[cruicd]

First thing to say is that Jose's view on what to do next is pretty much spot on.

What they were playing at in the first place defies belief though. The car has clearly been walloped quite hard looking at the dent but it beggars belief that any panel beater worth his salt would regard work like that as even vaguely acceptable on cheap banger never mind a "new" car. That any self respecting sales manager would allow his staff to present a car with a visible dent regardless of paint match is inexcusable. It is just a pity that you did not notice it before handing over the money.

I would be livid in your position and would be contacting the most senior person you can track down in the dealership/group for an explanation and suitable recompense.

I had a similar experience with a new VW Golf 25 years ago on which the passenger door had been resprayed prior to delivery. The repair was initially undetectable with no signs of overspray or paint mismatch under sodium light or bright sunshine but it became apparent when polished it a couple weeks later and got red paint on the duster when I buffed it off. It was flat Tornado Red n the days when only metallic was lacquered at the factory. A few interesting conversations ensued with senior management in the dealership where they tried to fob me off with offers of lacquering the single panel. This would have solved the issue of the softer than factory applied paint, which does not rub off with polishing, but did not result in a car with all panels painted equally. Final outcome was them taking a door off another new Golf and swapping it with mine resulting in a car with original paint on all panels.
Apologies to anybody out there who bought a new Tornado Red Golf 3 door in 1987 from the UK's biggest VW dealer group at the time and noticed that the paint on the passenger door was soft.

Going back to the issue raised I think if keeping the car is an option for you then you want to get a new door rather than the current one repaired again as a factory painted original panel beats a repair everytime. Does the dealership or one of it's partners have a Panther Black demonstrator in stock or on order from which you could have the door?
Otherwise I would be pushing for a new car or significant incentive to keep the present one.

Slightly intrigued at your comment that you did not wish the car to be valeted prior to delivery. I assume they took the white plastic shrink wrap off it before handing it over.

 

[cruicd]

Thanks for feedback so far. I'll speak to the dealer again Monday and see what the absolute best they will offer is

I just didn't want them washing it as I've had cars come back from dealers full of swirls after a service in the past. They did remove the wraps etc. and as per my request just removed the wraps and gave it a quick jet wash.

Another fussy guy like me, dealer's idea of "valet wash" when car in the workshop for service etc; is not the same as mine. I specifically request that they DO NOT POWERWASH my car for 2 reasons specifically:

1. It will strip off any wax on the car
2. They never dry it off and if it is warm/sunny weather it is covered in little round spots which then require it to be rewashed and dried properly at home.

I let them hoover it as not much harm to be done there although usually nil to hoover out of it.