z beast

I just purchased a "Performance" '05 350Z from the dealership in San Diego and thought that I was getting a great deal(Only 300 miles on the odom). My particular car had $7500 worth of NISMO aftermarket parts installed and then was credited this much on the invoice(so I practically got the aftermarket parts for free) The dealer said that this was one of their showroom cars that they drove from dealership to dealership.
One thing that I noticed as I picked up the car(since I was only able to see it on their computer inventory) was that they didn't really wash the car, or detail the interior or exterior as you would expect when you pay for a car of this caliber.

As soon as I washed the car over the weekend, I noticed little white spots, or acid marks all over the body of the paint, underneath the clear coat. When i complained to the sales dept, and then to the service dept., they said that when I bring the car back to install the other options I purchased, that this would be buffed out.

When I brought it back the next morning, I had the service mgr. grab their "Paint specialist", who didn't speak English, but kept nodding his head no, as if to say they couldn't buff the spots out and saying the word "Lemon" as he spoke spanish. The tech. then offered my option to swap the car out due to the paint. I was already in love with my car, due to the aftermarket parts and the price I paid.

I have a 6 year, 50K mile warranty on the car, so I figured if anything breaks down due to the dealership's cover up by adding all these goodies to my car, I can always return my car or swap it out.

The "acid" spots aren't really noticeable unless you really look closely to the paint. And I am assuming I can get Nissan to re-paint if the paint does start to corode.

Have you guys heard of this incident??? Any suggestions? I may want to somehow have Nissan put notes about these spots in their computer so that I am covered somehow if the paint starts to go bad. It's funny, I just got a pamphlet in the mail about how NIssan tests their paint by actually air pelleting their panels, and that's how we ended up with our "high quality paint". If they actually did this, I shouldn't be seeing so many rock chip posts on here.....

Mewantbfp

swap it out.. painting a car only lowers the value if you can get another "new" car and its just a trade then i would do it.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Always inspect a car in the daylight before driving off the lot. This will help avoid future problems.

You paid for quality paint – you should get quality paint. Return the car.

ZLadie2000

iTrader: (12)

Funny, because I had the exact same issue happen to me. I saw the car (04 Daytona Blue Touring) online. Saw pictures of it online, liked what I saw, the price and the mileage. I went to the dealership which was about an hour away, and when I arrived they had all my paperwork ready to sign but the car hadn’t been washed and I was a bit disappointed, of course I test drove the car and I was instantly sold. The sales guy said their detailer was gone for the day but he could just rinse it off with water.

Well, I bought the car, but the next day when I washed and waxed it the paint was chipped all over the place, especially in the back of the car and heavily on the roof. I didn’t notice this when I bought the car, probably because it was dirty. I was so pissed. I have been told its not worth getting the car repainted (you can only tell when you look up close at the car), so I am going to try to do a clay bar treatment and see if it works. But it seems like the car was behind a construction truck at highway speeds and a bunch of little rocks or pebbles hit the car. I was so mad.

highside107

iTrader: (1)

Z Beast, what kind of aftermarket Nismo parts did your Z come with?"

03performz

iTrader: (8)

^^Listen to the man.

showstoppertk

iTrader: (6)

that last part of your post sounds like utter BS to me. nissan paint just plain sucks donkey *****. if they really do pelt their car panels with pellets to test them, they must repaint them before shipping them out.

as for your Z. as mentioned you should always check over your car in the sunlight, if possible more than once just to be sure. also aftermarket parts (even nismo) don't mean crap as far as resale value (especially retail). if anything they hurt the retail resale value. also I believe that "warranty" you're talking about isn't some "special" feature you got. the standard warranty on all Z's are 3yrs/36k miles and the powertrain warranty is 5yrs/60k miles. so if what they mentioned to you is the powertrain warranty then that won't do squat for you as far as covering the aftermarket parts. in fact no auto warranty is going to cover you for the aftermarket parts.

z beast

Everyone has really helped. You know I never thought about the resale value, being substantially less if I actually had them repaint the car. My situation was just like "ZLadie2000". I had made up my mind by 11:30 p.m. and closed the deal, and was just so excited to have the car the next morning, that I didn't even bother to check the paint, even though they said this was their "showroom car" which was obviously b/S.

I think I'm going to reflect on your guys advise, and see what I need to do. It's either I trade in my car for an '06 base model, if they even have any manual transmissions left in san diego, or I keep my car and just deal with the paint, since it's not obvious unless you really look at it.

I'm just in love with what they did with the car. In response with what my car came with:

Stillen chrome grill with lower lip to bumper, Nismo Tail, Ground effects on the sides, JWT popcharger intake, Nismo catback exhaust, short shifter, Nismo shifter ****. I then paid for leather seats(which I believe if you're gonna get a Z you might as well get this option. it is really worth it!!!) I'll get some pics up soon, that's if I keep this car.

THanks again everyone.

z beast

Regarding pelleting every car, this is not what I meant. Supposedly the paint that the research and development company, eventually used on our cars was tested by pelleting panels before put into mass production. Which I am totally with you there is complete b/s. ****Please correct me if I"m wrong, but my understanding with the aftermarket parts installed by the dealer, will be covered as if they were stock parts????***** Then i'm definitely swapping back to a base model.

showstoppertk

iTrader: (6)

nothing you mentioned in that list of aftermarket parts would be warrantied (that I know of). maybe the nismo items, but most of those are appearance items (with the exception of the exhaust). but definately not the JWT intake, grill or short shifter. even your leather seats might not be covered unless the dealer or manuf of the covers is giving you a warranty on those things (since they didn't originally come from nissan that way).