New car from dealer with micro swirls

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kevreh

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This has been a first for me. I went to the dealer to get my new car (Mazda CX-9) on Saturday. I take a look at it before going into financing and notice it has what I call micro swirls, long somewhat circular scratches that are superficial. It looks like some numb-nut tried to clean or dry the car with a dirty towel. Or they have a really crappy car wash and all cars get prepped this way.

I'm pretty confident I could make them "go away" with a coat of wax. Not wanting to absorb this I made the dealer document the issue saying he'll take care of it (this week). I figure its better he has a professional detailer take care of it (as he says he will).

So, question....what should I ask him about his technique so I know it won't be a hack job. Just a paste wax and buffer? Or something more aggressive?

Here's a close-up, I lightened the photo a bit. You can see *some* scratches. Depending on the sun and angle, a lot more are noticeable in person. Click to zoom.

View attachment 53405

Thanks!
 
Are they all over the car? If not, I'd consider getting some polish and try doing it by hand. I worry the guy that installed those scratches will also be the one trying to fix them. "Professional detailer" could literally just be the guy in the back that preps all the other cars; people like to throw around the word 'professional.'

If they just apply a wax, those scratches may just come back once the wax fades or washes out. In my opinion, they should be polishing that section.
 
Those actually look pretty bad. Usually a dealer or even a pro they bring in will be a hack, relative to the level of work that members here do.

I would renegotiate your deal and have him take $250 off the price and use that to buy your own supplies to do it yourself or take it to a detailer recommended on here. Where are you located?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Those actually look pretty bad. Usually a dealer or even a pro they bring in will be a hack, relative to the level of work that members here do.

I would renegotiate your deal and have him take $250 off the price and use that to buy your own supplies to do it yourself or take it to a detailer recommended on here. Where are you located?
Click to expand...

I agree. Why bring it back to the same folks that installed the scratches. IMO, either do what Setec Astronomy states, and get them to voucher you $300.00.
Get yourself a GG 6 or PC 7424, some pads and product and learn how to do it yourself.

Other option would be to find a highly skilled detailer, preferably someone from this forum in your area.
 
Aether said:
Are they all over the car? If not, I'd consider getting some polish and try doing it by hand. I worry the guy that installed those scratches will also be the one trying to fix them. "Professional detailer" could literally just be the guy in the back that preps all the other cars; people like to throw around the word 'professional.'


If they just apply a wax, those scratches may just come back once the wax fades or washes out. In my opinion, they should be polishing that section.
Click to expand...

Ok, so "polishing" is the right approach. I take it polishing is more about removing the scratches, and wax just temporarily fills them in?

Yeah, I was a little concerned about who would be taking care of it. But just to clarify, the Manager came out and said right away he would use his specialty detailer guy.

And yes, its the whole car.

Setec Astronomy said:
Those actually look pretty bad. Usually a dealer or even a pro they bring in will be a hack, relative to the level of work that members here do.


I would renegotiate your deal and have him take $250 off the price and use that to buy your own supplies to do it yourself or take it to a detailer recommended on here. Where are you located?
Click to expand...

I'm in Northern VA..... Fairfax.
 
paul_g said:
I agree. Why bring it back to the same folks that installed the scratches. IMO, either do what Setec Astronomy states, and get them to voucher you $300.00.
Get yourself a GG 6 or PC 7424, some pads and product and learn how to do it yourself.

Other option would be to find a highly skilled detailer, preferably someone from this forum in your area.
Click to expand...

I just posted same time as you... but the Manager said he would use his detailer. Guess I need to talk to the guy and make sure he's not just going to cover it with a wax job.
 
All wax is a protector/layer sitting on paint to prevent environmental items to not hit the paint. Swirls and scratches are tiny ridges in the paint. When you put wax over them it just fills them in, thats it. Wax will not at all remove scratches and swirls in detailing. Thats what compound and polish are for, so they need to be polished out.

Dealers are usually not trained on this work and would make it much worse. Usually the cause of them in the first place. I would ask honestly for 250 off the price and put that towards and more reputable person to do the work
 
kevreh said:
I just posted same time as you... but the Manager said he would use his detailer. Guess I need to talk to the guy and make sure he's not just going to cover it with a wax job.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure it's even worth talking to him...these dealer people don't speak the same language as we do.

We used to have a number of VA detailers...I gotta think on that for a while.
 
Yeah, let me know about the VA detailer thing.
 
I hope you have something in writing. Otherwise the dealer will "forget" any promises he made. You should insist on a discount in order to address the issue yourself. Trusting a car dealer is not an option.
 
kevreh said:
I went to the dealer to get my
new car on Saturday...

I take a look at it before going into financing
and notice it has what I call micro swirls

So, question....what should I ask him about

his technique so I know it won't be a hack job.
Just a paste wax and buffer?
Or something more aggressive?
Click to expand...
If you haven't closed the deal yet,
signed on the dotted line...(?)

Then, IMO:
You should ask them to reduce the total
selling price by $350. That amount should
get you a professional swirl-busting detail.

If they're not willing to go that "extra" mile...
smile; and walk away. There are dealerships
galore: Acceptance of shoddy workmanship,
by/from any of them, should never be an option!




Bob
 
kevreh said:
I just posted same time as you... but the Manager said he would use his detailer. Guess I need to talk to the guy and make sure he's not just going to cover it with a wax job.
Click to expand...

The other part I would worry about is that they may not even use a quality wax, just some high-volume production product that'll fill the defects until you've washed it twice...
 
They are going to put a glaze on it and temporarily make them go away, but only visually. Get a discount and use that to get a real detailer to polish it out.
Do not let them 'fix' it. It's probably been on the lot for 2 months and been through the swirl-O matic 60 times.
 
Don't forget if you go back for service, if you let them wash the car they will all be back when you pick it up.
 
I can't imagine any of those practices would be commonly used. How about the narrators comment about using acid on wheels. That much soapy water around the dash screams potential electronics problems to me.

I'll keep everyone posted, who's interested, on how this turns out. My plan is to grill the detailer who will do the job to make sure he doesn't just slap on a coat of wax. The way the sales manager explained it they use an outside detail shop, so there's some hope there. We'll see.
 
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