When we went to replace our flood damaged Civic, we bought a new car from a Honda Dealership 'bout 90 miles away.

When we picked it up, it was very late and the dealership was a complete zoo (crazy). Anyway, I noticed (upon inspection) a 3 foot long scratch on top of the hood... I also noticed some marring and scratching on the driver's door handle. The dealership employees tried hard to remove the scratches, with their special rubbing compound and a polishing cloth. They made a bunch of the minor scratches go away, but were unable to make the two above listed scratches disappear.

The dealership manager came out and looked at the scratches. He said we could take the car home today and bring it into their affiliate dealership here in my city to have them look at fixing the scratches. He said if I wasn't satisfied with the paint repair, I could trade in my 06 for a new 07 and only pay the difference in MSRP. This would involve a whole day of driving back and forth, and the hassle of toting around my entire family too (infant and 3 year old).

My question: How do you think the affiliate dealership will try to address this and will it be a solid fix. My issue is I don't want them to add some quick fix compoud that will fill in the scratch, only to wear off in a year, then my scratch would be visible again. Also, I don't want them to run the clear-coat down (through polishing) so far that the paint protection is compromised. I'm a car paint novice, so I'm looking for help understanding this dilema.

I also don't want them to sand and paint the car either. The last Honda I had "color matched" at the dealership, the half of the hood with newer paint, faded within a few months... I want the paint to be in like new condition that will last for years, and withstand the same punishment the surrounding paint will. If a paint shop can't make that happen, I would opt for the new 07. Considering the difference in MSRP is only $150, I'd be ok with this option, but I would want to be able to give a reason why the normal paint fixes are unacceptable in my situation.

Sorry for the long post. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

the only way i can see them fixing deep scratchs is to repaint it...

 

Wait for the 07 and do that. You don't want a brand new car that's not brand new, no fix will be as good as the original paint.

Also, if you haven't already... don't take it home. Make them fix it while it's in their possesion. If you take it home it's yours.

 

ya, the only way to fix it is sand it down and paint IF there compund dosent fix it...so, get the 07..$150 is nothing

 

They definetly arent going to repaint the entire car, theyll do a half *** job painting a small section of the car.

 

So the hand rubbing compound the dealership guy used didn't make a dent in the scratche's appearance. Does than mean the scratch is deep enough to require painting? I just don't want them to slap some filler stuff in there to hide the scratch (I've seen the infomercials), then a year later it re-appears. I guess I'm hoping a forum member (with paint expertise) has some tips as to my dilema. Are there products that will hide the scratch and then wear out at some point (where the scratch becomes visible again)? Repainting is not an option (as that will not look good IMHO). Even if the paint job looked good now, it would not wear the same as the other paint. Thanks for the opinions, keep em coming.


I just want to sound educated when I present my car for the paint fix. I want to make sure I know what they're doing and whether it is going to be satisfactory. Thanks.

 

if you re able to stick your fingernail into the scratch it is too deep and needs to be repainted.....there are ways to cut corners but i doubt if a dealership would atually do that.....i have painted several cars and i know how some people work my friend used to work at maacco which is why i would never take my car there he as told me some horror sotries from them painting.........just get the 07 you'll be happy

 

Well, can't fit my fingernail into the scratch. It it barely even noticeable when you run your fingernail across it. However, it is 3 feet long and quite noticeable to the eye. It didn't come out with the hand polish job the dealer tech did. I guess it might be fine after some minor detail/buff work? I'd be happy with the 07 (to be sure), but if they get the scratch to dissappear, I would feel funny complaining - UNLESS I have some knowledge to back up why this scratched area will never be like new... Keep the info coming.