Just bought my G70 SP today... but was front bumper resprayed???

[JCtx]

Hey gang, bought the G70 3.3T SP today, but just noticed a big a$$ defect on the front bumper cover, where it meets the hood (pics below). Don't know how I missed that at dealer, but it was pretty obvious under the LED lighting in my garage. And yes, it's noticeable even with the hood closed, since it's so freaking close to the edge. How the hell could that pass inspection? Or was a respray job, which is what I'm fearing? Never seen that in a new car. Heck, even a crappy respray job would have painted lower than that, no? Geez.

Anyway, my paint is the 'cheapo' Alta white, to see if other owners with that color can chime in. But I also want to know if any other color looks like that, because I want to give the car back to dealer if it was a respray, since it wasn't disclosed to me, and they always chip like crazy, no matter how good the job is done (I've been thru that twice). I could also put a stop payment to my $56K+ check if needed, but I'd try to work with dealer first. I just drove the car home, so just put like 15 miles on it. If all cars are like that, I'd keep it, but that would give me a fuzzy feeling about the quality of the rest of the car. All comments welcome. Thanks gang.

 

[MichaelJohnson]

Would you mind sharing a picture that's zoomed out a bit so we can tell exactly where it's at? I believe I know what area you are talking about but just want to make sure. Seems like it's right around the Genesis emblem, correct? I don't have the same color as you and my car is at the detailer until tomorrow. I'll compare mine to yours and share pictures when I get it back.

 

[WilcoJunoHotel]

I looked at my 2022 Uyuni white and while there is a seam there, it is not rough like yours - it is a smooth seam and looks almost invisible unless you look closely.

Yours looks like they failed to sand it smooth after paint - Or, like you said, it could be a respray at the dealer. Could even be paint splatter from a can? I do know that resprays are common on bumpers but never heard of a respray on the inside of the front engine bay.

I would definitely take it to the dealer for inspection.

BTW, the paint job on my car is immaculate.

 

[pulsar]

If the dealer made a repair or knew of a repair, they are obligated to tell you. At the factory our cars are painted by robots so bad factory paint doesn’t happen often. It’s hard to duplicate the consistency of a robotic paint job. My G70 is blue and I too was a little confused whereabouts on the hood your at for me to look at that same area on mine. Dealer needs to make you happy though.

 

[WilcoJunoHotel]

Also, you should be able to pop up that black plastic piece fairly easily to see how far down the poor paint job goes.

I looked at mine again in that same area and it is flawless - so flawless that I couldn't get a good picture of the seam.

Yours should be perfect as well - definitely have the dealer look at it.

Kind of makes me wonder if there was a front piece/bumper swap done on it and they put a repaired part on there. Odd.

 

[JCtx]

Hey guys, yes, the seam is in front of the hood. Thought the emblem would make that obvious; sorry. And the weird thing is the seam is almost at the edge, which is stupid, rather than at least a couple of millimeters lower. It's pretty obvious even with the hood closed, now that I know it's there. Ha ha.

Need pictures of your cars, please. It definitely didn't happen at dealer, since car arrived Thursday afternoon. They wanted me to close the deal that evening, but was too late, so I went yesterday instead. And took over 4 hours, so no way they'd have finished in 2. Anyway, it was super rough. I took some of the roughness away with the back of my index finger nail, so it was that bad. I can still see it and feel it (pictures were taken after I 'worked on it'), and am afraid paint might start to come loose at some point in that entire area. The area below the seam looks like unfinished paint, not unlike the inside of the hood or fenders, where it's not clear-coated or polished. I removed the tow hook cover, and looked under bumper cover, and around the grille, etc., and doesn't look like a respray job to my untrained eye. But definitely a defect, since somebody mentioned that same seam. I want pictures of that area with the seam well finished, and the other where it's not visible, please. To prove to dealer it's not normal.

