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(snip) Also, am I waisting my time with the dealership?
Probably.
Should I be contacting the manufacturer?
Nope. Unless you can establish that the paint issue was a manufacturing defect which needs to be addressed, the manufacturer is out of the loop on this.
More likely, the car was damaged in transit or in the dealership's possession and they had it repaired, but not to a very good level of workmanship.
Again, this is why I advise never taking delivery of a new car in a hurry. Always do a thorough pre-buy inspection of a vehicle, even a new one. If you don't know how to do this, then pay an expert to do it for you so that you know the condition of the new vehicle you are buying and can refuse to accept the vehicle before taking delivery. I've done these inspections for my clients for decades and I've found signficant repaired damage on new vehicles; some of it was properly done, some of it was not.
When you purchase a new vehicle that has never been titled and has less than 10 miles on the odo, isn't a buyer expecting to get 'a new car'? If at the dealer when taking possession and you discover that there has been body work and repainting, to me, that is not a new car. The dealer should either take up the situation with the manufacturer and not sell the car or plainly advertise that the so called new car has had damage and has a discounted price.
Wet sanding is more abrasive than a buffer. That is done by shops on new paint finishes to smooth out the paint, then it is buffed with polishing compounds to bring back the shine. I would much rather have a finish only buffed before being wet sanded, but sometimes wet sanding and buffing are the only options to clean up a finish. I have several scratches that are only in the clear coat on my 2010 Vibe GT and I have no problems with wet sanding and buffing the paint to remove them. Yes the clear will be thinner, but as long as I keep it waxed, there should not be any real adverse effects from it. Swirls will show on a dark color, but there are some polishes that will limit their appearance. Dark colors are just bad about it, which I must assume your car is if it really concerns you.
When you purchase a new vehicle that has never been titled and has less than 10 miles on the odo, isn't a buyer expecting to get 'a new car'? If at the dealer when taking possession and you discover that there has been body work and repainting, to me, that is not a new car. The dealer should either take up the situation with the manufacturer and not sell the car or plainly advertise that the so called new car has had damage and has a discounted price.
"New" means that the car has never been legally titled and has less then a certain number of miles on it. There are "new" cars that have been virtually totalled and then repaired and sold/licensed as "new". In most cases "new" cars with extensive damage are often sold at a discount and marketed as having been damaged.
However, a surpirsingly large number of "new" cars have at least some minor body work done to them before being sold. Many cars are damaged in transit from the factory, to the port, to the dealer, etc. If the car is damaged before it reaches the dealer it is often repaired by the manufacturer and the dealer has no knowledge of a repair having been done. If the car is damaged when it reaches the dealer, then they will generally just have it repaired and won't make any notation unless they are legally required to do so because of the dollar amount. There are cases when hundreds of cars have been damaged at port facilities in a storm, just to be repaired on site and then sent to the dealers as new inventory.
In many states, lemon law provisions do not cover paint and even in the cases where it does, it is often hard to make a case as it is usually tied to "defects in the manufacturing process". Damage that occurred and was subsequently repaired does not generally fall under that category. Most of these situations end up being in a sort of wierd limbo where the dealer attempts to "make it right" for the customer. The customer themselves often has limited legal recourse once they accept delivery.
The best advice I would offer is that if you aren't getting satisfaction at the dealer level, elevate it to the manufacturer and get them involved. Many times they will simply offer a replacement vehicle if the situation warrants it. Any legal recourse beyond that would be if the dealership refuses to make an attempt to effect a proper repair, which is of course limited by what can actually be done in the situation. If you buy a new car, take delivery and then later notice some body work was done and want it fixed, the most the dealer generally needs to offer is the "best repair possible".
For this reason, as was said earlier, doing a proper pre-delivery inspection of the EXACT car you are buying is important. Don't be in a rush to buy the new car and leave with it that day if you don't have the time to do a proper inspection. In general the advice is to not take delivery at night nor during a rainstorm as these conditions can easily mask a defect. Ask to inspect the car in the shop under the lights and take your time. You are free to bring someone with you and many mechanics and body shops will only charge a small fee to send someone to do an inspection if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself.
You know, even if you are a "car guy" (gal) of long standing and know how to inspect a car - it probably still makes sense to have a pro come along and inspect with you. They don't have a dog in the fight, will do it with a clearer head. Couple hundred bucks or less would be cheap insurance, and if you find a problem you really get your money's worth. Just sayin'.
You know, even if you are a "car guy" (gal) of long standing and know how to inspect a car - it probably still makes sense to have a pro come along and inspect with you. They don't have a dog in the fight, will do it with a clearer head. Couple hundred bucks or less would be cheap insurance, and if you find a problem you really get your money's worth. Just sayin'.
Update - The paint is finally good on my Nissan Maxima. Sometime during this painting fiasco, the leather steering was damaged. Looked like someone cut it with a ring on their finger. New steering wheel was put on yesterday. Only 3 times to get it straight once they got it on. 35 minutes to replace it. 2 hours adjusting the steering wheel. This whole car buying process has simply sucked.
I hope to put all this behind me once I speak to the general sales manager sometime next week about what has transpired.
Glad they got it taken care of. A bad new car buying experience isn't something most people are expecting, but it does happen occasionally. I've had a couple "new car fiascos" myself to where you start to wonder if you should have even bothered in the first place.
I was going to test drive a car to lease and a low concrete post, which I could not see, I hit the side of the car as I was going to pull out. They said not to worry they would fix it to my satisfaction and if not I would not have to take it. They offered to get me another one exactly like it but it would cost me $500 because they would have to go and get it. I told them I would take the damaged one as long as I was satisfied that it was as good as new. I don't understand why it would cost me $500 for them to get another one.
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New steering wheel was put on yesterday. Only 3 times to get it straight once they got it on. 35 minutes to replace it. 2 hours adjusting the steering wheel. This whole car buying process has simply sucked. 
