Brand new car - respray for minor chip or not

ironman said:
You have read incorrectly, factory jobs are often average at best unless it's a Bentley. Also your car probably has been resprayed and repaired during the final finish production process anyway.
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Absolutely baloney.

If most factory jobs can be described as average, most bodyshop repairs can be described as hilarious crap.

Most factory jobs are head and shoulders better than most bodyshops. They have the best equipment, spraying onto brand new parts, in extremely clean environments.

I was speaking to an excellent car sprayer a couple of months ago and he was telling me how getting a good finish in a bodyshop is so difficult. The preparation has to be absolutely meticulous and he said if someone has used some of that dashboard blackener, even months ago, the silicon in it just goes absolutely everywhere, including onto the panel that has been prepped, compromising the final finish and longevity.

This is the same for any sort of oil, grease. Moisture and temperature fluctuations are also an issue, which factories do not have to worry about as the spray areas are so clean.

Not to mention, the factory uses all the same paint, from the same batch, to paint the entire car. Unfortunately, for every paint code, there are absolutely loads of variants, which are very subtley different due to the different factories they have been made at over the lifetime of the model and the different components that have gone into them, which can never be replicated to 100% match.

In answer to the OP, i'd probably just ignore the little stone chip and ask for the 5 year warranty. You'll be driving it on the road and pick up hundreds more of these stonechips in the first few months of ownership.
 
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Jono8 said:
Well as I dreaded, they ended up repsraying the whole bonnet and it is not good. There is a massive run in the paint down one side and a lot of tiny white specks (dust?) under the clearcoat. There is also a weird chip in it (in a more visible place than the original!) and a dodgy bit in the lacquer.

I have told them they will be getting it back to factory finish or they will be having the car back and giving me a new one.

I have asked for a replacement red bonnet from another Fiesta as an option as I am certain the ST has the same bonnet as the normal car. I guess there is the risk the colour will not match though.

Argh.
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:(

Turned out I was a bit late to the party.

Paint is the absolute worst thing to get right, and unless you are very talented, very meticulous in your work and using excellent equipment and materials, getting near to the factory finish is difficult at best.
 
Gaygle said:
In answer to the OP, i'd probably just ignore the little stone chip and ask for the 5 year warranty. You'll be driving it on the road and pick up hundreds more of these stonechips in the first few months of ownership.
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Too late! I wish I had! Trouble is the chip had taken the paint off so I was worried about rust. Someone had clearly caught it with a ring or something when closing the bonnet.
 
I think I am going to plumb for a new bonnet swapped from another brand new Race Red Fiesta as they do all share the same bonnet, I have just found out.

Fortunately I think the solid red is quite common and they are a large dealer network so hopefully they wont really mind swapping the bonnet from a poverty spec one somewhere in their stock.

After all, if their respray is supposed to be good enough for me, it can be good enough for someone else....or they can just put it on a demonstrator/demo car or something.
 
Sounds like a bad paint shop, mine was perfect after they resprayed most of the car. Simply don't accept it back until it's perfect
 
Get it sprayed and forget about it. These cars deserve to be driven. I managed to pick up a chip on both the front bumper and the windscreen within the first 3 weeks of getting my ST :(

EDIT: Just read up on the last few posts. Swapsies will be fine :p It'll get chipped on at least half the panels within the first year at any rate
 
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Skyboat said:
Get it sprayed and forget about it. These cars deserve to be driven. I managed to pick up a chip on both the front bumper and the windscreen within the first 3 weeks of getting my ST :(

EDIT: Just read up on the last few posts. Swapsies will be fine :p It'll get chipped on at least half the panels within the first year at any rate
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Indeed. I know it will get chipped/scratched in time but I want to be the one that does it.

All of this agro is because someone (presumably during the PDI inspection) either caught their ring or whatever they were holding on the lip of the bonnet when closing it.

The fact they have thought the job they have done is good enough gives me zero confidence that they will ever be able to give it a factory finish again. I am a relative layman in terms of bodywork/paint so the fact I could easily spot these problems speaks volumes really.

As long as a replacement from another new Fiesta matches ok I will be happy with that.
 
Yeah I agree - when you receive something brand new you would want it to be pristine. It's not like you're paying a discount for a refurbished model with a few minor scuffs here and there.
 
pepsilol said:
Extremely extremely extremely extremely rarely.

I can't wait for your reply now to prove me wrong without any evidence as this will get epic for me personally :D:D:D:D
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It is true. Ok don't know if ford's are checked in the same detail as a mclaren, but they do get checked before leaving the factory and if necessary go back for repair/fix.

For example, here is some bed time reading for you:

http://www.wired.com/2010/11/peek-inside-the-chevrolet-volt-factory/

Every car is thoroughly checked for fit and finish before leaving the factory. Panel gaps are measured, the hood, trunk and doors are opened and closed repeatedly, and everything gets a once-over to make sure it works.

Minor issues are corrected with the judicious application of a rubber mallet. Anything more serious is sent back to the body shop.

Every car is inspected for scratches and other blemishes. Bright lights and mirrors make the job easier. Minor imperfections are touched up on the line. Anything more involved is sent to the body shop.
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Burned_Alive said:
I think at this point I'd reject the car. Might be an overreaction, but I wouldn't want all this messing around with a new car.
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I will if they refuse to try a replacement bonnet from another Fiesta.

I think what is most annoying is that they said they would not spray the whole bonnet and would just sand and blend the chip (which was very small and on the front edge lip so could have been put right very easily in my opinion). I never wanted the whole bonnet sprayed and if I had known they were going to do this I would have not gone through with it.
 
I'd let them repair it as they see fit and not worry about it - LOADS of new cars have had some paint rectification before they are sold with the first owners none the wiser. If the dealer had spotted it before you had, that's exactly what theyd have done and you'd have never known.

Or do you think they scrap every new car that get's dinged during delivery to the dealers?
 
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amigafan2003 said:
I'd let them repair it as they see fit and not worry about it - LOADS of new cars have had some paint rectification before they are sold with the first owners none the wiser. If the dealer had spotted it before you had, that's exactly what theyd have done and you'd have never known.

Or do you think they scrap every new car that get's dinged during delivery to the dealers?
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But their repair looks shoddy. I am not having a brand new car with a badly re-sprayed bonnet.
 
pepsilol said:
Extremely extremely extremely extremely rarely.

I can't wait for your reply now to prove me wrong without any evidence as this will get epic for me personally :D:D:D:D
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If not in the factory then many cars get repaired once they hit the dealer network. They've been transported thousands of miles over land and sea, handled by several ham fisted dock hands and probably sat in a huge car park for a few weeks. It's inevitable that some get damaged.
 
Spoke to the dealer today. They are being very pleasant about the whole thing. They have gone away to see if they have another red Fiesta in stock that they can swap the bonnet from.

I just hope it will match, but if it does this is the best resolution.
 
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