If you really want the white then go for it and have them cover the area with the body moldings. I have them on my 17' RTL. I personally like them. Tell them to get you some touch up paint that matches it. Then afterwards just touch it up. I have a defect in the OEM paint job that has been there forever since I bought it. It's on the rear plastic pillar cover area by the back window. I accepted it that way and while I still look at it to this day it's not a big deal and not noticeable unless you point it out. This one is the same in my book.

 

Looks like a little polishing compound and elbow grease and its good as new.

 

Unfortunately, elbow grease won't do it this time. The scratch was made during the manufacturing process and clear coat was applied over top of it. The clear coat itself is somewhat bubbled, but it is not flaky.
I've included an enlarged photo of the scratch.
I could apply the o e m body molding, but it will just be applied above the scratch. The molding may stick out far enough to hide the scratch from view. Not sure if this is the best solution.
Has anyone tried the sonic gray pearl? Does it hold up well?? Do swirls show easily? Because it is light, my feeling is that it should stand up well over time.But I could be wrong as some earlier hondas in sonoc grey had some peeling/glaking around the mirrors.

 

I am finicky and would be heartbroken and would pass on the white truck.

I am the guy out in the driveway touching up rock chips after every road trip.

I have all kinds of polishes, waxes, and creams.

That is an ugly area on the driver's side and will not blend easily.

Pretty wild it got scratched and then clearcoated.

The factory needs to be notified.

 

Agreed. I'll see if there's something in white coming. I'd take a Black Edition but I don't know how well the red leather holds up.

 

I couldn't take it. I would see that scratch every time I walked up to the truck and it would drive me crazy. I wouldn't have any reservations about taking the gray one. Personally, I'd rather have it than the white to begin with.

 

IMHO the quality control at Honda's Alabama and Ohio plants are not nearly as good as the Hondas that come from Japan.

My Japanese built 1990 Accord was flawless and the paint looked like new after 8-years.

Our Ohio built 1993 Accord's white paint turned to chalk after three years. It would get dull and would transfer white to anything that touched it. Polishing and waxing the paint would help for 6-months or so.

I got home in my newly purchased 2018 Ridgeline and realized the passenger side door was badly misaligned and the rear of the front door stuck out 1/2" more than the leading edge of the rear door. the owner of a local body shop corrected 90% of the issue for free in a few minutes.

When washing my 2025 Ridgeline for the first time I noticed a section of the clear coat in-between the top of the passenger side rear door and the roof had very lumpy orange peel and looked 'dry' and flat rather than gloss. Since the dealer is over an hour's drive I got out my random orbital and some fine polishing compound and I was able to make the area nearly perfect in 20-minutes or so.

I'd recommend taking some detailed photos of the area and either try a little Meguires Scratch Remover on it or take it to the dealer depending on how far it is to the dealership. If you go to the dealer I'd suggest asking them to either remove the scratch or hide it with the optional door protectors.

 

IMHO the quality control at Honda's Alabama and Ohio plants are not nearly as good as the Hondas that come from Japan.

My Japanese built 1990 Accord was flawless and the paint looked like new after 8-years.

Our Ohio built 1993 Accord's white paint turned to chalk after three years. It would get dull and would transfer white to anything that touched it. Polishing and waxing the paint would help for 6-months or so.

I got home in my newly purchased 2018 Ridgeline and realized the passenger side door was badly misaligned and the rear of the front door stuck out 1/2" more than the leading edge of the rear door. the owner of a local body shop corrected 90% of the issue for free in a few minutes.

When washing my 2025 Ridgeline for the first time I noticed a section of the clear coat in-between the top of the passenger side rear door and the roof had very lumpy orange peel and looked 'dry' and flat rather than gloss. Since the dealer is over an hour's drive I got out my random orbital and some fine polishing compound and I was able to make the area nearly perfect in 20-minutes or so.

I'd recommend taking some detailed photos of the area and either try a little Meguires Scratch Remover on it or take it to the dealer depending on how far it is to the dealership. If you go to the dealer I'd suggest asking them to either remove the scratch or hide it with the optional door protectors.

I suspect you're right. Most subaru cars are still made in japan but I don't suspect many Hondas are.
I'm opting for the sonic grey unit and I'll go over the truck carefully to ensure the INITIAL quality is there. The dealer is doing some sort of polish/clearcoat (I'll ask about it again) but I'm wondering if the key here is to do the clay bar and the ceramic coat to try to prevent paint issues.

 

After your first door ding you will forgetaboutit

 

That's a $500 scratch repair at most; maybe less....sand back, color match, clear coat the panel - and its fresh paint so the match will be undetectable. If you were in Florida I could name 3 shops that could do it for that.

Either pass on the car, buy it and live with it, or, factor in the cost of the touch up (maybe the dealer ponies up the cost)....because it WILL bug you (this thread is evidence of that)..

 

I'm in Canada. We do have good autobody in places. Concerned about how it will stand up over time.

 

Find a Ding and Dent company and they will make it look new. Every dealership has people they use and numbers or GOOGLE Ding and Dent close and take it to them. They should make it look new again. I had this happen to my '22 from a grocery cart and it took the fella about an hour and couldn't even find where he did the work. Very easy fix...

 

If I might offer my services........
I will come to your location for a fee with a 30 year old F-150, park on the off side of the scratch you are concerned about and open the drivers side door HARD against your new white RL. The scratch in your paint will vanish.

You can achieve the same results a lot cheaper by shopping at Walmart.

 

I don't get too worked up about daily wear and tear, but when the vehicle is brand new it should be perfect. I don't blame the op one bit for being fussy about this.

I find it interesting that a rental car company can afford vehicle scanners that locate damage that is virtually imperceptible to the human eye, but Honda couldn't find this before they shipped the vehicle.

 

Agreed. It's quite large to be missed. Maybe it was a friday or a monday truck.So perhaps it's good that I passed on it!