[ShoddyHog]

Well, this may be more like the first and second because both wheels are damaged. I did a "walk around" of my new '06 M6 when I picked her up, but to be honest with you, I'm not quite sure I even knew my own name. I wanted to get in the car and drive!!!

Washed her today, and found a huge gouge in the PS front wheel. I've driven her every second she's been mine, and she hasn't come close to anything that would make a mark like that. As luck would have it, there's a mark on both the front and rear that are of identical radius.

My guesses:
1. Problem with the truck that delivered her
2. Problem with the wheel shippng

My guess is #2.

Other than that, I put a chamois on her, and she looks good. Not a scratch on her.

Gerry

 

[gto_lady04]

Becareful what products and toweling you use on the car, the paint as I understand it is soft on these cars. You may want to take a look at the detailing threads for some great tips on what to do and what not to do.

I use all Meguires products and bought special synthetic chamois.

Too bad about the rims! Hopefully since you didn't see it at the dealer they'll still take care of it, but be prepared to fight.

 

[ShoddyHog]

Becareful what products and toweling you use on the car, the paint as I understand it is soft on these cars. You may want to take a look at the detailing threads for some great tips on what to do and what not to do.

I use all Meguires products and bought special synthetic chamois.

Too bad about the rims! Hopefully since you didn't see it at the dealer they'll still take care of it, but be prepared to fight.

Well, there's no disputing it...so far this car has been touched by two things. Fresh water and a new chamois.

As much as I liked Jamie, I will drag Auffenberg through the mud 'till the day I die if they fight me on this. There's just no way I could make two identical marks like that on my wheels. Besides, why the heck would I even do that? I LOVE Pontiac.

Gerry

 

[ShoddyHog]

Becareful what products and toweling you use on the car, the paint as I understand it is soft on these cars. You may want to take a look at the detailing threads for some great tips on what to do and what not to do.QUOTE]

I have not read any of the detailing threads (yet), but I do know how not to mess up a paint job. I wash my cars exactly like I did the AH-1F Cobra Helicpoter Canopy sections. If my technique is good enough for aircraft, it is good enough for me!

Gerry

 

[ShoddyHog]

Just an update...

I got a look at the bad gouge today in the direct sunlight, and it may not be as bad as it looks. Pardon my ignorance, but those are painted wheels, correct? If so, then a simple touch-up may suffice...as long as there's no metal damage. I've worked on enough helicopters to know I don't want a nick on those things if I choose to do 150+ MPH.

I'll keep you posted. I'm making a list of gripes, and haven't gotten my dealer survey yet :cool

And l still love this car more and more everytime I drive it. Have never been able to honestly say that about a car.

Gerry

 

[Clueless]

Odd stripes

When I first got my GTO, a week later, I went to wash it and claybar it for rail dust. When I went to do the passenger door, I noticed a line that was white. It was vertical, and looked like someone smacked their door into the car. I was not happy.

However, while doing the rest of the car, and waxing the next day, I noticed a couple of other "stripes" in places. They were whitish or light gray, and though they would give the appearance of scratched paint, I found if I rubbed them real hard with a cloth and cleaning solution, they went away. I went back and picked at the one on the door, and sure enough with enough elbow-grease it came off. I can only assume these thin straight lines on the car had something to do with shipping--maybe lines of sticky stuff from papers wrapping the car, or gaps between sheets of plastic, or something? I'm not very familiar with car shipping, but I know that they have some kind of "stuff" over them in at least parts to protect the paint.

As some of the lines (not all) were very subtle and could only be seen in the proper angle of light, over a month I was occasionally scraping these lines off. I've found them everywhere--rear roof pillar, wheels, the black plasticky bars between the front and back side windows, etc.

The picture you provided doesn't look the same, but by any chance could it be the same kind of "stuff" -- ie, try scraping it with your fingernail and see if that makes it come off, or rub hard with a cloth and cleaning solution?

 

[GOGTO007]

When I bought my car three weeks ago it was late when I left the dealership. I couldn't see the car really well because it was dark outside. A week later when I was washing my car I noticed two marks on the rear driver side wheel. They were all the way through the paing and into the metal. I took it to the dealership and they repaired the wheel. They had a "wheel guy" that they use and you can even tell the wheel ever had damage.

