That's plain old poor workmanship. Ask the builder if you find a professional to install and paint one window or door right to prove it can be done,will he replace the intire job at his expense.

Unacceptable. Looks like a combination of bad material and really crude/sloppy caulking.

Have used pre primed trim before---wood and MDF (probably what the 'composite' is) and NEVER had anything like those problems!

I suppose you could sand/fill/repaint if the damage is above the surface of the material, but the second picture sure looks like the damage is chunks have been gouged/chipped out of the material.

Just really bad work, regardless of the reason.

As you mentioned already,composite doesn't sand well and caulk is even worse. I can see it becomeing even worse if you try to repair it now. You may have to use a twitch on the builder but I'd sure try to make him replace the trim.

There are two issues here:

1) poor workmanship, and the GC doesn't care. There are better materials for filling nail holes than caulk. And he's telling you this is how it is, and you can't do anything about it.

2) what is the price point of this new build?

Does the price point of the new house actually pay the workers to do quality work? This is a legitimate question. Or has the majority of the profit already been squeezed out?

It can be fixed. Not easily or inexpensively if it really is all the trim in the house and not only a few isolated sticks.

Do you have any actual recourse with the builder to get this fixed?

sambah bring's up good points but price point of home only effect's type of wood and type of finish,not the skill in applying them. Too much caulk is one of the trademarks of amaturs,most noteably around tubs and showers. If you took a loan on the house there's documents stating that material and workmanship must meet industry standards. I hope you didn't sign off on them already. Has builder made his final draw? This is the exact reason people here say the extra cost in hireing a GC is better than subing work out yourself.

i'd love to have someone (professional) at the house while discussing/showing these problem areas to the builder who can advocate on my behalf. Any ideas?? Has someone ever done something similar before? Who's the correct person to speak to? (carpenter vs professional painter vs ???)

That is embarrassingly poor workmanship. Scrape that crap off, fill any holes with paintable caulk, and repaint.