Ok, all need your advise...

Many of you may have seen my previous posts or heard that I left several messages from Nisssan Executives regarding my 350Z's Orange Peel situation.

Well, my messages to Nissan Executives were heard and forwarded to their Executive Offices. After going back and forth with the Executive Offices for a week and a half Nissan North America has proposed two alternatives (both I consider to be one sided--toward Nissan).

I'm asking for your assistance, as fellow 350Z owners and members of this website for your advise and suggestions on how to proceed.

OPTION#1 - NISSAN REPAINTS VEHICLE
PRO:
Current Orange Peel issue is resolved.
CON:
What if Orange Peel is not resolved and/or repaint still has excess Orange Peel issues?
Immediate loss of value (in addition to normal wear and tear).

OPTION#2 - NISSAN BUYS BACK VEHICLE
PRO:
No longer have faulty vehicle.
Don't have to continue with current service issues (Service Engine Soon light, Window Streaks, Bose Amp, etc.)
CON:
Have to reapply for loan.
Have to redo insurance (will it go up since current issues)?
Have to rent car until new 350Z is available.
Have to repay Tax, Tag, Title, Registration fees.
Have to redo XM Radio installation.
Have to redo Tint on windows.
Have to break car in again.
Have to wait for new 350Z to be made available.
etc.

The way I see it is that NISSAN's options are 100% one sided. Yes it resolves my current issue but either way I think it will cost me and Nissan more money.

What would you do in my situation?

I've already expressed interest in a 2004 Z or Convertible Z when it is made available. My thoughts are that if I do a "Buy Back" and I won't be able to get into a new 350Z (unless someone cancels) until early next year... why not just wait for a 2004 or a convertible.

NOTE: I Never Asked Nissan For A Buy Back.
They only offered it after talking to my dealer's body shop and having then say that the Orange Peel was to much to fix totally. Nissan also says that the "Buy Back" will cost them in excess of $10,000.

My suggestion was that they do a Purchase Incentive / We-Owe for me to assist me in either getting into a 2003 or if order time was too long then to assist with getting me into a 2004 quickly. I have suggested that they perhaps "pay half of monthly payments, this way Nissan would be motivated financially to assist with order process."

I just checked with a local Nissan Dealer and I'd have to repay Tax, Title, Registration, Doc Fees, Tag, etc. if I went throught this process... which basically will cost several thousands of dollars.

What would you advise?

The Executive that I am dealing with is strongly advising me to take one of these options, if I attempt to contact other Executives then it "may not be good for what we have offered you."

PLEASE REPLY, I AM COUNTING ON YOUR FEEDBACK TO ASSIST WITH MY DECISION!

 

Ask them to replace your car with a new one of your own specification. Don't have them buy it back and go buy a new one.

 

Nick:

It's a Buy Back Only... no trade.

 

Id say live with it, is it REALLY HORRIBLE? I mean I have orange peel, but its no worse than any other car. granted the Z is nice, but its just a 30000$ car. all other cars in this class and higher even have this problem.

you either live with it, dont buy a car, or prepare to drop a lot of change to fix it. theyve offered you all 3 options.

 

I sure hope either option you take does not snowball into other 350Z following suit. I can only imagine the price of the 350Z increasing if that happened.

You should really go visit other dealers at other manufacturers and check out their orange peel, then make a decision.

Michael.

 

Hm.. well are u allowed to choose any color paint you want??? That might be an opportunity..

 

naw man DO IT DO IT!!! haha make the Z cost a million dollars! make them stop producing it!!! haha thatd be my dream.

I pray that they jack up the price in 2004, make the 2003s worth more than we paid!

 

tell them to pay u money for repaint job~ then u use the money to mod the hell out of ur z~~~

 

You are asking for the "Crystal Ball" theory.

What if, what if, what if.....
Nissan gave you two options, pick one!
There is no perfect option, just like there is no perfect paint job, no perfect job, no perfect car, no perfect girl, etc, etc......

You also have a third option, to leave it as is.

 

Dude, don't bother. It's not worth all this trouble if you put it in perspective.

 

Wow! From the results of the poll, I'd say this is a pretty harsh group.

Given that the paint job is too terrible for you to live with, have them repaint it. You will have the car back in a few days and can have the fun of driving it again. If you go through all of the hassle of doing the buy back and reordering, you will be "Z less" for several months.

