Gutted after first wash

[Angelman]

Can't believe it. Had our 6 month old red 2016 PHEV for a week and a half now and after a bird kindly decided to let rip all over it overnight I decided to give it its first wash this evening.

So I used warm water, some wax and wash fluid (diluted exactly following instructions) and sponged the car with brand new soft car sponges, then rinsed off with plain water and dried it with a new chamois leather... all normal procedure, yes?

Gutted that on inspection of my handiwork there's a fairly long vertical batch of albeit fine scratches on one of the side doors. On further inspection, I've found several other small scratches on other parts of the car. I thought they were just streaks at first, but looks like they are more sinister than that. Pretty darn sure these scratches were not there when we picked the car up the other week, so can only assume its from washing or rubbing with the leather. This can't be right surely?

I've read a few threads about poor or thin paintwork on the Outlanders, but I definitely wasn't overly aggressive in my washing, if anything I went easy on it, so what's going on, should I be concerned, and should I go back and mention it to the dealer? I'm no expert on car maintenance or upkeep but never had problems washing cars before!! Also, are these light rub marks/scratches likely to cause a problem when it comes to the end of the lease period in three years time.

I have to say this has really wound me up tonight! Can anyone put my mind at rest?

Cheers!

 

[maby]

I must say that the paintwork does not seem too bad, but that might come down to choice of colour. Ours is the powder blue metallic and it seems to be standing up quite well by saloon car standards. It's not as good as I would expect of an off-roader - we have a Landcruiser that is well over 20 years old and has been seriously mistreated, but is still pretty good apart from some patches where we allowed bird poo to dry on and stand for months. My gripe is with the strength of the bodywork - it seems little thicker than the aluminium foil trays that my TV dinners arrive in. A minor nudge of a fallen plastic rubbish bin caused enough damage to one front wing to require a complete replacement.

 

[dreadnaught]

agreed, the bodyworks an absolute joke; think it's made out of tupperware & quality street boxes

 

[maby]

agreed, the bodyworks an absolute joke; think it's made out of tupperware & quality street boxes

I would not mind if it was correspondingly cheap to repair, but the cost of fitting a new tin-foil front wing was comparable to repairs to a Landcruiser or Landrover which is made of far sterner stuff! Jaapv will be in here in a minute, pointing out that bodywork in modern cars is purely cosmetic, but that excuse only works if the price of repairs is lower - I don't want to be driving around in a battered car even if it is structurally sound, and the Outlander is going to be looking very tatty after a few years of serious use.

 

[Chrismac13]

As above the bodywork on the outlanders is terrible, especially on the black models which have white primer underneath. The panels are soft & easily dented, the paint is very thin & prone to scratching.

 

[Angelman]

So, from the replies so far I'm guessing that this is pretty normal for the Outlander and that I should just get over it! If it's a known issue then you would also hope that the dealer takes that into account when time comes to give the car back in three years time! Let's hope so anyway.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Phever]

sounds like your sponge or chamois has picked up some grit i'm afraid. sponges are really bad for this.

 

[jaapv]

I'm not pointing out anything, just happy that my dealer advised (rather demanded) that I would have a Waxoil paint protection applied. The car is still shiny and relatively scratch-free after 2 1/2 years of fairly sloppy carwash maintenance. (And the Jaguar I had before had Tupperware plastic sills and some other second-rate body parts :evil: )

A bit of Commandant and elbow grease will solve your problem, though.

 

[user 816]

Another reason I wanted White car this time.

I want to sell our previous generation Outlander soon it so I spent most of last Sunday seeing what I could do with it, tar remover and scrubbing, then paint restorer and a lot of elbow grease and hard wax. Its finally got its gloss back but I need to get in an expert to sort out he numerous dents - caused by hail! shocking that a car can be dented by the weather and the current Outlander/PHEV is no thicker. One thing is assured, never ever having a Black car again.

 

[AndyInOz]

I feel your pain brother.

I had a black car for sixteen years, and it always looked dirty, even the same day it had been washed and polished.

After a couple of years of grief, I just gave up.

 

[jaapv]

Another reason I wanted White car this time.

I want to sell our previous generation Outlander soon it so I spent most of last Sunday seeing what I could do with it, tar remover and scrubbing, then paint restorer and a lot of elbow grease and hard wax. Its finally got its gloss back but I need to get in an expert to sort out he numerous dents - caused by hail! shocking that a car can be dented by the weather and the current Outlander/PHEV is no thicker. One thing is assured, never ever having a Black car again.

In my experience white cars are nearly as bad as black ones... Reason I got metallic gray this time.

 

[ChrisMiller]

I agree that white and black can be a pain to keep clean, but the trouble with grey is that it's poor for visibility in mist and fog. Which is why we always go for red

 

[user 816]

Another reason I wanted White car this time.

I want to sell our previous generation Outlander soon it so I spent most of last Sunday seeing what I could do with it, tar remover and scrubbing, then paint restorer and a lot of elbow grease and hard wax. Its finally got its gloss back but I need to get in an expert to sort out he numerous dents - caused by hail! shocking that a car can be dented by the weather and the current Outlander/PHEV is no thicker. One thing is assured, never ever having a Black car again.

In my experience white cars are nearly as bad as black ones... Reason I got metallic gray this time.

For dirt maybe, but White definitely shows scratches less as primer/metal is light. Also white is a lot cooler in the sun. Metallics are harder to touch up. Nope, solid light colours for me.

 

[jaapv]

Luminescent yellow would be even better

 

[greendwarf]

Luminescent yellow would be even better

British Telecom repainted all their vehicles yellow from the former Post Office Telephones green for that reason, to try to stop people driving into them when stopped and working in country lanes.

Telephone boxes are red for a similar visibility reason - much to the annoyance of country landscape fantics :lol:

 

[jaapv]

Would people really drive into green telephone boxes? :lol:

 

[greendwarf]

Would people really drive into green telephone boxes? :lol:

Dealt with a claim from a driver who had collided with a telegraph pole when it jumped out in front of him :lol: Transpired it has been hit previously and sheared at the base so in a strong wind was swinging on the wires out into the road