AJ123

Hello Folks,

Picked up a black Q7 about a month ago now. I took delivery at night time and couldn't do a thorough walk thru. The next morning, in the sun, noticed a deep scratch in the right tail light and a smaller hairline type scratch below the right tail light on the bumper. Looks like something sharp could have scraped it (straight line type scratch). I thoroughly checked the whole vehicle, and really no other indication of an accident. I was too afraid to ask about any previous accidents because I had already taken delivery and maybe I didn't want to know (since there wouldn't be anything I could do). The car had 25 miles on it when I got it and never even considered that it could have been damaged. *key had a mar on it - probably from test drives, etc. (annoying how they wrap the spare key and just toss around the other one). Anyhow, took it back the next morning and the sales guy had a service tech take the car to work on it. 10 minutes later, I couldn't notice the scratch on the tail light or the bumper (no paper work done - very informal "fix"). But, it was an overcast day and the sun wasn't shining. I went home happy until I noticed today (a few weeks later) in the sunlight that there are in fact tiny "swirl" marks from the buffing -- I imagine these swirl marks would appear on a BLACK car sooner or later. I do not plan to ceramic coat -- rather I plan to have a mobile detailer come and wash every other week and clay bar twice a year. He drives a black Tahoe and knows how to take care of black cars.

I was going to take pictures to show, but the camera can't pick a darn thing up. It's like a mirror. It's not noticeable in the shade -- only barely noticeable in the right sun light.

What would you guys do? Get over it? Not many other options, right?

BigKutta

No, not really. Sometimes fixing minor scratches leaves other swirl marks. I am sure your detailer will be able to get them out. It sucks, but I'd move on...

allsyst3msgo

Had my car Ceramic Pro'd here in the DC area, and yeah, learned plenty of how awful dealerships can be when I comes to crappy care of paint finishes, either when held on the lot, or even just unwrapping! I got off lucky with a single scratch in clear coat that was polishable without much trouble.

Take it back to the dealer and tell them they need to have a professional do a paint correction, period. *Unless you can live with it. I will never get another car without immediate Ceramic Pro treatment. Sorry you're having this issue!

nokfromapp

Ask the dealer nicely but firmly, and they will take care of it

nokfromapp

+1
Mine will go for PPF followed by ceramic coating soon after I take delivery.
My PPF guy is so busy that he takes appointments three weeks out, otherwise I would have taken it the day after I got it.
It's a lot of money to spend soon after spending a lot of money on the car, but well worth it

AJ123

I suppose they did take care of it -- but it's not 100%. The scratch that was concerning me was removed, but the surrounding area has got some small swirls that are noticeable in the right sunlight. I suppose I would put this car's paint at 99% of perfection as brand new. Is it unreasonable to assume every inch of the black car will be 100% perfect in all sun light? It had obviously been washed a few times and transported from Europe and sat in an outdoor lot for a at least a few weeks.

nokfromapp

You aren't unreasonable in your expectations, but unfortunately most dealers just don't care. But if you go back and tell them to do a proper paint correction job, they will likely honor that request. They generate so much business for their detailers, that a small job like that doesn't cost them much. But you HAVE TO ask!
Having said that if 99% paint perfection doesn't make you happy, then $1000 on a ceramic coat will be well worth the money. If you do decide to go that route, you have to be careful in the installer you pick.

RJC 1

I too don't feel what you're asking for is unreasonable...just be careful with dealership detail depts. and thoroughly vet the person who's going to do the detailing especially on a black car. Hope it all works out.

rsilvers129

Need a photo to know if I would care.

$1000-$2000 in "paint protection" is a total waste of money to me. I paid $100 for three hours of labor for a friend to put on the bottle of paint protection that I bought. So $150 is my max on something like that.

hayde_bre

This is one reason I didn't get another Black vehicle. I am picky and Black shows everything. Same with Blue.
However, if you can keep it clean, nicely waxed and polished, black looks very classy especially with those full red tail lights. I am sure all vehicles come with some kind of blemishes from factory, and with these newer softer paints getting scratched with slightest touch, they are easily visible.
It just depends how bad it is, and what repairing it will involve, if it involves buffing a small area, I'd avoid it. Like bigkutta said, you might get rid of the scratch but it might be a bigger eyesore.