Ok, so maybe it wasn't Nissan corporate, but over the weekend I had occasion to talk to an engineer who works for Nissan at their Technical HQ in Michigan. My first words to him when I found out he worked for Nissan were, "What's with the paint? Why does it suck so bad?" He told me that he knew it sucked, everyone at Nissan NA seems to know it sucks, but the Japanese management in the company won't do anything about it. I realize this doesn't really help anyone in getting their cars repainted, but it nice to know that we're not crazy.

Stereodude

 

That really blows....

I guess I am one of the lucky ones with absolutely zero paint chips on my car.

 

heh. psssst, guess what? most car paint sucks...cost-cutting.

 

The paint difference between my 94 and 99 is remarkable......it was much more durable in years past.....so Nissan had it right at one time.

 

Show me a BMW that looks like it sat through a sandstorm after only two years. I've personally had three Nissan's and there have been four in my family, all but one from the mid-90's. Every single one of them, despite regular washing and waxing, looked worse after two years than the 8 yr. old Ford van that I had that was neglected and baked in the AZ sun. Nissan paint definitely sucks more than the rest.

 

yeah, compare BMW to Nissan! HAHAHAHAHA. Man you make me laugh so much!

Take a look at Honda, Toyota, Chevy, Ford, whatever...companies that make millions of cars every month. The ones that need to cost cut to stay competative in pricing, not the ones that cater to rich people who have nothing better to spend their money on than status symbol vehicles.

edit: BTW, my paint sucks too, don't feel alone.

 

heheh u should see the front of my car the front end has seen many 140+ passes on the free way and its starting to look like a sparkle paint job - pete

 

I have a 1995 Lumina LS with almost 80k miles on it. It's been neglected and abused. I've driven 50 feet behind salt trucks without a care in the world. You can just hear the salt hitting the car and bouncing off it. I never drove that car with any consideration for the paint and yet with 8x the miles it's paint is far better than the paint on my Maxima. I have been very careful with my Maxima (won't drive behind gravel haulers and I'm very careful who and what I drive behind) and the paint still looks horrid.

Stereodude

 

Not only Nissan, Acura sucks as well those guys complain abou the same things we do at the TL/TLS forum. The formula has changed since the early 90's and alot of the companies use water based paints which isnt as durable as others.

 

My understanding is that my Lumina has water based paint as it was made in 95. Maybe it doesn't. Supposedly GM has the best paint from the factory though.

Stereodude

 

My inlaws have a $30,000+ 2001 Toyota Avalon and guess what? It was just repainted. They were having paint chip on the trunk lid and other non impact areas. Nissan is not alone.

 

One big difference: Toyota is fixing it. Nissan, meanwhile, likes to blame the customer.



Sad.

 

my buddy Brendan has an 87 max and his paint looks like the only chips are from people hitting or scraping it. aside from accidents and stuff, his paint would be in perfect condition...now my 95, that's a different tale all together.

 

The $13K Honda I owned had better paint.

Comparing Nissan to BMW isn't that far fetched. If you can get a new 325 in the high 20's, you just won't get all the bells and whistles. What's a fully loaded Maxima list at now? Also, I wonder how different the paint is on the Infiniti's as well.

 

Aparently, any negative feelings shared about Maximas here result in the person being called
GHEYYYYYYYYYY.

 

I agree the paint bites. Its too freakin thin. My 1990 Toyota Camry with 200k miles thats almost never been waxed has better quality paint on the front end.

 

I drove a ruby pearl (maroon) 93 gxe for 6 years, and currently own a 99 se icelandic pearl (white). I can thus say that the paint on my 99 really sucks compared to my 3rd gen. My 93 was dark paint, too, and dark paint generally shows imperfections much worse than white. My white 99 has paint chips off both the plastic and metal painted parts despite being taken care of. Both my maxes have cloth seats, too, and the 93 cloth seats were much higher quality, but that's another story.

 

I'll have to disagree with you there, my paint is just fine. Maybe some of these guys need to back off of people on the freeway and they won't have so many paint chips in the front. That can be said about most people though, but Nissan paint does suck.. lol.

 

you have a 2002

the paint on my 89 Accord was pretty bad too, but then it was repainted.

it depends on where you live as well. you guys are so black and white about everything. yes paint is sucky, but it's sucky on a lot of manufacturer's cars, and salt/sand from snow is no good for any kind of paint.

 

I realize I have a 2002, but you have people here complaining about 5th gens and their paint as well.

Of course it's dependent on a lot of things, but in Texas we don't use road salt and the paint on several cars that I have owned still doesn't do the chipping that Nissan's does. Well I take that back, Ford was pretty crappy, but then it's a Ford The paint on my Dad's Frontier is pretty bad though.

I'm not saying it's only Nissan (hence my statement about most cars in general in my original post) but the Nissan's I have owned are pretty bad.

 

[another thread hijack]

Ford re-formulated the Silver Frost paint in '98 like your Mustang had. It has a pretty good rep for durability. How did yours old up?

I'm asking because mom's Grand Marquis has that paint and I've been impressed thus far.

[/another thread hijack]

 

It was actually pretty good, except for the fact that it took to staining pretty well, either that or the bird that pooped on my car was sick cuz it wasn't on there for very long (less than an hour). I had one HUGE chip in the hood that came from I have no idea where, but most of the chips were on the bumper. All in all it held up pretty well. LOL, it didn't even crack when that goob rear ended me.

 

Family has bought 3 new cars in the past 3 years.


