CX-9 Paint Defect ... Undisclosed damage in transit?

Pretty sure the rep will deny factory defect and close the claim. Then the responsibility will fall on the dealership which they will also deny. I wish all will go well but do start planning your next step of action knowing that original dealership is full of scumbags
 
Pretty sure the rep will deny factory defect and close the claim. Then the responsibility will fall on the dealership which they will also deny. I wish all will go well but do start planning your next step of action knowing that original dealership is full of scumbags

This is my concern as well...

Out of curiosity, do you still have the big window sticker that shows what dealer the CX-9 you bought was originally delivered to?
 
This crossed my mind also. I've already planned out next steps and have all my ducks in a row if need be... and I'm not the kind of person that simply rolls over. Service Manager at Tracy Mazda seems to think Mazda corporate will definitely take care of it, so I'm going to give the process a chance.
 
Thaumaturge... the reason I bought from the distant dealer is because none of the other regional dealers were willing to price match their offer: $38,688 for a Signature, which was too good of a deal to pass up. Closest I could get from other dealers was $39,736. Obviously, if I had thought that accepting a low price would have meant that I was compromising on the condition of the vehicle, I would not have done it.

It looks like this is going to move forward with Mazda. I took the vehicle to Putnam Mazda yesterday, which actually worked out because I had to drop my wife off at SFO. General Manager and Service Manager inspected the vehicle and stuck to their line of "we didn't do anything to it." I told them, "I don't care who is responsible, you or Mazda, I just want it fixed. So, if you didn't do anything to it, then it's clearly a factory defect." Response, "Yep, factory defect." (rolleyes) Who knows, maybe somehow it bizarrely was, even though my BS detector says otherwise. In any event, they submitted a work order to Mazda noting that the paint is "faded" and I called and notified Mazda corporate that Putnam had inspected the vehicle and found the paint to be defective.

Mazda is sending out a factory rep to inspect the car when I get back from vacation to figure out how to proceed with the repair. I asked Tracy Mazda if it's "standard procedure" for Mazda to send out a factory rep to look at the vehicle when there's paint issues, and their Service Manger said, "Pretty much, yes." I have a good vibe from Tracy Mazda and feel like they're advocating for me... they seem genuinely concerned even though I didn't buy the vehicle from them. I'll definitely be taking it there for all service issues.

I'll provide an update after I get back from vacation and meet with the factory rep.

To me it sounds as though this may
get resolved soon. I hope it does Chris as I just can't see Mazda porking you as this vehicle is new. Please keep us posted.

Man am I thankful for the dealership I bought from. They took care of my paint issue big time.

I paid much more than you did for your Signature. Mine came with a lifetime engine and powertrain warranty (repaired wherever I want) as long as I take it in for standard service intervals. This certainly wasn't free but good for me as I plan on keeping my Mazda for a long time. Plus like I said before, my dealership rocks.

I'm rooting for ya bro. This is a pain in the ass now but it's temporary, as is everything. 👍🏻
 
Thaumaturge... the reason I bought from the distant dealer is because none of the other regional dealers were willing to price match their offer: $38,688 for a Signature, which was too good of a deal to pass up. Closest I could get from other dealers was $39,736. Obviously, if I had thought that accepting a low price would have meant that I was compromising on the condition of the vehicle, I would not have done it.

I hear you about the choice you faced. It was a good deal, you get a warranty usable anywhere, what could be the downside?

Unfortunately the cynical view is that the distant dealer may have cut that great deal already knowing about the paint defect and maybe even because of it. I have little doubt that the repair took place on their watch as modern factory paint QC is just too good to let obvious drips and runs like that get passed. Heck, you may find there's more to that repair than just paint. You might want to pop the door panel (I would) and see if there's evidence of dent repair on the inside.

Hopefully Mazda comes through for you and makes this right as I believe they should. I would mention this forum and your posts so that they know you will either praise or condemn their actions to a larger audience. It's amazing what a little social media exposure can do to motivate vendors.

