Very Frustrated!!!!

Back in mid August, I bought a 5k mile 2016 GT California Special. The car had an aftermarket exhaust and a CAI. I told the dealer I was concerned that the car could have a tune and voided the factory warranty. They guaranteed me that was not an issue. I had the car two weeks and found that both rear quarters were repainted and the trunk lid replaced. I called the dealer and told them I wanted my money back, because I wasn't buying a "new" car that's been wrecked and repainted. Carfax was clean and the dealer was surprised it was repaired, so they gave me all of what I paid for the car, minus dealer fees and all other transfer fees.

Labor Day Saturday, I ended up buying a 2017 GT California Special to replace that car, from that same dealer. After filing all of the paperwork, signing my life away again, I told the dealer that I wanted them to just wash the car so I could go. It was starting to rain and I had a two hour drive home, so a full detail was a waste of time. It was dirty on the exterior, because the car was in their storage lot. They washed it and home I went.

On Sunday and Monday, I started detailing the car. I washed it and there were hard water marks all over the car. I used Dawn dish soap, nothing. I pulled out the clay bar, nothing. I grabbed my compounds, nothing. I got out the Porter Cable, heavy cut pad, and heavy cut compound, nothing! I called Ford on Tuesday and opened a case with them. They said it might be a dealer issue because the car didn't leave the factory with paint damage. The dealership said they will pay to get the car wet sanded and polished, so I took the car to my detailer, and he started working on it last night.

My detailer started wet sanding at 3000, nothing. He then went to 2500, nothing, 2000, nothing. His last option was 1200. The water spots are still there! They've etched the paint so bad, that 1200 grit sand paper did nothing. There is no orange peel left and the paint is as smooth as you can get it, but any more sanding can cut through the clear. Now I don't know what to do. A 2000 mile car with damaged paint is very frustrating. These water spots are on all horizontal surfaces and cover the entire car, not just an area here or there.

Two cars in six weeks!!! I'm very frustrated right now.

If that's been washed, clayed, polished and wet sanded, and still doesn't come out...that's under the clear coat and means it left the plant like that. Take it back.

BmacIL said:

If that's been washed, clayed, polished and wet sanded, and still doesn't come out...that's under the clear coat and means it left the plant like that. Take it back.

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^this

scottmoyer said:

Two cars in six weeks!!! I'm very frustrated right now.

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Holy hell, I feel for you. Like others have said, short of trying a blowtorch, that sounds like it's baked in under the clear coat, and some kind of paint aberration from the factory.

You've been through enough, I'd get my money back, and try another dealer (you've got a ton down there in Orlando).

I would take it back jack.

I'd like to take it back, but then that's the 2nd car I've taken back to this dealer. My trade in was already sold at auction, so I can't get that back. And the dealer is in Brandon, so it's almost 2 hours away. I originaly bought from them because of the price of the 2016 GT. They seem to have crazy prices on cars that nobody else can touch. So I bought the first car there, and in their defense, the paint work was done very well and they bought it at auction, so a clean carfax and 5k miles, they thought they had a winner. I'll see what I can get from them on this as "I'm Frustrated!!"

scottmoyer said:

Back in mid August, I bought a 5k mile 2016 GT California Special. The car had an aftermarket exhaust and a CAI. I told the dealer I was concerned that the car could have a tune and voided the factory warranty. They guaranteed me that was not an issue. I had the car two weeks and found that both rear quarters were repainted and the trunk lid replaced. I called the dealer and told them I wanted my money back, because I wasn't buying a "new" car that's been wrecked and repainted. Carfax was clean and the dealer was surprised it was repaired, so they gave me all of what I paid for the car, minus dealer fees and all other transfer fees.

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did you have this first car inspected by an independent mechanic at time of purchase?

Did Carfax records show if the car crossed state lines?

scottmoyer said:

Labor Day Saturday, I ended up buying a 2017 GT California Special to replace that car, from that same dealer. After filing all of the paperwork, signing my life away again, I told the dealer that I wanted them to just wash the car so I could go. It was starting to rain and I had a two hour drive home, so a full detail was a waste of time. It was dirty on the exterior, because the car was in their storage lot. They washed it and home I went.

On Sunday and Monday, I started detailing the car. I washed it and there were hard water marks all over the car. I used Dawn dish soap, nothing. I pulled out the clay bar, nothing. I grabbed my compounds, nothing. I got out the Porter Cable, heavy cut pad, and heavy cut compound, nothing! I called Ford on Tuesday and opened a case with them. They said it might be a dealer issue because the car didn't leave the factory with paint damage. The dealership said they will pay to get the car wet sanded and polished, so I took the car to my detailer, and he started working on it last night.
...

