Picked up a new 2011 QX56 for the wife on Dec. 28. Today she asks me to come look at her car and this is what I see in the middle of the driver's door.




Looks like a swipe mark or something. About an inch wide and six inches long. Definitely under the clear. Clear is perfectly smooth. Just looks like a light spot in the paint. We are not gonna be happy if they want to repaint the door. We paid sticker for this damn thing. I called my salesman a few mins ago. (yes on Sunday) and told hom to have a loaner ready as my wife is dropping the car off in the morning. I am not gonna give the loaner back until we are satisfied. Ultimately we would like a new car but we all know that's not gonna happen without a lawyer and a big fight.

 

Yikes! I feel your pain man as I went through a similar issue in October (see link below). Looks like it might actually be water under the clearcoat; there is a name for this but it escapes me at the moment. If it is that, they might be able to heat it up with a heat gun and make it go away. Regardless of what caused it, I hope you get it fixed without much drama.

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-talk-5/now-paints-coming-off-794525/

 

Yep PRL, the first thing that I thought of when I saw it was your thread. It wouldn't bother us as much but it's in the middle of the driver's door. I would maybe even consider living with it versus a door repaint-blend. Seems like one of those instances where the cure may be worse than the disease. I hope in some crazy way it can be fixed without a repaint.

 

The fact that your wife noticed it before you did means you got a keeper! LOL! Should be fixable and I'm sure you can get the dealer to fix it without too much of a headache! Good luck!

 

Damn, that sucks. As Andrew mentioned, it's most likely something under the clear. The factory paint was probably water based, so it may be something like a solvent or other contaminant. If they insist you keep the car, insist that you're taking it to a shop of your choice. I hope it works out.





Terry

 

My dad has been in the sign business for over 30 years and has worked with paint his whole life. That's exactly what he said. Looks like solvent on the paint before the clear went on. Makes me want to throw up. This is a $65k vehicle. What do you think about diminished value because of a repaint and all of that? I REALLY don't want a brand new car with a repainted door.

 

As frustrating as it is, if the door is repaired correctly, then I wouldn't worry about it. I've had the same thing happen to me a couple of times throughout the years.

I would not, however, under ANY circumstances, allow the dealership to fix it. I would make it very clear that you will find your own shop and the dealership will be paying for the repair. A top notch shop will have no problem repairing the car to new condition.



Terry

 

Yea, though I would expect that Infiniti would be picking up the tab on this one. The dealership uses their auto conglomerate body shop. I'll have to do due diligence to find the best body shop in town since things have changed after Katrina. Although I'm debating whether to forgo repair altogether and demand a cash settlement rather than a repaint.

 

Looks like it could have been a sloppy repair job at the port. When I was having my BB gun mess dealt with the body shop owner was telling me that a lot of their business comes from port mishaps (Brunswick has a large car port for BMW, Audi and Kia)....

 

Would have had to be a really quick repair job. When I put the deposit down on the car, it was already enroute and due onto the dealer on Jan 7. It came in on Dec.27

 

What a shame especially on a brand new car. Hopefully your Infiniti dealer surprises you and comes through with a mutual understanding.

Remember if you have to fight, do it even if it has to get to corporate.

 

Exactly! I had to learn it the hard way but I learned to ALWAYS do a very thorough walk-around on a new car before signing the paperwork. It's so exciting you sometimes forget even a factory-fresh vehicle can have small and/or hidden defects.

I'll be doing it from now on.

 

What they will offer is to repaint that door and probably the left rear passenger door as well to color match and foot the bill. I might be wrong here, but even if a professional shop does this, the vehicle will lose some value as it'll have a history. And that in my opinion is unacceptable for a car that isn't even two weeks old.

 

If they offer a repaint, I'm going to ask the GM if that would be "acceptable" if it was his $65k.

 

When I got rid of my M3, the first thing the used car manager did was walk around the car with a paint thickness measuring device. Now I wish I had leased this thing, then it would really be their problem. Shit, it isn't even a week old! 200 miles!

 

Yeah that would piss me off too since I'm ultra OCD about new cars, but it actually doesn't look that noticeable unless the camera flash gets it. I'd think long and hard about just living with that instead of letting them respray the whole door. I'd ask a good shop what exactly would be involved to "fix" it and see how that sits with you.

 

Yeah, the cure may be worse than the disease. Damn thing couldn't be anywhere but right in the middle of the door. It did take a week for us to notice it but now we see it right away. My wife really loves the car otherwise, and I hate to taint the experience for her. I don't know if it is worth the trouble and possible future problems that a repaint may present but I feel like we should get something.

 

did you try some meguiars scratch-x to make sure it's not in the clear coat?

 

ofcouse the gm will say yes, because thats his opinion.
ur only really option is to get the entire door repainted. i have rarely seen anything like this and not sure what it could be. like someone mentioned, it more than likely happened at the port or during delivery. a lot of delivery drivers damage cars and get them fixed before they deliver them. if that is the case, then ur door has already been repainted, and if thats true, u can for sure get a lawyer and have them put u in another new car.

take it to a professional body shop and get their opinion on it. ask them to put a paint gauge on it and see if teh door has been painted.

 

That would be interesting.

 

If the shop that repairs it is good i wouldnt even worry about it. No one would be able to ever tell.



