Bosco, I have an Ivory Pearl coupe, and about 13,500 miles on it since Oct. 03. I drive mainly on the Garden State Parkway here in New Jersey, and like you have no alternative but to sometimes follow cars closer than I would like....

I still touch up any sizeable chips, but its a never ending battle. My hood has taken a few good shots, and the front bumper is really chipped up near the front air dam.

I would consider repainting the bumper in another year, and maybe going for a clearbra if I decide to keep it......

But in all fairness, most of my previous cars all took alot of chips on the front end as well, it just seems I care more about this car than the others.....


04 cpe IP/willow/5at/prem/18's/JDM clear corners/Piaa's/MTEC H4 Super White fog/highs

 

Just want to say thanks to all who responded in a positive manner. To the members who can't understand my outrage, let me explain using an example other than the G (obviously G-worshipping is rampant around here).

Let's say you pay a contractor $5000 to paint the exterior of your house. When it's finished it looks great. Just driving up to it makes you feel good. Six months later you notice that the old color is showing through the new paint. Nothing extraordinary happened in that time, no hurricanes, no hailstorms, just regular weather. You figure the contractor did something wrong; maybe he put one coat on instead of two, maybe he used cheap paint, or he didn't prep the surface well. So you call him and he tells you that all the new paints do that. But other houses in your neighborhood have been repainted in the last year and none of them have this problem. The first thing you do is warn your nieghbors against using this contractor. Then you make a choice: A) ignore it, even though you know the problem is going to get worse, B) pay another $5000 to repaint it, C) sell the house, or D) take the contractor to court to get reinbursed for a new paint job.

I've decided to tackle this matter legally. The lemon law covers more than just mechanical defects. It also covers defects that reduce the resale value of our vehicles. Cases have already been won that centered on paint quality. I have found an attorney that specializes in lemon law cases and will contact them later this week. If anyone else in this forum cares, I will post the results as they happen.

And in case any of you are wondering, no I'm not one of those people who goes around suing companies at the drop of a hat. In my 48 years I've never taken anyone to court. But there's no reason we should have to accept this, no matter how many positive attributes this vehicle has.
Seacrest out.

 

Sorry about your paint chip, there has been a lot of reports of paint chips in various forums not just ours. (Nissan/Infiniti) I understand your frustration as paint chips suck royal ***, especially if you are a neat freak like me.

I have searched for the right car for over two years before buying the G35C. In this mean time, I have visited many car forums, Mercedes C class, Lexus IS300, Subaru WRX, Acura ...... and EVERY SINGLE FORUM complain about the paint chip. That's why I knew clear bra was not an option before I bought the car. This topic was beaten to death before the car was even released, and many of us actively promoted clear bra for all new owners. My car is now almost 2 years old and I have one paint chip on my rear fender resulting from a dime size rock kicked up by a truck at 80mph, and one on my rear spoiler. Front bumper is still in very good condition as my fully covered hood, mirrors, front fenders and roof. The custom clear bra with full hood cost me $520 and it was the single most valuable mod I have on my car.

I am not posting this info as a "told you so" insult to the original poster. However, for all you new G35 owners out there, please consider investing alittle money on the bra before you go insane with the paint chips on the car, because they will happen. The paint problem will have to be resolved through technological advancement, and I will fully support any protest toward these weak paint. (oh yeah, and damn orange peel)

 

Need some kleenex Bosco?

04 Black Coupe

 

Sorry <font color=red>Bosco</font color=red>, for not getting back to you sooner. As far as my G was on her re-paint, the entire front and rear clips were repainted. To answer your question, all I know is that it was repainted with 2 coats Laser Red(color code) and 2 coats of clearcoat. My service rep said that there is no way his shop could get the temp application like the factory assembly line. So what I got, was what I got. I didn't pay for a dime, so I guess I should be grateful? [img]/w3timages/icons/shocked.gif[/img] But I will say this, the new paint doesn't seem to be any better/stronger than the paint was on the showroom car I bought back in 10/02. [img]/w3timages/icons/frown.gif[/img]

 

dude, i drive to queens from westchester at least 3 times a week and have had no problems, mostly in part to the clear bra. i drove my car all winter in snow storms and all, no problems. there is construction all over where i live and on alot of the roadways i take in queens. no problems. i hear alot of rocks kick up and hit my car's bumper area, and have to say the clear bra is my saviour. sorry to hear about your bad luck with the paint on your car, good luck on your next car.

04 DG/G/6MT/Premium/Nav/Clear Bra
Bone Stock...to be continued...
"You kill mah brodah, now I kill you!" - some old kung-fu flick

 

I think many here are missing Bosco's point. We shouldn't be sucking up and putting on the clear bra to protect the paint.

