Brand New 2017 Chevy 1500 High Country (HOLY SWIRL BATMAN)

[STI4Life06]

I just couldn't believe my eyes so I had to share this with my Autogeek friends.

One of my good buddies bought a brand new Chevy 1500 High Country from a dealer in CT. He immediately gave me a call before purchasing to ask me about doing a GTechniq CSL/EXO ceramic coating. I said sure lets do it but don't let the dealer touch the exterior truck! He asked the dealer not to wash the truck but the dealer said that they would not let the truck leave their lot unless they at least give it a quick wash. I told him that was total BS and to take his business elsewhere but he insisted on buying from this particular dealer since there wasn't another high country available with the options he wanted anywhere in the area. That being said he told the dealer that they better use brand new wash mitts and to not use a brush.

Well, the day after purchasing we took it into his garage and I threw my make-shift swirl light on the paint, WOW it was BADDD. I just couldn't wrap my head around how bad and deep the swirls were. You could actually see the brush marks on the roof of the truck as well so I know they used a damn brush on the paint.

I told him right off the bat that were going to need to do a full paint correction but unfortunately I only had a Rupes Green Pad and Menzerna Heavy Cut 400 on me at the time and my shop was about an hour away. I totally wasn't expecting this kind of damage and I should know better to always expect the worst. First we quickly clayed the paint so I could start compounding. I did a test spot on the hood with my Rupes and I was able to get about 85% of the swirl out with 6-8 passes but it wasn't satisfactory enough for the both of us. Some of the swirls were insanely deep and I probably could have gotten them out with a blue coarse pad if I had one on me . It also seemed like the clearcoat was pretty hard which made it more challenging as well.

Since we couldn't correct the paint to the level I wanted we ended up just polishing the rest of the truck and threw some Collinite on the truck to get him through the winter and then we are going to tackle this in the spring since we were limited on time that day. I will have to write another post once I get the truck fully corrected because the black chevy's look so damn good after a paint correction.

Oh, almost forgot the best part. My buddy called the dealer to complain and he showed him some pictures of the damage and the salesman told him that some wax would take those right out if he wants to bring it back in for them to "fix" it :bash:. He tried to make them pay for the damages but as expected they won't do anything unless "they" fix the issue themselves. They also told him that I was overcharging him as I gave him my normal quote of $450 for a paint correction and $550 with Ceramic Coating which I obviously not really charging him that amount since we couldn't complete the project just yet.

Vid of the damage....

50/50 shot...

 

[MikeC78]

Holy crap, that is BAD!! I watched a couple “detailers” at my local GMC/Cadillac dealer use a couple pole brushes and a dirty bucket of water to wash brand new 100k Escalade’s rolling off the truck.

 

[luckydawg]

people should know by now that big business is going to do what they want to do. Unless someone has a special connection @ the dealership- they dont care what you want- it is a hitch in their process and they dont want to be bothered. And they pretty much know as bad as you want the vehicle ( or you wouldnt be there to begin with- you came to them and not the other way around) you are not going anywhere else.

They are going to tell you what ever you want to hear and then do what they want - then come up with a excuse (definition of excuse-- a excuse is a reason wrapped in a lie ) on why what happened , happened.

I have dealt with this kind of crap for years-- its the culture now. Good luck with the paint!!!!!

 

[MikeC78]

It’s because 98% of people who buy cars dont care or know what these “swirls” are. IMO, the general public has become accustomed to this and think its the norm. As long as they dont see a strike through / scratch into the base coat, they dont care. Let’s call these people, ‘Lucky’. They must live longer than us.

 

[WillSports3]

I get that your buddy really wanted the vehicle but why didn't he just go to another dealership and ask them to order it? Normally when it comes to new cars if the dealer doesn't have it, I tell them to order it in.unless it's a used car, I don't buy cars off the lot. I want a brand new one shipped in.

 

[STI4Life06]

I get that your buddy really wanted the vehicle but why didn't he just go to another dealership and ask them to order it? Normally when it comes to new cars if the dealer doesn't have it, I tell them to order it in.unless it's a used car, I don't buy cars off the lot. I want a brand new one shipped in.

I agree with you, He was just in a rush to get into a new vehicle. When I bought my brand Accord I told them to not even take the plastic off and they were happy to do what I wanted. I wouldn’t have even dealt with a dealer like this, pretty ridiculous. Like other mentioned, the majority of people don’t know the difference between a swirl and a squirrel and it really irks me.

 

[STI4Life06]

Finally got some above freezing temps this weekend and tackled this beast. I don't know what it is with this Chevy's paint but it was extremely difficult to work with, I still am not completely satisfied with the outcome and feel somewhat defeated. The truck definitely looks a hell of a lot better but it kicked my ass and the owner (my friend) both agreed that it wasn't worth the extra effort to make it 99%. I would say its about 92% free of imperfections and I spent a total of 17 hours between the time washing until I was done with the GTechniq CSL/EXO coating. He was super happy with the outcome so that's all that matters! My OCD says otherwise....

