New car delivered all scratched up.

[LooksLikeSnow]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some advice. I picked up the car the other night from the shipper. (I'm in Anchorage. I bought it from a dealer in Seattle who found it in St. Paul) Since it was dark (winter in Alaska) I didn't get a good look at the finish. I just checked for the obvious dings, dents, chips, and such. Finding nothing, I took the car home.

So I put the car in the garage where the light is a bit better, and under the grime from the boat trip up here (the shipper didn't wash the car as they normally do because the temps up here were so cold that the car would've frozen up) I see that the finish is a maze of swirls and streaks, evidence of a dry wipe-off job, or a very poor wash job. It's really bad. It's all over the hood, sides, roof... I can’t imagine what it would look like in the sunshine. The finish on my '89 VW Syncro Vanagon Westfalia is better! When I was in Seattle shopping for a car last October I saw about a hundred XC70s on various lots. The finish on those cars was glossy and clear. Even the owner’s manual says not to use an automatic car wash for the 1st 6 months.

So my question is:
1) Just how scratched up was your car when you received it? Could you see swirls, scratches, and streaks in the light?
2) And what should I do now? The dealer is in Seattle, and I have the feeling he's just going to tell me to take a hike, "It was perfect when I put it on the boat."

I haven’t washed it yet, as I’m going to take some picture of it in the condition I picked it up in.

The car performs well; the interior is perfect, and we're happy to have it. However, a new car completely covered in scratches really took the wind out of my sails.

Thanks.

Kevin

[nicwood]

Hi Kevin,
I always say that one of the best bits of getting a new car is the day before you pick it up, from there on in its all downhill with dents, scratches and general grime.

Not being in the legal profession, it seems that you have to consider a few points;
1 - Can the paintwork be cleaned up at a professional paintshop?
2 - Are you prepared to go the whole hog and battle with the various parties that will all claim it was someone else or deny any responsibility?

If you can get it professionally assessed, that will help when you come to speak to the dealer and shipper as a report from a professional always speaks louder than your own personal opinion.

Lets say for now that you can get it professionaly assessed, and the report shows damage that cannot be easily rectified, you should be able to refer to the dealer for not pointing this out to you at the sale. if the dealer says it was fine when it left, you need to look to the shipper (presumably you paid directly for this, if the dealer paid, then its there responsibility to hand over the car in pristine condition).

Not noting damage at the time of collection may be a problem, as the others could claim the car was obviously damaged after they released it (even though it was dark and dirty, so perhaps you could suggest that the shipper failed to provide adequate viewing facilites at their release depot?).

Either way  you have a battle on your hands, which you should not have to do at this stage of ownership.

Having had quite a few Volvos the paint work has always been very good,most of the vehicles I have had were metallic paint and the clear laquer coat is of a very high standard.

I also took delivery of my vehicle from a dealer at the other end of the country [Ok England is a lot smaller than your neck of the woods - but its all relative]. In my instance, the selling dealer was responsible for the vehicle until I accepted it. I also was fortunate to have the chance to view the vehicle inside and requested that it be fully valeted for my collection.

Lets hope you can get past this without straining your nerves too much, and you can quickly get down to enjoying what is a nice and enjoyable experience of the XC70 !!

Keep us posted of how you plan to proceed (would be nice if some one locally to the selling dealer could apply pressure for you). http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/crazy.gif

[Chipshot]

I'm so sorry to hear about your problem, Kevin, and hope you get it resolved soon.  Is there any documentation about the car's condition when the dealer handed it over to the shipper?  If they agreed that it was 100% then I would think the finger of blame should point at the shipper.

You should probably take a lot of photos right now, so no one can assert that the damage occured after you took delivery.  I suppose it might also be prudent for you to stop driving the car for a while.  A draconian move, I know, but it might afford you some protection.

See if you can get in touch with a Dr. Ira Gore of Birmingham, AL (or his attorney).  They may have some valuable advice to share.  Dr. Gore won a big case against a BMW dealer and/or BMW itself when he discovered that the new car he purchased had been damaged and repaired and no one disclosed it to him.

I guess I won't complain if my V70 AWD is covered with snow when I go to pick it up (as my XC70 was).

[gibbons]

This no help, sorry. You have my sympathy for the situation.

When I special ordered our F250, I told the dealer to call me immediately when it got off the transport. I told him that if they washed it, I would refuse the deal. They did as I requested, and I picked up the truck covered with rail road track scale(rusty flakes), diesel soot, bird droppings, and all manner of nastiness. It was lovely. I carefully shampooed off the guck and the silver/grey metalic clearcoat was perfect.

The reason for my condition on the deal is how the lot boys do their thing. They use the same rags and towels for everything. They wipe down a vehicle, including the tires and tread, inside the wheelwheels, etc, and go on to the next one with a towel full of grit. Lot boys, having never owned anything nice, just don't know any better. And I am pretty sure that some of them would do it just to spite the "rich" guy who could afford a car that cost 3 times what they make in a year.

I took my I30 in for some warranty work once. When I picked it up, they had washed it and toweled it with an infected towel. It had big white swirl scratches in the midnight blue paint. My brother works at a high-line body shop, and said it would be $200 to properly buff it out. I presented the dealer with the estimate, and he said their green-card laborers would buff it out in a few minutes. I said, "no, thanks." It's too easy to ruin clearcoat.

Our 95 Subaru is white, and if you look just right, you can see some wear in the paint. But stand back 30", and it looks new. If I buy an XC70, it will be white.

Best wishes and sincerely, good luck.

[AkXCman]

Was this a new car or a used car?  If it was new, did you get a much better deal outside than you could get here in Anchorage?

Dark cars are one of the worst for showing swirls, especially under fluorescent lights in the garage.  We have a dark red Audi that looks fantastic under the sunlight, but looks horrible under fluorescent light.  I had the same experience with the Audi.  It looked great on the lot in sunshine but when I brought it home and looked at it in the garage I couldn't believe the difference. I'm not sure why fluorescent light makes such a big difference but it does.

A really high gloss wax will help reduce the effect.  If you are going to drive it alot on Anchorage roads during the winter, it will be a struggle wash it without creating your own swirls. At any rate, it will be months before you can look at the car in bright sunlight http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[budrichard]

Both my silver XC's were perfect and the dealership had instructions to not power wash the vehicles for the first six months. They now have installed a JET WAsh so no problem at all. You can bring your vehicle in any time for a free wash and enjoy bagles, ice cream, internet access and TV. At one location they even have sushi available.
Many dealerships now have new vehicle delivery bays where the vehicle is put for you to view and learn. I tell the salesperson to give me the manuals and leave me alone for an hour while I check everything out. I then write the check.-Dick

[bouvier]

I had almost the same thing happen a few years ago with a new Ford Explorer shipped from Calif. to upstate NY. I did the following:

1) Called both the dealer and transporter the next day.
2) Made lot's of pix.
3) Sent copies to dealer, transporter and my insurance co.
   the same day.
4) Brought the Explorer to a high end body shop for an estimate to re - clearcoat. and forwarded it to dealer and transporter.

In the end they agreed to split the cost and each sent a check for half when the work was done. The shop was a custom place and for the money did a job that was better that the orig. After six years of NY winters and salt the truck is now back in Calif living out it's days as my daughters beach buggy .... it still looks good (but runs like cr*p.)

Al