tman

Earlier I posted paint flaws on my car. So far, had visible paint flaws on 5 panels. Currently it is in the body shop. With the repaint of affected areas, more than 5 panels are painted because they have to blend paint into neighboring unaffected panels for paint match. So over 70% of my car has been repainted with all blending etc. I took delivery of my Palladium 3.7 Tech on 12/17/08. It now has 1220 mi on it. Has been in the body shop for 15 days during my ownership. I own, not lease. Just a side note, was getting the car back last Monday, found blending flaws from the repair. Had to go back to the shop to fix their defect.
Here is what Im asking:
A. Be happy with the repair and keep it?
B. Although the repair is good, would you complain to Acura demanding a replacement car because there is no excuse for substandard paint finish?
C. Is there something else you would do to remedy this problem?

After the poll, I will post what my position is. Im looking for a reasonable resolution.
Thanks all...

Interesed

B. But would have not repaired the paint. Probably should have complained to Acura and demanded a replacement instead of repairing.

Jake1221

How common are these flaws with the Palladium Metallic, and are they not visible at time of delivery? I did a pretty good inspection of the car before leaving the dealer, and everything seemed to be in order.

rowdyt

I had a similar problem, just on a smaller scale. I bought an 09 and after the test drive we negotiated the price. While the salesman was in a back office somewhere talking to the manager, I went outside and looked the car over. All was good on the interior and exterior. We agreed upon a price and I bought the car. While we were doing the paperwork, the salesman said he was going to have prepped and cleaned. After the paperwork was done, the car was waiting outside. It was raining (plus I had checked the car before he took it back to get detailed) so we just got in the car and drove off. When we got home we notices scratches all over the front of the car. They were repetitive light scratches and clearly looked like they came from a high speed buffer or something. Aside from the dealership accusing me of putting the scratches there and calling me a liar, they're only solution was to "bring it by and we'll see if we can't buff them out, but if it requires anything more, I'm afraid you'll have to pay for it."

Long story short, my answer is you should choose B... just know that just b/c you choose B, doesn't mean it will actually happen. Clearly, your case was more severe, so hopefully they will accommodate you. My take is, you bought a brand new car, it should be in brand new flawless condition when you take ownership. If it isn't, then it should be repaired to your satisfaction or replaced all together. Good luck.

Stash

call Acura...not the dealership. They will work with you until you are satisfied. When I had my AC go out under warranty and they didn't have the part in stock and wouldn't give me a loaner, I called Acura and they got me a loaner for the 2 months that I was waiting on the part and made my car payments those 2 months. (They offered oil changes and service, but I held firm that I didn't think I should pay for my car if I couldn't drive it)

007Acura

if it looks fine keep it, you are only leasing it

KeithL

Sorry to hear your probelms. First I honetly doubt Acura willl replace the car. The bigger probelm is when you go to seell it. If they check it closely as most dealers will if you trade it, they will know the car has been mostly repainted. You can swear all day long why, but they'll kill you on trade in. Hopefully it won't show in Carfax since there was no accident, but who knows what dealers report today, my 08 was in Carfax for every oil change the dealer had done and every service visit. I woudl hound them until you are happy, but realistically you won't get a replacement car unless you hire a lawyer and sue over dimished value.

tman

I paid cash in full. If I leased it, that would be a different story. I get to give it back. I would totally agree with you if it was a lease.

Jake, do not know how common with Palladium. What I do know is the asst service mgr said they have had recurrent problems with that color. I noticed another 09 Palladium at the same body shop with the window sticker still on it (unsold unit) and he told me the defects were worse then mine.

Just to let all of you know, I did get to speak in person to the Dist manager about my problem. He said he wants to compensate me and agrees that I should not have paint problems. However, their position is to back their product and that is to repair. I was offered accessories, extended warranty, make some lease or purchase payments. I told him that the car is paid in full, don't need accessories, or warranty. Warranty does not cover replacing cars, but only to repair.

My request was this. I no longer want a car that has over 70% of the car repainted. Im sorry, even though the repair is good, it is just not the same as factory paint knowing there is aftermarket paint and original paint all over it. I thought it would be fair that I trade in my car for another and that Acura will cover the additional costs. I should not have pay any extra money and the dealer should not have to absorb any costs to. That is where Im at.

Reason for the poll is this, The dist mgr said everyone has individual reasons why they want a car replaced. For example, an electrical problem that gets fixed but the customer wants a new car, or scratch on the car and they want it replaced. Some people would not mind the paint problems and be happy with the repair. That's why Im asking all of you who read this, Would paint problems like mine bother you to keep the car? If it was one panel that had to be repaired, I could probably live with it. But that is not the case. Thanks all....

GearDriven

I would ask for a new car with no body work done on it. If I can't get that, I would ask for a respray of the entire car from the shop of your choice. That might actually make me happy...because I know plenty of shops can put down paint better than Acura.

To put it in perspective, the Lexus dealer near me sold an LS460. The customer complained that the seats were uncomfortable, so they made adjustments. Still uncomfortable...so they brought in upholsterer to redo them....customer still didn't like the seats. So what did they do? They bought the car back from the customer. That is the level I expect from a high end dealer or "tier 1" for those that get all excited over marketing speak.

