[Element]

I just notice their is a very small paint bubble on my passenger door. You have too look at it real close to notice it. My dealer told me this is "consumer acceptable" and it won't affect trade-in value down the road. I'm not going to trade in the E at all but what do you guys think about this quote?

It doesn't bother me because you have too really look at it real close to notice any thing at all, but it's their in the back of my mind :roll:

 

[jayharley]

I also have a few little tiny bubbles in the paint. Really not a big deal, and you also need a magnifying glass to notice them. Also I have one on the front edge of the hood that looks like the paint collected there when the hood was hanging during painting. You can only notice it when the hood is open. I don't expect the E's paint to be the same quality as a $45,000 car, so it is no big deal. I just tell myself if I wanted better, I simply have to pay more.

Overall the paint seems quite good and on par with what I expected.

 

[Element]

Jay,

It's nice to hear that i am not the only E owner who has paint issues. like we said, it's not noticable and it's not a 45K car

 

[jayharley]

[quote:0ffa6fd7a8="Element"]Jay,

It's nice to hear that i am not the only E owner who has paint issues. like we said, it's not noticable and it's not a 45K car [/quote:0ffa6fd7a8]

I really don't even consider it an "issue". I know the car is not going to be perfect. Also, the last thing you ever want to do is have the dealer take a new car and correct a tiny paint issue. You will always have problems with a repainted panel from a dealer.

 

[HEMan]

I don't think I would worry about the slight paint imperfections you mention. I guess I was lucky since my Shoreline Mist paint job appears to be perfect. I cannot find a single imperfection anywhere so far. I have polished it 3 times and washed it 4 times so I have looked at it pretty closely.

 

[boneheadz]

You guys are better men and women than I. I will not tolerate rattles or paint problems. (We've all seen those cars driving around that are mostly primer because the paint has pealed off in sheets.) If the can't build a 30k (cdn) car that has no rattles or paint problems then don't build it. If you go to the discount store and buy some irregular cut jean and save a few buck great, but a car is a major purchase. Cars lose their value very quickly and rattles and paint problems speed the devaluing along. I plan to sell my element in 2005 so I will do my best to retain as must value as possible.

 

[jayharley]

[quote:cddc6c3eb6="boneheadz"]You guys are better men and women than I. I will not tolerate rattles or paint problems. (We've all seen those cars driving around that are mostly primer because the paint has pealed off in sheets.) .[/quote:cddc6c3eb6]

Yiikes. I don't have any paint problems. Don't count me in on that list. The points I mentioned, on my E are so small that you really do need a magnifying glass to see my described pin hole. Also, rattles? My car doesn't have one rattle. I am completely satisfied with my E. The only problem I did have was a cracked windshield which is being replaced, with the TSB repair being done, next week.

I plan on keeping my E for 10 - 15 years, like my previous cars. Resale value is not that important to me. I care about quality and longevity and dependabilty. And in these terms Honda is one of the best.

However, I also know that when you buy one of the least expensive cross over SUV's available, everything is built to a price point. And the E is one of the least expensive crossover's available.

 

[Ramy]

I have two spots in the paint on mine. They are on the same panel under the side window. I'm scheduling it in next week to be fixed. Looks like there were small bubbles that popped when the paint was wet.
I'm not happy about it, but that has been my only complaint so far.

 

[jayharley]

[quote:1d6957ebde="Ramy"]I have two spots in the paint on mine. They are on the same panel under the side window. I'm scheduling it in next week to be fixed. Looks like there were small bubbles that popped when the paint was wet.
I'm not happy about it, but that has been my only complaint so far.[/quote:1d6957ebde]

I am curious as to how a dealer "fixes" something like that. Maybe just a dab of touch up paint. Most likely you don't want them to repaint the entire side of the car, because that usually leads to bigger problems later (not matching the rest of the car, future rusting etc).

 

[Element]

My dealer wanted to use touch up paint < a very tiny paint chip they caused > and buff it "out", whatever that means. I said "no" and the dealer offered me a $150.00, 10,000 mile maintenance check-up for free.

The dealer couldn't tell me for sure if the "buffing" will make it right or make it worse :? I took their free offer but the dealer said i could always come back and buff it out.

 

[mborkow]

my last car had tiny bubbles on the hood. the dealership covered the paint and had it repainted, but when i went to trade in the car for the element the honda rep noticed right away that panels had been removed and painted and he claimed that it lowered the value of the car (having panels removed and painted makes them think that you were in an accident). in retrospect, since the bubbles were tiny and only i noticed them i shouldn't have done anything.

 

[Ramy]

I have two spots in the paint on mine. They are on the same panel under the side window. I'm scheduling it in next week to be fixed. Looks like there were small bubbles that popped when the paint was wet.
I'm not happy about it, but that has been my only complaint so far.

I opted to have the spots touched up and buffed out (felt the factory paint job would hold up much better than any dealer body shop could duplicate.)

They did a really good job. You can't tell where the work was done.

 

[mborkow]

i wish i had done the same with my previous car.

 

[Element]

Like i said in my early replies "I am going to keep my E forever so it dosen't bother me". My E is not going to be new forever and i do accept paint chips and door dings wherever i go

 

[sspiller]

Stick to stock paint unless it is really bad... had a BMW hood repainted, looked great for 2 years then had to be blasted and repainted in 4, never matched while the stock paint looked perfect after 8 years!

I have one scratch (while on dealers lot) on right door, the other day some nice person that parked next to me put a second one right beside it! Can't sweat the details I guess (as long as it is not on the driver's side)...

 

[chozn4service]

I had bubbles on each corner on the underside of my hood and the point of the fenders where they met the hood. It look as though they let the clear coat drip. I though it would be ok but I soon saw where one of them cracked the the clear coat started to peel and was going to run up on top of my hood. I took it to Penske and they took care of them for me. I'm happy now and all is well. I plan to keep my Element for a long time so I want it to be right. I just turned 5,084 mile on mine.

 

[misfit]

just curios,,, what colors are we talking about.?... :shock:
years ago honda had a problem with silver.... :evil: