Purchased 07, dealer accidently scratched up body when applying finish.
 

Hey I bought a black 07 a few weeks ago and when they were applying the sealer/finish (supposed to help make the paint last longer) the buffer had obviously debris in it which caused swirl marks to be etched in all over the body. Being a black car, you can see them in the sun light!

I just turned it in today to see what they can do to fix it. What would happen if the dealer can not remove the swirl marks? I dont like being picky, but it is a brand new car so I kind of want to be the one to make the imperfections not someone else.

On the plus side, they gave me a mazdaspeed6 as a loaner :( its so fast...

DUDE THAT SUX!! man i had problems cuz my dealer left like tape marks? from like removing the covering ont he car or something but that was just easily buffed out but iono about yours man...thats horrible of them to do that...kinda noobish...iono if this is possible but i'd just ask for a different car or something cuz i doubt they'll be able to fix that very easily...iono man is your dealer rick case mazda in duluth GA by any chance c(= anywayz best wishes on that. and ya that speed6 is pretty fast, not quite up to evo or STi standards but okay for being a mazda, i dont like how the feel is kinda euro-turboish it seems like the turbine stops at high rpm's but then again the low end torque isnt half bad

Don't tell me you bought the dealer paint sealant! :uh: Not only did they destroy your paint, you wasted your money too.

They will be able to fix it. Just takes some buffing. I would wash my car afterward to remove wax, to make sure they didn't just use wax to hide the swirl marks, that they did actually buff them out.

Have you decided to minimize micromarring/spiderwebs, or live with them yet? I think that's a key decision for black vehicle ownership, as it dictates lifestyle changes one way or another.

Live with micromarring: can use car covers, drive daily, wash daily

No micromarring: cannot use car covers, washing carefully slowly weekly, polishing perhaps annually

It can be detailed out, the swirl marks. However, i would ask for some perks because of their intial mistakes like maybe a couple of free oil changes or something.

why bother, if you didnt put that many miles on it, ask for a new car. Its their fault and you shouldnt have to deal with any of this.

I had the same problem when i took delivery of my car two years ago. It was brand new but it did have some nicks and scratches aong the side skirt and rear bumper. i didnt see it when i drove off the lot because it was night when i took it. Didnt drive it after getting it home. After a couple of days i noticed all of the scratches and took it back to the dealership. They took it and ordered me a new one. it took a couple of weeks wait but i did get a new one...

never hurts to ask...

Next time, don't buy the sealant- it's a dealer scam to get more money out of you and does nothing for the life of your paint, no matter what they tell you. And yes, they better be able to fix it, or they need to give you a refund not only for the sealant, but for the damage to your car. Or just find you a new car WITHOUT the sealant on it.

Ive put on 1400 miles by now so its no longer new. I think its too late to ask for a new car. Damn I knew the sealant was a scam but not anything that would ruin the paint. I thought it was like the 3M perfect finishing system. And they gave me an option of tint and that finish or tint and a few free oil changes. So atleast I didnt pay the 260ish for it...


And the speed6 hauls!! I didnt know it was 4WD. I am taking it very easy on that car tho since it has 300 miles on it.

If they cant get the scratches out, I doubt they will offer a new car but maybe try and compensate.

Also I didnt know the base model did not come with DSC or a differential. I noticed some of the cars that were only 1k more had at least a diff on the features.

If the finish is ruined, it's not too late to ask them to repaint the car. Or re-clearcoat it, if the scratches don't go down to the color layer.

If they fix it by buffing it, they're taking off a layer of finish. That's a layer that won't be there a few years down the road when you want to polish out some age.

You shouldn't be the one to decide that 1400 miles is too late to demand a replacement car.

Ken

haha, they give you a other MS 6 with less mileage that goes faster... Sounds like their trying to tease you out some more money...

Sucks about that paint issue... But 1400 miles is really young, I think whatever you do is justified.

sorry to hear about this... u know, when i went to the dealer (alhambra mazda) last week, i walked around their lot and looked at all their new 8's in stock while i was waiting. and, in the morning sunlight, every single one had swirl marks up the yin yang. so, go figure...

i've learned from a fellow member here that light swirl marks can be safely buffed out without damaging the clear coat if done right. the dealer should be responsible for paying to get your car detailed. just make sure it's a reputable place.

i've been researching/ talking to auto detailers lately too. and, i dunno how true it is, but one place told me that clear coat can be completely fixed when needed. they said that for some cars who have a lot of stuff in the clearcoat (blemishes, water spots), a good body shop does a very light, wet-sanding job to take out that layer and then carefully reapplies a layer of clear coat. and, when done correctly, supposedly u can't tell any difference except all the blemishes are gone.

