Damn that paint.
 

Honestly nissan :shakes head: I walked to my car yesterday to find this on my bumper.


http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...n/IMG_1236.jpg

two bigass scratches. one deep enough to put my nail in.

I have no idea how the hell they got in there. I sure as hell didn't hit anything.


I cried :shakes head:

that is kinda of a wierd spot so I dont think someone did it, maybe just road sh!t.

most likely it was something like that. but honestly I have never seen rocks make Deep long scratches

This is the one thing that has me on the fence about getting a Z. I understand and expect after you've had a car for a few years it will accumulate dings and scratches on the front end and hood but according to a lot of folks on here it seems to happen early and often with the Z. I can deal with the scratches and dings but if it becomes excessive which seems like it might be the case on this car, it will drive me nuts. I want to try and find a few used '09s and examine the front end before I decide.

I had my bumper repainted as some large road debre hit it and messed it up good, and for $120 it looks better, shinner, and feels stronger so it will do better against road stuff now. Much less than to clear bra it and the clear bra wouldnt have stop what hit me so I would have still had to get it done. So my point is let it do what its gonna do, then get it repainted in time and it will be twice as good as the factory paint job.

I am scared to get the amuse kit. image that getting damaged. don't want to think about it

A lot of (affordable - think toyota, honda, hyundai, etc) cars have pretty bad paint. My car (03 Tiburon) looks like it has sunburn on the spoiler, the paint is literally peeling off.

I think people on here just have a case of the OCD's and inspect their car everytime they go out.

Why would you fault Nissan? You can't blame that on "thin paint". Looks to me like you scratched the bumper when you parked it (maybe too near to some bushes?).

Oh, please - what BS. If your car is getting "scratches and dings" the odds are you're the one at fault. It's a fact that low-to-the-ground cars get more rock chips on the nose, hood, and windshield because they are low to the ground. And it doesn't take "a few years" for it to happen. My RX7 got rock chips, and both of my Corvettes do - and there's nothing that is/was wrong with their paint jobs, just as there's nothing wrong with my Z's paint job (which, BTW, doesn't have rock chips in the paint after a year of being a daily driver because I put a clear bra on it).

If you're really that concerned about it, have a clear bra installed. Or buy the car, park it in a secure garage, and never drive it.

:gtfo2:

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. However, if the scratch is deep enough to put you nail in, then no paint would protect you from that sort of damage.

:iagree:....That's not Nissan's fault.

Clear Bra when I bought the car! Sorry for your luck.

I did not hit anything. I drove around and the next time I looked at it I noticed it. it must of happened while I was driving because I didn't park anywhere except at my home.

you might need that trunk monkey for protection.

I've had many diff car brands and they all do it. It's just apart of car ownership, s**t happens. Roads have all kinds of little rocks that car tires fling in the air,which causes scrapes, scatches or dings.

I drive and always hear the little rocks just bouncing offa who knows what.What can you do?

I've owned my Z for about 15 months now and only have 2 rock chips, one on hood and one on front bumper. Besides the scratches, which are my fault from going to car washes....the paint is good..but Nissan's paint IS VERY SOFT! It's a fact. The 350Z was the same way..you can actually dig the paint off with your fingernail. My previous 3 Neon's didn't even have a problem?!! Coincidence?!! Nissan has soft paint...point blank!!! But it is still a beautiful car..just need to maintain it to your standards. High maintainance car for those with OCD

sorry to hear that.... btw, nissan DOES have weak paint on Z. Does any other nissan car has similar problems? I mean the paint part.

No paint job would of eliminated those scratches. You must of hit something when parking or on the road. I doubt something came up to your car when parked and did that. Happens it's life, I know it sucks I am OCD about my ride too!

Clear bra is not the solution for the $HITTY PAINT on the Z. Complaint to Nissan North America on Facebook. Find their email addresss and write to them. They are not going to fix the problem in future cars if you don't complaint about. You might even get a new front end paint job.