So while a new car would be the best option...I'd be happy with a total repaint by a very qualified body shop. I would want full warranties on all work performed both from the shop and Acura (in case you move...what then?). I would expect to see all of this in writing of course.

bmode

I'm curious if you can get a uniform paint job on the 09 TL? The paint on all new models are flawed to begin with. If you look really close as the back and front panels don't match the rest of the car. It's really noticeable on black and white. I guess it's because of the different material and surface, it doesn't bother me that much anymore, but the others would.

In the future, stay away from all dealership services whenever possible. I'm finding out that they sub-contract out to the lowest bid to get the repair done to save money and don't really care about your car. I've had my issues with the painted bumper nose and back lip. My dealer failed miserably with the paint process, so go to a professional shop that you trust and specializes in paint and finishes.

DLeeWebb

This would be the way that I would handle it. I have Palladium Metallic and I have not noticed a problem. However, when the weather gets nicer and I'm out there cleaning the car I just have this nagging feeling that I'm going to see a problem. Would this situation qualify for remedy under the lemon law...?

GearDriven

Ther is now "the lemon law" it varies state to state. Usually the dealer has a chance to fix something a particular number of times. But the number of times and the "something" can vary from state to state depending on whether it has to be "mechanical" or not..

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/consumers.aspx?id=625
So it might work for you...but it would be a fight...I would give Acura's regional rep the chance to make things _right_. If you get a stinky attitude from them...you may need a lawyer as you have to show that the value is significantly impaired...

Personally, I would really try to resolve this without going to Lemon Law provisions, just because I don't think Acura should be the kind of car manufacturer that can't resolve this without being whipped.

KeithL

I don;t want to call bull I don't mean to be insulting, but I find it hard to belei they bought the car back, I'm sure they dedcuted usages and stuff and treated it liek a trade-in. And did the customer get a different Lexus? I find it hard to belive any maker is buying back a car at a loss and the customer went and bought another make. Lexus, MB or any other make. And I have been treated far better by Acura dealers that Lexus dealers!

tman

Lets stick to the poll, still interested on what YOU would do.

I have been reading some very good posts here. So what I see is that a bad paint job should not be tolerated.
As far as just leaving it the way it is, they will not do that. Their obligation is to repair it. Spray at your shop of choice is nice and paint the whole car, but that will not happen. The body shop they use is "certified honda/acura." The first repair to the left side of my car was pretty good. The current job showed a flaw and a black dot right in the middle of the C pillar. That is being repaired now. Looks like they took a short cut on this repair.
Lemon Law, something I would avoid. I would have to prove diminished value. So to get a replacement have to prove there is a Lemon Law violation. Not sure if Im there yet. Im looking for Acura goodwill and taking responsibility for it. When I found the additional paint defects on the right side, that pushed my button. Painting 2 sides of a car is just not acceptable to me.
I just learned from the service mgr that the Dist rep and Gen mgr of the dealer are talking. I will see what they say.

tman

Bmode, you talk about different colors on the front and rear bumpers. You are right. those panels are painted somewhere else and then assembled. So the paint mix/stock will not be the same. But it should be close. I happened to fbe ortunate on my 3g, the color on an Anthracite matched pretty good. On my silver 2g, there was a noticable difference.

sebounet2005

the problem is , when you are going to sale your car, you will be asked if your car has been painted and why. Or it's very easy to see it if you don't tell. So you are car is going to loose value. Because people will be suspicious about the reason of this job.

also, what your paint will look like in few years ? are you going to start seeing peeling in overspray areas ?

Interesed

The problem I ran into when I tried to to trade in a car was that they noted that there were 4 panels that were painted. I had dinged my driver qtr panel and the body shop blended the paint into other panels. So as a result they thought that I had had several different accidents and gave me a low low low price for my car. That would be my only concern.

tman

That's what Im concerned of diminishing value because of warranty paint repair all over mine. I had 5 panels with factory flaws, so the repair has to be blended into neighboring panels. Not sure how old your car is, but I have had my car for 69 days, 18 total days were in the shop to repair mine.

tman

I have an update. After several communications with the Gen mgr with the dealership, we have an agreement to trade my car. There was a cost associated with the trade and I have agreed to contribute $500 towards the cost. There was some number fanagling where I was suppose to contribute $2K, but I said no. I sent a rebuttal to their offer and I would only offer $500 as if it was a lemon and I pay "offset for use" costs. Acura and the dealer agreed to my proposal so they put in the rest. Today, I was allowed to inspect a new Palladium unit. Found a paint flaw on the trunk lid, small dent in the same area, and scratches on the right corner of rear bumper. So I turned it down. The rest of the paint was in good shape, better job then on my original car. The dealer will look for another Palladium or my next color I like is Grigio.
All I have to say is my faith in Acura is restored. The dealer did an awesome job communicating with Acura on my behalf. The Dist mgr was in today and I thanked him for assisting me with the upcoming transaction. Now if they could only get the car in. They had only one Palladium in stock with Ebony interior and no Grigio with Ebony.

crxb

good luck - at least they are working w/ you

tman

Today, I picked up my replacment vehicle. Cost was $500 plus license fees. They gave me a high trade for mine and brought down the price of the replacement. Dist Rep and Dealer came through. Im very pleased what they did for me.

GearDriven

Good to hear! Glad you could resolve it in good faith with Acura.

bmode

That's excellent news Tman, congrats on the successful exchange.