Anyone out there have any problems with their paint? My '01 white EB has some chipping on the doors around the handle assembly. Also, I have a run on the very bottom, inner edge of the tailgate. Not a good sign -it's only 2months old! I'm wondering if the dealer sold me a 'new' vehicle that was repainted... Wishing I'd kept the '97 XLT -the quality seems to have gone down.
Thanks!

 

I have to say I'm impressed with mine. Nothing even close to runs or chips. I'm with you, that doesn't sound right, but then again, I've got Estate Green which is metallic.

 

I would definitely take it to the dealership and make Ford eat the bill to make it right. I use to deliver to a Ford preparation center and many times the cars would come in damaged and have to have paint repairs done. Nothing wrong with that, but it should be done right. Good luck

 

Thanks for your replies...

My silver '97 XLT 4x4 never had any fit or finish problems either.

Right after we bought the EB, I saw tiny, surface rust spots on vertical surfaces and on the back hatch. They came off easily with a cleaner wax. Later, I saw bits of fine steel wool come from the space behind the rear vent window. My husband hasn't seen any overspray on the frame, but I'm not so sure that rules out a repainting. Either way, I've got a poor finish on a new vehicle. I thought 'new' meant 'factory' finish or at least disclosure.

I'm going to have a friend of my father-in-law (who restores cars as a hobby) look at the peeling areas to see what he thinks. From there, I think I will get a body shop's written opinion -and possibly a good lawyer. I'll go back to the dealership when I have ammunition! Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I took the EB to the dealership today. The bodyshop advisor was impressed with all the paint defects that I pointed out. He made arrangements so the factory rep can look at it on Thursday. So far, so good. Maybe I can get a new one with the quality of my last one.

 

Good luck getting your paint situation worked out. Please keep us posted, I would like to hear about what happens. When I took delivery of mine, it also had chips in the paint the day of delivery. The dealership said that this sometime happens during transport between the factory and the dealership. This is understandable, but my arguement was that Ford should begin shipping their higher priced vehicles in enclosed trailers. Maybe my head is in the clouds, but when you pay $35,000 to $50,000 for a vehicle it should be taken special care of. Really any new car for that matter, just don't see them shipping new focus hatchback's in an enclosed trailer. Anyway, the dealership repaired the chips, you can't tell they were ever there, even with the trained eye. They did a superb job repainting, just took two weeks longer to finally get my truck I had already waited 3 months for (I ordered it).

 

The saga continues...

The dealership had the factory rep. look at the paint on Thursday. The rep asked my husband what we wanted done about it. He told the rep. that we wanted a new Expy. The paint is chipped in places from front to rear, so it's not like a single area could be touched up. (The paint is chipped where body pieces came together, like around the door handles and in front where the light assembly meets the 1/4 panels. The back hatch has a run on the lower edge that cracked open and several places have poor coverage.) The whole Expy would have to be repainted to correct the problems. It appears that we are being sent to a Dispute Settlement Board. I think I will start a new thread to see if anyone has experienced one.

I agree about the transport of these vehicles. I had minute rust spots all over mine when we got it home. They came right off with a cleaner wax. The bodyshop said that it was probably 'fallout' that came from the transport truck.

Thanks for your replies...

 

what dealership is this?
it sounds like they did not even do a proper job of make ready for the rig, if you had that on the truck, not to mention that any dealer taking delivery of new rigs into their own stock, normally takes detailed notes and inspections of rigs as they arrive, because they nail FOMOCO for the minimal $$s to make the rigs "factory" new in the event of defects.
just my .02.
Greg

 

The dealership is Earnhardt's in Chandler, AZ. They're a pretty big outfit. We only went there because they're less than a mile from our house, had 0% financing, and we had a pre-negotiated price through Disabled Am. Vets.
MJS

 

When I first washed my 99 xlt I notice in the roof rain gutters there was no color, or very little in the one inch gutter. There was a base color but no metalic color. Made them paint it. All they did was air brush color in the gutters wich was better than it was. I know you can see it from down there but it will start to fade there first. And in the rear hatch jam there was some color missing but I wasn't to concerned with that, so I'll live with it.

 

question for hdlouie. How much did it cost to have your lower bumper painted to match the rest of your vehicle?