Unfortunately, I'm quite 'anal' about my vehicles, and if I paid MSRP for one, I expect it to look like others. So not perfect, but like it should be. What can dealer do? Send it to a freaking body shop and try to make it better? No way I'd want that. I did that once, and they basically ruined my car. Scratched the leather all over, scuffed the crap out of the interior, even when I tried to protect it, and car smelled like a paint factory, and never went away. I'd either leave it alone, or try to undo the deal. Just curious what other owners would do . Thank you for your great help so far.

EDIT: Best time to catch GM is at 9:30am, so in 25 minutes. Hope to have some pics and advice by then. Thanks guys.

 

[MichaelJohnson]

Hey guys, yes, the seam is in front of the hood. Thought the emblem would make that obvious; sorry. And the weird thing is the seam is almost at the edge, which is stupid, rather than at least a couple of millimeters lower. It's pretty obvious even with the hood closed, now that I know it's there. Ha ha.

Need pictures of your cars, please. It definitely didn't happen at dealer, since car arrived Thursday afternoon. They wanted me to close the deal that evening, but was too late, so I went yesterday instead. And took over 4 hours, so no way they'd have finished in 2. Anyway, it was super rough. I took some of the roughness away with the back of my index finger nail, so it was that bad. I can still see it and feel it (pictures were taken after I 'worked on it'), and am afraid paint might start to come loose at some point in that entire area. The area below the seam looks like unfinished paint, not unlike the inside of the hood or fenders, where it's not clear-coated or polished. I removed the tow hook cover, and looked under bumper cover, and around the grille, etc., and doesn't look like a respray job to my untrained eye. But definitely a defect, since somebody mentioned that same seam. I want pictures of that area with the seam well finished, and the other where it's not visible, please. To prove to dealer it's not normal.

Unfortunately, I'm quite 'anal' about my vehicles, and if I paid MSRP for one, I expect it to look like others. So not perfect, but like it should be. What can dealer do? Send it to a freaking body shop and try to make it better? No way I'd want that. I did that once, and they basically ruined my car. Scratched the leather all over, scuffed the crap out of the interior, even when I tried to protect it, and car smelled like a paint factory, and never went away. I'd either leave it alone, or try to undo the deal. Just curious what other owners would do . Thank you for your great help so far.

EDIT: Best time to catch GM is at 9:30am, so in 25 minutes. Hope to have some pics and advice by then. Thanks guys.

You could mask off everything in that area as close to the "defect" as possible and hit it with some water and super fine sand paper. Start with 3000 grit and see if that helps smooth it out. Ridiculous that I'm even providing this as a possible solution to a brand new car though.

 

[JCtx]

I know. Ha ha. You know, I honestly wouldn't attempt that. I'm a good mechanical guy, but a terrible paint one. Ha ha. But don't want to submit my brand new car to a body shop either. So I have to decide between leaving it alone, or returning it. If dealer accepts a return without a fight, I'd take it . Need to call right now. Wish me luck.

 

[pulsar]

Wonder if during transit over to the states it got some minor paint damage so the port folks had it repaired so your dealer may not know anything? I did not see the hood emblem on your pics but just using my phone which is a smaller size and not the laptop size some like to use so I may have missed the front emblem in the pic. See what your dealer says how it can be corrected, or swap it for another G70. A lot of us here are anal about our cars so your in good company.

 

[MichaelJohnson]

Wonder if during transit over to the states it got some minor paint damage so the port folks had it repaired so your dealer may not know anything? I did not see the hood emblem on your pics but just using my phone which is a smaller size and not the laptop size some like to use so I may have missed the front emblem in the pic. See what your dealer says how it can be corrected, or swap it for another G70. A lot of us here are anal about our cars so your in good company.

I'm not sure anyone on this forum isn't anal about their car
Maybe we need to start a poll.....

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[JCtx]

Glad I'm not the only one. Ha ha. Okay, so just hung up with the general manager. He said they didn't do anything, but I already knew that. But he said it could have happened at port, and if less than 5 grand, they didn't have to disclose it to dealers... BUT if a dealer inquired, then they're obligated to disclose any work done. So GM fired an email before calling me back, and he'll know Monday if something happened. I'm suspecting that the factory somehow missed my car to do the manual part of smoothing out that surface, but will know Monday.

