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I just took delivery on a 2019 Blade Silver Grand Sport Z07. I detailed it a couple of months after delivery with a fine polish and applied a Pinnacle paint sealant. I immediately noticed a paint blemish on the front bumper cover under the clear coat. It appears something touched the paint while wet but the clear was applied over it. The clear is smooth.
My Denver area dealership told me that this is a "mass produced car" (at $88K sticker) and that a re-paint of the bumper cover may not match as well as the factory paint. As the blemish is approximately 1X3 inches, they are suggesting that I am accepting the risk of a poor color match if I request a warranty repair. I told them they will paint it until it matches, but have not scheduled the repair.
I am disappointed in the factory and dealership QA to say the least. I asked if another bumper cover could be shipped painted from the factory and was told no, any replacement would be unpainted. The front bumper takes the most road abuse; the dealer applied paint and clear coat will not likely be as durable as the factory.
I'm not impressed with 2019 paint quality.
The GS performs as advertised, but this is the worst paint blemish I have ever received on a new car. I'm trying to decide whether to escalate or work with dealership.
I have to agree with the dealership. I have had to have multiple bumpers repainted in the past on other cars I have owned when I have been hit. While the repaints matched the factory paint exactly for a few years, the replacement paint seems to age differently or the metal flake is different enough from the outset that on close inspection it is not an exact match. This is one of the reasons that I prefer solid colors now, as they are easier to repair without that metal flake. Matching a silver color is one of the more difficult challenges. I had a silver/gold Camry where it was virtually impossible to match the color and the metal flake exactly. The body shop spent over a week trying because they knew I was very particular. While they eventually matched the color exactly, the metal flake was just a tad off and I could always tell the bumper was repainted.
I would not be too critical of the paint just because it is on an expensive $88K car. The factory uses the exact same paint and painting process on the base $56K car as well as the $140K ZR1.
I have looked at the paint on mass produced (also expensive) cars like Mercedes, Porsche, Lexus, BMW etc and while sometimes I can't find a flaw, many times I can. I really think purchase cost is not a driving factor in modern day painting and again I think the dealership is correct when it says one can't expect perfection on a mass produced car. Because the quality of the painting is going to vary to some extent, it really is important to inspect the paint job thoroughly before you purchase and see if anything visible will bother you in the future. I spent almost two hours going over my purchase and most of that time was looking at panel gaps and paint quality. I found flaws, but nothing that would bother me. I accept those flaws such as OP because I know that there are somewhat unique challenges in painting cars made out of what are essentially lightweight plastics
I went from a black 2015 to a black 2019. There is less orange peel, but you can still find it if you look -no problem with me.
The biggest difference that I notice is that with the 2015, it was very easy to scuff or leave a mark in the clear coat -which I would then have to remove with a light compounding.
The 2019 doesn't seem to have that issue, so for me, especially with black, the scuff resistance is much better and appreciated.
My Torch Red 2019 has noticeable orange peel in spots if you find the right angle in the right light, but overall the paint looks very good and the body panel fitment seems perfect.
My Torch Red 2019 has noticeable orange peel in spots if you find the right angle in the right light, but overall the paint looks very good and the body panel fitment seems perfect.
This is my first corvette, but they can do better on the paint jobs. My 19 has orange peel, too much for a car at this price, imo. I can live with that, the real problem with the paint is theres a pretty large dirt nib under the paint on the passenger rear quarter panel. The dealer offered to repaint the panel, but it's not so bad that I'm letting them repaint my car. No way that should get past quality control. Overall the car is excellent but I'm not impressed with the paint quality. I'd pay extra for a better quality paint job - it would be a cool option if made available (i.e., extra layers of clear that get wet sanded at factory, something like that).
This is my first corvette, but they can do better on the paint jobs. My 19 has orange peel, too much for a car at this price, imo. I can live with that, the real problem with the paint is theres a pretty large dirt nib under the paint on the passenger rear quarter panel. The dealer offered to repaint the panel, but it's not so bad that I'm letting them repaint my car. No way that should get past quality control. Overall the car is excellent but I'm not impressed with the paint quality. I'd pay extra for a better quality paint job - it would be a cool option if made available (i.e., extra layers of clear that get wet sanded at factory, something like that).
IMO, the C7 is the best value per $ spent of any sportscar offered in the world today. However having said that, I would gladly pay extra for better paint finish and higher quality carpet and my C7 paint finish is one of the best I've seen.
I just purchased a new Toyota Tacoma pickup and it's paint finish is heads & shoulders above quality of C7. So much for the new paint shop.
Kenny, what color is yours?
IMO, the C7 is the best value per $ spent of any sportscar offered in the world today. However having said that, I would gladly pay extra for better paint finish and higher quality carpet and my C7 paint finish is one of the best I've seen.
I just purchased a new Toyota Tacoma pickup and it's paint finish is heads & shoulders above quality of C7. So much for the new paint shop.
Kenny, what color is yours?
Watkins Glen Grey - which is an awesome color and hides the flaws pretty well especially in the sun. But like you, I'd happily pay more for a better paint job, and there is no way a freaking Toyota pickup should have a better paint job than a Corvette, especially when they just put in a new paint facility.
Well I thought the bumper to fender paint rub issue was addressed until I read in another thread a guy has a 2019 with it. I mean really? I would be so pissed. I almost...ALMOST traded up because if the paint improvement but after looking at a few I was not impressed enough with it to say it was huge.. and maybe I'm lucky but my car is not bad at all (exposed for the fender cove vent inserts that rubbed the corners which was addressed now)
Reality is that on a mass produced car it's basically impossible to paint a OP free car in this day and time. Water based paints, etc are the culprit. Want to see a GREAT paint job? Go to your local Aston Martin dealer. You will find ZERO OP. And an Aston Martin spends 50 (FIFTY) hours in the paint shop alone (200 hours total to build the car). So...an Aston Martin spends more time in paint than a Corvette spends being BUILT (34 hours was the last number I saw). 50 hours is a lot of flattening out the paint, getting the scratches out, etc.
Watkins Glen Grey - which is an awesome color and hides the flaws pretty well especially in the sun. But like you, I'd happily pay more for a better paint job, and there is no way a freaking Toyota pickup should have a better paint job than a Corvette, especially when they just put in a new paint facility.
If you have a Toyota pickup with better paint than your Corvette, consider yourself lucky. My in-laws have 2 Lexus' (2016 RX and 2015 ES). The amount of OP on BOTH cars makes my C7 look like an Aston Martin in comparison.
05-08-2018, 08:18 PM
Obviously they're practicing on the C7s so the C8's come out perfect.
