Be careful buying a car from Les Standford that’s been in inventory for a while. You might buy a car with terrible rail dust on/in the paint. Just make 100% sure the car has smooth paint before they ship it to you.

I just bought a 2016 C6 with only 4,800 miles on it from Les Standford. the transaction was super smooth and the sales person was very easy to work with. They are very professional. I’d highly recommend them, just be sure to get the paint inspected before they ship.

The car was represented as near new. It is beautiful in the pictures. When I got the car, the paint feels like sand paper. It’s red, so you can’t see the grit, but if you run your hands over it, it’s really, really bad. It’s the worst paint I’ve ever seen on a car with such low miles.

I tried a clay bar on a small section and it took about 5 passes with the bar. It left terrible scratches and still has some grit. I called a friend who knows paint and he came over. He said it looks like rail dust. He worked on the targa top for over an hour and got most of it off, but left a lot of bad scratches. It will take a lot of work to compound, polish and protect the paint. I estimate it needs at least 20 hours of work.

Using Google maps, I looked up the dealership to find Les Standford sits near some train tracks. The car was in inventory for 3 or 4 months. So it must have sat close enough to the tracks to accumulate a lot of rail dust. I contacted the sales person and he said he’d see what he could do. But he didn’t call or text back today, so I’m assuming they will call and be willing to help with the cost to correct the paint.

I’ll get it worked out. It’s going to take a lot of work, but I think a professional can get it.

Here she sits with her siblings. Beautiful car! Just wish the paint was near perfect as I expected.