I'm sorry to be the first to say that I can see the patches you are talking about - maybe we're just 2 very fussy BMW owners. I can only really see it if I zoom in on the last 2 pictures especially the second to last. Looks like the base colour coat hasn't gone on that smooth before the lacquer.

However, I think we're being really picky here in that in most situations you cannot see it and only if you peer really closely because you know it's there. If you can get past that "new car has to be absolutely flawless" feeling then I don't think it will bother you after a while.

Keep enjoying - you have yourself a beautiful car there and I'm quite envious ........

 

Wow what a gift what a gift!

 

Thanks for all the responses. Ultimately, it's just really difficult to see in the pictures. I tried taking another picture at dusk tonight, when it seemed like it was more visible... but it's still tough to see. I brought the picture into Photoshop and played around with cranking up the contrast, adjusting the gamma, and color channels, etc. to see if I could make it more visible.

Toggling between these two pictures (or overlaying one on top of the other), you can kind of see what I'm talking about. That's mainly coming from the paint color being blotchy, not reflections (except for the far right which is reflection).

For peace of mind, I'll probably take a trip back to the dealer this week and check out a few other Space Gray cars on the showroom floor for comparison.

Again, I'm probably the only person who will ever notice. Everyone that's seen my car so far, just drools over it.

One other side note.... I was driving down Venice Blvd tonight and along side me came some sup'd-up Pontiac... He definitely wanted to play, he gave it some gas and so did I... but I couldn't give it too much b/c of the break-in period. I only have 150 miles on the car!!!!! I kept saying to myself, I CAN'T GO OVER 4500 RPM!!!!! So I just let it go and turned up the L7 and enjoyed the music. Poor guy went home to tell all of his friends that he smoked a 550!

 

"For peace of mind, I'll probably take a trip back to the dealer this week and check out a few other Space Gray cars on the showroom floor for comparison."

I'd be upset too; these cars aren't cheap and BMW's paint/finish is one of the things that you paid for.
For future ref: Paint finish is one of the things I reference as a deal breaker before I take delivery of a car. ie ( I try not to take delivery at night or in the rain) I guess I'm a little OCD too.
In the past I'd never let anyone touch it, but today the paint matches are much better. Show it to the dealer, tell them you're not happy and have them fix it to your satisfaction.

Just my opinion...good luck.

 

While I think I can see it in your pics...it's not that noticable. I have seen other new cars with that "effect" on the hood though...almost as if they didn't get quite enough color base coat on the hood and it has high/low spots as a result. I would recommend getting it in to your dealer and discussing options with them about repair and at the very least get the defect on record! This way if it should fade or get worse over time you may be covered. I, (like you), have had parts of a new car repainted before and no matter how good it looks initially, it does age differently and will show with time. Especially if you routinely have to park you car in the sun!

By the way congrats on your new 550i - it's an awesome looking ride!! Try and not let that hood take away the fun of a new car...I realize that's easioer said that done for sure

 

Congrats and enjoy! I know I have mine with 4200 miles in 2 months. I have not noticed any issues with my Space Gray. I'll have to look closer first chance I get. I'm out of town with the X3 because of expected snow in WV. I have noticed Space Gray is plain in the shade and pops in the sun. In both cases it seems deeper than most other cars with similar colors.

PS: You might have taken that Pontiac even with a 4500 rpm shift, there's so much mid range power. I don't think 1 or 2 moderate runs during break in will hurt it either. I have mentioned of my "accelerated" breakin in a few posts heading to the mountains once it hit 400 miles. Each day (of 200 mile driving) I hit progressively higher RPMs. By 1200 miles I had hit 6k a few times. The car runs great now.

 

welcome and congrats. enjoy the forums.

 

Best present I could ever imagine, cool looking, great colour choose inside/outside.

 

Thanks! I'm a big fan of the inside color choice, I really like the anthracite bamboo trim with the gray leather.


An update on the paint issue... I took a drive over to the dealer this afternoon and met with my sales guy (who is the Fleet Manager for the dealership). Of course, in the lighting conditions of the parking garage, it was very difficult to see what I was talking about. But he did see it a little bit and admitted that something looked a little strange. Although, he was very careful not to admit too much. We went up to the lot and got a M5 that was also space gray and parked it next to my 550i. The paint looked better, but there was still a tiny bit of the same blotchy effect with the color of the paint on the hood. The hood looked a lot better than my hood, but I have to say, not 100% perfect. If mine looked as good as the M5 hood, it would not be enough to complain about.

Anyway, he said to give him a call after the holidays and let him have the car for 1 day. He will give me a nice BMW loaner to drive while he has his detailer takes a look at the car.

I doubt the detailer can do anything, but at least it's a step in the right direction. He assured me that there will be a resolution to this problem and that I will be happy.