97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

black paint is the worst. If you MUST get black because it happens to be your favorite color or something, go for metallic black if that's an option. Yes, it doesn't look like a true black in certain lighting, but at least the maintenance of it is 100X easier due to the metallic composition in the paint which makes the paint harder and less sensitive as well as the "flakes" that help mask the swirls.

SW17LS

Swirls are caused by improper wash technique. Bottom line. Yes the obsidian paint is very soft, but if you have swirls they are caused by the way you wash the car.

Another possibility is that they were put in the paint by the dealer before you bought it, and covered up with a glaze. As the glaze wore away the swirls started to appear. This is also common.

In any event, a proper machine polish would have removed them.

Afrosheen

It's too bad the GS doesn't get the old LS's scratch-proof clearcoat. This would prevent swirls. But black cars are troublesome anyway. Like SW13GS said, they look the best when clean and the worst when dirty/swirled.

aguyindall

I guess I should also add that I came out ahead on the deal. It was a win/win for me. I sold my old one and pocketed a few thousand...so basically, I made 7 lease payments, and got about 5 of them back when I sold it. I was able to get an excellent deal on my replacement white one, better than before. I got the white one for about 3500 less than I paid for the black one...cant beat it...and I am happy!

SW17LS

They abandoned that clearcoat on the LS too, MB did away with theirs also. Its not scratch-proof, just much harder. Made it VERY hard to repair or polish when it did get scratched too.

The white one will be MUCH easier to care for.

1111GS

It's because the black GS costs more than the white.
I'm approaching my 2nd anniversary and I have to say I still enjoy my black paint. It's the pain in the bucket to keep it clean and shine. The key part is getting the protection on at day 1 or as early as possible and know how to properly wash the car. Yours could have had a paint correction job or minor polishing done and it would look like new. As someone mentioned, ceramic coating or the like are highly recommended on OB or any dark color. And yes, swirling marks/scratches show on light colors too. They are just not as visible. on the sell/buy. Enjoy your new car.