Got a new Accord, paint is screwed by dealer.

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I agree with mechtech2. No matter what the discount (unless problem disclosed), you signed a contract for a brand new car in pristine condition. Case closed - unless you are happy to accept damaged goods.

No offense intended, but reading between the lines, I see you as maybe having mediocre self esteem exhibited by a lack of assertiveness (don't ask how I recognize this!).

I solve these problems by turning it over to my wife, the bulldog.

You came here to convince us and get our approval for you to accept a less than perfect new car(you paid lots of $$$$ for), whose paint is giving you heart break. You seem afraid to "upset" the dealer by asking them to correct THEIR problem.

I bet you are racking your brain asking yourself if you are too picky and if you should accept it as is.

Return it and find another, or demand they "make good". You will feel much better in the end, instead of accepting "damaged goods". That's just not right.

If I sent my wife to resolve the problem, the dealer would be on his knees asking forgiveness - she's a keeper.

Good luck.
 
Problem being, the guy has already signed all of the paperwork, written a check, and taken delivery of the car.
Honda dealers don't generally care about you or anyone else raising a fit (being "assertive"). They have too many other folks who want to buy their cars.
When it comes to general arrogance, there is probably no more arrogant dealership than one selling Hondas. The guy who sold us ours (and it wasn't really a sale, since we knew exactly what we wanted and what we would pay before we walked in the door) was hourly, not even paid commission.
The safest bet, when taking delivery of any new car, is to tell them, very specifically, that you don't even want it washed, and to stay with the car until you drive it home.
 
The state Attorney General's office may be the next step. They took the car and did something to it that lowered the value, functionality, etc of that car and are thereby responsible; just like if they dinged the hound out of the door while replacing a set of plugs or some such item. If they will not play ball I would contact the area Honda rep and inform him/her of my intention to involve the state attny gen in the matter. I am sure that the local "3 on your side" program of the various TV stations would love this as well.
 
Ohhh... getting rid of an Integra, tsk tsk
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Oh well, hope you like your new ride regardless of the paint issue. Don't feel too bad though, I spent over $1000 to get my quarter panels worked on on my car, and had the body shop use Rust Bullet (but I have a feeling they didn't do it thoroughly) and the rust came back a few weeks later. $1000 down the drain. I hope you get your paint issue taken care of!
 
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Dealer said they will buff it, lol. I don't have much faith in their work, I'll pass. I did a lot of hand work on it and it basicly acceptable. I'm not thrilled, but the car looks fine to anyone who is not OCD. I know there is nothing else that can be done. I don't have any pics, but here is the image of a similar car. I am feeling a bit better now.
 
Problem with the bulldog approach is that Auto-Union seems to value his relationship with this dealer because of the service department. If you walk in with a big stick, you might get what you want in the short run, but then they won't want to deal with you again. Many dealerships now fire customers who are a pain in the rear, especially since he got this car at such a great price which means they didn't make much money on him in the first place. I know the dealership screwed up, but when they aren't making much money on a customer in the first place, I dealt they will do much. You can threaten by taking it to Honda or to the BBB, but be prepared to switch dealers in the future for service.
 
Vee, if the dealer would do such a thing to the pain then play dumb or be a hard case then is that the dealer you would want doing anything to the car in the future? I for one would NOT.
 
Did you actually take delivery on this car? The point of delivery is to check for defects/damage and to finally accept the goods. If you accepted it, sorry it will possible but very difficult to get it corrected likely to your satisfaction.

Honda Accord's a dime a dozen even 2007's. I think they can find you another or another dealer if you have not already accepted this one.
 
As said by others, Get an opinion from several profesional detailers, Get estimates in writing what is required to fix the car. Check with you state attorney generals office on the laws of your state regarding this situation and their advice. I suspect the dealer is fully responsible for providing an undamaged product. Then request the dealer directly pay the detailer of your choice to fix it.

If they hesitate go straight to the dealership owner/top management and request it be corrected. If then no action, File compaint with the attoreny generals office and/or get an attorney.

It is also important to document with dates, people lacations and action taken etc at each step of the way. Good luck. BTW, I usually win in these these types of cases
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It was 10 min before closing, 8pm when I took delivery. I had been already at the place all day. The lighting there did not reveal much, until I got home.
 
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That guy worked wonders on that Lexus! I can't believe that they would allow the car to leave the lot looking like it did in the before picture.

I wonder what is so hard about washing and waxing a car to these people? Do the dealers instruct them to dump sand on the paint and rub it around or something? I'm no expert with this stuff...I simply buy waxes at Wal-Mart, follow the directions on the bottle, use cheap cotton applicators and rags, and my paint still looks great. Even washing and waxing my parents' black truck isn't so difficult.

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Some dealers are just very careless! I know a guy with an 04 Mercedes AMG SL55 and one time when he had his car in for some warranty work they washed his car and scratched it very badly! It looks like they used sandpaper it was so bad! He had to get it buffed out with a high speed polishing, and Mercedes paid the bill. It looked as good as new afterwards. But the point is, it never should've gotten to that point. I'm afraid of taking my black Corvette in for any kind of mechanical work anywhere, for fear it'll come back with scratches all over it as well.
 
You may like the dealer's service department, but the Accord will likely never need warranty work and there are many very good indie Honda/Acura shops out there.
For that matter, your Honda will never need a timeing belt, and there is really nothing complicated the car is likely to need for many years and miles to come.
A buff job may restore the car's appearance, but it cannot replace the finish thickness lost in the process.
 
Gedcruise, you hit the nail on the head! It is not that it cannot be made to look like new, but that it has lost some of its ability to be polished and buffed in the future. In essence this brings a new paint job that much closer and that is quite simply lost value due to the laxness of the dealer. There would be no end to the conversations I would have with that dealership as there is simply no sense in it happening and not being corrected.
 
If the paint *is* damaged, you might try and file a claim with your insurance company and have them (your company) subrogate the claim to their (dealership's) insurance company.

I file subrogation claims everyday at our agancy, and stuff like this is common.
 
The problem is that it really can't be fixed. Polish/repaint/whatever. I'm just going to live with my re-detail. The car looks good, but there are some 6-8in scratches. Mind you, they are micro-scratches. The harsh light brought them out. After preping the car, there is a lot of grease and silicone flying around and that stuff makes it look worse.
 
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