Clear Coat Failures

[BJClarke001]

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper
I hope I'm not getting too off topic here, but after examining this thread, I'm not sure if I'll buy a Ford either.

I was leaning toward a Focus for gas mileage reasons, but now I'm not so sure.

Rusty,

Na, your not getting off topic because I am the one that started this thread and so, I question the clear coat failure on both of my new Ford vehicles.

However,

I mainly have had Fords most of the time. Of all the vehicles I owned, I think my '95 Dodge Caravan was the only vehicle I had that had paint issues. I don't think it was clear coat and have no idea if it had it but, the white paint was peeling off the gray primer. And to be honest, I really didn't take care of the finish back then. You know the time it takes to take care of the vehicles like we do now would never work back then when raising a family (and I have twin boys in addition to 2 other boys and a daughter). I am not trying to give my life story here and I don't want to bore the 4,999 other members. So, to sum this up. I think all the manufacturers have had their issues with their paints at one time or another. I just hope taking care of the finish now the way I do, retards any issues that may be hidden in the future. I Love my Focus by the way. It has a lot of zip to it for an American 4 Cyl. Car. Thanks for reading this and I hope you got to the end of it and didn't nod off.

[The Dude]

I wasn't trying to bash Ford. I still have Fords. I am just stating their paint was **** back then. The pickups trucks did not have clearcoat BUT when they refinished them they put on a clearcoat. I was told that in 1985 due to the EPA changes, they had to change to the paint and the new paint that was being applied would not adhere corrctly to the primer and start lifting. In fact the 94 I purchased did not have factory clearcoat either.It was cleared aftermarket by the customizer. I don't think Ford was the only manufacture that had paint problems, Gm had them also. I have a 99 now that sits out and the paint is olding up great.

[Tim Lingor]

Looking at specific issues, and specific vehicles, does not automatically mean that a particular manufacturer has more paint issues than others. GM, Dodge and Ford have all had their share of paint issues over the years. My dad has a 1988 F250 that is factory BC/CC (Ford like GM started using BC/CC systems around 1985). The paint is holding up perfect! No issues at all!

I think everyone needs to keep in mind that certain issues will come up from time to time. It is not fair to those that may have bought that particular vehicle that now has paint issues. But after detailing a lot of cars/trucks over the years, I have found the issues are more vehicle specific that manufacturer specific.

Tim

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by BJClarke001
Of all the vehicles I owned, I think my '95 Dodge Caravan was the only vehicle I had that had paint issues. I don't think it was clear coat and have no idea if it had it but, the white paint was peeling off the gray primer. And to be honest, I really didn't take care of the finish back then.

Chrysler had to repaint quite a few of those models from what I heard.

Our 90's era model Caravan probably would have had peeling paint too, but I'm sure that my use of Meguiar's products kept that problem at bay for us......At least in my opinion.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by 2hotford
I think everyone needs to keep in mind that certain issues will come up from time to time. It is not fair to those that may have bought that particular vehicle that now has paint issues. But after detailing a lot of cars/trucks over the years, I have found the issues are more vehicle specific that manufacturer specific.

Tim

You make a good point Tim.......I was mainly concerned about their (Ford's) approach to fixing their paint problems.

[Tim Lingor]

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper
You make a good point Tim.......I was mainly concerned about their (Ford's) approach to fixing their paint problems.

Dealerships will make a case by case recommendation to the manufacturer whether something should be warrantied or not. If a person is having an issue, they should contact the regional rep for the manufacturer if the dealer does not want to deal with the situation.

For example, some dealerships will still perform warranty work on trucks that have performance chips and/or lift kits installed. Other dealers will use that as an excuse to not warranty a product. There are provisions that suggest that unless the additional part has had a direct effect on the broken part, warranty will still apply. But the interpretation of that is left to the dealer.

Tim