I posted their email address before. You do a complaint on FB and they will contact you immediately!

Why do I have to spend $800 to $1,200 for a clear bra on a brand new car because of a poor paint from factory?

scratches
 

Sorry to see that. No way thats the paint job at fault. Someone did that. Look at the patterens. On a side note, I try to keep away from road traffic such as trucks. My black Z looks great and I owned it since Sept 1st, 09. Just had clear bra , Ventureshiled Ultra installed last week .. Ps , go to your dealer and ask when their paint guy comes to touch up their new cars. This guy should do the repair easily in your driveway. They have all the tools and equipment at least the one I met did. I now have a dent guy along with the paint guy for future reference. Rich

:facepalm:

Be prepared to touchup/repaint certain areas down the line,it's called "maintaining perfection".

Scracthes
 

I was looking at the damage again. Did you drive thru a drive thru? Some have very narrow paths.

Nissan paint sucks.

That looks like its from a "gator" strike from rolling over a tire tread on the highway.

That area at the base front bumper/spoiler is the #1 area for road debris, touch-up and go on with life:driving:

So go and expend your money then!

I complaint to Nissan North Amerca and have a free new front bumper.

It took 4 months but it works, if you want to get your arse rape and taken for a ride then settle for it. :ugh2:

Don't know what your issue was, but my "arse" didn't get raped and taken for a ride - nor would I settle for it if it had been.

A few guys keep bleating about how Nissan's paint sucks - that doesn't seem to be a universal sentiment, now does it? How many Z owners think that the paint is horrible, like you keep claiming - probably not many (or else most of us wouldn't have bought a Z).

I'm sure that there are some Z owners out there whose cars do have paint flaws - that happens with all manufacturers. And those owners should get the paint flaw(s) corrected under warranty. But that doesn't justify the general claim that "Nissan's paint is terrible".

It's an aerodynamic car that can go fast...**** will happen to it. If your kid gets a little acne, do you start to hate him? No!

I'd stick em' on a plane and send it back to Russia

FTW!!!! Its great to read posts informing these :crying: about the facts of life they keep whining about.

Nope. I avoid those kind of things on purpose.

Gator strike? :icon14:

Nissan dealership said it looks like a crack :shakes head:

They can try to fix it with something called a hot spot or something

Here in the US tire tread that has come off of a truck or whatever is called by some a 'gator' as in Alligator becuase I guess it resembles Alligator skin. So when you get wacked by a piece of this tread sitting on the road its called a 'gator strike' Truckers use the term alot.

sorry dude about the trunk scratch-I feel for you. We love these cars and pay a lot for them-so when they are imperfect we mourn the loss of the perfection. That's all.
I had an invisible bra on my 350 Z-it was great. Just bought a roadster in dark cherry and I had it Simonized right away. Might get another bra too.
Look on autogeek.com and see if they have any products to reduce the appearance of that scratch-you will feel better once it is not glaring at you, my friend.:driving:

just touch it up. be a man, not a veggito-musume.

touching it up will make it look horrible. friends and dealership advised against it since the scratches/ crack is so big

Oh I see. Might be a good excuse to get a lip spoiler? :D

:roflpuke2:That chick musta been on something..that's pretty F'd UP!!!!

Do you live under a rock??? Yea exactly that - a gator strike. That's the highway driving slang reference for a blown tire tread scrap.

And yes again - they do exactly that kind of scratching and cracking to plastic bumpers due to the cord wires that run through the tread and stick out of the scrap and because the rubber tread sticking up will catch teh underside of the bumber of low setting cars.

I know this kind of car damage for an ABSOLUTE fact because it scratched, cracked and sliced up my front bumper on my Shelby Mustang GT right where the bumper curves under to the chin skirt. It looks 100% exactly like what the picture shows in the original poster's message.

He lives in Belgium - don't think they have many 'gators there... :)