Why do only new cars look new?

Do not forget that paint technology is changing: a new car is more likely to have the latest waterbased finishes which tend to have better flow, sharpness of gloss and DOI. (they also are a bit softer and so may not look so good ater a while!) So a brand new car with the latest formulation of paint will probably look better than (or maybe just "different") to a new car painted in an older formulation. Over the last few years a lot has happened in the way cars are finished and the car manufacturers are now taking much more care over how they apply the paint in the first place.



Another thing is the tyres: put a new set of tyres on a car and it immediately looks sharper, no matter what the bodywork looks like. like the difference between a new pair of shoes and an old pair that have been polished.
 
Yes that's true. I notice the BF falcons have virtually no orange peel and more wetness than a non machine polished AU falcon. It's not cerami clear yet but sure is wet

I had to work damn hard for three years with the AU to match them. In a couple years it should be better again. Machine applied Prima swirl and prime acrylic certainly helped the most. Got the fresh off the gun colour out from underneath the clear or made it look like that
 
I have noticed it as well. Sometimes I think that it is less of an actual "difference" in the condition of other cars compared to my own, and more of a placaebo. Like they say, "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence". I see another well-kept or new vehicle, and for some reason, it "looks" better than mine, even if it is the same model. We are our own worst critics when it comes to car condition. We know every blemish on our cars no matter how few or "unnoticeable" they may be for most people and we could point them out with our eyes closed. When looking at someone else's well-kept or new car, you are unaware of its blemishes and imperfections, and have an unbiased, naive sense of its condition.



Conclusion: Aside from the fact that all of the trim and finishes may be new without a show-car shine, we don't know the true condition of the vehicle because we have not spent countless hours with it in a garage...someone may call the police if you whip out a 500W halogen to "have a look" at the paint in the parking lot!



That's my 2 cents.



-John
 
I know why new cars like the way they do.

if u take off the temporary license plate hanging on the rear window,

the new car will not look so new anymore but just regular shiny and clean.

there
 
Physicists have a word for it. It’s called entropy.



Things change. They age, they’re exposed to environmental effects, they undergo chemical and physical transformations.



A dressing may make a tire or trim piece look beautiful but it doesn’t make them look exactly the same as when they were first pried from their molds.



A thorough detailing can make a car cleaner than it was when it left the factory. Manufacturers may make the paint and chrome shiny but they’ll allow a certain amount of dust, fingerprints, grease, productions markings and whatnot around the nooks and crannies because they’re a normal part of the manufacturing process and most customers don’t care.



Things also change at different rates. We get used to seeing everything on a car being the same age and barely notice. But you can easily spot an older car with new tires.





PC.
 
It's just a matter of the finer details. Like PC said things change as they age and those subtle changes that you can't quite put your finger on are there.



Perhaps it's the little nubby things on new tires, or the fact that every single spot on a new car is clean.



Even the spots you don't think you can see. We all miss spots no matter how good you are.
 
I think the big thing is just all the non-paint surfaces on the car, namely, the plastics (or other trim).



Brand new, they have this very clean, very black (or whatever color it comes in), extremely flat or matte look - this a look that no product I know of can restore.



Just take Neothin's example of the engine bay. Brand new, its a deep, flat black... but after that fades, you can't do anything about it. Any further dressings you put on it, no matter how flat it claims to be, will be a tad bit shiny.



Or even take brand new tires for example... just a deep black color that can't be reproduced with any type of tire shine product. All of them leave SOME sort of shine, or an ugly sort-of flat shine (I see this with people who use the cheap tire shine from wherever they buy it from).



Oh well. I guess it helps to make a bit of a attitude change and hold different standards for a car that isn't new vs. a new car.
 
Most new car trim is very flat and needs to be machine burnished to be truly gloss black.

They might be clean but they are not right.
 
It could be psychological rather than physical. You know it's a new car, so your perception is filtered. Thus you'd swear, without a doubt, that there are differences, when there are essentially none.
 
I made a pic with my truck. Here is everything in its clean, natural state. None of the rubber is dressed or anything...just freshly washed. I really don't see a difference other than the styling and the sticker in the new truck. Maybe it doesn't work with trucks very well. Mine is 7 years old with 65k on the odometer.

Discuss.

newold.jpg
 
sneek said:
I think I got the engine, and I have natural looking trim and tires. :( my car has hundreds of rock chips and some door dings.



:( Also the fact that Honda made the 06+ rear lights look different. I think my gen7 is getting old.
Click to expand...



Tell me about it stupid soft honda paint, i got a ton of rock chips up front, and the worst part is my car is black.





B-diddy nice truck. Other than the things you mentioned i couldn't tell the difference from the pics.
 
Great topic. I would say one thing for sure: it ISN'T the paint.



Here is my list, in order of what I think is important:

- Tires (see B-Diddy's comparo shots...care to buy new every month?)

- Glass (even 1,000 miles later, it never will look as good)

- Headlights, tailights (even Plexus won't quite make them brand-new

- All rubber trim (try making it look new AND dry --not going to happen)

- Undercarriage, especially wheel wells (Got a car lift and about 20 hours?)



And that's just the outside of the car.



I have used this to my advantage to sell a car a few times. What I do is totally detail it, then let it get just a little bit dirty before showing. This way the dirt will even out the things that you can change with the things you can't.
 
Theres probably a lot of things. It's probably planned by the manufacturer. I believe the business word is planned obsolescence. Ah well.
 
I think it's most psychological; we're all car geeks, so we know what's a new design and what isn't. Obviously factors like tires play a role, but that first glance seeing a "new" car is usually because you instantly know it's a new-ish model.
 
BoxsterCharlie said:
Great topic. I would say one thing for sure: it ISN'T the paint.



Here is my list, in order of what I think is important:

- Tires (see B-Diddy's comparo shots...care to buy new every month?)

- Glass (even 1,000 miles later, it never will look as good)

- Headlights, tailights (even Plexus won't quite make them brand-new

- All rubber trim (try making it look new AND dry --not going to happen)

- Undercarriage, especially wheel wells (Got a car lift and about 20 hours?)



And that's just the outside of the car.



I have used this to my advantage to sell a car a few times. What I do is totally detail it, then let it get just a little bit dirty before showing. This way the dirt will even out the things that you can change with the things you can't.
Click to expand...



Like I've stated before, new car rubber trims/seals are garbage. Chalky grey with absolutely no stickyness to them whereas a beautifully detailed car's seals are satin to gloss black and supple.



As for the hard trims, well I can get some of them (depending on material) better than new and dry with whatever gloss you want.

Though they need to be wide and tall enough for a machine and small pad to fit to it otherwise trim dream can't be used.



The only thing good about new cars are the perfectly clean black/grey undercarriage and that there are no marks on the paint or glass
 
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