Now, I told GM if my car had any kind of paint work done, I absolutely don't want it. And he said even though supposedly once you sign papers in TX the car is yours (sounds just like an excuse to force customers to keep vehicles, since it can be 100% reversed now), he'd take it back. But what about if it's just a paint 'defect', like I suspect? I told him I wouldn't fight him if he doesn't want to take it back, since I'm anal, but still reasonable. Ha ha. But if he took it back, I'd gladly accept. Just asked my wife, since she'd use it too, if she agreed, and she said yes, BUT at long as it wouldn't take like 6 months for another. And we'd try to get saville silver with sandstorm this time, with the option of Uyuni white. We also didn't like the awful difference in tone from plastic to sheet-metal. Looks like a blind guy did the paint match. Ha ha. But it's like that at the rear too, so obviously a 'feature' of a plain paint job, in this case white. I also bought a plain black Porsche because it was the only one I could find loaded to the gills except metallic paint, and regretted it quickly. Ha ha. Didn't think white would be the same, but it is, since plain paint doesn't reflect light nearly the same, and everything is more noticeable. So lesson learned: NO MORE PLAIN PAINT JOBS. Ha ha. Thank you for all your help. Will keep car in the garage without using it until Monday, and decide what to do then. He wanted me to take the car there, but what for? I'm not going to accept a body shop fix, so told him I'd only take it there if he takes it back. Will keep you posted. Have a great weekend guys.

 

[Slip_Angle]

Yeah, make sure you don't settle for something you won't be happy with... it just gets you started on the wrong foot and will leave a bitter taste right from the get go. That said, sometimes these paint imperfections can be fixed by someone skilled with a good sand/polish.

Hope it all works out for you!

 

[Volfy]

What your pics show look like masking tape line. If so, it sure looks like a refinish job with the bumper cover left in situ. This is usually done because the refinish paint - even when matched to the paint code - is difficult to match exactly. Paint job shop often will tint the code to an existing panel, like the fuel filler door, that you bring in. Even then, it might still be slightly off hue. The difference will be most noticeable along body panel line, so a good job shop will blend the new paint across to an adjacent panel, even if that panel wasn't damaged.

So, what this means is it might have been a small area repair job on and around the bumper cover. If it were a new or replacement bumper, it would have been painted off the car, which usually won't have a masking tape line where the pics showed.

Anyhow, not seeing the car in person, this is just speculative. I've done a good bit of autopaint. It's a fun hobby but materials have gotten rather expensive in recent yrs.

 

[JCtx]

Thank you for all the support guys. Still need your pics between today and tomorrow, PLEEEEEASE . To show the GM, since they don't have any other G70 to look at. And the reasoning about a masking tape line makes sense, except that the paint job looks perfect everywhere else, like around the grille, etc. So makes no sense that they did a crappy job there, and a perfect job on the even more difficult grille area, no? I'm FAR from a paint expert, but so far, the explanation that makes more sense to me is that after the robots painting the car, there has to be a manual step to smooth that seam, and my car somehow missed it. But what is hard to believe is a 2nd QC person also missing that obvious defect. I don't know what to believe. Ha ha. I'm reasonably confident the GM will tell me the truth Monday, and if car was painted, he would tell me, since he already said he'd take it back if I really want to give it back. I want to be reasonable, but honestly prefer he does at this point, especially if we can get exactly the color we want, and in a reasonable time, meaning about 3 months tops. Will keep you posted.

Hey, there's another reason I also don't feel super good about this car. It has a strange engine noise I don't like. It doesn't sound abnormal, like something is wrong right now, but sounds worrisome. It's a weird arrhythmic whirring sound on the right/rear (passenger) side of the engine. Will fire up the car later, and do a short video, and post it on Youtube (will have to figure out how, since I haven't done it in ages. Ha ha). Where should I post that? If it's not normal either, I'd push much harder to return it. Thank you.

