I picked up a 8 month old ex demo Superb on Saturday. I pointed out to the salesperson that it hadn't been cleaned properly and there were several paint chips on the car. He offered to send me some touch-up paint by post and that this is normal for a car of this age. 

 

Is it? It only has 7000 miles on the clock and I expected to pick up a car that should look like it just cam off the assembly line. Are my expectation too high?

For an 8 month / 7000 mi, it seems quite soon to already have paint chips... I think your dealer could do more... It looks like, now he has sold the care, he doesn’t care for you anymore... Strange sense of ´customer satisfaction’ 🤔...

I had a very very similar situation when I got my "Approved Used" Superb from Bristol Street Motors in Chesterfield in January.  There were several stone chips and small imperfections including one dent through to metal which they casually said would be sorted as a matter of course when it was prepped.  When I went to pick the car up, some of the minor scuffs had been sorted but the stone chips still remained and the deeper dent had just had touch up paint put straight onto bare metal which then promptly fell out when touched.  The only reason I accepted the car was because I had got it at an extremely good price and knew I could get the bodywork sorted myself, because any equivalent car on Autotrader was listed £2.5k more than I paid.

So, if I were you I would either decline the car or do a comparative search online to see if you are getting it cheaper just because of the existing damage.  But ultimately, if it's going to bug you then maybe just walk away.

I think expecting a box fresh car at 7,000 miles is unreasonable. If it’s been sat on a motorway for that time it’ll have picked up some marks, for sure. 
 

You should have been questioning it before purchase to see if you could get a discount or repairs done. No point asking for more after the deal is done. 
 

Them not cleaning it properly is a bit lazy though. That’s a pretty basic thing to do. 
 

None of this is reason enough to reject the car. 

Yeah, agree with the others. It’s a clear case of “caveat emptor” - buyer beware. Did you buy it blind on the Internet? As an ex “demo” car and it’s been driven by numerous people, used as a runner for delivery drivers, used as a courtesy car, a “go and get the lunch” and “drop him at the station” and “I’ll take that for the weekend” car. Basically, the condition they presented it to you, is a reflection of their business attitude I’m afraid; they couldn’t give a toss how it’s been treated during their tenure, as they got a registration bonus, a good discount and they made a profit when it sold. Car sales and service is one of the last bastions of abysmally poor customer service; when was the last time you felt genuinely welcome at a car dealership? I ask as I wouldn’t have bought it In that condition as it reflects all of the above.

Our 280 was four years old with 20k when we bought it in March from an independent dealer and apart from a fair number of touched-up stone chips, it was immaculate inside and out and had been prepped really well by the dealer, who was also very welcoming and professional. And really luckily, the previous owner is a well-known member here and the car is a credit to the way he looked after it. 

Thanks for your reply's everyone.

We have just bought second hand for the wife, it has just under 2 years guarantee left but if anything had been broken/paint damage then we would have been pointing it out before the deal was concluded and asking for it to be done in the price.

 

Too late after the deal is done.