As I was driving yesterday on a newly paved road, 40 mph, approaching a school zone and slowing, a piece of asphalt was kicked up by a car in front of me and hit the hood of my car. To my dismay it left a series of small chips about the size of a quarter that are deep enough but not buffable. The asphalt was big enough for me to see, but I know it had to be soft because of the tar around the spot where it hit. Ticked off....Yes I am. Nissan's brochure claims the paint on the new Maximas is tested by firing a Diamond at the paint. My question is this:

Nissan, what kind of firepower did you use? A NERF GUN?

When I was at the dealer last week having my Service engine light checked, I asked about the small chips on my bumper. Dealer said its normal wear and tear, and unless there is a recall, there is nothing they can do about it.
Ive had rocks hit all my cars I have owned and rarely see a chip. This asphalt is maybe a week old.

Sorry guys, just venting and thinking you guys with white cars are lucky and those with black or grey, I feel for you. I call my car a "she" but she has the demeanor of a 60's hippie. She goes braless, and thinks bras are unfashionable, but I am seriously thinking of getting her one.

 

Sorry to hear what happened to you. Chips the size of a quarter?? That is pretty large in my mind! Anyway, if you get a repair done and want to protect the bumper and part of the hood going forward, take a look at the 3M Clear Mask deal that is going on now. It may help you in the future.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.phtml?threadid=5925

 

My Gray Lustre is starting to look like it has dandruff...only saving grace is it isnt black

Paint is real thin and the door guards are a joke as far as being able to take a hit and not gouge like crazy...and I'm talking about a bump, not a wide open slam.....

At the Natick Meet I was able to check out a few Sterling Mists and I didnt see any chips at all...wonder if the Mists have a super duper anti chip component in them

 

I got a few already on my hood.
That color, sterling mist, hides them pretty well.
Anyways, I am upset that my car is only 5 months old and I get those chips already. dammmmm.

Also, what were you trying to find in my engine bay?? you were looking, looking .
I didn't know it was you, I would have gone to look at your car. oh well, next time I guess.

Enjoy the Ride.

Daniel.

 

Yes i have a black car. Make fun of me and my new MOD: speckled white bumper. I am saving up some money to get it repainted and then put the 3m bra thing put on.
The reason I am not going to buy the leather bra is because i hope to one day own the stillen aero kit.
YES NISSAN YOU SUCK IN YOUR PAINT PROCESS. WHAT THE HELL!! A BUG HITS THE BUMPER AND IT LEAVES A DENT AND A CHIP PAINT!!!
ah ok
lately i haven't cared to much bout my car. With 19 credits this semester, i am feeling the stress. Oh yeah this is my first post like in a week or more.

Roger

 

Dammit...I thought you had an Icelandic Pearl Max...I don't know why, I just thought you did...doh!!

I was looking at the engine mounts in your car...trying to see if there was a difference between the 5 Spd and the automatic mounts...heck, they looked the same to me .

What were you wearing? I have a visual of the people there but I only really met JC and Stillnmax..... Damn, I wish you said something...I was sort of bummed that there were only 2 other 5th Generations there...although I guess a guy from the Edmunds forum was there earlier with his GLE...I got a little lost so it took some time to get there.

Too bad...I would have loved for you to hear my mounts sing away Guess you fixed your mirror? I didnt see any broken off ones

Hopefully there will be another one soon and a few more folks will show(nicer weather would have helped )

 

Now when I hear a thunk from a rock or other road debris, i cring and wonder where the chip is. I have several small bashes in my rear bumper from some moron who decided to lightly tag my car while it was parked. I guess she wont look brand new forever. Sigh. Oh well.

 

You guys should go over to the BMW Z3 board. They really complain about the paint on their cars which are signifcantly more expensive than ours. Apparently the paint formulas have been changed to comply with EPA regulations. Looks like chips in all our futures.

 

Thats true. the paint they put on cars has actually gotten thinner I think because of the regulations.

 

I think all newer paint is (primarily) water-based, as opposed to the old-fashioned oil based.

I also had problems with paint chips with my BMW. What seems to be unique to the Maxima are the little gouges of paint that appear in the bumper and other plastic pieces - never had chips in the plastic components of the BMW...

 

in my search for info on paint chips due to the more than half dozen I've picked up this week, I was glad to see I was in good company, but dissappointed that this must be a common flaw among all of our cars! I have the merlot, so it really shows. I've been touching up every night this week! I, too, cringe when I hear anything that sounds like gravel, or sand, or maybe even a flea hit the car.

I bought a bra, even though I can only use the top part because I have the aero kit. Figure it may be cheaper than a paint job...not sure I'll like the appearance of just a covered hood...dealer said I could bring back if didn't like.

Anyway, let's keep our eyes open for TSB's on this. At this rate, I'm going to have a two-tone car in about a year!

 

I have that brochure too... Infact, when I was waiting at the car dealer, I said to my girlfriend, "Look! They shot diamonds at it, maybe the paint would not fall off like on my 96' Max." I also said that I would never buy another Nissan again when I had my 4th gen... I need to start listening to myself.

 

I agree...the paint is starting to really suck.

Mark

 

at least your paint didnt come scratched from the factory! UNDER THE CLEAR!!! figure that one out, nissan cant. the inspector was stumped. Never buy a car at dusk.

Yeah... my paint is coming off badly too. But the way the plastic pits on the bumper, its still gonna look like hell with a fresh coat of paint. like the surface of the moon

 

I have white, and I can still see the chips. The chips go all the way down to the bare metal. I agree that the paint sucks. One of my relatives has an 87 Max and the paint is still in great condition. Talk about piniching some pennies.

 

Cheap paint really stinks. I drive on major roads that are full of semi's and sometimes I think i'm going though a meteor storm. The back portion of my mirrors are pitted with little white specs on the black plastic.

On another topic, what do you guys think of the best Accord, Acura TL, and Lexus IS300? I really love the exterior and interior of the IS300, but it gets 23mph highway. Whats up with that?