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Just picked up car - TONS of swirls and microscratches. Need advice
Hey guys, I just picked up my C8 from a well known dealer. It has a ton of swirls on it noticeable most on the carbon flash parts and less so (but still there) on the white paint. Must be the detailing folks used old crappy towels to clean it. Wondering what you all recommend I do. They asked me to bring it back Friday for them to see it. I texted the salesman pictures the next morning after I picked it up as the lighting wasn't great when I got it. Not naming dealer...yet...hoping they can make this right. Thanks!
If the dealer can't do it, they can send it out to a shop that does Ceramic coating for a Paint Correction. That is one reason that I had my dealer deliver the car with just the PDI done - no wash wax. Leave all protection stuff from the factory in place. Drove it directly to the shop for PPF Ceramic coating and Tinting.
You can 100% fix that, but not sure I would trust a dealer, they could make it worse if they don't know what they are doing (or eat into the clear coat if they don't know how to buff/polish correctly).
frustrating but looks easily fixable. don’t sweat it.
thanks. I thought you can’t get those kind of swirls out on plastic parts like the tail lights and even spoiler. Or so I was told in the past by detailers. I was planning on taking it to a detail shop to get it ceramic coated anyway, but now it’s a lot more work and I’m not positive all of it will come out.
i don’t really want them to do the paint correction themselves in part due to this disaster and in part because the dealer is like 1.5 hours from me. What would you guys ask the dealer to do? On top of this, there is a scratch on the lug nuts and a few interior plastic chips as well in the trunk and the front. But those are minor
Those all look fixable if they have a good experienced detailer. From the looks of it, I almost wonder if they happened during the shipment process from the white envelope the car is shipped in. I just have images of a white envelope flapping against the car as the wind hits the envelope on the back of the truck going 60 MPH. I am sure your dealer has someone on their staff who has the experience to get that fixed for you and fortunately none of those look so bad as to require repainting or restriping.
Those all look fixable if they have a good experienced detailer. From the looks of it, I almost wonder if they happened during the shipment process from the white envelope the car is shipped in. I just have images of a white envelope flapping against the car as the wind hits the envelope on the back of the truck going 60 MPH. I am sure your dealer has someone on their staff who has the experience to get that fixed for you and fortunately none of those look so bad as to require repainting or restriping.
Doubt it -- the high wing was installed at the dealer and it's one of the worst ones.
Just awful.
I wouldn't want them to try to correct it, and doubt they would be willing to share your cost to get it done elsewhere?
Tough spot.
Good luck.
Just another reason to do the delivery at the NCM.
Your car will never look as good as the day you pick it up there.
PDI is a matter of pride with those folks.
Dealer not so much. Just another Chebby to them.
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-
'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
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I would see if the dealer would agree to let you take the car to a pro detailer of your choice and they cover the cost. After looking at those pics, I'm not sure I would want the dealer trying to remove all the scratches/swirl marks.
Just another reason to do the delivery at the NCM.
Your car will never look as good as the day you pick it up there.
PDI is a matter of pride with those folks.
Dealer not so much. Just another Chebby to them.
That is the main reason why I am going back to the Museum for my second time in June 🤞
For anyone reading this thread, let this be a lesson. There is no reason to trust a dealership to wash your car.
Any detailer will tell you that your paint will typically get damaged during the washing process by people that do not know what they are doing. This includes most owners.
Also, many detailers / ceramic coating businesses may utilize a standard process that is not optimum. For example, some shops will polish out the orange peel that will be prevalent on any production paint. Is this a good idea? Is it what you want? I almost had my car coated by a shop that prides itself on their "show car" finish. Translation - they would remove the orange peel from my clear coat. This is what some owners want. For me, I would rather not remove any more clear coat than necessary.
Bottom line, if you are obsessive about your car, make sure that you know what someone is doing to it and ensure that their process and products are what you really want.
Last edited by PurpleLion; 04-05-2021 at 10:56 AM.
Looks like they had some knucklehead who carelessly ripped the car's shipping cover off and then they detailed it with a rag and polisher with grit or sand in it! When mine shows up I intend to tell the dealer to just wash it, don't do anything else, because when I get it home I will wash it with a Dawn type detergent, Clay Bar it and then Ceramic coat it myself. Most times in my experience buying a Corvette at least the dealerships that I've dealt with are quite aware that Corvette buyers are way more critical than Spark buyers!
Last edited by Mike Campbell; 04-05-2021 at 10:44 AM.
04-05-2021, 08:07 AM
Just picked up car - TONS of swirls and microscratches. Need advice
When mine shows up I intend to tell the dealer to just wash it, don't do anything else, because when I get it home I will wash it with a Dawn type detergent, Clay Bar it and then Ceramic coat it myself. Most times in my experience buying a Corvette at least the dealerships that I've dealt with are quite aware that Corvette buyers are way more critical than Spark buyers!