Morrissey

I have gold pinstripes on my IS350. Not ugly, but i'd rather have the solid look to be honest, especially since the pinstripes are gold and my car is black onyx.

Is it better to go to the dealer to remove them or to a body shop?

Xanadu350

Did the dealer pin strip your brand new car?

Pinstripes are so 80's.

Oh god, I must remember to bring this up when I purchase. I want no suprises.

Morrissey

lol yes, they pinstripped it. It really didn't occur to me that I wouldn't like the stripe until after I signed the lease papers.

But back to the quesiton at hand: should the dealer handle the removal or the body shop? I bet I could get the dealer to remove it for free.

Vjammin

If they're gonna do it free why not?

shaolin

iTrader: (2)

any pic of what pinstripes looks like?? not sure what you're talking about.

thanks

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

I'm 99% sure the detailer at dealer can do it, no problem, but you should ask just in case.

Morrissey

Update: I simply used a household hair blowdryer on low setting, applied some heat to the pinstripes, and viola, they're gone. After removal, I sprayed instant detailer on the area to get rid of any remaining adhesive that was left on the paint (which was very minimal, if none at all).

If your pinstripe was applied on rather than painted, this solution should work just fine for you. Removal and cleanup took less than 30 mins.

Spy

I hate the fact that some dealers feel the need to put a pinstripe on a car just so they can charge you more for the car.

TimboIS

Yes, be careful of dealer surprises. I just happen to stop by the dealership to check on my order status. The car is at the port and was tagged for LR (rear spoiler) install at the port. I didn't ask or want that when I placed my order in Oct. But found out early enough, so I was able to avoid having that installed. It might have been nice, but an unexpected/unwanted surprise that I wasn't willing to pay for nonetheless.

|mpulse

While negotiating the IS I had them include removal of the stripe in the contract!

I HATE pinstirpes.

Morrissey

Yeah I made my dealer not charge for pinstripes, but the car was already stripped. I guess I could have asked them to remove it when I got the car, but I was so excited to drive it I didn't care.

The removal was a piece of cake. Man it looks so much sexier without it!

srashid

Morrissey, thanks for your advice. I used your hairdryer suggestion to remove the pinstripes from my black RX330 today and it was a piece of cake. I washed and waxed it afterwards as well and it looks much better now. This is a great website!

kilo6_one

iTrader: (2)

man, that is something you see on a used car at a shady corner dealer.........tacky if you ask me

sashax415

There are a few people on here that would never trust the dealer for any detailing work. If you are uncomfortable doing it yourself, bring it to a detailer.

tgara

Oh yes. In fact, our dealer told us that by default, they pinstripe every car unless you tell them not to. I immediately said NO PINSTRIPES! Since it appears that many dealers are doing this, its definitely worth asking about. Funny thing, when we were picking up our car, the salesman says, Gee, you're right, it looks better without pinstripes.

Regarding removing the stripes, the hair dryer method works fine if the stripes are vinyl stick-on (very low-end, btw, even for a Lexus dealer!). If the stripes were painted, some sort of solvent will be required to remove them, and a body shop will probably be the best place to have this done.