Lest you think my cynicism is misplaced, many years ago I was inspecting a new BMW and noticed a paint touch-up low on a quarter panel that was clearly not up to snuff, but not all that bad unless you looked for it. The moment I pointed it out, the sales guy winced and admitted I was not the first to see it and that management didn't want to have to fix it but would knock money off the deal (what?). Shocked, I asked why they wouldn't just fix it first, and he had no answer except to say that area would likely get chipped during normal use anyway (again, what?). Needless to say, the conversation ended there and I left not wanting to do business with a dealer willing to sell damaged (new) merchandise without prior disclosure. I'm sure they got away with not making the repair and sold the car to someone who never noticed. Unfortunately, I have come to believe this kind of stuff goes on all the time with cars, houses, surgeries... you name it. Maybe they won't notice, so let's give it a shot.

I'll bet your next pre-signing car inspection will be crazy thorough.
 
I hear you about the choice you faced. It was a good deal, you get a warranty usable anywhere, what could be the downside?

Unfortunately the cynical view is that the distant dealer may have cut that great deal already knowing about the paint defect and maybe even because of it. I have little doubt that the repair took place on their watch as modern factory paint QC is just too good to let obvious drips and runs like that get passed. Heck, you may find there's more to that repair than just paint. You might want to pop the door panel (I would) and see if there's evidence of dent repair on the inside.

Hopefully Mazda comes through for you and makes this right as I believe they should. I would mention this forum and your posts so that they know you will either praise or condemn their actions to a larger audience. It's amazing what a little social media exposure can do to motivate vendors.

Lest you think my cynicism is misplaced, many years ago I was inspecting a new BMW and noticed a paint touch-up low on a quarter panel that was clearly not up to snuff, but not all that bad unless you looked for it. The moment I pointed it out, the sales guy winced and admitted I was not the first to see it and that management didn't want to have to fix it but would knock money off the deal (what?). Shocked, I asked why they wouldn't just fix it first, and he had no answer except to say that area would likely get chipped during normal use anyway (again, what?). Needless to say, the conversation ended there and I left not wanting to do business with a dealer willing to sell damaged (new) merchandise without prior disclosure. I'm sure they got away with not making the repair and sold the car to someone who never noticed. Unfortunately, I have come to believe this kind of stuff goes on all the time with cars, houses, surgeries... you name it. Maybe they won't notice, so let's give it a shot.

I'll bet your next pre-signing car inspection will be crazy thorough.

I absolutely will inspect the next vehicle even more closely and will try and purchase at night, if possible, so that I can view it under a flashlight. I was unfortunately naive to the idea that a brand new car could potentially be sold with pre-existing damage that was repaired and not disclosed. Here is another post online about this same dealership (the Subaru portion next door) alleging a brand new vehicle had undisclosed body damage. https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2262506

As to the door, I will certainly have the body shop check and let me know if there in any Bondo on that door. There is a small rattle that seems to be coming from that door as well, which I will have to get addressed under warranty. According to the Tracy Mazda service manager, one of the possible avenues of fixing this may be for Mazda to ship out a pre-painted factory door and simply replace the entire door. That would be ideal.
 
I absolutely will inspect the next vehicle even more closely and will try and purchase at night, if possible, so that I can view it under a flashlight. I was unfortunately naive to the idea that a brand new car could potentially be sold with pre-existing damage that was repaired and not disclosed. Here is another post online about this same dealership (the Subaru portion next door) alleging a brand new vehicle had undisclosed body damage. https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2262506

As to the door, I will certainly have the body shop check and let me know if there in any Bondo on that door. There is a small rattle that seems to be coming from that door as well, which I will have to get addressed under warranty. According to the Tracy Mazda service manager, one of the possible avenues of fixing this may be for Mazda to ship out a pre-painted factory door and simply replace the entire door. That would be ideal.

