I've had my 07 now since Feb. To date I only have 4000 miles on her. Today I was astonished to find SIX small chips on the hood. I just washed the car 2 days ago and did not see them (and I am very astute at the condition of my car). I dont tailgate, I dont drive on sh*t roads. I do not recall any inclement weather or driving behind a construction vehicle. I gotta say the paint is very inferior to that of cars I have owned (new OR old....prob around 15 cars). I also must say the doors must be made out of tin foil, because I have already had 2 dent wizrd repairs on her, both of which were witnessed by my wife. One was a (gentle) door into door. The other was a shopping cart traveling at about 3 miles an hour which caved the whole door in.

Long story short, I am VERY disatisfied with the exterior of this 30K car...I guess they had to cut corners somewhwere to add all the new goodies, why not the paint/body.

Oh yeah...I also gave a nice, deep wax at about 1500 miles

Im sure there wont be a class action on this, I just had to vent.

 

How you drive your Z affects your front-end!!! My car is almost 3 years in a few months, and I have 1 paint chip, a few more that you can't tell unless you put your nose to it. I see way too many Zs drive on the fast lane, the faster you go, the harder the rock is going to chip. Most of them drive like it is stolen which some days are reasonable, but more often than not, I see Zs gone in seconds. Granted, my car is a weekend car and I rarely drive the freeway. And when I do go on the freeway, it is usually when few cars are around and drive on the right hand side of the freeway. My old 4Runner 4WD had so many rock chips that I bought a Z and a beater, so that I don't have to deal with bad drivers, bad roads and bad paints.

 

I've been fighting Nissan for about 9 months now with my paint on my '05 Titan. I think a lot of people are having problems but there is no organized effort to fix it. I started a couple websites, and have had some good response from it, I'm trying to collect names for a class action, not sure if it will get off the ground, but it's worth a shot, and better than doing nothing.

http://thecybergurus.com/archives/27 where I first posted my pictures and story. I first noticed the chips with only 9k miles on my truck, it now has 14k with even more chips like the ones in the pictures. When a chip happens, it chips away the paint in the middle, and cause it to flake around the edge, thats why they are so large.

and www.nissanpaintclassaction.com I just started last week, still getting it going.

 

This will lead to nowhere. My old 95 Maxima had chips all over front end. I've called corporate years ago about it. They just offered me $100 to use on service and parts. My 03' Z has chips all over front. I'm used to it. Basically get a bra or just live with it.

 

i remember the member that you are talking about and i dont understand why his was so hard to lemon out. i just had my car bought back a week ago and the whole process took 4 or 5 months. i dont rememeber exactly. i guess its the dealership you deal with. my lawyer took care of everything till the day they took it back. i was very happy with the out come of the buy back and the time it took.


but to the topic. i do believe that nissan uses crayola crayons to paint our cars. the paint is very thin but then like someone said, you get what you pay for really. basicly you but a Z for 30k + and for that price u can get a basic bmw 325i but guess who has the better paint. dont get me wrong i love the Z to the point where i am considering on getting another Z even after all the problems my first one had. but the the quality of nissan is in the gutters. i guess that is why you get so much for so little.

 

Get the front bumper painted for 400 and get the "scotchguard" clear bra put on her..mine was done at 600 miles...now she has 18k and looks like new.

 

all the current paint this decade is that garbage low VOC crap, watered down. I have old Del Sols, MR2s, and Accords from the early to mid 90's that to this day stilll look brand new with 150k miles on them. Paint these days is not durable, you MUST get a clear bra the day you roll off the show room floor or you will be sorry a few years later.

My 2000 Lexus has the crap paint and it has chipped off looks like a mine field up close, even after hitting it with a porter cable and polish. Stick to 90's imports if you want nice paint jobs.

 

Yeah, it seems to have stopped in 94. My red 94 Integra is now pink.

 

Haven't read everyone's replies but my Hood and top seem lighter than my bumper. Plastic bumper maybe?

 

now i can see if the paint was fading or peeling completely off that being an issue. but from rock chips and/or genral use depending on where you are, it is a waste of time. clear bra or repaint it.

 

Just maintain your car. Wash with soap and water, use a shammy to dry. Keep a recognizable coat of wax on it. The paint will be fine.

 

Alot of it is the ride height I think. Because the Z is so low it tends to pick up more of the road debri. After I lowered mine I noticed that the chips were getting worse much faster. I just recently had my whole bumper repainted just because it was getting really bad. I had my buddy who painted it throw several coats of clear on it so it would toughen up and hopefully reduce some of the damage.

 

+1. I put the clear bra on, within a month of purchasing the Z, and all I do is maintain it now. Still looks new, after 25K miles.

 

Hell, I don't even do a bra. I'm just incredibly meticulous. If you ask what that means, it translates to washing the Z at least twice during five day intervals, and waxing once a week. And, if you want my explanation for why I'm not out there washing it now, it's because it's RAINING. Damn.

 

No amount of washing or waxing will fix or prevent rock chips.

 

Don't think it would work. Between my wife and myself we have had 4 new cars the last few years and the paint sucks on all of them. It's just a bad on motorcycles with fairings (they take a beating). Ever since they had to take lead out of paints its been softer.

 

Do the PPG paints hold up, I'm thinking of repainting and want to use some good quality paint, even if it costs more. Any suggestions?

 

Sue

 

Yeah, but what's her last name and where does she sell her paint?

 

Funny you should say that, I did, and they settled with me for a few thousand dollars, soooo I would suggest everyone do so, maybe they will get the point and use better paint! I had several body shops tell me that there was a problem with my paint, and that rock chips should not look like that.

I've repainted my hood and front fenders with the money, now my truck looks beautiful again! (except a few chips on the roof and sides that I had touched up)