Soft paint...hard paint....ham handed.....kid gloves.....none of this has anything to do with anything. If they're selling you this bike as a new bike with zero to next-to-zero mileage...then regardless of model year, you are absolutely within your rights to demand a spotless finish (or at least as spotless as is customary for a bike fresh from the assembly line. The fact that they're taking a beating on the price in order to get it off the floor means nothing and don't let them tell you it does.)
Don't let them string you along on this. And DON'T SIGN ANYTHING. And, if you already have signed something...don't sign anything else. Not until AFTER they make good on this to your personal satisfaction. They do this every day....they KNOW you have the right to refuse it. Unless you have signed for delivery, they know you can walk at any moment. If they have sold your old bike...then they are on the hook to pay you what they sold it for. (minus a dealer fee, in some states.) Don't let them cow you into taking it if it doesn't suit you for any reason. (Btw...many states also have Buyers Remorse laws which will allow you to return for full refund any vehicle within a set number of days after delivery....regardless of reason. Damage not included...so watch yourself.)
Back in 1986, I purchased a new (black) Thunderbird Turbo Coupe (last Ford I will ever buy..but that's another story). The day I went to take delivery, the salesman met me at the front door as I walked in and whisked me off to the service bay and explained to me that there'd been an accident during the prep and now there was a scratch in the paint the full length of the right front fender. I never was able to get them to tell me what the hell had happened to my new car.
Anyway, they promised me that they would re-finish the fender and that it would be indistinguishable from new. I took their word for it and (whereas it was late in the year and I'd gotten a hell of a price on it...just like you did) I signed for delivery.
Well....they NEVER got the paint right. And they never got the finish right either. I took it back to them a half dozen times to do it over yet again. Finally, they got snotty with me and told me that they had done their best and were not even going to try anymore after this...and as I had legally taken delivery and had possessed it far longer than the State remorse law allowed for....they did not care whether I was happy about it or not. The car was mine and I was stuck with it....and don't come back asking to do it again. At which point they made an even worse attempt than any of the other tries had been and told me to get lost.
I have always regretted being so gullible as to buy their load of crap and accept the vehicle. I had that car from '86 until '01 and every day it reminded me of the bad decision I had made that day.
Don't let them snow you. You'll never forgive yourself. If they do ANYTHING but roll over and give you the world.....go talk to an attorney and have him go to the dealership with you. If he's a real shark...it'll probably cost you $500 or more for the guy to spend an afternoon with you. But....in the long run, it's cheap insurance and it'll send a message to the dealer that you're not going to be easily hoodwinked. And always be ready to call the whole thing off and demand your money if they just refuse to play ball.
best of luck! Let us know what happens.
....sT
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Originally Posted by Steve 0080