 

[ShoddyHog]

When I first got my GTO, a week later, I went to wash it and claybar it for rail dust. When I went to do the passenger door, I noticed a line that was white. It was vertical, and looked like someone smacked their door into the car. I was not happy.

However, while doing the rest of the car, and waxing the next day, I noticed a couple of other "stripes" in places. They were whitish or light gray, and though they would give the appearance of scratched paint, I found if I rubbed them real hard with a cloth and cleaning solution, they went away. I went back and picked at the one on the door, and sure enough with enough elbow-grease it came off. I can only assume these thin straight lines on the car had something to do with shipping--maybe lines of sticky stuff from papers wrapping the car, or gaps between sheets of plastic, or something? I'm not very familiar with car shipping, but I know that they have some kind of "stuff" over them in at least parts to protect the paint.

As some of the lines (not all) were very subtle and could only be seen in the proper angle of light, over a month I was occasionally scraping these lines off. I've found them everywhere--rear roof pillar, wheels, the black plasticky bars between the front and back side windows, etc.

The picture you provided doesn't look the same, but by any chance could it be the same kind of "stuff" -- ie, try scraping it with your fingernail and see if that makes it come off, or rub hard with a cloth and cleaning solution?

I noticed the same exact thing you did on the paint. My first thought was that they were scratches by the dealer washing it. Upon further inspection, I came to the conclusion that they were the edges of the protective coating, just where the adhesive bled over a bit, and wasn't removed. I've only hit my car with fresh water, but all that will come off on the first polish, I'm sure.

The wheels? They are obviously gouges made during shipping of the wheels or transport of the car. Either way, I'm no A-Hole, and don't plan to show her or keep her in pristine condition to do so in the future. My only other concern is safety...and in something that high-speed, any damage to the metal can be the starting point of a stress fracture. I've done enough NDI in the Army to know that. The other wheel didn't look as bad, so I'd bet that one is OK to touch up for sure.

It is damn sure nice to have a place to talk about all this.

I'm going to do a "Great GM Feeling" shot this weekend. My new goat, my old Bonnie, and my father-in-law's Yukon! Give me GM or give me a friggin' horse!!!

Gerry

 

[ShoddyHog]

I've done enough NDI in the Army to know that.

Sorry - NDI = Non Destructive Inspection. Most all I did was using flourescent die penetrant, and you'd be shocked at how a small nick can cause a crack.

Gerry

 

[bergenfelter]

Gerry,

You paid probably close to $30,000 for this car. When you took delivery, it should be perfect. Take it back to the dealer and have them replace the wheels that are damaged. I played the nice guy deal when I bought my 1988 Trans Am GTA brand new and I regretted it ever since. You paid good money for this vehicle, it needs to be right! Don't let a minor altercation with the dealer deter you, be persistent, it's your car and your hard earned money, don't let GM sell you short of less than perfect!!!

If you are like me, every day you go in the garage and look at the dings in the wheels, you will say, "I wish I would have..."

John.

 

[kwiktsi]

Gerry,

You paid probably close to $30,000 for this car. When you took delivery, it should be perfect. Take it back to the dealer and have them replace the wheels that are damaged. I played the nice guy deal when I bought my 1988 Trans Am GTA brand new and I regretted it ever since. You paid good money for this vehicle, it needs to be right! Don't let a minor altercation with the dealer deter you, be persistent, it's your car and your hard earned money, don't let GM sell you short of less than perfect!!!

If you are like me, every day you go in the garage and look at the dings in the wheels, you will say, "I wish I would have..."

John.

Maybe I should take your advice also. When I got my car, there was a small nick in the leather on the rear pasenger panel, HORRIBLE etching job done on the glass (there are smudged in the glass around the numbers that look like they got the acid on it) and some scratches in the rear grey GTO valence. I mentioned it to them a couple of weeks later when I noticed them all and got the "it is too long, how do we know you didn't do it" speech about the damage and "nothing we can do about that" about the etching. I am very careful and protective of my car- I KNOW what I do and don't do to it as far as flaws/damage like that goes. I told them if I bought a bottom of the line G6, maybe I would let it slide, but a brand new GTO which is a top of the line car it is unnacceptable on and they just said "sorry, can't do anything" so I left. Maybe I should make a bigger stink- especially considering they certainly didn't do me any favor with the price of the car- found one an hour away for almost $3k less than their "thats the best we can do" price a couple days later- ARRGGHH!!!

