Paint Issues on legacy GT

[itsme]

I took my car back to the dealer today. I drove 120 mi. back to El Cajon. I showed it to their body shop manager and told them that I would need a rental car. The manager said he had never seen anything like that and they would take car of it. From start to finish it only took about 30 minutes and thats with the time it took to get the rental car. A '06 base Legacy Outback. I feel like I'm sitting up to high and it really made me miss my car. I Lgt LTD wagon. I miss my 5spd, sun roof, the way the needles sweep when you start it, MY TURBO:icon_sad: . I will let you guys know how it turns out.

[PunksGT]

I finally got my car into the dealer (Heuberger Motors in Colorado Springs) for a look. Right off the bat the service manager said the front bumper had been repainted. He even showed me some overspray on the bottom edge of the headlight that I had not noticed. I asked him why any damage was not disclosed to me at the time of the sale and he said if it's under $1,000 notification is not required. He did not have the details of exactly why the bumper had been repainted but it was most likely cosmetic damage done to the car while in transport or while sitting on the dealer's lot. He admitted the finish repair work was pretty bad.

 

The service manager also explained that this would not be a warranty item even though the damage was done prior to the car being delivered. The car had 17 miles at delivery!!! Once the original finish is altered it's not covered under warranty. I have a lot of heartburn over this as the consumer assumes a new car will be covered bumper to bumper with the full warranty. If a surface on the car has been repainted the dealership needs to let you know what that surface is and that it will not be coverd by the factory warranty.

 

The dealership did agree to fix this though (kudos to Heuberger). It's scheduled to go in on Thursday to have the repairs made. You can bet the repair will be scrutanized closely when I pick up the car!

 

In closing - watch out guys/gals. I think damage to the finish prior to delivery is more common than people think. Inspect your new car very carefully prior to driving it off the lot and make sure you see your service manager if you notice anything odd after taking delivery. Look for obvious signs like overspray marking on lights or underskirting, orange peel, dullness, or a roughness to the finish from overspray. The week after I took delivery of my car I had it machine buffed because the finish felt rough. I should have known right then that something wasn't right. I would also ask point blank if anything has been damaged and fixed on the car - even if it only has 1 mile on the odometer.

 

Good luck,

 

Paul

[OCDetails]

dang...... I'm glad you are at least getting it fixed. That is better than nothing I guess. Like you said, show them no mercy when you inspect it. Check for fish eyes and drips and spots. That paint should be smooth as glass. Make sure you feel the rest of your paint too. If they get overspray all over your car in the process of painting a bumper then that is something they should fix. When I had my wife's car in the shop to get the bumper repainted they got overspray everywhere. And because they stored the car in the same building as the paint booth, the interior of the car smelled like paint for months. Definitely ask them to store the car outside away from the paint booth.

[MIKEBRAVO]

This whole thing doesn't suprise me. While I had my car in for original paint work, a silver 06 was in ther getting fixed. The whole drivers side was being replaced. The service guy told me the car hadn't even been put in their computer yet when a tech backed into it with a customers Outback. It is really disappointing how curtain dealerships treat these cars prior to the sale.