Folks, sorry for the long post, but I am in a pickle and can use your help.

I just bought a new 2018 F-Type R. I love the car and I am so grateful to have it, however, I have been discovering some issues with the car paint/finish over the last few days and not sure what to do.

I bought the car on Nov 8, it had 83 miles on it. When I got to the dealership, I noticed the cart was dirty, so I told the sales guy to run it through their car wash. When I took it for test drive, the paint didn’t look that good, so while we were doing the paperwork, I asked him again to run it through their shop and have it polished. By the time we got through the paperwork, it was dark and raining, so I didn’t get a chance to examine the car.

Next day, I noticed the paint was rough to touch and the running boards didn’t match! I took the car in, sat in the waiting area for 7 hours while they supposedly clay bar, polish and wax the car. By the time I got the car, it was dark and I was not able to see much. Next day, I discover they did a poor job, paint was rough to touch in some areas and 2 of the body panels (passenger side rocker panel and body panel behind panoramic roof ) have metallic black paint. The rest of the car has solid black paint.

The dealer has agreed that the running board don’t match and 2 of the body panels must be repainted, they are willing to make repairs, however, the follow up has been poor and overall I am not happy with how they are handling the situation. Here is my dilemma, I thought I was buying a new car, not one that has been damaged or in an accident. I feel violated; I think they should have disclosed the situation. What do you guys think?

 

First of all - never have a dealer wash your car or do any detailing duties. They are bumblers at it, not pros.

Running boards - body colored? - not matching sounds very fishy. Body panels repainted means decreased value. Yes even just the panel behind the roof. When it comes time to sell you won't be able to say 'no accidents, no paintwork."

I'm be pissed off and demanding a new car or refund at this point. Have an independent body shop look the car over and the paint.

You paid for a NEW PERFECT car not this crap. Take lots of pictures, get third party evaluations of what is going on - high end paint/body shops. Get the dealership owner's name and go straight to him or her.

Detailing = detail shop. Tires = tire shop. NOT the dealer.

 

call a lawyer.

which dealer was it?

 

I think the Jaguar dealerships in Texas are pure crap. Jaguar of Austin is a joke, and it sounds like Dallas sucks too.

Can you post some pics. I'd like to see different angles etc.

 

The panel behind the roof is always sparkly black. I think it is some sort of plastic or resin, not paint. That's the same in my car and I'd guess all cars with pano roofs.

Personally I'd get it assessed by a good ceramic coating place as they always have to correct even new paint, and if they think it is OK get it coated by them at the expense of the dealer. but I'd only be going to a top end place like pomonazzi(sp?), not one of the ones the dealers recommend.

 

 

Park Place Jaguar in DFW (Dallas / Fort Worth)

 

I've bought an XF from them before, and they were pretty honest & upfront. Their cars had been damaged by hail, and they called us and let us know that ours was one of them. They said it could be repaired, but gave us the option to back out. They ended up locating another vehicle for us. All this was about 4 years ago - things could have changed.

 

I bought a new XJL in 2012 from them and it was a completely different experience.

 

Here are the pictures. The first 2 show the metallic paint on passenger rocker panel and the piece behind panoramic roof. The 3rd and 4th pictures show the running boards, the passenger side is wider and has some indent right in front of the rear wheel highlighted with red arrow.



Rocker panel with metallic paint



Panel behind panoramic roof with metallic paint



Drive side running board



Passenger side running board

 

As mentioned earlier the panel behind the pano roof is meant to be like that.
But the mismatched (metallic) paint on the rocker panel and the mismatched running boards are very wrong and unforgivable!

 

Selling a previously damaged car as new is really bad, but doing a repair like that and letting it pass any pre-sale inspection is even worse. How can you trust anything they tell you after that.

 

Wow - that's bad...

 

 

It was manufactured in Jan 2017 which is a long time ago. The car must have sat on their lot for 18-20 months. Here is a link to the car when it was advertised on their site: https://www.ipacket.info/67CF57E6-AA...4E7420DDADF40A

 

When I was a kid a dealer tried to pull crap like this on my dad. He made a big lemon cut out of plywood and stuck it on the end of a 2x2 and left me there to walk up and down the sidewalk picketing them when they wouldn't make it right.
By 4pm that day they had a brand new K5 Blazer ready for my dad.

Moral of the story is the squeaky wheel gets the greasing. If you are not the confrontation type take friends, neighbors, wife, whoever you want with you and just be one gigantic headache. THAT will get it done. Being nice will not.

Be absolutely clear as to what you will settle for and nothing less. A replacement, NEW, identical car or your $$ incl all fees returned, loan canceled, etc.

Don't not waiver at all pick one of those right off the bat and if they don't relent hire an attorney and make it clear that every social media channel, Yelp, whatever, will know your story.

 

 

 

Wow there's no way I would accept that car as-pictured. Only time I've seen something like this in the past is when some punk kids decided to steal the wheels off of two XK's about 12 years ago at the Jag dealer in my town (a dealer that has long-since closed). Because they left both cars sitting on the frame rails, they had to be picked up with a fork lift and the lower panels all had to be repainted. They were never the same yet were still sold as new. I would bet anything that those parts were at one time damaged, either in transport or at the hands of someone at the dealership (or vandals). Can't believe they would allow that to leave the paint booth, let alone pass pre-delivery inspection.

As others have stated, NEVER under any circumstances have the dealer wash or "detail" your car.