 

[GenesisAdvisor]

In my 4 months with Genesis I have received more complaints about paint than the rest of my 5 years combined with other manufacturers. However defects across the board have gone up in manufacturing since COVID. What I always tell customers is that there is always something that can be done, but once you start touching the factory paint there is no going back and it will never look the same. It's up to you how far you want to take it. Don't be surprised if you get some work done and the results do not meet your expectations.

 

[JCtx]

It looks pretty good already. There are just a few areas where you can see black, where the paint flaked off. I'd only touch those small areas and with a white paint marker that should be pretty close to match this paint color, since both are plain white. I wouldn't touch it up with sand paper, like somebody suggested. It might be a good idea for an expert, but not me. Ha ha. And as I mentioned, I'm not taking the car anywhere just for that. It looks pretty good already, and touching up what looks dark now with the white paint marker will make the defect disappear for 99% of people out there. My other worry now is the engine noise I mentioned. Will fire up the car tomorrow, and post the video, so I can know if it's normal or not. Obviously it's more obvious with the hood open, but I'll also close it, so those lazy enough not wanting to open the hood can also listen for the noise closed, although it's subdued, so might not sound at all on computer speakers. Will probably start a new thread, to get better and quicker results. And also for others to find it in the future. Thank you.

My main worry is if it was a respray job or not. I'd only keep the car if it's not, and engine noise is 'normal'. Fortunately, I didn't remove all letters, in case I give it back. Just removed them on the Santa Fe, and it was the easiest vehicle so far. And no residue left; they all pop out easily, and with the adhesive. Nice.

 

[MichaelJohnson]

Thank you for all the support guys. Still need your pics between today and tomorrow, PLEEEEEASE . To show the GM, since they don't have any other G70 to look at. And the reasoning about a masking tape line makes sense, except that the paint job looks perfect everywhere else, like around the grille, etc. So makes no sense that they did a crappy job there, and a perfect job on the even more difficult grille area, no? I'm FAR from a paint expert, but so far, the explanation that makes more sense to me is that after the robots painting the car, there has to be a manual step to smooth that seam, and my car somehow missed it. But what is hard to believe is a 2nd QC person also missing that obvious defect. I don't know what to believe. Ha ha. I'm reasonably confident the GM will tell me the truth Monday, and if car was painted, he would tell me, since he already said he'd take it back if I really want to give it back. I want to be reasonable, but honestly prefer he does at this point, especially if we can get exactly the color we want, and in a reasonable time, meaning about 3 months tops. Will keep you posted.

Hey, there's another reason I also don't feel super good about this car. It has a strange engine noise I don't like. It doesn't sound abnormal, like something is wrong right now, but sounds worrisome. It's a weird arrhythmic whirring sound on the right/rear (passenger) side of the engine. Will fire up the car later, and do a short video, and post it on Youtube (will have to figure out how, since I haven't done it in ages. Ha ha). Where should I post that? If it's not normal either, I'd push much harder to return it. Thank you.

Maybe it's more noticeable on your vehicle. I can see it on mine when looking for it from certain angles. It's much easier to see with the hood open. I'm not convinced that the line is from masking tape. In my opinion it is from the bumper cover manufacturing process. Notice how the metal fender is one smooth piece?? The bumper cover is plastic and this appears to be a seam of some sort. It would be nice if it was located even an 1/8" lower. The hood would completely cover it up if it was.

I'd say this is common on every G70 bumper cover. The line may be more noticeable on some. Definitely something that should be sanded smooth before the paint is applied. In fact, mine is smooth in spots and has more of the ridge in others. It's probably about 50/50.