This time I went straight to a Meguairs MF Cutting Pad with CarPro Clear Cut Compound. First time using this stuff and there is a little bit of a learning curve but I was able to figure it out after a few passes. Some panels needed to be worked twice (6-8 passes) to knock down the deeper swirls the dealer created. There was a slight haze and decent RIDS after wiping down each panel so I followed up with a Rupes Yellow Pad and Menzerna 3500 do get that glossy deep black look.

I wish I took better before pictures but I just wanted to get this thing over with.

Hood came out about 99% definitely looked the best out of all the panels.

Probably should have cleaned the running boards before taking pics..oops

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[luckydawg]

Looks way better- GM clear coats are notoriously hard from my exp. You did a good job and it looks a million times better-- (even for a chevy with the square wheel wells)

Wheels are a nice design-- are they a aftermarket set??

 

[STI4Life06]

Looks way better- GM clear coats are notoriously hard from my exp. You did a good job and it looks a million times better-- (even for a chevy with the square wheel wells)

Wheels are a nice design-- are they a aftermarket set??

Those are OEM optional I believe.


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[SirTanon]

You did some excellent work there, and it looks great.

Shame on the dealer, although this seems to be the norm, almost regardless of where you go. The Nissan dealer where I bought my Altima in 2014 seems to be a potential exception, as the car did not have any swirls in it when we bought, but I don't take any chances when we bring it in for service. I print out and signs that say "DO NOT WASH" in bold letters, which get placed in a couple locations in the car whenever I bring it in. So far, they've been very good about following them.

 

[WillSports3]

I actually find some dealers here in Toronto, not a lot, but a few here and there and they seem to use Flex polishers. Not sure if they're the Flex DAs or the Flex rotaries. It's usually some of the dealers from the "rare" dealerships here, like McLaren, their detailers seem to do a good job but at least in prepping vehicle. Not sure about washes but when I've seen the new vehicles, no swirls. But whos to say whether it's because it's glazed all to hell or because of skill.

 

[STI4Life06]

I actually find some dealers here in Toronto, not a lot, but a few here and there and they seem to use Flex polishers. Not sure if they're the Flex DAs or the Flex rotaries. It's usually some of the dealers from the "rare" dealerships here, like McLaren, their detailers seem to do a good job but at least in prepping vehicle. Not sure about washes but when I've seen the new vehicles, no swirls. But whos to say whether it's because it's glazed all to hell or because of skill.

That’s pretty awesome. I mean they better not be screwing up McLaren paint! I think they can afford to hire qualified retailers though.


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[JDGolden]

Looks great now. They must have used a super stiff brush to wash it. I've never seen new paint that swirled up from a dealer wash.

The dealer I bought mine from had no issues with my request of not washing it. I'd have refused delivery.

 

[Route246]

It’s because 98% of people who buy cars dont care or know what these “swirls” are. IMO, the general public has become accustomed to this and think its the norm. As long as they dont see a strike through / scratch into the base coat, they dont care. Let’s call these people, ‘Lucky’. They must live longer than us.

I would say it is more like 99.9% (maybe 1-out-of-1000 car owners) know and care about swirls. I don't know anyone outside of my friends who detail who know what swirls are.

I recently picked up a 2018 RAV4 Hybrid Limited for my wife and had to beg the sales rep and his manager NOT to wash the car and that I would take it "as-is" and clean it myself. I promised the sales rep that I would bring the vehicle back on Sunday after I finished the detailing to show him why. He told me this was the first time he had ever heard about this. I told him he would be impressed with the results.

I took it back to show him on the following Sunday and his sales manager was there, too. They were blown away and asked me if I could do it for anyone else. I told him any competent detailer could do this but they would probably start at $250 and probably be more like $400-$500 or more. A ceramic coating would probably be $600+ in our area (NorCal, home of Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, et. al. and the $2-million 2BR/1Ba 850 sq. ft. bungalow).

 

[986DTM]

I actually find some dealers here in Toronto, not a lot, but a few here and there and they seem to use Flex polishers. Not sure if they're the Flex DAs or the Flex rotaries. It's usually some of the dealers from the "rare" dealerships here, like McLaren, their detailers seem to do a good job but at least in prepping vehicle. Not sure about washes but when I've seen the new vehicles, no swirls. But whos to say whether it's because it's glazed all to hell or because of skill.

I used to work at a porsche dealer in the GTA. They actually used flex 3401s and menzerna polishes. Before delivery to the customer, every car was went over with fg400 (if needed) then usually 3500 or 3800 and then they threw powerlock on top. Pleasantly surprised me.

 

[sudsmobile]

If I'm spending that kind of coin, you do what I want or I take my money elsewhere. Period.

 

[PaulMys]

If I'm spending that kind of coin, you do what I want or I take my money elsewhere. Period.

I'd have to agree. I mean, it's not like you're asking them to alter what they do in the wash step. You're asking them to skip it altogether.

Luckily, I started reading here on AGO a couple months before I got my new Ram. I knew enough to tell them to skip the wash. They honored my request.