I bought an 08 GL. When taking delivery I noticed all kinds of little scratches on the car. The car is black, so you see everything. The dealer said the marks are from how the car is wrapped and shipped. The dealer insists they can compound the car, detail it and it will be perfect. They intend to do this when I come in for the 1000 mile service(it only takes me a little over a week to get to 1000 miles). I have the car, but haven't paid for it yet. I am supossed to go back an finalize the buy tonight. I have only given them a 1000 deposit and signed a promisary note that I will buy it.

Can they really make the paint job perfect this way? will it leave lots of swirls on car?

I know, I should have refused delivery. I was caught up in the moment and took their word.

I would not accept the car until it was perfect.

Yes, they can fix the problem. When I worked for Enterprise, at one time I had the body shop under my supervision. A really good body mechanic can do wonders and there will be no swirl marks. If it is not to your satisfaction, tell them to keep it until you are happy and ask for the body shop manager.

They are very minor, it just drives me crazy knowing they are their. You have to look at the car from an angle to see them Their excuse was that they had been busy, and the car wasn't properly prepped. I just don't know anything about compounding and the result on the finish. I imagine it is just grinding off a tiny amount of clear coat.

yes, you can use polish and a porter cable or a rotary and remove the swirls. just make sure you check out the car under sunlight (not flourscent) to see if they really did remove the swirl marks.

Thanks for the replies.

There are no swirls, I just don't want them to create any when and if I let them compound the car. These scratches are tiny, you need the right light and the right angle to see them. The majority of people would never notice them. But they bother me.

They will need to remove them or they can take it back. Our family has bought many cars there, i think they will make it right.

I would like to share my experience when i purchased my black GL last month and noticed the same "light" scratches. We picked up the car over the weekend and the dealer did not have a detailer on hand that day, so we were offered a due bill to come back for "buffing" of the light scratches. They were very minor and agree that most people would not notice. I also agree it had something to do with the wrapping on the vehicle. To make a long story short, I took it to a local detailer and they were able to make the scratches disappear from waxing the car. All is good and enjoying the GL now.

Steve

Steve-

Thanks for your comments. I feel a little better now.

Scratches can’t be removed by waxing. Hopefully they actually used compound or polish which really remove them. Otherwise they simply used filler in the wax or as a separate step. As I understand it, the filler will eventually go away leaving the scratches visible again.

Canvasback, I have no reason to doubt they’ll do what they say, but you may want to try to photograph and/or sketch the locations of some or all of the scratches in case they reappear (see previous paragraph).

The other thing is that compounding usually refers to something a little more aggressive than polishing. If, as you said, the scratches are barely visible I wonder if compounding is overkill and will remove more clearcoat than necessary. Might be worth asking about if it’s not too late.

Canvasback, why not wait to take delivery till they fix it?

BTW, I am pretty retentive too when it comes to how the car looks but if it is your daily driver then it will be very hard to keep it perfect. My $0.02.

Great post. You have to be careful with polishing/compounding since an inexperienced detailer can do more damage than good. I would say ask them to just polish first since compounds are a bit harsher, if I remember correct. Also, if they are very fine scratches, have them start with a super fine polish and then work up from there.

In my situation, and I believe the original poster's situation as well, is the fine "scratches" are only visible from a certain angle, in certain lighting. I had to look very hard to see it under certain lighting situations. I spoke to a knowledgeable friend on car paints and detailing and recommended against polishing or compounding my GL (as previous poster points out) since it was new and very minor. As point of reference, these "scratches" are much finer and duller (if its a word) than swirl marks normally found on cars. So it was suggested to get a good wax job that will hide the appearance of these scrathes in the interim until I don't care about the paint as much and just enjoy driving the vehicle. My .02...

Canvasback: I am an engineer by trade and at heart and anything less than perfect normally irritates me. I also struggled taking possession of our GL seeing the imperfections under flourescent lighting. Then I realized I should focus on the positive of being able to purchase a fine SUV, enjoy everything else it offers and not sweat the little stuff. Enjoy your ride!

I took the car back. They are bringing in an outside detailer in to remove the scratches. They claim this service is far better than their own detailing department. I told them it there are any swirls, I won't accept it.

I told them If the car isn't perfect, its not my car. They car get me another. I can wait, I have other cars to drive.

They are very casual about it and definitly think I am over reacting. I don't care, It has to be perfect.

They have been very nice, I can't complain at all about thier service. I think things will work out fine

Good for you. It's best to start out right or you may be irritated for a long time whether it's reasonable or not.

Ditto!
Probably the same affiction that caused me to buy a GL instead of a bare bones Suburban or PU.

Canvasback, I'm sure it's going to be fine but you are going about it the right way. Don't let anyone make you feel like you are being silly and over the top. You are spending a ton of dough and even if this is only a car and will probably have some minor scratches within a year (that hurt to say) that STILL doesn't mean you have to start off that way. Would you want to get a new car without that "new car" smell just because you knew it was eventually going to go away? You make sure that car is perfect.