gs4rocks

After searching for the SUV almost for a year on and off, I finally got 2008 GX470 CPO yesterday.
I had 2000 GS400 before which I replaced with E550 2 yrs ago.

Everything is good so far but there is a couple of issues that I hope to get an answer from knowledgeable owners here.

1. bump from behind - I found an answer on this one. I need to take the car in for TSB fix.

2. I'm not sure if it's the right name. It's the passenger side door cladding/outer panel. It's basically almost the bottom half of the door outside. It looks like it's a separate piece that is attached to the actually door. Apparently, this piece was repainted. Since my car is metallic silver, the color looks way off depending on the lighting and angle. From a distance, it looks like, there is a rectangle block that has completely different color. Up close, it's not very noticeable, especially under direct sun light. Does this piece come pre painted from factory? Or having the dealer repaint to a better match is the only option?

JuLeX47

Welcome and congrats. If its a CPO or still under factory warranty i would definitely take it back to the dealer to have it color matched. If its a CPO then it should not have been in any accidents. Was this cladding replaced?

ROK

depends on your definition of an accident so in actuality, plenty of CPOed cars have been in "accidents". plenty are sold by reputable dealers with paint work. how do i know? my car was CPOed meaning the one i traded in. it was in excellent shape, but it did have the panel and bumper repainted. no structural damage. parking lot incident. is a bumper repaint an "accident"? is this car any less worthy of CPO status than the no-accident truck that didn't follow the maintenance schedule like mine did?

the dealership risks negative client experience and a mark on their records if they sell a majorly damaged car as CPO. this is a much bigger risk than the actual sales transaction since it hurts future business.

i'd always get a PPI CPO or no CPO. YOU can only look out for your best interests. they couldn't care less really. they want your money. it's just a matter of whether they also want your referrals and future business.

gs4rocks

Actually, I knew that the CPO car can have accident history.
It should not have visible paint job with mismatched color.

What about the fact that the paint job was done by the dealer, and they lied about it when specifically asked about it?

The funny thing is that metallic silver is a very tricky color. Under a direct sunlight I don't see any color difference. In the shadow or with overcast, the difference is very very noticeable.

I prefer not to escalated the issue, but it just doesn't seem right.

redrocks

Welcome! Enjoy the GX!

z0lt3c

iTrader: (1)

Your issues w/ color match are one reason why alot of people won't paint just a small panel. The best way to paint, IMO is to paint it on the car and blend the ends of the new panel with the end of the old panel. In this manner you wind up with a blended edge instead of a new/old line. This trick often helps to minimize the mismatch. I would get a few estimates from reputable local body shops and go back into the dealer armed with the information on how to fix it properly.

ROK

yea if the previous owner is someone who takes care of their material possessions, then obviously they'd take it to a good body shop to get the work done right. a shoddy job may well be an indicator of how the truck was treated as a whole.

everyone says x and y color is extra tricky. no it's not. they're all the same and people have been repainting and matching all sorts of colors with great precision. just, again, take it to someone who also cares to do good work.

gs4rocks

The car is in excellent condition otherwise, with all proper maintenance records from the dealer.
This was a personal lease. Looking at the records for the date the car was returned and when it was put out for sale as CPO, I don't think there was any major damage to the car except for the paint job.

In the service records, it shows that the dealer did repair of dings and scratches for 4 panels during CPO process.
My guess is that the dealer decided to repaint the panels instead of doing a whole bunch of touch ups.

I did talked to the sales person today, and he actually mentioned about a possibility of buying the car back if I no longer want the car. I'm taking it to a body shop today before I meet with the sales manager tomorrow.

gs4rocks

Can anyone confirm if the outer door panel and fender moldings are available with factory paint?
These are all plastic parts.
It looks like that's all that have to be changed.
I got 2 different answer so I'm not sure who's right.

ALAN553

Check sewell's website, they list the parts by color

z0lt3c

iTrader: (1)

A new factory painted panel won't be any better, if it's even offered from the factory painted. The problem is the paint fades over time and will not match "new paint" properly. This is specifically why I stated to have the panel painted ON the car, so the paint tones can be properly blended. If a body shop suggests otherwise, find another body shop.

gs4rocks

That's a good point.
These are plastic molding pieces basically.
I guess this applies to any car. If you have to replace a side molding with a new factory painted one, it will not match with any part of the car.

However, I don't want to have paint job into the actual door (metal part) just to make the molding blended in better. If the door itself needs to be painted, that's a different story.

The best option to me is to replace all the moldings on the same side that runs together in a line.
I doubt the dealer will do that, but will see what comes out of the meeting tomorrow.