Most Fragile Car I've Ever Owned!
 

Hey everyone, I've been a long time reader of these forums and finally joined up. I previously owned a C5 Vette which I loved to death. I thought I might see a little bit of degraded performance when moving to the Z, but that hasn't been the problem. The problem is this car is just so darn fragile. A day doesn't go by where I don't find a new scratch, chip etc. So far I have owned the car for 7 months and have the following:

-Several tiny, random chips in various spots on the car (hood, fenders, wheel openings)
-Hairline scratches
-Tiny black specks on the wheels (thin clear maybe?)
-Water spots on the hood and roof

There are probably more, but you get the idea. Now mind you I owned my C5 for 4 years and and never had any problems with the paint other than the odd chip or scratch, but nothing this prevalent. The Vette was also black just like my 370.

Is anyone else experiencing this, or did I get a lemon?

There are probably around 20+ posts of people complaining about the crappy Nissan paint. Unfortunately, you did not get a lemon. The paint just sucks.

The paint quality is crap. We all are experiencing the same issues.

No lemon. Nissan paint is just total sh!t. The paint quality on my 2003 Mustang GT was 100 times better. It's pretty sad. A clear bra is almost a necessity right off the bat if you don't want to respray down the road.

Also, I own a black 370 as well and I would suggest learning to wash your car with the two bucket method (if you don't already) and find the best microfiber mitt and drying towels around. One bad wash and your car will be swirl mark heaven after just one wash.

Not sure if it's mentioned but you don't have a lemon... nissan paint just plain suck.

From reading these boards right after purchase, I got a clearbra the first weekend I had the Z. I paid 500 bucks for Black Cherry. I'll be damned if random gravel's gonna do that to me.

Of course, the first rock I caught put a chip in my windshield so bad I had to replace it.

:(

Yep the paint is poo but welcome to the forums!

Especially the black it seems..

Un-welcome to the forum! j/k At least you could have started your first post with a positive one, don't you think, before hitting us with complaints

You should see the red. My hood is gross!

Oh...and one mooore thing...LOL....wash bird sh!t off ASAP...don't let it sit even half a day!! It will stain your clear coat in like 20 minutes....ok..now im done lol.

I love black sooo much...but I also hate black....sigh.

This has been my major annoyance. Birds have been hitting that thing like torpedo bombers going at an aircraft carrier. Seriously have considered getting a pellet gun and taking a day off work to handle my bidness

Yeah... it will destroy your clear coat in no time... Everything about the paint on this car is just cheap. On a scale of 1-10 it's a -7. It's really bad.

Compared to the Z my Ford paint was the stuff you'd see at the Concours D'elegance.

I got one chip driving from dealer to my house. The paint on the Z is like beeswax.

You're blaming Nissan for water spots, hairline scratches, and black flecks on your rims?

:facepalm:

No, I'm blaming Nissan for when I farted in my car and half of the goddamn door flew off.

Its not that bad... you guys should not be investing in clear bras lol that **** is retarded. If you really want to protect your paint - take it to a detailer who knows what he is doing and it will be fine. They will seal it up nice and well and the clear will be better than it was from factory. I get my car detailed 2 times a year - once in the middle of summer and once in the middle of winter. I don't bother cleaning bird crap off the car - I just hand wash her every week.

not to mention the mismatched bumper colors that are accentuated by body curves that make them look even darker... this paint is soft as $hit, literally, if you take a steaming pile of it and touch it, its the same.

You better cut back on the Taco Bell meals (and stay away from flames)... :icon17:

:roflpuke2:

Fender edge chips are getting worse. I don't recall the 350Z having this issue, but I have a feeling our cars are going to suffer fender rust down the road.

I Just plan to have my front end re sprayed after 50k miles, just as I did on my old 03 G35 coupe... the chips just can not be stopped unless you have a clear bra... Im not a fan of them so I will just deal with it...

It is what it is...

Audi paint is FTW ... My gfs old 99 Audi A4 ( pearl white ) was sold with 150k miles on it with less chips in the front bumper and hood than my car with 8k miles on it lol



and yea I have fender edge chips as well... sucks!

Well like I have said a 100 times, go to the Nissan North America Discussion Board in Face Book.