That said with the vehicle being so new i would definitely talk to the dealer about the possibility of a new vehicle. And this time do a thorough walk around of it in day light before picking it up.;

 

Again, I totally understand the frustration. It has happened to me as well. A new vehicle should be just that, new. A good shop, however, can easily repair what is underneath and an re-clear it. The new water based paints are very forgiving, and as long as the prep work is done correctly and the base applied correctly, the repair should be indistinguishable. If you are unable to return the vehicle, then make it clear you will take your time to find a suitable shop.

I would also make it known to the dealer that your time is worth something as well for the running around and inconvenience this has caused you. Perhaps some servicing or accessories may be in order.

I hope it works out. It's a beautiful machine and I hope you'll be able to enjoy it.




Terry

 

dam that sucks bro , hope they fix it for you without any run around

 

Shocked somebody bought a QX!!!!

 

I love the new QX!

 

This does suck. But everyone else has it right: Tell the dealer you will get it professionally done and they will foot the bill not you. If there's a disagreement about that, the paint gauge and a lawyer will straighten them out.

 

Fixed

 

Prius owners have no taste in vehicles. :wink:


oh wait...but then you own a challenger too.....now I'm confused.


What should I do?!?!? divide by zero?!?!?

 

Hope you get it fixed on the dealers dime

 

Take it to the dealer and show it to them and voice your concern. I would speak to the sales manager and explain to them your frustration. You have to take off work to bring the car in and start off a big purchase (65K) with a problem. Tell them look, I want this to be made right, no car should be like this after all the folks that look at it. Refund me X dealer fee and fix it since the car will never be the same again.

Be calm and don't back down, and whatever you do, DO NOT SAY I WILL NEVER COME BACK! If you say this, they will not help you at all. If they agree to fix it, make sure you get a letter from the service manager and document it, so later on if you want to sell it you won't have any sort of problem in explaining the repaint.

 

Had my wife meet me at the dealership this morning. We live about 30 miles from the closest dealership and I had worked from about 1:30 to 8:30 this morning so when I got there I was pretty tired. They had a loaner ready(FX35 pretty nice), but asked if we could wait a few mins. while they looked it over. Brought it out to me about 20 mins later and it looked much better. I moved it around in the different light and I still could see a faint ghost of the mark. I asked them to try it again, working in a little different light. Brought it back to me and I couldn't see the mark any more. I guess they were able to buff it or maybe wetsand it out. My wife and I looked it over real good and I had them wash it (yeah I know) so we could get a real good look and it is gone. I didn't sign anything or even agree to them that it looked 100% but it I told them we would bring it home and look it over. My friend has a paint thickness detector and I am going to bring it by his lot this week to check the door for a previous repaint but I don't think it's been repainted.

I knew I would get some ugly car comments over here and I have to admit the looks were kind of polarizing at first but it had grown on me. Well maybe except for the fender vents LOL. The wife loves it and that's what is most important. I really like the interior and features. Yes we had to pay sticker but these cars are in short supply. My dealer has none in stock and we had to get on the list of ten or so that were incoming. Most of those were spoken for. Only like 4 dealers in the whole state. I was able to trade our Tahoe in for top Manheim value. My friend is a wholesaler and he bought it from the Infiniti dealership so we could get the sales tax credit ($2k). I was gonna wait until I had my yard cleaned up( i have 2 construction projects going on) but here are a couple quick pics. I now have $175k in Nissans! HOLY FAWK!

 

Nice looking vehicle! I'm glad it's working out. Some clearcoats are actually a little bit porous, and maybe whatever solvent was behind it is slowly diminishing.



Terry

 

I think it was Portland who mentioned it originally but a heat gun can take care of some issues under the clear coat. I've seen "moisture in the paint" issues before where there is a blotch that is lighter than the rest of the paint and some time under a heat gun can make it go away.

FWIW when I worked for Porsche, I found 2 fish eyes in the paint of a $210,000 GT2. Even the best car makers deliver less than perfect products.

 

I'm a big fan of the new QX, it's completely grown on me. It's just purely a monster of a vehicle.

Glad it worked out!

 

It was in the clear coat. Had a feeling. I had a similar deal on the trunk of my black 350Z...I thought it was overspray at first and was bent out of shape like you were, but upon closer inspection it wasn't how overspray looks, and my best theory is that some of the adhesive line that holds the shipping plastic must have baked itself into the clear coat. (It hand-polished right out with the Scratch-X.)

So all is right with the world again.

 

I don't think the painting process on mass produced vehicles is crazy different whether it's a $21,000 Honda or a $210,000 Porsche. They're all susceptible to glitches in the Mfg process. Unless it's a Bugatti Veyron or something where painstaking detail and QC goes into it.

 

I've heard a few stories lately about really bad new Ferrari paint.

 

That interior is Glad it all worked out man. $175k in Nissans makes Ghosn happy I bet!

 

I'm pretty sure the GT2 doesn't meet the qualifications for a "mass produced" vehicle. My point was more that when humans are involved in the QC process, 100% accuracy can not be expected. Any vehicle can have paint defects or minor glitches in the QC department.

 

If it's not fixed, Infiniti should paint a door at the factory, box it up and ship it to the dealer and have that installed. The car is brand new. Would there still be issues with paint matching?