I was paranoid about it and used to drive around with the Colgan bra but I've taken it off for a while already, don't like black bras ). I couldn't find a clear bra installer around where I am. So right now I'm having unprotected fun!!
I already have a few chips, oh well... I just stopped caring, life goes on.

 

Bosco, rather than either selling your car or paying for a lawsuit, have you considered putting the same money, be it from lost equity in buying a new car or from attorney fees, into just getting your G repainted by someone other than Infiniti with a non-stock paint?

If your complaint is about Infiniti's paint, why eat a bunch of negative equity on your car when you can just repaint it... or better yet, why spend thousands of dollars on a lawsuit, which at it's BEST outcome, will get you another Infiniti with the same paint that you are so unhappy with. If the paint has deteriorated as badly as you say, you aren't going to get a great price for your car if you sell it anyway. Plus, with a lawsuit, you will either eat the court fees, or have to build the cost of your lawyer into your suit and fight for that too. I cannot even imagine the headache that would be.

New paint would solve your problem and save you a boatload of money. Just food for thought.

 

Bosco, I work in the legal dept for a Fortune 100 insurance company. If you feel that strongly about the paint chip issue, go forth! I have 24K on my Emerald mist sedan and have noticed many chips on the front of the car, mostly near the grill. I too wondered about the quality of the paint job. I also think poeple should be open minded and sensitive to what may be an issue to that person.

My company takes a posture of settling the majority of troublesome lawsuits. One area I am involved in is litigating disability lawsuits. The average litigation cost of this particular kind of suit is $150K. Settling saves my company ALOT of money.

I am sure Infiniti would rather quell your dissatisfaction by offering to repaint the area or your car, at their expense. Bad publicity is not what Infiniti wants. Good luck. Bottomline its your car, your issue, your decision.

DKnibb, Esq.

 

FWIW, my 2001 Audi has horrible paint chipping all over the front end and on other parts where you wouldn't expect there to be chipping. I know that Audi changed their paints because of the environmental pressures. I would suspect this is true of any car produced today.

Cars today have a lot of painted surface on the front fascia. I don't know how I could expect a car like the G35, with a ton of painted parts plowing through the air and so low to the ground to not have paint chips. Except for the headlamps, and the 3 relatively small grills, it's all paint taking the hit for any sort of road debris. There's no chrome, no gratuitious plastic pieces, no rubber or other similar parts surrounding the bumpers, what else should I expect?

In Florida, they don't throw gravel or salt on the roads, but like any city I've been to over the last 10 years, there's a lot of road contractors getting rich on updating the Nation's highways. Road construction is endless in this country. That along with the weaker paints and the style of some cars out today can only equal paint chips.

Having said that I can understand Bosco's frustration. I only hope I can try to mitigate any damage to mine.

 

I have 1650 miles on my Laser Red 6MT and not 1 chip! Now I am living in fear because I was on these forums for months before I got the car but I did not want to get the clearbra put on after seeing a few at the Atco show. I always leave as much space as possible on the highway and I will not drive it after the first snow so I should be ok. It sucks though that you get an awesme looking, handling car with Kia paint!

04 Coupe 6MT Laser/Graphite Premium No Aero

 

I agree the paint onour cars is CRAP!!!!!!!! I have a black coupe and my front bumper and hood look i drove through a gravel pit! Im havint it repainted but I have never seen such crappy paint jobs for factory. I've had my car for a year now it looks like its 10yrs old in the front. BUT I LOVE MY G! everyhting else is perfect except for the orange peal and chips

03 6MT Coupe Blk/Blk&gt; Injen CAI, Hotchkis adj Sway Bars, Test Pipes&lt; "Nt G R8D" Aj

 

I am going though a lemon law attourney right now on my POS RX-8. There should be no legal fees on your end other than a fileing fee. Ive got a dark blue coupe and ive got a few paint chips after 6 months.

 

man I thought i only had the orange peel look . what's with the stupid orange peel look on the trunk?? it looks horrible. i've seen some bad paint jobs from ghetto shops and they all have the orange peel look but our G's are supposed to be new!

---------------------------------------------------------
RIP
1994 accord coupe ex
269whp / 281wtq @ 14psi

now....
a happy driver of a TB 6mt w/ navi

 

I have a Laser Red, with just over 13K miles, just over a year. I too have paint chips. Its pretty annoying. Like you said, it is aggravating as [censored] when every time you wash your car, you spot new problems.

I love the, "I've had my G35 for 1000 years, with enough miles to go to the moon and back 3 times, and I have no paint chips what so ever!!" Let someone who's not too proud to admit we have cheap paint take a look at it, and I'm sure the they'd see otherwise.

Has anyone actually contacted Infiniti on the problem? Maybe a possible TSB situation.