Should I let the dealer paint my new car?

Should I let them spray it? Or touch it up?

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Hantra

Hantra

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I apologize for the somewhat tangential topic here, but I'm not sure who'd be better to ask than you all.

First wash on my brand new car, I discovered a bubble in the paint, near the headlight. As soon as I touched it, the paint came off, and that spot is bare. There is also a very slight piece of debris or something under the paint in a different spot on the same front quarter panel.

My my thought was just touch up the bare spot. Let the dealer make sure there's no more damage behind the headlight. And live with it.

Dealer wants to sand the spot, and spray 1/3rd of the panel. My paint is 3 stage White Diamond Pearl.

Should i I let them spray it? It wouldn't bug me like the touch up would, but then again, it feels risky to me. What are the risks, and what would you do?

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On a brand new car, I'd make them repaint the entire panel - noting that it has to match perfectly. Frankly if I could, I would return the car. Touch up would be out of the question.
 
addysdaddy said:
On a brand new car, I'd make them repaint the entire panel - noting that it has to match perfectly. Frankly if I could, I would return the car. Touch up would be out of the question.
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I agree. Since it's a brand new car I would hold the dealer accountable and have them repaint the whole panel.
 
Repaint the entire panel or replace the car. And make them let you pick the body shop to do it.
 
So, heres what I'm worried about. If they paint the whole panel, then it fades at a different rate, or maybe is a slight bit off. It seems like it'd be more notice label if the dividing line were a body panel gap, than if it were blended into the open paint on that panel. Or is that wrong?

I wish I could get them to let me pick the body shop, but Honda is paying for it, so I'm not sure I could make it work.

Nevertheless, it's a very important lesson. No matter how long the process has been, and no matter how impatient the kids are, look at every square inch before delivery.
 
What body panel is it? I just went through this 3 weeks ago on a new car I bought. I told them I would not accept a respray and would only be happy if they swapped the bumper cover with another unit they had.
 
First of all, that panel should be plastic, so it won't rust. Second of all that sure looks like it was ALREADY touched up, poorly.
 
How long have you had the car? They could counter with "You must have hit something"....not saying that's right, but I would not put it past them. I would insist that the whole panel get sprayed, with removal of that entire headlight housing. That damage looks like it sneaks up right under the edge of it.
 
I had the same kind of bubble on the paint edge near my gas tank cap. Over a couple years every time it rained water would creep under the paint edge and eventually formed a big rust spot under the paint. Make sure someone good does the respray!
 
Paint the entire panel. Many many new cars have had panel work done that most never notice.

Only exception is your color is one of the hardest to match so look at the paint match in many different light sources before leaving.
 
TXB4Z said:
What body panel is it? I just went through this 3 weeks ago on a new car I bought. I told them I would not accept a respray and would only be happy if they swapped the bumper cover with another unit they had.
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I did the same thing with my new truck... Had to replace the right rear door.

As for the OPs predicament... If it were me I'd question them about the possibility of swapping a fender off another brand new vehicle. That's a longshot but worth a try.

If that's not possible my second choice would be to do a touch-up.

No way would I have the fender resprayed. The fading issue you identified is a real concern - it will happen given enough time. On top of that, you can be fairly certain that the color, tri-coat white pearl, is not going to match perfectly. Painting the whole fender vs. blending is debatable, but I'd accept neither.

If you simply do a touch-up all of those repaint concerns go away. Even though the touch-up will more than likely be somewhat evident it's a very small area. And being right on an edge directly adjacent to the headlight will help in concealing the repair.

If you have the fender repainted, either completely or blended, and it doesn't come out perfectly, that will look much worse than the small touch-up. And even if it does come out perfectly, you still have the fading and durability concerns.
 
Imo you gave them the buisness and it is the obligation as a car dealership to make sure the customer is 100% satisfied. I wouldn't want to have to have anything painted on a brand new car that isn't my fault or wrong doing whatsoever. I would push for a vehicle swap if possible. Good luck!
 
Thanks all. This is the front right quarter panel, and it's not plastic.

I do like the idea of swapping quarters with another vehicle. But I really am concerned about the respray. I could live with a 2mm spot of touch up paint, way more easily than a mismatched color, or other paint issues on a larger scale.

Going to try the panel swap route. Thanks for the idea.
 
Hantra said:
My paint is 3 stage White Diamond Pearl. Should i I let them spray it? It wouldn't bug me like the touch up would, but then again, it feels risky to me.
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3-stage paint is hard to match - and the dealership should KNOW THIS. And in this situation it matters less about what bugs you and ALL ABOUT what will satisfy you. Don't give these guys any flexibility. You risk being down on this vehicle for as long as you own it. DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. :-)


custmsprty said:
Repaint the entire panel or replace the car. And make them let you pick the body shop to do it.
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I agree.

Setec Astronomy said:
First of all, that panel should be plastic, so it won't rust. Second of all that sure looks like it was ALREADY touched up, poorly.
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I agree. Paint just doesn't fall off.

TXB4Z said:
What body panel is it? I just went through this 3 weeks ago on a new car I bought. I told them I would not accept a respray and would only be happy if they swapped the bumper cover with another unit they had.
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Good idea.
 
Hantra said:
Thanks all. This is the front right quarter panel, and it's not plastic.
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Oh, sorry, I guess you took the picture from the opposite direction I thought you did, I thought the defect was on the bumper.


Hantra said:
I do like the idea of swapping quarters with another vehicle.

Going to try the panel swap route. Thanks for the idea.
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Wow, bumper swap maybe, unit body fender swap, as was said, a long shot. I have seen panels with the same color code not match when that was done, so beware.
 
As long as they R&I everything and do it right, there won't be a problem. If they blend with-in the panel it will match adjacent panels. Fading won't be an issue.
 
I'd make them give me a new car. You don't get better quality paint than factory paint. Who knows what happened there but I would never want a brand new car that had a panel resprayed.

And if for whatever reason it does need to be repainted, their suggested method is the cheap way out and I would NEVER let them do it that way. It should go to the body shop of your choice for a full panel respray.
 
ekennett said:
I'd make them give me a new car. You don't get better quality paint than factory paint. Who knows what happened there but I would never want a brand new car that had a panel resprayed.

And if for whatever reason it does need to be repainted, their suggested method is the cheap way out and I would NEVER let them do it that way. It should go to the body shop of your choice for a full panel respray.
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Agree. I worked at a dealership for a long time and they will go the cheapest route unless you are very firm and make it clear that you arnt settling for anything less than 100%
 
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