supo

I found a 2006 SL55 AMG in perfect interior and mechanical condition - black on black (charcoal, whatever??). The clearcoat is a disaster ( a slight exaggeration). It shows on the CarFax Vehicle Detail like 8 times. I don't know what is wrong with the owner or the dealer, but the clearcoat has microscratches EVERYWHERE as well as a chip on the hood about the size of a pencil eraser and about a dozen rock chips on the front. The clearcoat scratches are on the hood, the doors, the rocker panels -everywhere. It only has 20,000 miles and is a garaged vehicle. I talked verbally with a detail guy who was recommended by Mercedes and he says based on description only that he can make it look just as good as showroom - but hasn't seen it. They're asking 46K on the car and wouldn't budge. Comes with 100,000 warranty and has every option. I just feel like taking the whole car in and getting the damn thing repainted . I want this car because I can't find a similar one locally but don't know if I should live with it and hate the clear, get the whole car repainted or have the detail guy do his thing and just don't worry about it - but I see black cars everywhere - heck even Kia Sorrento's that don't look like this. Want advice......

AMGfan

Paint correction expert can do wonders on a black car...go to autotopia or the detail sub forum here and see if they can review whatever photos you have and let you know what can be done...and possible referrals in your area.

A paint correction job can take as long as 20-30hrs...my SL took 24 hours (over 3 days) to complete and all the micro scratches and some deeper scratches on the clear coat were gone...The rock chips and the pencil are another matter.

If your jones for this particular SL won't go away, you could repaint the hood, front bumper and get the rest paint corrected. You may be looking at about 2 grand for the repaint and paint correction on top of the cost of the car.

Jon

sf65

I just got my car out of a detailer ($350 job) and they removed everything, the car look brand new. In my case there a LOT of swivel marks on the clear coat but no scratches. I think the previous owner used a cheap car wash or allowed his dealer to wash the car, and they didn't use clean enough water/rags

They can't fix the rock chips on the hood but I don't care for them much and none of mine are that big (all less than 1mm in diameter).

Can you post pics?

okbarnett

They may be able to fix it, or maybe not. But it sounds too high. And it sounds like the dealer is being dishonest letting a car in that obvious condition be sold with out at least trying to make it look nice. Id tell him to sell it to somebody else. Theres plenty of good ones out there