New Car Delivery Checklist — Hong Kong Handover Guide (Body, Glass, Wheels, Interior & Trim)

Congratulations — you've made it to delivery day. Whether it's a tech-forward Tesla, a driver-focused BMW or a Porsche you've been chasing for years, taking delivery of a brand-new car is an unforgettable moment.

As a Hong Kong owner you need to stay disciplined the moment you sit down to sign for it. A common misconception is that every factory-new car is flawless. It isn't. Between the overseas plant, the ocean container, dockside handling and the tow to the Hong Kong delivery centre, cars regularly pick up tie-down scuffs, alignment issues, and interior damage. If you don't catch these before you drive off, you'll spend months arguing with the dealer over who is responsible.

This guide walks you through the full new-car inspection process, then shows how LETS GET WRAP's free new-car inspection service acts as an expert second pair of eyes on day one.

1. Full new-car inspection checklist — 5 critical areas

Don't just walk around the car once and sign. Take a bright torch and work through these five zones methodically:

1.1 Body alignment and paint

• ●Panel gaps (body tolerances)

  Walk the whole car and study the gaps between the bonnet, boot, doors and bumpers. Run your finger along the seams — they should feel even and consistent. Any noticeable step or unevenly wide gap means the panel is misaligned and needs to be logged with the dealer immediately.

• ●Paint defects

  Dealers usually hand cars over with a light delivery wax that easily hides fine defects. Under strong light, angle the torch across the surface at a low angle and look for swirl marks, stone chips, dents, and any manufacturing residue left from the plant.

1.2 Glass and sunroof

Modern cars (especially Teslas and Porsches) come with large panoramic glass. Shine the torch across the windscreen and sunroof edges and run a fingernail around the borders — you're looking for micro-chips, hairline cracks and scratches. Hidden glass damage can turn into full-panel failure at highway speed.

1.3 Wheels and tyres

• ●Wheel scuffs

  Transporters normally strap the car down through the wheels with metal buckles, which regularly scrape the wheel lips. Check every wheel closely for scratches, dents and paint chips.

• ●Tyre condition

  Look for sidewall bulges, cracks and abrasion, and confirm all four tyres are inflated to the correct pressure.

1.4 Interior and electronics

• ●Leather and trim

  Inspect the stitching on every seat and look for fingernail marks, stains or dents on leather and tech-leather surfaces. Also check that door seals and interior trim panels aren't loose or squeaking.

• ●Electronics

  Sit inside and turn everything on: infotainment (check for dead pixels), climate control, powered/heated/ventilated seats, audio, indicators, brake lights and headlights.

1.5 Body trims and rubber seals

Make sure black or chrome window trims are seated flush and don't rub abnormally when the door opens or closes. Boot and door rubber seals must be tight and undistorted.

2. What makes LETS GET WRAP different — free new-car inspection at our flagship

The checklist above is long, and it's easy to miss things when the dealer is standing there waiting for you to sign. LETS GET WRAP has offered a free new-car inspection service since 2021 to solve exactly this problem.

• ●Professional tools vs the naked eye

  Owners often look at a new car through an "excitement filter" and miss defects. Bring the car to our flagship and our team runs a full inspection with torches and paint-depth gauges — the gauge instantly reveals whether any panel has been secretly touched up or resprayed between the plant and your handover.

• ●365 days a year, no holidays

  Dealers love handing cars over on weekends and public holidays. Our flagship and one-to-one consultation service operates 365 days a year — Easter, Christmas, Lunar New Year included — so we can inspect your car the day it lands.

3. Move straight into full-car PPF — lock in your paint asset

Once we've confirmed the paint is 100% flawless, this is the ideal moment to install paint protection film (PPF).

Many owners save a little money by wrapping only the front bumper or a partial windward set. In Hong Kong's traffic and tight parking, this is a trap. A large share of paint damage happens on doors, rear arches and roofs. Partial wraps also cause visible colour and gloss differences years down the line, because the unwrapped panels age faster.

Only full-car PPF delivers 360-degree defence. LETS GET WRAP publishes a transparent full-car TPU price band of HK$19,800 to HK$26,800, so a single sensible investment protects the car from stone chips, malicious scratches and acid rain — and preserves the highest possible resale value.

Perfect delivery → free LGWR inspection with torch and paint-depth gauge → confirmed flawless paint → full-car PPF → lifelong value protection.

4. Add KOCH-CHEMIE for a complete new-car care package

At LETS GET WRAP, full-car PPF is only step one. We are the exclusive Hong Kong Experience Store for KOCH-CHEMIE, an 80+ year old German brand trusted by premium manufacturers worldwide.

After PPF we can add KOCH-CHEMIE treatments for wheels, brake calipers and high-temperature interior trims (HK$1,000 to HK$6,000). Your car then returns to the same technicians for scheduled professional washes and detailing (HK$170 to HK$2,300), keeping the film hydrophobic and dirt-resistant for years.

Related reading: PPF services overview · PPF maintenance SOP

Authoritative sources: XPEL official PPF product page · HK Transport Department vehicle condition guidance