Dealership ruined paint

truckster

2023 CX50 Turbo PP
Man, did I learn a lesson this evening. I had the last appointment of the day for my one free oil change offered by the dealership. As I was walking off to wait in the waiting room the service advisor told me they would get the vehicle washed and vacuumed for me. I told him to just vacuum as I’m particular about washing my vehicle and don’t want it scratched. He then told me they don’t use brushes and only use towels. Well, the car was in pretty desperate need of a wash so I said, ok, wash it.

Fast forward to after the oil change was done and the advisor walked me out to my car. I was 10-15 ft from the car and could see that the ENTIRE HOOD panel had swirl marks on it from being washed. I interrupted him while he was talking to point this out and he acknowledged the swirls. Now, when I say the entire hood I mean top to bottom and left to right full of swirl marks. (Let me also say that this is a 2021.5 and this was my first service on the vehicle at 5,000 miles.) I started to inspect the rest of the vehicle and, you guessed it, swirl marks were covering every single panel of the entire vehicle. Top to bottom, from to back. The next thing I told the guy was this is going to require a full paint correction to remove all marks, to which he replied, “yes sir, I’ll bring it up to the manager first thing tomorrow and have her call you.”

I guess all this is to just ask if anyone has any advice. I’m planning on asking them to pay for a full paint restoration by a detailer of my choosing, not one of theirs. It’s not going to be cheap, I would guess upwards of $500, maybe more. I should have stayed with what my gut told me initially and only opted for the doggone vacuum
 
Ouch.. I feel your pain. Just in case you might get some use out of these in the future, here's a link.

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As far as what to do and what to expect, I think that at a bare minimum, the dealership should be willing to do a paint correction to get the swirls out. Anything else like a wax/sealant/coating would be a bonus.

One thing to keep in mind, try to keep them thinking that you'll continue going to them for service in the future, even if you don't plan to. Reason being that if they think you'll continue to use them for oil changes and other services, they'll be more likely to eat the cost of the work required to keep you as a customer.

They will likely try to offer to correct the paint in house with their own detailer - before you write this option off, figure out who will actually be doing the detailing. Some of the local dealerships in my city contract any detailing work out to professional detailing companies. Depending on the company, this can be a fair compromise, and the dealer will be more likely to eat the cost as they probably pay a reduced rate to their own contracted detailers.

If you have any pictures of your clean car before the dealership visit, it will be much easier to make your case to the general manager. If you don't happen to have any pictures... well let's just say, there are plenty of pictures of clean CX-9s here on the forum..
 
Ouch.. I feel your pain. Just in case you might get some use out of these in the future, here's a link.

img_20201103_134538-jpg.228724


As far as what to do and what to expect, I think that at a bare minimum, the dealership should be willing to do a paint correction to get the swirls out. Anything else like a wax/sealant/coating would be a bonus.

One thing to keep in mind, try to keep them thinking that you'll continue going to them for service in the future, even if you don't plan to. Reason being that if they think you'll continue to use them for oil changes and other services, they'll be more likely to eat the cost of the work required to keep you as a customer.

They will likely try to offer to correct the paint in house with their own detailer - before you write this option off, figure out who will actually be doing the detailing. Some of the local dealerships in my city contract any detailing work out to professional detailing companies. Depending on the company, this can be a fair compromise, and the dealer will be more likely to eat the cost as they probably pay a reduced rate to their own contracted detailers.

If you have any pictures of your clean car before the dealership visit, it will be much easier to make your case to the general manager. If you don't happen to have any pictures... well let's just say, there are plenty of pictures of clean CX-9s here on the forum..
Yeah, the sign is a great idea as is acting as though I’ll continue to patronize their dealership. I wish I had just stuck with what I originally told him. I literally said, “I’m very particular about washing my car and don’t want it to get scratches on it”. I’ll take your advice and ask who specifically does their paint correction and see if I can find any info on them. Hopefully they make this right.

