. He tried to remove one from the trunk lid with his thumb. He realized it was a scratch.
After we pointed out a few more things he offered to wet sand the car and shoot it with clear, but he showed no concern about what had been done to this car. He acted like it was no big deal and we were just being difficult.
We told them that we would discuss it and get back to them on Monday.
We took the car back to his house, washed it, and got a better look.
My assessment of the paint is as follows:
To remove these defects it will require #83 followed by #80 as well as some special attention in various spots. I'm pretty sure this will set it straight. But I shouldn't have to 83 a brand new car, should I? Even my neighbor's old beaters usually only need 80.
So here are the options:
A: Let them wet sand it and clear coat it.
B. We just fix it and don't let them put their hands on it again.
C. We try to work a deal where he bears the brunt of the defect removal ($0.00 and some time well spent) and they just shoot the clear.
D. Something we haven't thought of yet.
The car doesn't need to be wet sanded. It doesn't even need a rotary. This can be fixed with a PC. It seems to me that it would be better to remove the scratches while removing as little of the clear as possible, and then shoot it with clear. He might have a unique opportunity to get an extra thick clear coat for free if we try for option c. He could actually come out ahead of the game. Imagine that.
Option A. scares me because I don't know who will be doing the wet sanding. This dealership has clearly demonstrated a lack of knowledge and concern for the care of their stock. They have low standards. Are they going to make the edges too thin or sand down into the pearl and then put clear over it? I can't fix that. They could make things worse.
It scares me.
While option B. is probably our safest choice, it really irks me. We basically let the dealer get away with something. It's just ridiculous to have to remove that much finish from a car with 800 miles on it. They should be held accountable.
What do you guys think? I really need some advice from some experts who I trust.
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