Peeling Clearcoat

[Bimmer-Bob]

Anyone have this issue with another late model BMW? Or hear of someone else who has?

I noticed this a few days ago, and it was already this size. Not sure how it could have happened, especially so fast.

Took the car the the dealer yesterday. They just took pictures and sent them off to some regional supervisor, which is about what I expected. I'm going to be pretty pissed if they come back with anything other than an offer to respray the entire bumper.

I've had the car since April 2010 and it has just under 15K miles on the odometer - how does this happen on such a new car?

On the plus side, I just made my final car payment!

[Cemoto]

I see you are in San Antonio. My father's car is in transit up here to MA as I type but he took delivery in Mar/2010 in McAllen.

There is a bubble on the rear bumper which will get larger if I don't get it repaired. (See lousy cell phone pic)

Is there a paint warranty?

Our cars probably came out of the same production cycle.

My vin ends in *6361 and has almost 11K miles.

I don't know if dad backed into something, so I'm probably on the hook for the repair. Good luck and please let us know how you make out.

Regards,

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by Cemoto

Is there a paint warranty?

Well, my understanding is that any defect in the paintwork should be covered by the regular bumper-to-bumper warranty. I mean, why wouldn't it be?

Mind you, I'm not talking about normal wear and tear, like rock chips. But I can't conceive of any "normal" (or even "at fault") scenario that would result in a foot long section of clear coat peeling off. I mean, I've never seen anything like it. To me, it must be a paint defect - but we'll see what BMW has to say about it.

[tracer bullet]

I have an idea on this, based on experience.

* Car leaves BMW with a great paint job
* Shipper puts cars as close as possible to each other during shipping and sometimes they bump or some one taps another car loading or unloading
* Shipper says oh shit and rushes the car to a local body shop for a real quick fix
* Later on the clearcoat peels because it was a shitty job


If you can, take a real hard look for any evidence of a repair or for damage - even as simple as tiny dents where bolts from a different license plate bracket or something hit it, maybe little indentations where the light doesn't bounce off right (check from different angles).

Happened to me, wouldn't be surprised to see that here too. That would be why it's on the bumper and not on a spot more exposed to the elements (roof, hood). And why it's dull underneath, from buffing areas nearby the repair before clear was put on the whole thing.

[Dackelone]

^^Yup! The reason why the clearcoat is coming off is bc your bumper has been repaired and painted after it left the factory. BMW paint does not do that. Somewhere along the line... your car was painted. Only way to fix that is to repaint it again. This time use a good body shop.

[Bimmer-Bob]

I think you guys are right. My SA asked me specifically if I've owned the car since new and/or have ever had it repainted. If it was done, must have been during shipping, though - I would think BMW would still be liable, but we'll see if they try to weasel out of it or not. Hoping for at least a goodwill repair on their part.

I guess worst case scenario is I pick up an M-Sport or Performance bumper to replace this one...spendy, though.

[sandman98]

that sucks. i hope they make it right for you.

[woosh]

Originally Posted by sandman98

that sucks. i hope they make it right for you.

x2

Good luck mate! You seem to have a relaxed attitude throughout this all, so I'm sure you'll be taken care of either way :-)

[tommolog]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

I guess worst case scenario is I pick up an M-Sport or Performance bumper to replace this one...spendy, though.

Life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That's exactly what I few years back when I had an issue with a Boxster. Cost me a few bucks, but I was happy thereafter.

[doublevanosrc]

BMW was sued for something similar to this during the 1990s, I think they will stand up and do what is right which is to repair under the warranty.

[mdputnam]

Here is a shot at the Point Hueneme VPC. As you can see the cars are lined up assembly line style to get repainted


And check out this poor Mini with major shipping damage

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by mdputnam

Here is a shot at the Point Hueneme VPC. As you can see the cars are lined up assembly line style to get repainted


And check out this poor Mini with major shipping damage

Wow that mini looks like the damage was severe, i hope they informed the buyer of it. I bet the shipper's insurance pays for the damage so I do get why the Auto companies still cover it up and sell the car as "Brand New", when it really is not.

[mdputnam]

Keep in mind of the thousands of cars that come through the Center only a very small percentage of cars get damaged, and most of that is door dings and bumper scratches/scrapes. From what I understand if the value of the repair exceeds 3% of the car value the Center will report the damage to the Dealer. What the Dealer does is dependent on your state's consumer protection laws and the Dealer.

[Xtian]

Happened to me with my 03 GTI 20th. The VW guy was a schmuck about it. More or less accused me of having the area painted. Miserable experience.

[GotM]

I had an Audi A6 that started to have the clear coat peel on the front of the car. The dealer did the same thing by showing it to the regional inspector. The readily had it repaired. I was really worried they would have a slight mismatch in color. And being silver, I thought a respray would be noticeable. In the end, I could not tell the difference. It looked great after it was done.

[Rawhide]

Yeah I agree that is NOT BMW paint.

The dealer should still cover it imo. It was sold to you under the pretense of being BMW paint, so they should still be liable for it. If not, I'd at least get a legal consultation before repairing it yourself.

[andrey_gta]

Use vinyl to make lemonade !!!
go classic e30, you have the wheels already that look like BBS RC which are hot on e30
BTW what are these wheels?


Here is a quick MS paint ( I actually want this now...hott look)

[Bimmer-Bob]

^Kinda cool! But I don't think I could pull it off. But it's good to see my car in that kind of company.

You know, I always thought the 128i bumper, with its rectangular fog lights, was sort of reminiscent of the E36 bumpers.

The wheels I'm running are BMW Style 216's. They're actually made by BBS.

[andrey_gta]

Yeah I agree e36 in amny ways is close to us. Even the N52 is at near e36 m3 power.

Certainly a connection here.

here is an alternative of the vinil strip

[BimmerEnthusiast99]

Bob,

When it comes time to fix it, years ago when I lived in SA and got rear ended in my '04 e46, I had Laredo Paint & Body on Fredricksburg do the work (repair and repaint bumper). They did a fantastic job.

[dtwyim]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Anyone have this issue with another late model BMW? Or hear of someone else who has?

I noticed this a few days ago, and it was already this size. Not sure how it could have happened, especially so fast.

Took the car the the dealer yesterday. They just took pictures and sent them off to some regional supervisor, which is about what I expected. I'm going to be pretty pissed if they come back with anything other than an offer to respray the entire bumper.

I've had the car since April 2010 and it has just under 15K miles on the odometer - how does this happen on such a new car?

On the plus side, I just made my final car payment!

Do you go thru automatic car wash? There was another thread where similar damage was caused by the high pressure water jets.

[Satalite]

Not normal... strange that its just the front bumper. I assume you bought your car new? Surprises me, unless it just didn't get a proper coat of clear during paint work and missed inspection.