 

[bergenfelter]

If they are doing that, talk to the dealer service manager first. If you don't get any satisfaction, talk to the dealership owner/manager. If that does not work, call the Pontiac customer line, I believe it is listed in your owners manual. I would also send a letter to the dealership owner advising them that you will be contacting Pontiac directly. That will generally get them to wake up and listen up. This might be a pain to go through all this, but you are right, you bought the top of the line Pontiac and again, it should be perfect.

 

[kwiktsi]

I spoke with the sales manager, the general manager and the owner and they all say "sorry, nothing we can do". I asked if they thought Pontiac customer care would help just to shake things up and they said "you can try them". No concern whatsoever on their part. I have had issues with other cars in the past and have received no support at all from the so called customer care numbers. I had a $30k mustang GT convertable that had spray paint looking touch up work on the quarter panel. It was white, so I didn't notice it in the sun when I bought it, but after getting it home I saw it. Dealer said they'd have the shop they use fix it, told them no because they do shoddy work (I know the shop), they said "don't worry we'll make sure they do it right". Get the car back, paint starts peeling the next day and the rest of the car had stains all over it from whatever tire shine they used- soaked into the paint. SO, next was having the quarter, ground effects and both bumpers resprayed to fix their screw up. Quarter started to peel again due to teh first shops shoddy prep work. All this was within one month from painted to peeling. Contacted Ford and said it is not tolerable on a brand new car, they said "it is in the dealers hand, we have nothing to do with it".

Last one was my 04 crossfire. Went into the dealership to get an alignment done, fix an inoperable heated drivers seat, look into why it was so damn hard to shift into first at a stop and fix the passenger side window which would pop out when closing (there was even a TSB on it). They managed to blow off the drivers door airbag taking the seat out, broke the speaker grille behind the drivers seat and fixed absolutely nothing- after having the car 27 days and telling me"everythign in the seat is brand new" and that everythign else was fixed. IT was there 4 times for all these problems but the scumbag dealer never closed out the work orders so there was only one work order for it- screwing me out of lemon lawing it. I called chrysler and told them about it and they told me the rep would contact me. Never heard from anyone, called chrysler back and was told "they dealer was contacted and they have to call the rep, we have no way to contact the rep". Called the dealer and they said "oh, I didn't know you wanted us to call him, I'll call him now and see what he says". Called me back "oh, he just wants us to fix the car and take it from thre, he might give you an extended warranty or something". Every time the car went to them, they broke something else- door panels, speaker grilles (both sides), scratched the leather to hell, scratched the console, scratched the door jamb and still never fixed ONE THING in the 4 trips there. I told both the dealer and Chrysler, I just don't want it after all this, I am not being unreasonable- I'll buy another chrysler product from the same dealer- I'll even take another crossfire new or used with similar miles (3500), I just can't take a beating on a trade in due to their mistakes. Dealer said "ok, we'll help you out"- offered me almost $3k less than anyone else on a trade in!!!!

Ugh, anyway, sorry for the novel, just have a bitter taste for the automakers so called "customer care" from my experience so far.

 

[ShoddyHog]

Ugh, anyway, sorry for the novel, just have a bitter taste for the automakers so called "customer care" from my experience so far.

I feel your pain. I've spent well over $2,000 on my Boneville* intake manifold replacment, a manufacturer defect. The same dealer ticked me off so bad, I punched the roof of my car, and they had to fix the imprint of my fist.

The last straw was the $2,000 plus estimate for installing a battery cable + charging the AC.

Thanks Suntrup Pontiac!

Gerry

* Yet I still own her! I do love Pontiac.

 

[kwiktsi]

Yeah, the problems I had with both Ford and Chrysler, even though not GM or Pontiac, still just give me the feeling that all "issues" are handled the same by all auto manufacturers- at least domestic manufacturers unfortunately.

