feisty

Hey all,

Bought my new '10 TL SH-AWD/Tech 2 weeks ago. We finished the deal late at night, so obviously service was closed.

When going through finance I chose to add the paint protectant, and negotiated what I believe to be a pretty good deal on it (fair, at least). Since it's a black car I figured I should do it... and also figured the stuff they're using now is better than what I had applied to my '04 VW .:R32...

So enough "set up", here's what happened.

I took it in on a Saturday - 2 days after I bought it - and had the protectant applied.

It looks like they washed the car before they applied it, but they didn't do a very good job. I assumed they would clay the car and take any hard water spots off, bird poop remnants, etc. before applying a teflon coating.

(I even asked the guy in Finance when I was signing the paperwork to make sure)

They didn't, and now I have holographic bird poop on the hood, hard water stains on the rear deck-lid, and overall the car looks like it had a bad coat of clear applied - it's rippled and orangepeeled in places.

Here's my question (twofold):

First, what do YOU believe they SHOULD have done?

Second, what recourse do I have? I do not want the car repainted!

Thoughts? Comments?

Pete2010

In all honesty... Paint "Protectant" from the dealer = crap. It's basically (at best) a paint sealant, and offers no real long term benefits. And it's pretty much all profit for the dealer.

I don't trust the dealer to do anything to my car with regards to paint. I specifically told them NOT to wash the car before delivery. They mentioned how they really need to, and I told them If I found one swirl in the finish they would pay for the detailing from a detailer chosen by me.

To answer your question.

1) I'm not sure what they "should" have done. But I can guarantee they don't know what a clay bar is. But before delivery your car should be spotless, with no orangepeels or swirls.

2) I don't know if they will be able to get out the orangepeels, those often come from the factory...But I would not accept the car if I did see that. The rest of the stuff should be fixed.

Recourse: If it were me, they would fix the issue, meaning either they (or a detailer chosen by myself) would polish the entire car and remove any surface defects.

Question: When you picked up the car after this "service" did you point out and mention it to the dealer? Have you taken delivery yet?

I never, ever, ever recommend ANY paint protection from the dealer. There is nothing that exists to provide ANY long term (multi-year) paint protection on your car other than the clear coat. Eventually whatever they put on will wear off. Even some of the best sealants I've used only last 6-8 months, and they're not putting anything on better than that...

Good luck, and congrats on the purchase.

prepreludesh

This "paint treatment" (which I heard is made out of 90% snake oil) will probably wash off soon enough anyway. Paint treatment is a joke IMO. Washing, claying and waxing your own paint is the best route.

jvette

In my 52 years I have purchased a bunch of cars and trucks. I have never ever purchased any type of Paint Treatment. I have owned black, burgundy, white, red, silver, yellow, and some I can't even remember the color of. The worse one to keep up was the Black but with constant care I never had a problem with it.

One thing I have noticed with purchasing Acura's is they try to sell you everything under the sun after they sell you the car. When was the last time you had a tire and rim stolen? I guess I live in an area of town where this just doesn't happen so I don't purchase wheel locks. Then they want to sell me over priced rubber floor mats when I already have floor mats included with the car. Don't forget the body side molding, door edge guards and the extended warranty on a car I trade every 3 years and they know it because I am a regular customer.

Funny thing is the same salesman who has sold me many Acura's still shows me the DVD of the paint treatment and hands me the list of all the extras even though he knows I won't fall for it.

Point of this story is keep your money in your pocket because if you fall for all this after the sale junk you will turn a good deal into a bad deal real quick.

1075

IMO what they should have done is not the issue. What YOU should do is insist on a refund on the price you paid for the paint protectant, this is simply a cash cow for the dealer. They charged you an inflated price for a product that is no better than what you can buy yourself for under $20 AND they will charge you each time they "renew" it.

I don't want to be rude, but there is absolutely no way that a dealer is going to use a clay bar on your car.

There is an inside term for paint and fabric prootectant packages called "ADP". It stands for Additional Dealer Profit.

magbarn

I would NOT have accepted delivery or signed docs on a car with bird poop etching and hard water spots! Car would have have to be pristine for me to drive it off the lot as new. In fact, recently turned down a "deal" on a 6MT SHAWD black that could've gotten for a good price. However, like your car had bird crap etching and hard water spots. "NO-Deal" for me... If they took an extra $2000 off I would've re-considered. Agree with "ADP" as my ex-roomate used to sell cars. They also had another saying "Once you drive it off the lot, it's UFO" Stands for "U" "F!@#$in'" "Own" it.