Wow, hit that dealer on Yelp, Google, etc. It is a sad fact that every market has their villains and heroes among dealers. In the Chicago market, I can count only a few good ones and lots of bad ones. Luckily I have been pretty happy with my latest stealer, but even they need to be watched closely as their service department has strayed close to the dark side a few times with me.

Don't feel too bad. I've had sellers lie to me about everything you could imagine and I think my hoodwink avoidance percentage is maybe 90% after way too many years as a professional cynic. I'm so suspicious I once couldn't believe my family had been randomly selected for special treatment at Universal Studios during a vacation. I kept asking "what's the catch?" as my wife was telling me to just believe them and take the freebies. The poor kid couldn't understand why I thought he was trying to pull something. LOL

While I too might be insisting on the factory-painted door were I you, hopefully that wouldn't introduce new issues of matching, etc. I just had both passenger doors on my 2008 CX-9 replaced/repainted after an accident and the ability of a truly professional auto painter to blend and finish is pretty amazing. Of course, while the paint job was fantastic, a piece of foam was installed loose in one of the doors and made the window stick.(rolleyes) They apologized profusely and fixed it in minutes, but it just goes to show that while nobody's perfect, how you react to problems makes all the difference.
 
Hi Silly Wabbit.... Just got back from vacation and called Mazda this morning to follow up. Supposed to finally have a meeting with the factory rep this week. Mazda tried to get a hold of the rep but couldn't reach him earlier today... they are supposed to call me back tomorrow.
 
And the merry go round continues

So the saga continues. Before I left for vacation on the week of March 18th, Mazda corporate told me that I would have a meeting with the regional service manager the week I returned (the week of April 1).

* On Monda 4/2, I called and they told me that they tried to reach Justin (regional service manager), but couldn't get a hold of him ("probably because it's just after the holiday weekend, but he usually gets back to us within 24 hours, etc.")

* I called back on Tuesday, 4/3 at 4pm, and they still hadn't heard anything from Justin.

* Hearing nothing Wednesday, I called back Thursday 4/4 around 10:00am. They still didn't have any word from Justin but were sending another message and a note for Sara to contact me when she returned to the office later that day.

* Just before 4:00pm 4/4 I received a call from Sara stating that Justin was "trying to figure out when he could make it to the dealer." She told me they would get back with me but couldn't provide any further information on when Justin might be able to schedule me in. So, I guess it's up to me to keep checking back, or just sit on my hands and wait patiently some more like a stupid fool.

I am beginning to think that Mazda is simply giving me the run-around. I'm getting tired of being patient and polite and getting very close to filing a small claims action against Mazda in San Joaquin County, CA. The process for getting this repaired on Mazda's part has been drawn out and arduous to the point of being ridiculous. Mazda makes a great product, but their corporate customer service is majorly lacking. Mazda, if you are reading this, take note.
 
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Very obvious they try to annoy you so you would give up pursuing. Make sure you record all the date and time and name of all conversation. Set a deadline for them to take proper action in this case to have the regional manager to inspect your vehicle. If they do not follow up in a timely manner then you will seek for media attention and legal help
 
Finally a resolution

Just wanted to give an update. Looks like this finally has a resolution today! Finally met with regional service manager Justin today at Tracy Mazda. Mazda is taking responsibility and is going to pay to have the door refinished/blended. It is going to the body shop to get properly fixed and I will have a loaner car free of charge until it's ready. Hopefully the body shop does a good job of blending this paint... but this dealer uses a shop with a very good reputation so it should turn out fine.
 
Just wanted to give an update. Looks like this finally has a resolution today! Finally met with regional service manager Justin today at Tracy Mazda. Mazda is taking responsibility and is going to pay to have the door refinished/blended. It is going to the body shop to get properly fixed and I will have a loaner car free of charge until it's ready. Hopefully the body shop does a good job of blending this paint... but this dealer uses a shop with a very good reputation so it should turn out fine.