 

[Clueless]

Yeah, the problems I had with both Ford and Chrysler, even though not GM or Pontiac, still just give me the feeling that all "issues" are handled the same by all auto manufacturers- at least domestic manufacturers unfortunately.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I could tell you about Toyota giving trouble to an ex-housemate of mine. And I used to hear a lot of gripes (2nd hand though) about a friend's coworker's BMW dealership woes. I think the issue is just some dealerships in general, unfortunately.

 

[ShoddyHog]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I could tell you about Toyota giving trouble to an ex-housemate of mine. And I used to hear a lot of gripes (2nd hand though) about a friend's coworker's BMW dealership woes. I think the issue is just some dealerships in general, unfortunately.

Nope...to you and kwiktsi, it is a dealer thing...not just a specific manufacturer. I suspect Auffenberg and Jamie will have a couple new wheels waiting on me when I take her in to have the front end looked at. I almost said "oil change", but I'm not driving her until I'm sure I'm not messing up the tires. I've got squeaks and thumps going on up there that do not sound right, and were not present on either of test drive cars.

I do most of my driving strait on, and she tracks like a dream. It is hard to have her stabled, but I've got three other vehicles to drive right now...and one of them is a V-8 GMC :cheers

That Yukon will do 90 all day without breaking a sweat. Been there, drove it to Ft. Carson, and cooked BBQ for our troops. It could only be more appropriate if I was riding in a Hummer.

Gerry

 

[ShoddyHog]

Yeah, the problems I had with both Ford and Chrysler, even though not GM or Pontiac, still just give me the feeling that all "issues" are handled the same by all auto manufacturers- at least domestic manufacturers unfortunately.

This is going to hurt really bad to say it...but I've owned three Hondas...and can't recall ever taking one of them back for any warranty "problem". Every GM car I've puchased has had a problem.

The nicest Honda was our '90 Accord EX. Great car, but ended up being replaced after 200,000 milse or so because the entire ignition system would go dead without warning. It wasn't that big a deal until it happened to my wife on 270 in rush hour traffic.

The new Accord, an '03 I think, is a POS IMHO...at least compared to the old Accord. Our '90 Accord could be compared to the goat in fit and finish (against similarly priced cars)...it just had like 270 HP less :lol: If I had to roll back time, we would have "huband override" in buying the new Honda. I can't drive or ride in that thing for more than a couple hours.

And now? I'm already working up covert plans to convince her to sell it and get that black 05 A4 from Jamie. lol I doubt I'll succeed, but then again...I doubted I'd be driving a GTO now! At least she hates her new Honda...and loves the new Goat...so I've got that going for me ;-)

Gerry

 

[Clueless]

I know this is getting sidetracked from the original purpose of this thread..but...

I dealt with a problematic Honda a while back. When I first bought my Camaro some years ago, it had been sitting on the lot for a while, and the dealership didn't have time to detail it before I bought it. When I bought the car, they couldn't fit me in for detailing for another week, and rather than leave the car on the lot until then, they said that I could take the Camaro, and when I dropped it off for detailing, they would let me take one of their other for-sale cars as a loaner. (This was a used car lot, and they did not have regular loaner cars as they were really never in a situation where ones were needed--this was a special case).

When I dropped my Camaro off, I was handed the keys to an 01 Accord. This was in 03, so the car was only 2 years old. It had 31,000 miles on it and one previous owner (a woman with kids).

After having heard so much over time how Accords were, and this being my first time of driving a recent model Accord (I'd driven some 80's Accords before), I was expecting it to be a Point A to Point B family car, maybe slightly peppy for one, with a good ride, quiet operation, and decent feel.

Instead of being bored while driving it, however, I was disappointed and made nervous.