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can't comment on the hard water marks, but its best to purchase a car on a bright sunny day so you can more easily see paint defects. That said, I didn't follow my own advice when buying my car. Or the car before that. Fortunately there wasn't any issues.

The first car was purchased on a sunny 104* day, which is why I didn't see the paint issue. I did examine the car, because it was used, but at 5k miles, I figured it was almost new, so I didn't scrutinize it closely. The body shop that did the work, hid the tape lines very well, so it wasn't easy to find them. Since the trunk lid was replaced and the rear quarters were repainted, the trunk channel was very clean and matched perfectly. They removed the trunk weatherstripping to hide the tape lines. No independent mechanic was used because it's under full warranty and only had 5k miles. I believe the mechanic would have missed the paint also, as he's a mechanic and would have been testing mechanicals.

The current car was also purchased on a hot, sunny day. It was 95* and in the direct sunlight, I saw the water marks, but the car was also dirty. By the time we got to the end, our afternoon thunderstorms rolled in. I asked them to only wash the car as I was afraid their Saturday prep crew would destroy the paint slinging wax all over with a high speed buffer, getting polish on all of the trim and creating halo swirls in the paint. I thought the water marks were topical and would clay off. Boy was I wrong!!!!

Did the original carfax show all its records were in FL ? I am not sure how they missed what appears to be significant collision repair.

Independent mechanic may miss new paint. Probably require an inspection by an auto collision repair shop to find that, and I doubt anyone does that. You can buy your own paint meter for shopping used cars. The local Mercedes Benz dealership says they will check trade ins with a paint meter.

Sounds like the dealership is trying their hardest to take car of you IMO. They let you return the first car, and were willing to cover the costs of the detail for the second car.

Just continue to work with them and they should be understanding of the issues, just like they have been up to this point. If they don't have another car in their inventory at the moment, they can trade with other dealerships close by.

I forgot to answer the question about carfax. Yes, the car was originally sold in Florida, registered in Florida, and then resold in Florida. It can take up to a year for Carfax to report an accident, if it gets reported at all. If they just finished the repairs, and got rid of the car to the auction, then a clean carfax is expected as they haven't processed it yet. I don't trust carfax.

scottmoyer said:

Labor Day Saturday, I ended up buying a 2017 GT California Special to replace that car, from that same dealer. After filing all of the paperwork, signing my life away again, I told the dealer that I wanted them to just wash the car so I could go. It was starting to rain and I had a two hour drive home, so a full detail was a waste of time. It was dirty on the exterior, because the car was in their storage lot. They washed it and home I went.



Two cars in six weeks!!! I'm very frustrated right now.

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Why??

Im curious, I know you said your detailer wet sanded it. Can you feel it if you run the tips of your fingers over it?

I got the 2017 from the same dealer because they had the car I wanted, the price was good and I had to return the 2016 to them. I had the 2016 for 3 weeks before returning it and they took the car back in as a trade, not reimbursement. The trade was done to reimburse me for most of the costs. I got exactly what I spent on that car, plus. When you put it all together, I had tax savings by trading the car in at full value, rather than just getting my money back and going elsewhere. So, I only had to pay the taxes on the difference of the two cars , versus paying the tax on the full price of a new one. That was a savings of about $2k.

Like I said, the dealer was working with me to resolve the issue of the first car. And they worked with me to get the second car. The only issues I had, were the laws stating that all car purchasers are required to pay a dealer fee, if there is one. I had to pay the dealer fee, the title transfer fee, tire disposal fee, etc. These fees could not be waived.

Yes, you can feel the edges of these water spots. You can lightly feel it before the wetsanding and you can lightly feel it after. So the clear has been etched pretty deep. I opened a case with Ford immediately and was told that once the car is delivered to the dealer, they aren't responsible for paint issues unless they are manufacturing defects. There must be something wrong with the paint on this car to allow the etching to have happened as quickly and as deeply as it did. I plan on calling them back tomorrow and see what Ford will do. My detailer is wondering if this could be a chemical fallout that occurred before the car shipped.

What a mess. Sorry this happened to you.

It still sounds like those spots are under the clear. I would think that if they were on the paint before the clear they would still cause the clear to be raised and feel like pitting. Probably the only way to be sure would be a strong magnification. That's a pretty cool dealer to be helping you the way they have thus far. Really it's just the right thing to do, but they're running a business and that can often get in the way of common sense. I would have bought the second car from them as well.

I'm no expert on water but it sounds like there was more in that water than the normal chlorine and flouride, or maybe it's not water at all.