[DSmooth]

Is it just my car or is the paint job on the front bumper of all 02 Altimas pretty cheap/weak? Not even two weeks after I picked up my car, did I receive a pretty noticeable paint chip on my front bumper. And now almost two months later, I have many little chips on the front bumper.

IMHO the paint on the 02 Altimas is bad. What is everybody elses thoughts?

 

[Prophet0p]

You need to bring that shit back to the dealership and tell them now before it is to late and they blame you.........

 

[Altimat]

My thoughts are that debris is bring kicked up from vehicles in front of you and is impacting with the front of your car and chipping your Altima's paint no more than it would chip the paint on any other car with a similar front end. The Smyrna plant is one of the newest and best in the industry, and I also don't believe the paint on the car is inferior to the paint on any other mass-produced car. JMO. And I think I read somewhere that the plant was also the only auto plant to receive some award for an environmental achievement. ?? Unless maybe they use a different paint? (water-based??)

 

[DSmooth]

Thanks for the wealth of information. It's just frustrating since all of my other cars/trucks went years without any noticeable stone chips.

Just the other week I received (as a gift) a bra/nose mask for my Altima. But, unfortunately the weather has been kind of crazy and unpredictable that I do not want to put it on just to take it off a few hours later.

 

[ritepina]

IMO the paint sucks. Altimat, I understand what you are saying but I have never seen paint chip so easily. I have owned Honda's, Toyota's, and Dodge's that never chipped as much with normal day to day driving.

I will say, it may be partially due to excessive speed.

 

[javentre]

I had a 2001 Tacoma Double Cab before this - that paint was far worse than my Altima's. If you looked at it funny it would get dull ... continue to stare and it would chip.

Toyota's new paint is a lot worse!

 

[wild willy]

Interesting

i do not know why,but, all of my chips are on the sides of my car. I do not have one stone chip on the front. I have a few runs in my paint...........I never saw that from a factory paint job. That little corner behind the rear doors is beatten by debrit.......how it finds that ilttle spot I do not know. Design flaw

 

[e-squared]

Solution: Drive Backwards...



Better yet, complain to Nissan now and often, this will put you in a better position later. If the dealer does not satisfy you call the Tech center and complain, they have bigger ears and try to stop the complaining.

 

[akima]

My trunk has terrible orange peel

 

[javentre]

paints have changed signifigantly in the last few years....mainly because of environmental concerns. They can no longer use certain metals in the paint because they are toxic .... but those were the metals that made the paint hard.

 

[Guest]

On plastic parts, they have to use some addatives and that changes the color a little. I am not getting any chips on my hood or front fenders as I would have expected and I have been doing a lot of highway driving with sand and salt on the roads. I did put several coats of wax on prior to the onset of winter. I am having my grill painted so that should be a good test to see how the paint holds up on plastic when not done by the Nissan paint team.

 

[e-squared]

Remember that aftermarket paint will not be as hard as factory because they cannot bake the car hot enough without melting the interior. If they can remove the part they can bake them pretty hot to make the paint hard. So I would not jump at the offer that the dealer will repaint parts unless the paint is really bad. Try to get the to put it in writting that they will paint the parts in the future if it continues to get worse. This is one of the problems with plastic parts plus the additives.

 

[Russ2kSE]

Is it just my car or is the paint job on the front bumper of all 02 Altimas pretty cheap/weak? Not even two weeks after I picked up my car, did I receive a pretty noticeable paint chip on my front bumper. And now almost two months later, I have many little chips on the front bumper.

IMHO the paint on the 02 Altimas is bad. What is everybody elses thoughts?

All nissans are like this and have been since 1995 when Nissan went cheap on alot of stuff. I suggest look into www.x-pel.com or www.stongard.com for protection right away.

 

[Russ2kSE]

Remember that aftermarket paint will not be as hard as factory because they cannot bake the car hot enough without melting the interior. If they can remove the part they can bake them pretty hot to make the paint hard. So I would not jump at the offer that the dealer will repaint parts unless the paint is really bad. Try to get the to put it in writting that they will paint the parts in the future if it continues to get worse. This is one of the problems with plastic parts plus the additives.

That is a bunch of BS. I have a friend that owns a body shop, and the paint they bake on is much more higher quality paint, and will defintely stick better than the factory paint.

 

[SE-Rious]

More On Paint...

You guys should have seen the front fascia on my 1st gen
before I traded it in on the V-6. Looks like it had been
sand blasted!
My SE-R doesn't look that hot either.
These are my conclusions: 1) Poor Nissan Paint
2) Lowered ride height 3) Years of debris impact from
I-35.
The lowered ride height theory is making me think
twice about lowering the V-6. Will probably still
do it but after I move closer to work!

 

[Coco]

I agree with the paint really diminishing in value around '95. I had a '95 Sentra and man....that paint sucked! Chips and scratches were made so easily. Did Nissan decide to put just one coat of paint since then??