Dealership Paint Fix
08-23-2007, 10:42 AM
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Dealership Paint Fix
In late June, when my 2006 MR was three weeks away from its first "Delivery Day", I noticed that the hood was speckled with what I thought were rock chips - little (2-3mm diameter) grey dots where the primer showed through. The spots extended (but with lower incidence) onto the front quarter panels, the window pillars, and even the roof. I have read here about the many problems members have had with their paint jobs, and found myself in the same boat.
In mid-July I took the car into the dealership (Flatirons Acura, Boulder, CO) to ask if this could be fixed or otherwise addressed as a warranty issue. There, the service manager (SM) informed me that it would need to be inspected by the regional manager (RM)... who would be in town on July 31st. On that day, the RM brought out a couple of small microscopes and inspected the damage. He announced that it was due to a chemical spray - which, in hindsight, made sense to me, since the damage looked more like droplet spots than rock impacts. So I was lucky enough to have driven behind someone with a brake leak (I figure, since brake fluid is so toxic to paint). Great! I figured I was done for, because that type of damage couldn't possibly be blamed on bad paint.
However, the RM then announced that they would fix it under the "Acura Goodwill Program" (I think that's it). I was very pleased, to say the least. I set up a time to bring the car in just before a vacation so I wouldn't need a loaner for very long.
Got a TL loaner for one day, that was fun but another story. Very cice car but bigger than I want and an automatic.
Came back from vacation 8 days later and the car still wasn't done. Not the dealership's fault, but the painters... Finally, after 12 days I got the car back. It's beautiful, they apparently resprayed (i.e. repainted) the hood, front quarter panels, roof, and front window pillars. The car looks fantastic, maybe even better than new; I've heard that more coats of paint yield a better look, so I guess the factory paint + new paint should look better than new. I will write a letter to both Acura corporate expressing my thanks and to the dealership & SM. They really hit one out of the park for me.
Got a 5AT TSX loaner for a couple of days too... that's also another story (comparing to my 6MT). It was fine, great pickup, and SS works fine, but I couldn't seem to get the same city mileage from it I've come to expect from mine (~30mpg). Oh well...
One other thing to note: the RM stated that because the TSX is built in Japan, they use solvent-based (read: stronger) paints. Opposite claims have been made in various posts (i.e. that the TSX has water-based paints from the factory), I don't know which is correct. Even more surprising to me, the local body shop that did the work also claimed that they used solvent-based paints... So perhaps smaller shops can fly under the radar of the EPA? Donno. Certainly Honda of Japan can!
In mid-July I took the car into the dealership (Flatirons Acura, Boulder, CO) to ask if this could be fixed or otherwise addressed as a warranty issue. There, the service manager (SM) informed me that it would need to be inspected by the regional manager (RM)... who would be in town on July 31st. On that day, the RM brought out a couple of small microscopes and inspected the damage. He announced that it was due to a chemical spray - which, in hindsight, made sense to me, since the damage looked more like droplet spots than rock impacts. So I was lucky enough to have driven behind someone with a brake leak (I figure, since brake fluid is so toxic to paint). Great! I figured I was done for, because that type of damage couldn't possibly be blamed on bad paint.
However, the RM then announced that they would fix it under the "Acura Goodwill Program" (I think that's it). I was very pleased, to say the least. I set up a time to bring the car in just before a vacation so I wouldn't need a loaner for very long.
Got a TL loaner for one day, that was fun but another story. Very cice car but bigger than I want and an automatic.
Came back from vacation 8 days later and the car still wasn't done. Not the dealership's fault, but the painters... Finally, after 12 days I got the car back. It's beautiful, they apparently resprayed (i.e. repainted) the hood, front quarter panels, roof, and front window pillars. The car looks fantastic, maybe even better than new; I've heard that more coats of paint yield a better look, so I guess the factory paint + new paint should look better than new. I will write a letter to both Acura corporate expressing my thanks and to the dealership & SM. They really hit one out of the park for me.
Got a 5AT TSX loaner for a couple of days too... that's also another story (comparing to my 6MT). It was fine, great pickup, and SS works fine, but I couldn't seem to get the same city mileage from it I've come to expect from mine (~30mpg). Oh well...
One other thing to note: the RM stated that because the TSX is built in Japan, they use solvent-based (read: stronger) paints. Opposite claims have been made in various posts (i.e. that the TSX has water-based paints from the factory), I don't know which is correct. Even more surprising to me, the local body shop that did the work also claimed that they used solvent-based paints... So perhaps smaller shops can fly under the radar of the EPA? Donno. Certainly Honda of Japan can!
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