Brand_new_car_bought_with_swirls

[merlot]

Hi all - new here!

I bought a new 2008 Subaru Impreza STI in Dark Grey Metallic. Beautiful color! Anyway, my test drive and transactions were all done at night, so I hadn't noticed how poorly conditioned the paint really was. Once I got it in my garage I knew something was up, and the following day in the sunlight revealed all; it looked like it was cleaned with sandpaper. This is why my last 2 cars were silver; to avoid this problem!

Anyway, last Tuesday I spent the entire day detailing the car. First I carefully washed it, then I clayed the entire car using Claymagic. Following that, I applied a layer of Klasse All-in-one, then Klasse sealer. While it looks MUCH better, but bright sunlight still reveals swirls (though untrained eyes don't know what too look for unless I point them out).

I'm debating what I should do next. I told the dealer about it and they said they'd let their detail shop look at it, but I told them no thanks since they are the one's that probably caused it. I then called Subaru of America (SOA) to complain and have it on record i bought the car with major swirl marks.

At this point I don't know if i should let the dealer and SOA deal with it on their terms (though they may say it's fine since I covered the swirls up a bit), whether I should wait for spring and apply numerous coats of Klasse All-in-one, or if I should take it too a professional and have them take care of it.

What's my best option?

Thanks! Oh - and here's a pic of the car before I detailed it - it's dirty from the rain, but you can see the swirls (look to the left of the rear door handle - the entire car is like that).



PS - I couldn't post this until I made the titles all one string??

[thesacrifice]

Just picked one up myself. Also has dealer installed swirls but I'll get those out in the spring

I do have one little rockchip on the hood that I'm not happy about, but that's life.

[Setec Astronomy]

Hard to tell from that picture, but looks like holograms rather than wash swirls. The best thing to do (other than fixing it yourself) is to get the dealer or SOA to give you a few hundred bucks so you can take it to an Autopian-level detailer.

If you want to do it yourself, I doubt that "numerous" hand applications of KAIO are going to do too much for the holograms/swirls, you will need to machine polish it if you are looking for perfection.

[DigitalN.]

possibly the worst thing you could have done was touch it yourself, now they will most likely claim that it was you that installed the swirls and not them.

[Premium]

I would just buy a PC, some pads and polishes and get to work. I think you are fighting a losing battle with the dealership. You bought the car without pointing that out to them when you purchased it so you have lost most of you bargaining power. Good luck!

[Less]

Bad news: You have to learn this lesson the hard way. I doubt the dealership or SOA will be overly-helpful. And never, ever, ever buy a car at night.

Good news: Swirl marks are easy to fix. It takes some practice and experimentation to find the right product and approach, but this whole forum is behind you and here to help.

KAIO is not something I would expect to be very effective at fixing this problem. It's more of a cleaner than anything else. It also serves as a base for various LSP's. When it comes to defect correction, especially by hand, it's just not going to do the job for you.

I would just live with the problem until spring, then go at it.

[AeroCleanse]

You should have taken it back to the dealer for them to fix.

[shine]

As other have stated, it is going to take a machine and abrasive polish/compound to remove swirls and rotary holograms/buffer trails. KAIO doesn't contain abrasives, so that isn't going to help you. The last thing I would do is take it back to the dealer to have them "fix" it.

[BigJimZ28]

Originally Posted by AeroCleanse

You should have taken it back to the dealer for them to fix.

why so they can grind away MORE paint

[Robb]

Originally Posted by AeroCleanse

You should have taken it back to the dealer for them to fix.

Id so fast from the dealer, they would just make it worse. Ive never seen anyone do as bad a job on cars as some dealers, its best to let an Autopian fix it

[AeroCleanse]

Originally Posted by BigJimZ28

why so they can grind away MORE paint

Because its their responsibility.

[shine]

Originally Posted by AeroCleanse

Because its their responsibility.

Yeah, it is their fault but I have yet to hear of one dealership story ending in the dealership properly fixing paint they messed up.