Miffed about what I saw after washing...
 

Today I got to wash my C5 for the first time since I bought it; I used meguiar's shampoo.

I don't know if its the light playing with me or is it what I really saw but I saw some "spots" on the black stripes in certain areas and it won't come out its got some dark almost circular spots larger than a US quarter but from a distance the stripe looks the same as well as it does from the driver's seat but looking up close I can see some random spots here and there.

I also found some scratches (unfortunately, yes I can see them plain as day and can feel them) don't know how they happened or why and I don't remember seeing them when I first bought it makes me wish I had bought the sratch warranty but by the time I was adding all that stuff my payments were getting close to being well over $40 over my intended payment budget (right now its $17 over LOL but I could NOT pass up on the GAP insurance).

If I had that scratch warranty they would fix it; but I'm out on that :(

I'm starting to consider stripping the stripe; I don't like the idea that it collects & shows more dirt than the rest of the car (besides the wheels with its brake dust collection).

If it's a warranty from a dealer you did not miss any warranty. Odds are all you did was prevent more damage from your dealer scratching your car when they are so called "polishing" it.

I guess they'd polish yeah; but isn't that what you would do with the polish when you do it yourself?

Actually the scratches don't look as bad as they looked earlier; although both scratches are the length of my thumb (not past the knuckle) which is pretty big IMO

I believe what ec1990 is getting at is that sometimes dealers can cause more harm than good, poor care of their pads and they are adding swirls to your paint.

If you think that is big... You should see some of the nightmares some have endured on this forum. Does the scratch catch with your finger nail?

I'll agree my scratches are nothing compared to other scratches I've seen/had in the past

I couldn't find the scratches anymore; I guess the car has some healing powers (I KNOW they were there! I felt all over for it)

BUT I did find MORE scratches and these ones are definitive for sure; luck would have it there's a double scratch on the driver's door where the panel starts to face the ground but ON the door; not under the doorjamb this scratch is noticeable to the fingernail but it doesn't "catch" the fingernail as you say but neither glides right over so its not big/deep it seems.

I forgot about using the quick wash/wax that requires no water and it actually helped the fender even more (I couldn't find the scratches before I tried that anyway somehow, but maybe when I get some sunlight I'll find it).