Ok I am going to need proof that the finish is ruined. I remember theres this depth tool you can use to judge thickness of paint. I dont think it is possible to re-clearcoat the car. I remember when I painted a few cars in a mini class I took we were not allowed to wait more than a few hours after applying the base coat.

How can I prove that its ruined? I know buffing will take off stuff. But they dont, and the dealership does not have a body/paint shop. I can tell the rock marks are deep in the clear but not deep enuff to touch the base assuming Mazda uses a bc/cc system not a mixed bs cheap paint up.

He told me they could be buffed, so I tried that, and I hate being picky but this is a new car and I am a perfectionist when it comes to car bodies.

The self buffing did not work, so i took it to him, he tried it himself and it still did not work. So he said for me to come by a week later and he will put me in another car while they work the problem out.


It was a tease to put me in the MS6 but he offered the regular 6 if i felt that they were giving me a cock tease and ofcourse I said no lol

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And the speed6 hauls!! I didnt know it was 4WD. I am taking it very easy on that car tho since it has 300 miles on it.
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are you kidding?? i'd use this sucker as much as i can...its a loaner, as long as you dont show any visible damages youre fine.....see how much smoke you can get out of the tires... :rock:

what did u use to buff (hardware/ polish-wise) and what did the dealer use?

I used that Once a Year crap in the orange bottle, dealer went to the back and used something I dont know what, looked like a part of the 3M system. But that stuff isnt even very viscous so I didnt expect it to work. All by hand

He said today that they will apply compound to the vehicle/buff and "see what they can do."

GET A NEW CAR!!!!!
Swirl marks will NEVER come out. no matter how good some one is wilth a buffer . . they will always be ther in the sun. ( unless you know how to colour sand and do at least a 3 stage buffing process plus wax. ) If it was a rock in the buffer and actually caused scratches . . . All you can do is repaint. And I would NEVER repaint a new car. It just wont turn out as good as factory paint.
GET A NEW CAR!!!!! It was the dealers fault, and depending on what state you are in . . you have a couple options. The easiest is a new car.

FYI - - - Compound = liquid sandpaper .That is step one of the 3 step buffing I was talking about ^^^^^ in the last post.

Alright guys, I will see what happens, who knows maybe the scratches arent deep at all and I wont see them when they do their magic which means I dont have much of a basis for arguing a new 8.

Obviously it is taking a long time since I dropped the vehicle off around 9AM here and its just about 5 PM... I guess I am stuck with a speed6 for the time being!

I will call him tomorrow and see what progress he has made, I for some reason like the 8 over a speed6 (aside from the whole 100 lb (DONT FLAME ME) less torque)

Drive it like you stole it!!!

The dealer called saying the swirl marks are gone so i guess everything worked out! I will check tomorrow with a light to make sure when I go to pick it up. Having an oil change done as well since i was getting 19 mpg and it dropped to 16-17 mpg.

Any good detail shop can remove swirl marks. Find a good reputable shop and take it there and have the dealer pay for it. DO NOT have the car repainted (not that they would do it anyway) and dont expect a replacement car, that will never happen.

Obviously the person useing the "buffer" was a rookie IDIOT. I have buffed about a 1000 cars and you always clean the pad.. If this idiot couldn't see what he was doing then he needs to be fired from the dealership. I'm suprised they even used a buffer. Most of the time they just put a wax/sealer on the car and wipe it off. BIG SCAM. Pay someone $8.00 an hour to wax your car and charge you $250.00. Probably used an Orbital buffer and set it down on the PAVEMENT.
I use to own a detail shop and I know what the dealers do.

I know, when I was in a autobody class, the major thing emphasized was MAKE SURE THE DAMN PAD IS CLEAN. The detail job before releasing to me was really half-assed...oh well! I got a clean car haha damn Houston rain.