Great news!! Please post some pics of the paint job. That is if you still have enough strength after this ordeal. Lol
 
Damn~! You have patience of a saint. Really happy it is FINALLY getting taken care of. Mazda really dropped the ball on handling this situation if you ask me. Why no factory door? :(
 
There was no more discussion about the factory door because body shop believed they could match it. Upon researching some painting videos, painters are claiming that even the factory has variations from car to car, so there's no guarantee that a new door would have matched exactly either.

Got the car back... paint job looks pretty decent. It's not factory perfect, but unless you're OCD and were actually looking for paint work, and the lighting was exactly right, you wouldn't notice. In broad daylight when I picked it up, it looked darn near perfect. I even complimented the shop at the time. They had to blend into the existing door and fender. Upon close inspection, metal flake on resprayed area is a tad bit more "coarse" than the factory paint, making the repaired area look a little bit more "metallicy" than the factory paint if hitting it with a flashlight, but they got the color match perfect. Under garage fluorescent at the right angle, front fender looks like it almost has a tiny, tiny layer of "dust" on it where they faded the blend if you're taking a really anal look. I suspect the slight difference is related to the limitations of exactly replicating the complex factory process with this paint, which I hear is almost totally impossible, so I'd better set my expectations accordingly. My OCD is not totally satisfied, but I realize this is not a Ferrari. Beyond sending the car back to Japan, I think this is best I'm going to get.

I'll try and post pics soon.
 
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There was no more discussion about the factory door because body shop believed they could match it. Upon researching some painting videos, painters are claiming that even the factory has variations from car to car, so there's no guarantee that a new door would have matched exactly either.

Got the car back... paint job looks pretty decent. It's not factory perfect, but unless you're OCD and were actually looking for paint work, and the lighting was exactly right, you wouldn't notice. In broad daylight when I picked it up, it looked darn near perfect. I even complimented the shop at the time. They had to blend into the existing door and fender. Upon close inspection, metal flake on resprayed area is a tad bit more "coarse" than the factory paint, making the repaired area look a little bit more "metallicy" than the factory paint if hitting it with a flashlight, but they got the color match perfect. Under garage fluorescent at the right angle, front fender looks like it almost has a tiny, tiny layer of "dust" on it where they faded the blend if you're taking a really anal look. I suspect the slight difference is related to the limitations of exactly replicating the complex factory process with this paint, which I hear is almost totally impossible, so I'd better set my expectations accordingly. My OCD is not totally satisfied, but I realize this is not a Ferrari. Beyond sending the car back to Japan, I think this is best I'm going to get.

I'll try and post pics soon.

I get the hyper-focused "OCD" thing. If I pay this much cash for something, it should be 100%.

My roof paint defects and scratch were not noticable from the angles where I stood when I bought the CX-9. It wasn't until I was on a stepstool, washing the car above the vehicle at a 45 viewing angle to see it.

The dealer did what they could; it's less intense and harder to see but still there.

Yours is a door, easier to see than mine but like you said, you really need to look for it and most people will never see it.

I can't get a fingernail into the surface scratch and a body guy said it'll never be an issue.

Not an easy task for me but I've made peace with myself over the paint and scratch.

Years from now if I buy new again, I'll be inspecting the paint in the sun, shade, from a ladder, upside down and sideways.
 
I get the hyper-focused "OCD" thing. If I pay this much cash for something, it should be 100%.

My roof paint defects and scratch were not noticable from the angles where I stood when I bought the CX-9. It wasn't until I was on a stepstool, washing the car above the vehicle at a 45 viewing angle to see it.

The dealer did what they could; it's less intense and harder to see but still there.

Yours is a door, easier to see than mine but like you said, you really need to look for it and most people will never see it.

I can't get a fingernail into the surface scratch and a body guy said it'll never be an issue.

Not an easy task for me but I've made peace with myself over the paint and scratch.

Years from now if I buy new again, I'll be inspecting the paint in the sun, shade, from a ladder, upside down and sideways.


I have scratches on my roof too from the dealership but didnt want to sand it down since that would thin the paint and I only see it when I wash the car. But it sucks that my new car has scratches from new.
 
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