All:

My Black Beauty has a case of Orange Peel.

I called Nissan Consumer Affairs and spoke to a lady by the name of Shelly (x3839). She was very helpful and said that I would have to bring my car to a local dealer to review.

The closest dealer to me is Team Nissan of Marrietta... now before you all start flaiming and cursing Team Nissan about their selling practices, it is important to note that their Service Department for all intensive purposes is a separate company.

I called ahead and the Service Department Manager, Chris, was already briefed about my concern.

I drove the car up there this morning (around 11:45am) and within 20 minutes I was out of there.

Chris was very helpful and agreed with me that the Orange Peel was very noticeable.

He is calling Nissan North America to arrange to have a 3rd Party Paint Inspector evaluate the work. From there the car can either be repainted or wet-sanded I think to remove the Orange Peel.

I called back to Nissan North America Consurme Affairs and had them update the Case Record. They said even if the Paint Inspector states that the Orange Peel is not that bad, that they can overide that and still proceed with fixing the situation.

Overall... Kudos to NNA and to Team Nissan Marietta's Service Department.
(I think this may be the first positive post about Team Nissan).

 

they didnt try to tell you that their paint protection that cost $1000 (they put it on every car) would have prevented that?

 

Drilz...

No, the Service Delivery Manager actually stated, " I would have gone 30 miles south of Atlanta too to by my Z... we were charging way to much about sticker."

Like I said previously, the Service Department is a "totally separate entity."

Although it was nice to see the Sales Professional that I had originally spoken with in January (when they were marking up over $5K) and who said that, "You're too young to afford the new Z."

This shows them... I may have bought the car at another dealership... but Team Nissan is my closest dealer, so they're getting all the service work!

 

Sammy, just so you know. Town Center NIssan opened up in Kennesaw on Barrett Parkway, so there is another dealer in Cobb County. (only 7 miles up 41)... Just in case.

Keep us informed of how your paint issues go, the orange peel on my car is slowly starting to bug me more and more...

 

You will regret it if you repaint any part of the car. Orange peel is better than a non factory paint job. How does wet sanding affect the clear coat? A repainted car is going to be harder to sell later as well.

 

Ok, here is the latest.

About a week ago Team Nissan had a Paint Insepector come out and inspect my car. I was unable to speak to him at the time (for fear that I may bias his opinion).

Today I contacted Team Nissan and they tell me that the report has come in from the inspector, it reads:

"Failure Description - Orange Peel - Entire Vehicle"

Nissan wants to repaint the vehicle.
I have a problem with that...

If the vehicle is repainted then the information will appear in Car Fax. The second that I try to sell or trade in my Z (for when the convertible comes out) I will be willing to bet that the dealer or third party will not give me fair market value on the vehicle since the vehicle will show as a total failure and defective in the systems.

If I would have not taken delivery of my Z because of the Orange Peel I would have lost my deposit ($2K) and had to wait until early next year for a new Z.

This is extremely frustrating and irritating.
I feel that the Z's with extensive Orange Peel should not of even been shipped to customers.

Does Nissan not inspect their cars?

Is this the way Nissan handles their customers?

Now my file is being transferred over to a "David" the 350Z Specialist for Nissan Consumer Affairs.

UGH THIS IS REALLY PISSING ME OFF!

If you need a person to talk to at Nissan North America Consumer Affairs feel free to call Shelly. While helpful, she is just a regular consumer affairs person. She doesn't have that much authority. I guess if enough of us inform Nissan and Shelly of this issue perhaps something positive can come from this.

Shelly's extension is 3839. The direct line to Nissan Consumer Affairs is 310-771-xxxx (where xxxx = the extension).

FYI.... per Shelly:

"NISSAN WILL NOT BUY BACK OR REPLACE ANY VEHICLE"

Does this qualify for Georgia Lemon Law since defective?

Anyone knowledgable on this?

Perhaps there is a fellow Atlantan that reads this and is as passionate about their Z and is a Lawyer to assist.

Fellow members... any suggestions?

