Inclusion in paint

OK to be fair let me start by saying I'm a bit anal about my cars.

Having said that I've bee agonizing over a pimple sized inclusion in the paint in the middle of the hood on my new 335i. For anyone not familiar with the term an "inclusion" is a piece of dirt or debris that somehow gets trapped in the paint during the painting process. Admitedly this inclusion is small. So small that it is virtually undetectable in normal outdoor light (i.e. sunlight), but in the garage under flourescent lighting it is visable. Again it looks a bit like a pimple. And it is almost smack-dab in the middle of the hood.

So yesterday I finally found time to take it back to the dealership so they could evaluate whether or not they could fix it. I told them that if they did not feel confident that they could wet sand and polish it out, that is fix it without having to repaint the whole hood, that they should do nothing. They had the car overnight (had to perform two "campaigns" a Nav upgrade and a software upgrade) They did nothing about the inclusion. They said that they felt any attempt to fix it would require removal of the clear coat thus requiring painting the hood. That being the case, I tend to agree. I certainly don't want a re-painted hood on my brand new car.

So now what do I do? Do I have to just live with this? I've owned lots of new cars, I've never had this issue before. This being the most expensive car I've ever purchased, I expected it to be better than the rest. Perhaps my expectations are too high.

So I'm curious. Anyone else have this problem? How did you, or would you deal with it?

I have similar thread on the inside of my front bumper beneath the fog lamps. I decided to ignore it and move on .... Not worth the time or effort . The only person to whom it matters is you. If you're leasing I'd make sure the dealer is aware of this , if buying then def ignore it as this would most certainly not diminish the value of the car .

Originally Posted by doc_maverick

I have similar thread on the inside of my front bumper beneath the fog lamps. I decided to ignore it and move on .... Not worth the time or effort . The only person to whom it matters is you. If you're leasing I'd make sure the dealer is aware of this , if buying then def ignore it as this would most certainly not diminish the value of the car .

I tend to agree with this. You say it is virtually undetectable in natural, outdoor light. That's how virtually everyone except you is going to see it. Don't let the fact that you can find it on examination under fluorescent light make you nuts. It only a matter of time before you're going to get a wear and tear blemish to the paint anyway.

Originally Posted by TomF30

OK to be fair let me start by saying I'm a bit anal about my cars.

Having said that I've bee agonizing over a pimple sized inclusion in the paint in the middle of the hood on my new 335i. For anyone not familiar with the term an "inclusion" is a piece of dirt or debris that somehow gets trapped in the paint during the painting process. Admitedly this inclusion is small. So small that it is virtually undetectable in normal outdoor light (i.e. sunlight), but in the garage under flourescent lighting it is visable. Again it looks a bit like a pimple. And it is almost smack-dab in the middle of the hood.

So yesterday I finally found time to take it back to the dealership so they could evaluate whether or not they could fix it. I told them that if they did not feel confident that they could wet sand and polish it out, that is fix it without having to repaint the whole hood, that they should do nothing. They had the car overnight (had to perform two "campaigns" a Nav upgrade and a software upgrade) They did nothing about the inclusion. They said that they felt any attempt to fix it would require removal of the clear coat thus requiring painting the hood. That being the case, I tend to agree. I certainly don't want a re-painted hood on my brand new car.

So now what do I do? Do I have to just live with this? I've owned lots of new cars, I've never had this issue before. This being the most expensive car I've ever purchased, I expected it to be better than the rest. Perhaps my expectations are too high.

So I'm curious. Anyone else have this problem? How did you, or would you deal with it?

The first time you go to a super market, and someone bangs into your car with a cart, you'll forget all about this.

just wait till he starts getting rock chips

I would let it go. I have found a couple "inclusions" on the back bumper of my F30. I was upset for a few minutes, and then I walked over to my brand new 911, and found one on there as well. No matter how much the car costs, there are always going to be very minor paint flaws. The size of the car and the amount that are produced lend to a small flaw in each and every one. For me, I would much rather deal with a minor flaw that only you will know that is there rather than removing factory paint. It just isn't worth it to fix.

Originally Posted by TomF30

So now what do I do? Do I have to just live with this? I've owned lots of new cars, I've never had this issue before. This being the most expensive car I've ever purchased, I expected it to be better than the rest. Perhaps my expectations are too high.

It is helpful to remember that a BMW 3er is not really an expensive car in the grand spectrum of automobiles. It is a high-quality mass-produced product but that's all. It is quite likely that the inclusion was noticed at the factory and/or the VDC and they reached the same conclusion your dealer did: That being noticeable only on close inspection and irreparable without repainting, it was better to let it be.

If I were you, I would wait a bit to see if I could live with it. If not, just treat it like a rock chip: Wet-sand a little in a tiny area over the inclusion to remove some of the clear coat, apply two-stage touch-up paint using an artist's brush, wet-sand to blend and then buff it out. If you are not confident and skilled enough to make near-invisible repairs to rock chips, then hold off until you are.

In other words, it is certainly possible to repair it without repainting the entire hood, but it will be similar to repairing a chip and you should expect no better results. That's likely why the dealer wouldn't touch it--they cannot make it perfect. Either way, you will see a flaw that is likely invisible to anyone else unless you point it out.

Bottom line, it is probably best to live with it.

Originally Posted by doc_maverick

. If you're leasing I'd make sure the dealer is aware of this , .

Why would that make a difference
cheers
vern

You could wet sand and polish it. That's what the factory would have done if they saw it. You could ask the dealer to swap your hood with another car.

My car got a rock chip 4 months after I got it. Had the hood repainted at a good body-shop and nobody would ever know. It looks perfect.

I understand the desire to have a like-new car as I'm the same way, which is why I got the hood painted rather than a touch-up. I'm completely satisfied.