The other thing I forgot to mention was a fair amount of oil was spilled underneath the hood with minimal effort to clean that up. All around this was a pretty atrocious showing for the dealership. I have to make sure the lug nuts are torqued to the right spec as well. Feel pretty confident they are probably way over tightened with the seemingly bunch of misfits working there.
 
Seems like you'll be moving along once this is resolve. I would point out that someone there did prep your vehicle for delivery and managed to do that without affecting the paint. It likely included a wash of some sort to remove the shipping wrappers etc... Maybe not, but I would think that happened unless you told them not to do so.

Assuming they did prep it the work was perhaps done by a different crew that would be able to remove the swirls?
 
Seems like you'll be moving along once this is resolve. I would point out that someone there did prep your vehicle for delivery and managed to do that without affecting the paint. It likely included a wash of some sort to remove the shipping wrappers etc... Maybe not, but I would think that happened unless you told them not to do so.

Assuming they did prep it the work was perhaps done by a different crew that would be able to remove the swirls?
I'll definitely be moving along never to come back to this clown show of a dealership. There's another dealership about the same distance from me in the opposite direction that I'll try out in the event I need warranty work done.

Yeah, not sure what was done differently this time when they washed it other than using steel wool this time.
 
They should pay for detail job to get rid of said swirls. Not a biggie and I'm sure they won't learn their lesson.
 
It was probably washed the same way when it arrived at the dealer, and washed that way again when you bought it. The swirls were likely there already. What color is it?
 
Man that sucks.
I'm one of those owners that also requests my dealer not clean the car (on the few times I've been there). The guys that wash it are usually newbies (young guys, part timers etc) just learning the ropes. It doesn't help that Mazda paint is soft and prone to scratches and swirls.
Heck, I've accidentally scratched my paint with a finger nail. It's terrible.
 
It was probably washed the same way when it arrived at the dealer, and washed that way again when you bought it. The swirls were likely there already. What color is it?
It’s magnetic gray. The scratches were 100 percent a product of however they washed it this last Monday. I wash by hand always and know there were no swirl marks in it before.
 
I’m not going to be able to get back to the dealership until one day next week. Already got a quote from a trusted car detailer that can remove all the swirls for $350. I’ll take that quote to them and see what their response is. They can pay the detailer directly for all I care, I’m not trying to scam them for any money. I just want my paint back to glossy and not dull like it is now
 
sm1ke's idea is great...talk with whichever detailer gets the job. Take your complaint in person to both the service manager and the general manager of the dealership. Mistakes happen, and how they are corrected makes all the difference.

A friend bought a new car from a local dealer. The finance scamster offered him a paint coating at a high price, and my friend bought it. It turned out to be just a polymer glaze at a local detail shop where the dealer's work is farmed out and a much too high price. The tired old meme of "How do you tell when a car salesman (or service guy) is lying?...When their lips are moving" remains true.

Why an oil change at 5,000? First time, OK, clean things up. 7,500 oil drain intervals works very well, especially if one is using synthetic oil, although conventional oil meets the warranty requirements.
 
The tired old meme of "How do you tell when a car salesman (or service guy) is lying?...When their lips are moving" remains true.

Why an oil change at 5,000? First time, OK, clean things up. 7,500 oil drain intervals works very well, especially if one is using synthetic oil, although conventional oil meets the warranty requirements.
Trust me, I'm the guy that holds car salesmen, politicians and people that work on Wall Street all at the same level of trustworthiness.

