roswel
June 8th, 2002, 12:21 PM
most of you won't really know what i'm talking about because i haven't posted about this, but i've had some serious concerns with my paint lately.
i just got back from the dealer and here is what i learned.
i spoke to the rep and he looked at my car. he then recommended that the dealer send me to their paint shop to have it looked at.
this is what the paint shop said:
1) there is NO clear coat on my car
2) there is a problem with the base coat ( paint rubbing off)
3)the front fascia is completely screwed up
a couple of notes with the clear coat...
currently there is no "standard" for paint in north america. it is a manufacturer intiative. it is possible to have 2 identical yellow 2002 p5's (this is only an example, i know our cars are all built at the same plant) and if they came from different plants one may have clear coat and the other may not. it is legal and nobody has to tell you (if the dealer even knows). this doesn't mean this is the case with my/our cars, but food for thought. the dealer had no idea if our cars have clear coat or not. i know they do and have since recieved confirmation. the only way to tell is on the sticker on the car in the lot, the one that has a list of all the options it will tell you. look for "bc/cc" this means base coat, clear coat. if it says nothing or says single stage (insert colour) then be sure to inquire as to wether it has it or not. normaly if you don't have clear it isn't a big deal. alot of cars that are solid colours like black, white, grey etc... don't have it. ALL METALLIC colours have it. so silver p5's need not worry. don't be fooled by the "metallic paint" charge that we paid (except for red). it doesn't mean jack.
my car's problems are far more serious than simply no clear coat. even without clear you should NOT be able to wipe paint off your car with just wax.
the problem with my fascia would appear to be a lack of paint hardener, but he won't know till he starts stripping it.
the morals of the story:
1) make an effort to find out about your paint before you buy the car.
2) if at any time for any reason you notice paint on rags or towels immediately take your vehicle to your dealer.
3) a good test for "soft" paint is if you can press you thumb on the surface and your fingerprint is still there when you remove it and you can't remove the print with a simple light wipe then there may be a problem.
on a side note there was another yellow p5 coming in right after me with their paint flaking off. i really hope mazda has addressed this issue.
sorry about the length of this all but i really wanted to pass this along so you could avoid my troubles. on the bright side i am getting a completely new paint job at mazdas expense.
cheers,
i just got back from the dealer and here is what i learned.
i spoke to the rep and he looked at my car. he then recommended that the dealer send me to their paint shop to have it looked at.
this is what the paint shop said:
1) there is NO clear coat on my car
2) there is a problem with the base coat ( paint rubbing off)
3)the front fascia is completely screwed up
a couple of notes with the clear coat...
currently there is no "standard" for paint in north america. it is a manufacturer intiative. it is possible to have 2 identical yellow 2002 p5's (this is only an example, i know our cars are all built at the same plant) and if they came from different plants one may have clear coat and the other may not. it is legal and nobody has to tell you (if the dealer even knows). this doesn't mean this is the case with my/our cars, but food for thought. the dealer had no idea if our cars have clear coat or not. i know they do and have since recieved confirmation. the only way to tell is on the sticker on the car in the lot, the one that has a list of all the options it will tell you. look for "bc/cc" this means base coat, clear coat. if it says nothing or says single stage (insert colour) then be sure to inquire as to wether it has it or not. normaly if you don't have clear it isn't a big deal. alot of cars that are solid colours like black, white, grey etc... don't have it. ALL METALLIC colours have it. so silver p5's need not worry. don't be fooled by the "metallic paint" charge that we paid (except for red). it doesn't mean jack.
my car's problems are far more serious than simply no clear coat. even without clear you should NOT be able to wipe paint off your car with just wax.
the problem with my fascia would appear to be a lack of paint hardener, but he won't know till he starts stripping it.
the morals of the story:
1) make an effort to find out about your paint before you buy the car.
2) if at any time for any reason you notice paint on rags or towels immediately take your vehicle to your dealer.
3) a good test for "soft" paint is if you can press you thumb on the surface and your fingerprint is still there when you remove it and you can't remove the print with a simple light wipe then there may be a problem.
on a side note there was another yellow p5 coming in right after me with their paint flaking off. i really hope mazda has addressed this issue.
sorry about the length of this all but i really wanted to pass this along so you could avoid my troubles. on the bright side i am getting a completely new paint job at mazdas expense.
cheers,