Can I make Ford pay for my paintwork? (chipping Focus ST)

matt100 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:36

I'm getting more and more annoyed with the paintwork on my Focus ST..

Its a September 2006 56 reg on 43k miles so it does get used but just on motorways, i don't go rallying or anything in fact I'm normally very precious about my car to the point where I actively avoid gritting lorries/slow down to a crawl on new roads etc.

So, is this acceptable??

Defcon5 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:38

That is rather bad. Although most seem to just be through the clear coat?

Do other owners suffer the same problem?

[TW]Fox · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:38

Why should Ford pay for it? The paint quality isn't as good as a Bentley but then the price is much less as well.

Stonechips are one of those things..

loltim · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:39

That's shocking :eek:

Peter Diffey · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:39

Flies?

Defcon5 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:40

But if he has disproportionally more chips than everone else then its probable there is a fault with his paintwork, which Ford should rectify.

matt100 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:40

try and ignore the bugs, I live in hampshire and went to birmingham this weekend with no time to clean it, but you can see the paint is almost pitting and there are white marks where its chipping.

Its actually peeling off the headlamp washer cover.

And i've had it since new.

So, do I have cause to go spastic at Ford?

If not, is it easy to respray yourself or do i need to drop the £200 I've been quoted by a local bodyshop?

And if I do, how do I stop it happening again? Can I treat the paint? It scratches soooo easily everywhere to the point where I am so edgy with anyone near it in case they brush against it!

Defcon5 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:40

Did you get any Dr Colourchip?

Leeum · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:41

Time for some Dr Colourchip?

EDIT: Bah, beaten to it.

NickXX · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:41

Not talking about the flies, but I think a lot of that is dirt. I would try claying it after washing, then polish it to see how it comes up.

[TW]Fox · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:42

Any car that lives in the Motorways is going to get hammered by stones. Ford paint is particularly soft, so thats the result.

matt100 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:42

[TW]Fox;12083092 said:
Why should Ford pay for it? The paint quality isn't as good as a Bentley but then the price is much less as well.

Stonechips are one of those things..

don't be soft, I know you love a reaction so don't think too much about what you post sometimes but surely you can see this is way beyond stonechips, I've done mega miles in lots of cars in the past and none of them have EVER deteriorated like this.

matt100 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:43

NickXX said:
Not talking about the flies, but I think a lot of that is dirt. I would try claying it after washing, then polish it to see how it comes up.

there's a noticeable depth to it all or I'd agree with you, there's actually a cross in the bumper that looks like I've keyed it

jamoor · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:44

That's bad, but I don't think you have a chance, difficult to prove anything really.

[TW]Fox · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:45

matt100 said:
I've done mega miles in lots of cars in the past and none of them have EVER deteriorated like this.

Paint now is softer than in the past though as they use water based paints

branddaly · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:46

If you have reguarly washed, and waxed your car you could possibly complain that the paint is soft, but thats a quality issue, especially if Ford don't offer a guarantee on the paint work. And judging by the rust on some of those holes, I'd argue that you don't look after the car.

matt100 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:47

[TW]Fox;12083139 said:
Paint now is softer than in the past though as they use water based paints

pah, rubbish...

I'm more interested in making sure it doesn't happen again tbh, I guess there's nothing you can spray on to protect the paint is there?

That dr colorchip looks impressive but wouldn't I need about £50 worth of it to sort the whole front bumper?

matt100 · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:49

branddaly said:
If you have reguarly washed, and waxed your car you could possibly complain that the paint is soft, but thats a quality issue, especially if Ford don't offer a guarantee on the paint work. And judging by the rust on some of those holes, I'd argue that you don't look after the car.

I do wash but not wax tbh, its had 44k in just over 18 months, it's just a waste of time trying to keep it clean (well, on the face of it...)

I was going to sell it but I've pretty much decided to keep it now so I'm a bit more interested in keeping it one piece now.

Dup · 13 Jul 2008 at 22:50

My 2003 EP3 is looking battered like that. Not much you can do. Gonna look into get it all sorted next year. Hopefully not as crayon thin as it is now

matt100 · 13 Jul 2008 at 23:04

is it possible for a spraying noob to sort it or am I really asking for trouble?

Its not metallic if that makes a difference.