As far as the oil change at 5,000, yeah, just wanted to get the first one out of the way and a little early. I know the oil change intervals recommended by the manufacturer. I do tend to not push it though and usually change a little early. Not typically 2500 miles early but a little early nonetheless
 
Well, naturally.....just got back from the dealership where the general manager of the store fed a whole line of BS about paint changing in different light and the flakes in the paint doing something or other and that there's no way that washing it could have caused swirl marks. You know, typical dealership BS. My blood pressure still hasn't recovered on the drive home. He wanted to offer me a clay bar treatment on my next service, which would be months from now, which I explained to him only removed contaminates from the paint and does nothing for swirl marks. I didn't think there would be a way to be even more soured on these scumbag dealerships than I already was, but here we are. I should have suspected as much when the service advisor went to go get the manager. Said general manager glided right by me without so much as a handshake or greeting and when he turned around and asked which vehicle he was told "the CX9 at the back" then proceeded to walk over to a Mazda 6 and start looking over it. What a joke.

I guess my next call is to Mazda USA to see if they are willing to make this right. At this point I'm not confident that they will so I'll probably be out of pocket for the $350 single stage paint correction.
 
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File a BBB complaint immediately. They should respond and should be more productive. If no resolve, then send an email to every higher up you can find at that dealership, including the owner. Lastly, if you still have no resolve, have the job done yourself at your choice shop and send them the bill. Threaten to take them to small claims and post on every dealer review board you can. Scumbags
 
Trucks, check your state's auto repair complaint office. In my state it is the Attorney General's office. A repair (oil change) where they damaged another part of the car may or may not be specifically listed, but check. Here's what is published in my state:

Resolving Complaints​

The hints we've offered above will help in getting through the typical experience at an auto repair facility. However, some problems inevitably arise:

  • Authorized repairs proved inadequate to repair car. Before you blame the facility owner/manager for ripping you off, consider whether you authorized the needed repairs or tried to get by with the minimum which proved insufficient. All too often we gamble on the cheap fix and it fails.
  • The customer is not satisfied with the vehicle after the repair. If the facility offers a warranty, return to the facility. Discuss the situation with the owner/manager and determine where the problem lies: miscommunication, poor workmanship, faulty parts.
Once you've identified the problem, address it. Don't become the problem. Get organized and be prepared to negotiate.

Try to work it out in a reasonable manner with the facility owner/manager. Show copies of the estimate or other documentation which support your position. Listen carefully to the facility's position and be prepared to compromise to a fair solution.

No luck with the facility owner?

Four options include:

  1. The Consumer Resource Center, Office of the Attorney General, offers mediation services;
  2. Ask the owner/manager to resolve the dispute through arbitration/mediation (for example, AAA, the Better Business Bureau, or a Dispute Resolution Center);
  3. Pursue the case through small claims court; however, you should note that you can only sue for money in Small Claims Court. The Court cannot order your car fixed; or
  4. Consult an attorney for further options.
 
I’m not going to be able to get back to the dealership until one day next week. Already got a quote from a trusted car detailer that can remove all the swirls for $350. I’ll take that quote to them and see what their response is. They can pay the detailer directly for all I care, I’m not trying to scam them for any money. I just want my paint back to glossy and not dull like it is now
Can you post some pics of the swirls? I'm around Machine Grey Mazdas all day, every day and have never seen one get swirl marks from being machine washed and hand dried (my Mazda 6 included). And being swirled enough to make the finish look dull would be really hard to accomplish
 
All it takes is a dirty car wash brush and some grains of sand or salt in a towel when drying to DESTROY the clear coat finish of modern cars. You have porters who do not have any idea how to wash and dry a car. It's 💯 pct believable it happened.
 
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Here are some photos I took in the parking lot the night it happened. To me the swirl marks jump out and slap you in the face. To someone that doesn’t either know what they are looking for or aren’t very particular about swirl marks they may not be that easy to see.

My car had zero swirl marks before this
 

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^^ clear as day. You've got the swirl haze from uneven clear coat which is high edges cut into the clear from sand/grit that reflect back from the sunlight. It needs a mild cutting polish to knock down the high edges and smooth it out. A couple hours required and will be corrected.
 
wow, it looks like they used sandpaper. what's weird is how uniform the marks are. that doesn't look like it's from hand drying. are they really in two strips like they seem?
 
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