Haven't noticed any paint flaws on our 19 Jetta, but I haven't paid much attention. It's fine for what it is, it's not going to be an heirloom. If I wanted something with perfect paint I would've bought a high end vehicle.
Attempting to swap the Jetta...
- Thread starter gregk24
- Start date
And you'd probably find oopsies there too.
The only truly good paints anymore are the special colors /finishes you have to pay extra for. More layers, more clear, more care.
A quality factory paint job should be present on any passenger car in my opinion, much more so on a VAG product.
I’m a bodyman and work in a shop across the street from a VW dealer. We are always doing paint work to new cars before they are sold or even right after they are sold. Deal with it because your not getting a new car.
Wow, thanks Dan! You get a gold star for being so helpful! Have a great day!
Any time sweetheart
This is being done directly through VW corporate. They simply have to go through the dealer channel for documentation purposes. Judging by the horrible pictures the dealer took of the affected area I wouldn't be surprised if VW denied the claim. At minimum I will be asking for an extended warranty on the paint. Though a swap is still what I have in mind. This is our families 6th VW over the past 7 years. I would hope that is incentive to take care of us. They have done so in the past with various out of warranty repairs that were not acceptable failures.
I have to wonder, not if, but when you get a parking lot ding, or a rock kicks up on the highway and chips your paint, are you going to demand your insurance company to total it out and buy you a new car?
Surely you understand the difference between and manufactured-in blemish and one that is a result from normal use.
I surely do, but the end result for the owner is exactly the same. A paint flaw is a paint flaw, no matter how it originated. Given the OP's insistance on a brand new car because of a very fixable small flaw, what on earth will he do when the inevitible parking lot dings and road induced paint chips occour in the weeks ahead? Its a valid question. Will he demand the car be totaled out?
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A manufacturing paint flaw is different from a collision related paint flaw, ie. door dings, rocks chips.
That is totally different and somewhat preventable. My wife and I are very observant and careful individuals. Parking at the back of the lot and keeping distance when following vehicles is normal practice for us. This minimizes risk of parking lot dings and paint chips.
The car is under warranty, sure. If it had a mechanical failure, VW would cover it and install a new VW OEM part and it would be brought back to new OEM standards. Paint is different. It wears differently over time. We have all seen cars on the road (especially metallic painted ones, which ours is) that when the sun hits it one panel looks totally different than the rest. That is not acceptable.
Now, we purchased a NEW car, not used. It is VW's responsibility to fix their flaw in a way that satisfies the customer and bring the car back to NEW condition. Most people are not observant and may not notice the spot, those that do might be satisfied with a repaint. My wife and I on the other hand, are not. Again, repaints often aren't executed well. You can usually tell when a car has been repainted, even by reputable shops. Then you factor in years of sitting in the sun which will cause uneven fading over the OEM vs repainted area.
So no, I would not remand my insurance total out our car if it got a rock chip. That is usual wear. A factory flaw, is not.
But the customer also needs to be reasonable. Requesting a completely different vehicle is not a reasonable request IMO. Refinishing the panel would remove the blemish and bring the car back to new condition.
It may or may not look new actually. My wifes first Jetta (she is on her third) had some paint damage that was covered under warranty. You would see plain as day that the panel was repainted. My cousin has a 2019 Honda Accord sport in a bright metallic blue, he had a large rock hit his hood at highway speed and it had to be repainted, guess what...you can tell.
Hi Dan,
What sort of damage do you see on these new vehicles? Scratches? Dents?
Paint blemishes, small scratches or dents from transport, bad panel alignment. Really a little bit of everything. The office girl has a new Jetta with a small paint issue but she is not sure if it’s worth the headache to fix it. It really is nit pick stuff but the owners think they drive a high end car when it just a VW and you can find a flaw in every new car if you look hard enough
Last thing I want to mention is, if as you say, you are going to leave the car outside, you will be getting "uneven fading" regardless. Think how much sun the horizontal surfaces absorb vs. the vertical surfaces. Roof, trunk lid, and hood, vs. all side panels. Uneven fading and eventual dings are coming, regardless. Good luck.
Different in origin, as I said. End result is still a paint flaw on the car, either way.