I completely understand not wanting to touch it with 3000 grit. I was just offering a possible solution. Hopefully the noise you are speaking of is indeed "normal". I absolutely love my car and wouldn't want anyone to have a negative experience with their G70

Also, I've attempted to attach pictures but the files are apparently too large. I've attached many other pictures without that issue. Not sure what I've got going on

 

[JCtx]

Hey guys, before anything, a HUGE thanks to Mike Johnson for his help sending me pictures of his hood seam, and his engine running. First the good news. His car shows a nicer seam than mine, but EXACTLY at the same location, so I can pretty much predict my car has no respray job; it's just a defect that I'm still baffled how it could escape the hands of even the final QC guy, and in Korea, of all places. But now the bad news. My car has a disturbing engine noise (video attached below) that pretty much sealed the deal to fight to return that car. I was going to keep it if no damage was confirmed, but no way I'm going to start ownership getting my engine tear down, and by incompetent techs who managed to deliver my car overfilled with ONE QUART of oil. Geez. My car has 71 miles since I brought it home, but not sure how many of those are with the overfilled situation. My guess is dealer did that (rather than not catching it, and correct it), so depends how many miles the car had. I was surprised to see that many when it supposedly just arrived. My Santa Fe Calligraphy was on the same truck, and had 25 miles less. Probably just around 30, so not an issue, I think; just hope the crankshaft wasn't hitting the oil. At any rate, I don't think that caused the engine noise at all. After using my automotive stethoscope, noise wasn't coming from the turbo, like I was hoping, but from inside the valve cover instead, and at the very rear of the passenger side, so not the cam phaser, unfortunately. The grinding nature of it leads me to suspect a bearing, but since I'm not familiar with these engines, I don' t know. But it surely has to be opened up to investigate. And no way I'm going thru that, especially with this dealer. So car is going back for sure. Not sure what's next, as it might be months before another SP arrives. Will keep you posted on what happens after my conversation with GM tomorrow. All comments welcome on the engine noise.

 

[Volfy]

One qt overfilled engine oil isn't going to hurt the engine. But that hissing noise is definitely weird.

As for your factory paint defect concern. Genesis did have a problem with early model year of the G70, albeit only with Havana Red color for some reason. Read here: Why Are There So Many Used Red Genesis G70s With Under 100 Miles? I, myself, have come across several of these red low mile G70s and passed on every one of them. I did also come across a white one at my local dealer where the front bumper color looks rather obviously off. Didn't bother to look too much into that one, since dealer wanted too much money for it anyway. Anyhow, I would've thought any OEM paint issue would've been resolved by now. Not having seen your car in person, I have no idea what the paint "problem" actually is. If it is just a bit heavier orange peel at certain spots, that is quite common and just about all but impossible to dial out in a factory paint process. It can be corrected manually, but does cost $$ to do.

 

[JCtx]

Not having seen your car in person, I have no idea what the paint "problem" actually is.

Look at the pictures on my first post, although they might not reflect the issue well. I can zoom in on my phone, where it's rather obvious. The problem is an apparent factory defect on a seam at the top of the bumper cover, right by the edge that meets the hood. The first problem is that the seam is right by the edge, fully visible even with hood closed. It should have been lower, mostly out of view. The the actual problem with mine is that it wasn't smoothed out, nor touched-up at all, so looks like crap, even with the hood closed. The other disappointment, at least with my Alta white, is the absurd difference in tone from plastic to metal paints, but that's the case at the rear too, so obviously not a respray job not matched properly, although it looks that way. And the orange peel is also worse than it should be IMO, but within 'normal' limits, so I don't have an issue with that. And I could also live with the stark tone difference with the bumpers.

Having said the above, if no evidence of a respray job was confirmed (as I'm almost sure will be the case), I was going to keep the car. But the engine noise was the drop that spilled the bucket, so don't want it anymore. And it's more than 'hissing'; something is obviously 'rubbing/grinding' inside. It doesn't amount to a full-on grinding, but sounds disturbing enough with the stethoscope that it's probably happening at some degree. And I heard it louder yesterday than at dealer, but also car was inside my garage, so who knows. At any rate, it's bad enough that I wouldn't want to keep driving it like that. Waiting for a dealer call at any minute now.