Post in there all the comments you put here.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/...74&topic=27457

That way we will get the attention from Nissan!!!

:iagree:
Gets on my nerves when people post on a fourm to complain about the car

Yeesh... any evidence of fading from the sun yet? :ugh:

Obviously I am in the great minority here, but my paint seems fine to me. 14K on my Chicane Yellow and other than some very slight color difference between the metal and plastic surfaces that no one but me notices, I have not have any major issues with the paint. I did get the clear bra early on and it REALLY helps on the front.

Flame suit on. Have at it.

AZ Roadster

I love my black, but it gets on my nerves as well.

Let's say for instance after awhile I'd like to have my z repainted, to have better paint, as well as change the color for fun.

Can anyone give me a ball park estimate of what it costs to have a whole car repainted, typically? :ugh2:

All manufactures are dealing with this issue. Blame it on environmental regulations not the car.

Oh and c5's are known to have a very heavy clear coat which is why they have orange peel like a mofo.

With black wash with 2 buckets, grit guards for both, clay bar, mequiars ultimate compound(does'nt scratch paint), and high quality sealant and wax. I use Klasse.
Maintaining a black nissan/infiniti cars is like a full time job.

Hell maintaining any Nissan of any color since 2000 is a Bi*tch! Like the guys said almost everytime you wash it you find a new paint issue.....on the door, hood, fender etc. My Max is the same way.......horrible.

Maintaining ANY black car is a full time job! ;)

I had a a Black BMW that I washed twice a week because I didn't have a garage.

I will never buy anohter black car!

Yeah, this is the worst paint I've seen on ANY car. Period!

I was helping a friend touch up a chip on her 2008 Honda Accord and was so pissed that the paint was 200000x better than mine. Another friend's 2003 Mercedes with 90k miles has fewer paint chips than mine and NO blemishes. :shakes head:

Nissan's are known to have very soft and thin clear coats. The GT-R actually has a badge that states this paint is extremely hard...that that is the exception. Compared to Chevy (which uses an above average hard clear), it's crazy! I have a Cobalt before my Z and my Dad owns a C6 Vette. The Vette has a clear that is super hard. That's why you're seeing so much of a difference with your Z as compared to your Vette. The problem with hard clears is that they are a pain to correct sometimes.

Don't get a clear bra...it will turn yellow overtime and anything that is big enough to damage the bra will just go through and embed itself into the paint. Find a good detailer that knows what they're doing with a rotary and have them maintain it. A good sealant will last you a good 5 weeks or so depending on the elements and will protect against the bird bombs, water etching, etc.

I think the key is just to resign yourself to the fact that the paint sucks and don't fret about all of the imperfections. Just keep it looking as good as you can and don't let anyone get closer than 5 feet away from your car!

All I did for example Zday was use Blue Painter Tape. I can tell you that it did it job, so far I have not found anything from that trip.

Is a little time consuming but is worth if you don't have a OEM bra or clear 3M bra. I only spent like $13.00 in Lowe's for the tape and used it for the roundtrip.

We also space ourselves at least 1 1/2 car in between us.

I use this from time to time for long freeway trips... Protective Film : New Car Paint Protection : Paint Protector : Automobile Paint Protection : BuyRoadWrap.com

It's a temporary wrap that works pretty well. I'm not saying it looks good, but it does what it's supposed to. Much quicker to apply than painter's tape.

Regarding auto paint, in general...the industry has got to come up with a better clear. I realize there are EPA restrictions they must contend with, but the paints today are just too fragile. I remember my father telling me that back in the good old days, you rarely got a paint chip (of course, those paints were lead based). But, with all the advanced chemistry today, they must be able to come up with a tougher paint. Paint chips suck.

It can't be the industry as a whole, though, because almost every other manufacturer out there has paint and clear at least 10 times superior to Nissan's. The paint on my dad's 2005 Chrysler, my sister's 2002 Mustang, and our beater 1997 Buick is BETTER than the 2009 370Z! It's pretty wild.

Exactly! And look at some of the foreign cars such as Audi and BMW. They use a ceramic clear and is extremely hard. Even those gets chips and scratches though.

What does something like that cost at a good shop?