new car quarter panel repainted prior to delivery - what would you do? GGRRRR!!!!!!!

I wouldn't worry about it at all, I would just drive my new S and enjoy it.

I have sold a lot of used cars (my own, not other people's) and no prospective buyer has ever shown up with a paint meter and spent time checking paint depth on all the fenders and doors.

That is only likely to happen with obsessive buyers looking at 50 year old classic vehicles worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It won't happen with a ten year old Model S that is worth half its original purchase price. In ten years used Model S vehicles will be plentiful and a good choice for basic transportation since they will almost certainly still have 70 to 80% battery capacity and be very usable.

The practice of repairing including repainting panels prior to delivery is common to all car brands. Stuff happens during transportation. I've had presentations at the BMW vehicle delivery center where they prep the cars that come off the boat before going to dealers. They indicated their policy allows for repairs as long as it does not exceed (forgot the exact amount) 5% - 10% the value of the vehicle. With modern repair methods, no one will be able to tell it was repaired by just looking at it.

Many cars that get shipped get damage repaired before final delivery. The only people who will care are the used car dealer you might try to sell to later. A regular buyer won't care or notice.

doggshine said:

my friend was supposed to take delivery now of hIS new p85 but it was delayed because of a minor dent and repainted quarter panel on the new gray color.

anyone with a paint meter will be able to distinguish that it has been damaged and repainted and his concern is resale value will be affected in addition to it just not being as good as original.

what should he do? what would you do? has this happened to anyone?:love::love::cursing::cursing::cursing:

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Ed Chan said:

Many cars that get shipped get damage repaired before final delivery. The only people who will care are the used car dealer you might try to sell to later. A regular buyer won't care or notice.

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Even at a used car dealer, will that really affect the value much? I can imagine it would devalue the car slightly, but it seems like it wouldn't be much, as long as the repair is done correctly.

markb1 said:

Even at a used car dealer, will that really affect the value much? I can imagine it would devalue the car slightly, but it seems like it wouldn't be much, as long as the repair is done correctly.

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I remember a few years ago trying to trade in a car, the dealer made mention of a panel that was repainted, and said it reduced the price. I quickly left and sold my car to Carmax for a lot more money

Make them get it right. Given the cost of the car, it should be virtually perfect.

Ed Chan said:

I remember a few years ago trying to trade in a car, the dealer made mention of a panel that was repainted, and said it reduced the price. I quickly left and sold my car to Carmax for a lot more money

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So, it's a negotiation tactic, trying to convince you that their low ball offer is fair, and you won't get a better offer anywhere else. I'm pretty sure the car dealers know it's very unlikely that some paintwork is going to make a car harder to sell.

doggshine said:

my friend was supposed to take delivery now of hIS new p85 but it was delayed because of a minor dent and repainted quarter panel on the new gray color.

anyone with a paint meter will be able to distinguish that it has been damaged and repainted and his concern is resale value will be affected in addition to it just not being as good as original.

what should he do? what would you do? has this happened to anyone?:love::love::cursing::cursing::cursing:

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It'll lose a hell of a lot more value in depreciation 5 seconds after he signs the paper work than he'll lose due to a repainted panel.

Ed Chan said:

I remember a few years ago trying to trade in a car, the dealer made mention of a panel that was repainted, and said it reduced the price. I quickly left and sold my car to Carmax for a lot more money

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Sadly, CarMax did this to me - they discovered my old car had been repainted and gave me somewhat of a lowball quote. (I think it was $3500 instead of the $4000-4500 I was expecting.) Even more sadly, my old car was damaged by the dealer I had bought it from, several years earlier, while it was there for some minor warranty work. I had completely forgotten about it till CarMax mentioned it to me; I even initially denied that it had been repainted. If I had known anything about diminished value claims at the time, I would have asked them for substantial compensation beyond the repair and loaner car they gave me.

I had a long rock chip at delivery on my left rear quarter panel. It was quite noticeable. I pointed it out, they said to take it to their body shop at my convenience. I did so, they painted it, Tesla paid for it, and I never even think about. Especially since I now have about 6 rock chips on my hood. As stated by someone else, have your friend drive the car off the lot and enjoy.