99 TL in Laguna Green: Has held up well and is fairly neglected. A few paint chips....

99 Maxima In Super Chippy Black: Pathetic. Entire finish was scratched when we drove it off the lot after a "detailing". Chips soon followed. Has been babied from the beginning by yours truly. Finish is very glossy, but chips persist.

01 Marquis in Silver Frost: A chip or two on a "boat" is pretty amazing after a year. Good quality finish.

3 different makes and 2 similar experiences......and then there's Nissan.

 

May I offer you a wall to hide behind??

hehehe...

 

Someone stating that 4th gen and up paint holds up well should probably be banned anyway.


The only paint I've seen here with some "good" remarks is Sterling Mist, introduced in '98.

 

my paint is fine

 

they should be because its the total opposite

 

3rd gens don't count. They are beyond comparison.

 

Yes indeed. Much better.

 

toyota's paint last long but they don't shine as much as the nissan paint. I guess nissan figure why put expensive paint on the car that only will be driven for 10 years before selling it to the next guy. and next guy who bought the 10 year old nissan don't care about the appeareance anyway as everthing else probably all messed up (not us, the average driver who don't love as much as as we do).

 

If only the paint would last that first 10 yrs., or was that 1 year

 

Lets see 10 years (their are no 10 year old 4th or 5th gens yet) but, I see some 3rd gen Maximas with their original paint and they look good still, except for some with the prob they had with fading side molding on them. Others are immaculant, I even still see some 87 and 88 paint in good condition especially those 2 tone ones they had. Then I see a couple year old 4th gen or 5th gen and the front end looks like sh*t!

 

No one here said the paint was good did they? o_O;

I think the bumpers have a lack of clear coat...wasn't there a recall on 4g bumper paint or something for 95-96? I forget....

 

It's weird, I share just about every known defect to the Maxima 4th gen. But I don't have any problems with the paint after being on the road 53 months. No chips at all. Dings, but those aren't Nissan's fault.

 

yeah, my hood and front panel were completely hideous after a winter in montana full of gravel trucks and triple-trailer semis spewing debris at my (black) paint. now the body shop's painting the front end (for unrelated reasons that involve a compact suv) and i'm really interested to see how the aftermarket paint job survives compared to the factory panels that remain.

i suppose there are worse things nissan could be famous (infamous?) for sucking at. engines, for example... at least they have some priorities.

 

I tried to give Nissan paint a chance. But it is just too thin and inelastic!!

I've become detailing obsessed over the past month, and I catch every imperfection. I wish I could repaint my front bumper and hood since those are chewed up the worst.

I have layered about 5 coats of Klasse Sealant Glaze acrylic protection which is probably a thicker amount that the original clear coat on my car. Pathetic.

 

Are you an economist? Sometimes I think the demand for Nissans is inelastic here on this forum!

I'm no fan of Nissan, no doubt my 98 is my first Nissan/last Nissan. There isn't anything positive about the car unless one is ultra-concerned with price. Your alternatives for getting 255 hp for 21k are pretty much zero.

But again, no problems with my paint. If you got the car used, and I've never seen anybody say yay or nay, that would totally explain paint chips and flaking off. But I got my car brand-new, and I've experienced all the tranny and engine leaks, clicking noise, fuel sender unit failure etc. But no problems/chips with the paint.

 

As was brought up earlier in this thread but disregarded, how does infiniti's paint stack up? The same?

The chippage on my 95 is...moderate I guess. Not too bad, but by the time I got the car, the front bumper had the texture of sandpaper.
The front of the hood has some chips, but doesnt chip nearly as easily as my 91 integra.

 

lol.
I got mine used; that was part of the problem with the paint. But I've not had the problems you mentioned. All that stuff is warrantee-work and should be at no cost to you; most people have minor problems, but no severe ones.

 

Paint chips is going to get worse since the government came out with a bulletin recommending the decrease in usage of lead based paint by vehicle manufacturers. Lead is toxic, but it adds strength to paint. Instead, paint with higher water content(in place of lead) is now commonly used among all car manufacturers; just ask a Ferrari owner and you'll be told that the paint is often described as soft as butter. In addition, car makers get increase in revenue from the repainting/repair of damaged paint by their own body shop(dealer price!). Thus, it’s the consumers who’ll have to cough up money for the inevitable(paint chips, nicks, and scratches).

For those who wants the result of the paint protection film installation to look MINT:

There is a bunch of 3M Scotchcal paint protection film sellers(xpel.com, stongard.com, cleartastic.com, etc). Unfortunately, most people do not know how to chose one. What people should look for is the price for the amount of coverage, how thoroughly will an area be cover (does a full bumper get wrap to the wheel well?), how many pieces to cover a big area(minimum number of seams from pieces meeting), and most importantly, how competent is the installer (don't even bother doing the hard pieces yourself, you'll just be throwing away money since extensive training is a MUST!). Majority of installers will not be able to install a ONE piece to fully cover the front bumper from wheel well to wheel well. Look for those who can do it competently with MINIMUM amount of silvering, haze, bubbles, and imperfections; remember that you are paying for protection not perfection, and installers are only human. An experience installer is the #1 indication that you are getting what you pay for, since they don’t come cheap, and cheap installers doesn’t come good. Anybody can sell the film (the cheaper the film, the smaller the pieces?!), but it's hard to find a competent installer who is passionate in applying the film; it's LITERALLY an art to them not just a job. And they are their own hardest critics. Good Luck on your quest to stop the paint chip maker from decreasing the value of your vehicle. All paint protection product question welcome! If you have chips on your hood, try covering/sealing it with the magnetic bra - ebay Item # 1854075577
- other maxima available too