To summarize all the things I ran into on the one day of Accord driving:
1) I found amazingly that the farthest right climate control nob was not reachable by me, unless I leaned forward and to the right. As a driver, I do not want to be actually leaning my body to reach a control. Reaching my arm, I expect, but not leaning my body. I had never sat in a car where I could't reach a control without leaning previously.
2) The steering was terrible in the car. To make a left hand turn from a turn lane onto a side road, I had to flip the steering wheel around so much that I had to lift and reposition my arms on the wheel to keep them from crossing.
3) The brakes were terrible. I do not know if they needed maintenance in this particular Accord, or were just cheaper/smaller/crappier brakes compared to other cars I've driven. I was trying to stop the car the same distance from lights/signs as I do with heavier cars, and found the Accord would barely stop, and I would get a vibration feedback through the brake pedal pretty heavily while stopping. I suspect this was probably just something particular to this car and do not fault the Accord for that.
4) Acceleration--I guess I'm spoiled by V8s or something, because getting onto the highway in the 4cyl Accord caused me to say some mental prayers. From a total stop, the Accord took off at an OK rate, but when trying to do anything that a torquier engine helps with (like accelerating rapidly when the car had been cruising at a set speed for a while, such as you do on a highway), it was enough to cause gray hairs.
5) (The main thing here). The car, on several occasions, threatened to stall on me. This was particularly when I was sitting stopped at a light, and would just start to go. I can't remember all the symptoms, but this was the case, and I think the engine would also surge sometimes when I was cruising at a set speed. Anyway, this issue caused me to try researching it online, and I found out it was likely the Accord automatic transmission problem.

Which brings me to the point of posting this--I often hear things about problems that particular car models have for certain years, wen it is a reasonably frequent problem, and not a 1 in a million type things. What I was surprised to find is that Honda has a weakpoint with automatic transmissions, and the ATs in some early 00's Hondas in particular were prone to failure. Not to say they were all going to fail, but that they have a higher than normal chance of failure. I read horror stories of people having transmissions replaced every 15,000 miles or so. What shocked me the most though, was not that an auto manufacturer can have a weak spot show up in some models, but that this issue seemed to not be circulating, but instead, I would always hear how Hondas--even their ATs--were "bulletproof".

Argh, sorry if this is long--I really wanted to just point out the issue with automatic transmissions--and somehow it turned into a mini-review.

 

[kwiktsi]

This is going to hurt really bad to say it...but I've owned three Hondas...and can't recall ever taking one of them back for any warranty "problem". Every GM car I've puchased has had a problem.

The nicest Honda was our '90 Accord EX. Great car, but ended up being replaced after 200,000 milse or so because the entire ignition system would go dead without warning. It wasn't that big a deal until it happened to my wife on 270 in rush hour traffic.

The new Accord, an '03 I think, is a POS IMHO...at least compared to the old Accord. Our '90 Accord could be compared to the goat in fit and finish (against similarly priced cars)...it just had like 270 HP less :lol: If I had to roll back time, we would have "huband override" in buying the new Honda. I can't drive or ride in that thing for more than a couple hours.

And now? I'm already working up covert plans to convince her to sell it and get that black 05 A4 from Jamie. lol I doubt I'll succeed, but then again...I doubted I'd be driving a GTO now! At least she hates her new Honda...and loves the new Goat...so I've got that going for me ;-)

Gerry

Yeah, unfortunately though, domestic manufacturers and a majority of dealers need to get their heads out of their asses in order to continue competing in a market where they have been getting their asses kicked for the last several years.

As for the Honda- yours that kept dying wasa either the distributor or ignition switch- both are common. The distributor usually would act up hot, then run aftert cooling at first before it completely **** the bed. The Ignition switch was hit or miss. My mom had a 91 Accord- GREAT car- but her ignition switch was acting up- probably from the 50 bazillion keys she had hanging from her keychain. If you hit a bump hard, the car would stumble like you turned it on and off real quick. Replace the switch and it was good to go. She had that car well into the 200k range also. Another friend just bought an 85 Prelude as a cheap driver, 247k miles- AC blows ice cold, tranny shifts perfectly (5 speed), etc. Amazing how well the car runs. Then we have a 95 Dodge Stratus with 213k miles here as my wifes winter beater (obviously won't drive her crossfire in the snow lol)- you don't want to know what a Dodge Stratus looks and runs like with 213 k on it haha. They don't fare nearly as well as the hondas. Even interior wise- it is 10 years and 34k miles "newer" than my friends prelude and it looks at least that much *older* if you compared them. Not to mention, sometime last year I gave up on oil changes in the stratus, I just add it every week when it needs it haha.. I told the wife this winter I am spray painting it orange, putting 01 on the doors and just bashing it through the snow lol.

Heh- another somewhat local dealer has an 05 red/red A4 car that I was trying to talk the wife into buying but she won't go for it lol.
Joe