 

you will actually find David to be extremely helpful..... he took care of my dealer issues in the appropriate manner

 

Sam:

I have looked at probably 10 or so 350Zs. Every single one of them has orange peel. It ranges from bad to really bad. I also checked some other NISSAN models like Altima, etc. All of them had orange peel as well.

You are absolutely right about the fact that if the car was repainted that you would take a big hit in the wallet if you tried to sell it.

This orange peel problem looks as if it is starting to snowball given the volumn of message traffic about the problem.

I ordered the Touring model, brickyard in color about 2 months ago but the dealer hasn't been able to order the car yet because he has sold his allocation for several months in the future. I THINK that my car may be ordered toward the end of December or early December.

I am SERIOUSLY considering cancelling the order because of the paint problem. Personally, I don't think that NISSAN will ever really fix the problem as it appears to be something inherent in their entire painting procedure for all of their vehicles, not just the 350Z. I really believe that NISSAN thinks that they can sell all of the cars even with the orange peel problem.

I would like to see a single 350Z without orange peel in the paint. I don't think one exists or will ever exist.

Good luck with your situation.

 

I'd like to see any new car without some orange peel.

 

Depending on how the repaint is done, it could exceed the quality of the factory job. I think the main reasons people avoid repainted cars on the used market is when they have been painted after collison damage or if there was a color change. If your car has excessive orange peel, that might lower the resale value as well.

 

I agree that most cars exhibit some amount of orange peel but not as bad as I have seen in the 350Z. The funny thing is that most dealers acknowledge the problem but the reality is that most people probably aren't as picky as the people participating in these forums. Actually, I think that after a while you would just forget about it because the rest of the car is so damned awesome.

 

Every car youve looked at has orange peel? haha?

I dont have even one SMALL incling of orange peel on my Z. Has anyone seen peel on a brickyard? Just wondering.

 

wadd3456:

Damn, now I am encouraged! A brickyard without any orange peel. Interestingly enough, isn't brickyard the only color that's available that has a metallic look to it whereas the other colors are non-metallic? I can't speak for the LeMans Sunset because I haven't seen it.

I am supposedly going to a dealer either tomorrow or Saturday to see a brickyard Touring prepped for customer delivery. I'll report back what I see.

 

Almost all new cars these days have some or a lot of orange peel. Supposedly something to do with the new water based paint that must be used now.

Al least Nissan seems willing to do something about some of the worse examples. That is all I could really ask for.

As for the other question about Lemon Laws, no, I don't think that orange peel qualifies. It is not a mechanical defect and the buyer had free choice to reject the car when it was picked up.

 

Dude you people are obssessed, and fixate on stupid stuff. I went on a mission too look at cars this weekend, the following have BAD peel:

New X5
996 Vert.
SLK
330I
Lexus
etc. etc. etc.

Honestly, this is something MENTAL. Get over it. The car looks sweet, and you can't notice it unless you are looking for it. I never noticed Orange Peel before in my life before this forum, and for once I feel that Ignorance is bliss. Bottom line, better things to be fixated on.

 

I waxed my Super Black 350Z today and re-inspected the orange peel - Roof & most of hood seem to be ok (horizontal surfaces), but the doors and rear bumper have it really BAD (vertical surfaces). The rear spoiler (horiz., but painted in U.S. of A.) has it even worse. What's weird is that the paint right above the bumper (almost vertical), doesn't look nearly as bad as the bumper itself (paint applied with a roller?).

One forum member stated he had to stick his nose to the paint to notice orange peel - mine is noticeable from 3+ feet away (probably further). What's that old saying: "It's a 50/50 car - looks good from 50 feet away doing 50 mph"

Will try to get pics posted here for independant review.

Sammy, get us informed of your decisions and results. I'm totally
confused as to what to do - Love the car, but that orange peel SUX.

 

I doubt it would show up on CarFax. My Saab9-5 was hit twice and had over $18,000 in damage. We were looking for another car for my wife and I used carfax to double check stuff and I decided to run report on my car. It didn't show anything. It is a scam.

 

My Performance super Black has no orange peel, the paint is flawless.

 

anyone checked a G35c for orange peel?