Terrible paint on new Corvette Stingray

[pottymouth]

I'm standing in the showroom at my local Chevy dealer to pick up my new company car. I wandered over to peek at a new Stingray and was surprised by how bad the paint is. The car has possibly the worst case of orange peel I have ever seen on a new car. The bumper covers are not so bad, but the rest of the car looks like Earl Sheib painted it. There's a black Sonic nearby that puts it to shame.

For a car that stickers over 60 grand, I expected a lot better.

 

[Olas]

probably 90% of new cars are like that, most people either don't notice or don't care.

Ask the dealer if you get a free wet&dry when paying full list price

 

[Doog]

Might be a damaged in transit repainted car. I bought a Nissan once that had that same look. Turns out I found out 90 days later it was damaged beyond the dollar amount allowed by law and the dealer never disclosed it. One call to the State Attorney General's fraud division did the trick. The attorney there told me to let him have a word with the dealer before I filed a complaint. The next morning the General Manager from the dealership called and asked what color I wanted my new car to be?

 

[morepwr]

When I was at the Ford dealer with a friend picking up his new truck, it looked like the paint was put on with a roller. I couldn't believe how bad it looked. Maybe that's the new style.

 

[Spazdog]

It happens.

My brother in law purchased what was allegedly the first facelifted 2009 Mercedes Benz SLK 350 east of the Mississippi River in the United States.

It had orange peel. Only on the bumper covers though. The opposite of the Stingray you described. The body panels were shot well.

I liked to point out that my PT Cruiser not only had better paint, but also had the same brake pedal.

 

[dparm]

I've seen the same thing on new Porsche 911 Turbos, Ferrari 458s, and other high-end cars. You can actually tell if a car has been repainted because it probably will not have orange peel.

 

[Kira]

Hello, The only experience I've had which involves "the look of orange peel" was on the lower region of a 1995 Subaru Legacy I bought new. I was shown the differing texture by a friend who works at the dealership. He said it was a resilient paint used in those lower regions to fend off chips.

It seemed to do its job.

I wonder how large a problem damage in transit is? Kira

 

[Darwin1138]

It isn't bad paint; is a "turbulent flow" surface finish (like a golf ball) so it can go faster. Funny that every new generation of any car is plagued with a lot of problems (like the electric windows in the 2013 Beetle) but they correct them in a couple of years.

It reminds me of the 90's Dodge Neons that have a very good paint in every metal panel but the paint in the plastic bumpers faded and peeled in a few months and that was because they used the incorrect primer for the plastic parts.

 

[NHGUY]

In a Dupont/Nason training video,they state that "in many cases,the repaired area will look better than the factory finish". No lie at all.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I also have seen 200k cars with a bad paint job.

It's terribly common these days, and happens at all price points...

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: Kira
I wonder how large a problem damage in transit is? Kira


Dad factory ordered a new one-ton work van for his business back in 1973.

The dealer had been told by GM that it had been "damaged" in transit. Of course, the dealer didn't know what to expect.

GM then went ahead and delivered it to the dealer anyway, and everyone got a good laugh out of it when they unloaded it off of the transport truck. The whole passenger side of the van was pancaked, and every piece of glass was busted out of it.

Either it had been on a train that had derailed, or on a transport truck that had wrecked and laid over on its side.

 

[Eddie]

I remember looking at a new corvette several years ago and I asked the sales person if the car had been in an accident. He said no, that's the way the come to us. )

 

[djb]

I have been told that Germans often prefer some orange peel. It's an indication of quality -- a thick application of paint that will last through many years of polishing.

That's obviously hand-me-down advice from a different era. Most paints today are base+clear, rather than solid. It's easy to see how the preference started, if glass-smooth finishes were associated with cars that rusted quickly.

 

[Patman]

Some of the early production models of the new Corvette had some serious issues with regards to paint and the fit and fitment of the body panels. Perhaps the plant was rushing too much to get the initial batch of cars into customers hands. One guy on the Corvette Forum had a terrible case, with runs in the paint, orange peel and very bad fitment of the panels. So bad in fact that the assembly plant agreed to take his car back and they removed all the body panels off the car and totally reskinned it for him! It took a long time, about a month in total, but I think that's because they were using it as a learning tool to make things better for future production. The final result looked fantastic, and people that have gotten cars built recently have not complained about any problems.

 

[hattaresguy]

Modern paints suck once they went water based.


The good old bad for the environment Mercedes paint jobs of the 70's and 80's were awesome and indestructible.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
I also have seen 200k cars with a bad paint job.

It's terribly common these days, and happens at all price points...

Really? You mean high end Ferrari's, Rolls Royce, and Bentley cars?? I thought from what I've seen from TV programs done at the factories of these places that they won't let a car out of the paint booth until it's perfect? I recall seeing the painters look for even the most minor imperfections.

 

[Huie83]

I really think it depends on the manufacturer. Both my Hyundai (super thick nice paint!) and VW that I purchase new had great paint.

The 2013 Explorer that I got last year has horrible defects in the paint. Sandy grit in 3-4 areas, bubbles under the front hood lip, the indentations for the door handles are obviously painted thinner than the rest of the doors... Wish I would of looked it over better on the delivery inspection but its a lease so whatever. I'll definitely say something when I turn it in. The quality/manufacturing differences in my first Ford are pretty interesting compared to my previous vehicles. Makes you scratch your head sometimes wondering what they were thinking or how a issue got past QC...

 

[pottymouth]

This was not just normal variability in the production process. It really stood out and grabbed my attention. It was over the entire car, sans the bumpers. Even in the door jambs. For that to leave the factory, on a Corvette no less, is embarrassing.

All other cars in the showroom had good paint. As did the 2010 Impala I returned and the 2014 Equinox I drove away in. I don't expect a glass-smooth finish on a production car, but there is a reasonable standard and this car fell well below.

Simply put, I find it pathetic. Makes you wonder what things underneath the skin are not quite up to snuff.

 

[OVERKILL]

The Viper(s) they've had at my local Chrysler dealer have had perfect paint FWIW:

They had a red one (it was sold) that also had absolutely perfect paint.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Huie83
I really think it depends on the manufacturer. Both my Hyundai (super thick nice paint!) and VW that I purchase new had great paint.


My mother-in-law's Hyundai XG300 has a very good quality paint job. I think Hyundai was trying to make a statement.

Not just the manufacturer, but the model. PT Cruiser GTs seem to be shot a lot better than the Limited and Touring models. The Dream Cruisers are shot real well too. (except for being that weird greenish gold "Inca Gold" color)