Paint Problem
 

Good evening guys. I posyted a while ago and related that on the second day that I owned my 03 GS3 I ended up with 1200 bucks worth of stone chips on my hood, bumper and fenders. Just to clarify, these aren't the usual stone chips. Many of these are the diamater of a pencil and pretty much round, not jagged. The problem is that I took the car back to Motorworld Lexus and they said that there was nothing wrong with the paint and therefore Lexus was not responsible. I ended up going through insurance and they agreed to pay to have the hood, front bumper and fenders repainted and blended into the front doors.

Ok, here's the bump in the road. I took the car to the best paint guy within a hundred miles. This guy does incredible work. I didn't take it to the dealer to have it fixed because they only wanted to airbrush the individual stone chips. I could only imagine what that would have looked like. Well, I talked to the owner of the body shop today and he told me that when he got my car in he realized that the paint on my GS has an adhering problem. He told me that he won't touch my car until I take it back to the dealer and have Lexus send a representative look at the car and have them paint the car under warantee. He obviously looses out on the money this way so he has no reason to give me wrong info. My problem is that the dealer says that there is nothing wrong with the car, but the paint is just peeling off all around the paint chips. I now have a spot on the hood that is missing a 1x3 inch section of paint. What can I do? I plan on taking this to the district rep and the zone rep, but I think that I'm going to get told that it's not a Lexus problem. Do you guys have any suggestions? Thanks for your help. I'm just sick that I have to have the whole front end repainted, let alone possibly the entire car. There is just no way that on trade in a dealer won't know that the car was repainted and kill me on trade.

It sounds like you are on the right track by involving the various representatives. I'm not sure how old you are, but it seems like businesses tend to just blow off young folks these days. So, if you are fairly young, you might want to consider bringing a parent, or better yet, a lawyer that will jump squarely in the dealers crap. If the paint is coming off in big chunks, they can't possibly weasle out of it, but they'll probably try, so bring all the ammo you can, and good luck!

Don't feel bad. I just had the front/rear bumbers and lower plastic areas of the doors repainted by the dealer under warranty on my 99 GS, Diamond Pearl white. Anyway, it was only painted a month ago and the front bumper has a ton of small chips in it that really bother me. I attempted to count the chips but gave up after I got to twenty, I am pissed. There are more chips in the front bumper of my car one month after it was painted then there were after the car was three years old. I don't understand and have an appointment to have it looked at next week. I hope the dealer can refinish the bumper with a different paint or special clearcoat that will resist scratches and chipping like it coms from the dealer !!! :confused:

Copout: Why did the dealer repaint under warranty? As for the chips, I feel your pain. After I had my GS's hood and front bumper repainted, it began to look like crap after a few months. The chips were everywhere. I am told the body shop didn't prep the car properly...but of course the body shop says the chips are part of normal wear and tear. I am waiting until the Spring to repaint again, but am trying to find a high quality body shop in So. Cal. I'll also apply Xpel after the repaint...it seems to be the best way to prevent those unsightly rock chips.

They repainted under warranty due to a yellowing of the pearl white paint that has become a major problem with that color. I am looking to possibly sell the car and buy a GX470 or Lincoln Aviator since going from an SUV to a GS has really created a problem for me and my family. Especially since the car (GS) is horrible in the snow and my wife hates to take in anywhere because I am so particular about the car. Anyway, I don't want to sell it to anyone without first taking care of the paint issue on the front bumper. I don't understand why the bumper had a handful of small chips prior to the paint work being done and now it has three times as many, and I don't drive the car that much !!

Ah, I remember the complaints about the pearl white paint. Regarding the numerous chips, I guess it's true that no paint job will be as good as the original factory. Hope you decide to keep the GS, but if not, get the GX over the Lincoln.

I appreciate the info. Yes, I think the GX will be the choice but I don't like waiting !!! If I ever get another GS it will be the new design and will be the 400 series. No more 6 cylinder for me !!

Gabeshell...
 

Follow Eric's (mumbles) advice. He's dead on. that's how you want to do it initially.

A guy I know with a 2002 Camaro SS got blown off on his request that the dealer repair a long scratch in the hood (the car had only just been sold to him, with 250 miles on the odometer) that was evidently there when he took delivery, he just didn't notice in his moment of joy. He's only 21 and they didn't have any respect for him or the money he spent. I managed to remove the scratch for him ( i'm a detailer), but I shouldn't have had to.

If it was a 45-50 year old lawyer bringing that car in, or me (i'm 45 heheh) I can assure you things would have been different. You need some authorative "backup" that's all. Good luck, Dan H

Thanks all for your comments and advice. Mumbles, I'm 31 so not a kid but not that old either. I just returned from the dealer. The service advisor really has a lousy attitude which disappoints me. If it were up to him I would be up a creek without a paddle. He ultimately ended up eating some crow though. The body shop adjuster had the paint manager come out and and his words were "wow, that's scary, usually Toyota has great paint". The manager didn't even touch the car, just took one look and agreed that the paint is defective. So Lexus will now have to fix what is currently wrong. They said that they can't repaint the car because it has only showed up on the hood and fenders so far. I asked them what will happen if it shows up elsewhere and they said that they would only be able to fix the problem areas as they show up....and the other body panels will have problems. I'm just grateful at this point that it's on my record that the paint is defective and Lexus can't screw with me later. Thanks again and lets hope that this is isolated to only my car!

Lex Rules!