Do not expect them to let you use your current car until your re-order comes in - too much risk that something will happen to the car. They want resolution quickly. If you choose the buy back, they will have your dealer use the car as a demo and then sell at the end of the model year.

 

Orange peel is normal. You will find orange peel on every single car in America exept for Ferrari and Jaguar, and some other exotics might also be included in this group. I can garuantee you that the orange peel issue will not be resolved with a paint job. They must wetsand the car, and put a lot of very laborous hours in order to remove orange peel. Take a trip to a classic car show and ask some of the guys with classic cars that don't have orange peel and ask them how they acheived that finish. I garuantee you that they will also say that they had to put countless hours wet sanding the car. This is not an opinion, this is a fact.

 

No offense, but you are VERY fortunate to have received either of those offers. If you did not like the paint job, YOU DID NOT HAVE TO BUY THE CAR.

A visibly poor paint job (as opposed to peeling paint 3 years down the line) is not some hidden defect that you could not have detected at the time purchase. Legally, Nissan has no obligation to do anything.

I can't advise on which option to take (if any), but in the future you should take responsibility for your decisions. If you bought the car believing the paint to be poor quality but maybe overlooking that to have a hot car, tough.

 

That is what I'M saying, didn't you look at the car BEFORE you bought it? You could've refused delivery. I'm VERY suprised they offered to buy back you car. BTW I just saw a BRAND NEW E-Series. Orange Peel Galore. I now look for it on all cars just to compare, the only one in my garage that doesn't have it is the new Boxter S, even the Vert. M3 has quite a bit. Good god man, get over 90% of the people looking at your car will not notice it, esp. when you are driving. I saw you are acting a little OCD on this matter, and not paying attention to what is really important. DRIVING.

 

Keep in mind that with the 350Z, Nissan put all the bucks where it counts: engine, drivetrain and suspension. All aluminum suspension, huge output V6, slick tranny and a chassis that performs like cars costing double or triple.

Sure there had to be trade-offs if the car was to come in at under $30k. The one that jumps out at me is the interior panels. Not the best I've ever seen. I'm sure that the paint job on the Z is fine, everyone I have seen appears ok to me.

I would say that if it is bugging you to the degree it obviously is, get rid of the car and get something else. OR, settle up with Nissan for some bucks, put another $5k or so (or more!) of your own money and get a premium custom paint job.

Put away the magnifying glass and enjoy your car! Go for a drive!

 

I feel for you dude, but I can assure you that orange peel is very, very common these days (I spent time analyzing defects from an automotive automated painting system a few years ago) It isn't much comfort, but that's the way it is. I would say it is a small miracle that they are offering you anything. Ask to see examples of you're dealer's body work. If it is very good, let them re-paint. If it is marginal, I'd leave it alone and sell it in six months, or a year and get a new Z. At that point, you should get your money out and not wind up upside down on your car loan. Tag and Tax suck, but I think you're stuck on that one.

(Now for the un-helpful explanation...)

Basically the problem is with the newer paints that the factories are using. This is due to the environmental problems with the old solvent based paints. Car factories have the potential of putting out so many chemicals into the air, if solvent based paints are used, that they have been forced by environmental requirements to switch formulations. This has resulted in the orange peel problem. It could be worse. Remember the peeling paint Chevy and Ford had 10 years ago? That was part of the early reformulations the American companies went through.

If you want a truly beautiful paint job, you pretty much have to use the old tried and true urethane paints used in the custom body shops.

 

Tell Nissan to buy it back, but not until they provide you with a suitable replacement. You'll just have to eat the sales tax, but you'll be getting a brand new car for your trouble. And don't get black next time...mine is PPW white with almost zero orange peel.

 

you are not gaurenteed that your new Z will be peel free, some colors might be better than others, but I think they all have it, some of us just consider it bad and others think its not so bad.

but consider this, you sell back the Z, you either pick up another Z that could/probably will have the same problem. or you find another, what car under 40grand do you plan to get that wont have orange peel? or do you plan to go for a cheaper car where orange peel is acceptable?

 

I would go for the repaint and get a custom color like midnight blue. If you have nissan buy back the car, you can wait for the 2004 but you are going to pay more. I would rather have the cash for some mods like a turbo, new rims, or wheels.