CHOPPRS

...so I promised myself years ago I would NEVER own a black car. So what did I do???
Yeah
Driving through the dealers lot and looking at some of the cars, specifically black ones, I am horrified. Inside a brand new $240,000.00 car has paint that looks like it was done by a blind guy with a roller.
I am thinking that if the car that I ordered looks like that when it comes in that the dealer will have to make it shiny or I will not take it.
Has anyone had any experience with this?

phoenixone

A $240k with crappy paint? I'm gonna take a crack at this one and please someone correct me if I am wrong.

I do believe they ship some high end cars with some kind of protective "film" on the cars to protect the paint during transport. On delivery day, they simply wash off the protective "film" and the paint is brand new/baby skin smooth.

Some years ago, I've personally saw what looked like crappy paint that literally looked like it was applied with a roller and one of the sales people explained it's to protect the paint during transport.
But unfortunately, I don't remember which dealership it was.

CHOPPRS

I sure hope that is the answer. If it is the salesman did not know it. There was an S65 Coupe and AMG-GTS along with other cars in the showroom. They were ALL having awful paint. The S65 was just unbelievable! I mentioned it to the salesman and his answer was simply that it has become more obvious that they are mass produced. I did mention that if my car looked like that it would not be going home with me...not for almost 70k!!!!!

tiri

There is a common problem with paint finishes today across nearly all brands.
Simplified answer: Water based paints are used for ecological reasons. Paint finish doesn't apply as smoothly as oil based paints. As a result, you end up with an orange peel effect under the clear coat. It is quite noticeable with metallic paints as it resembles a series of waves (similar to a paint roller application).
These paints are also less resistant to chipping.

CHOPPRS

...yes, I was aware of that but they are also very easily wet sanded and buffed to a mirror finish. There is no reason that MB can not supply a car with shiny paint. Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rover, Jaguar...and all of the other high end manufacturers have cars on their lots with glossy finishes.
I am eager to see what they bring to the table!

fabbrisd1

Are you talking about Designo Matte finishes ?

They are specific "matte" colors - and yes - by design - ys - matte finished are not shiny - and I think will get a surprise when checking Aston Martin, Lambo, Rover....

Matte finishes are a option - for some - not for all..

Germancar1

I really wish we could see what is being talked about here. MB's paint is just as good or better than any of those except Rolls or Bentley. Jaguar and Land Rover in particular are no better or worse. Jaguar can't even match the aluminum hood an plastic bumpers on most of their cars, you can clearly see they don't match up in color though they're supposed to.

M

CHOPPRS

...nope, gloss black. Many of the cars on the lot are very,very bad orange peel.

tiri

Under proper lighting, you can see the orange peel up close, and with metallic finishes, it collects near creases. you just don't feel it because the clear coat is smooth.

Count Laszlo

I think Mecedes has the best paint in the business. I remember when my wife brought home her '12 C350 and how I admired the high quality finish and thickness of it. And it still looks beautiful. BMW cannot even come close to the finish - they're no different than Honda or Toyota. And my GL550, the paint is amazing, thick and rich. Love it. Now, I had quite a few Land Rovers and they're aren't known for high quality paint. Black, gray, silver, whatever... It's thin and dull.

dieseldoc

The paint on both my 14 c class and 16 GLC is quite nice. I have no complaints. The paint on my 08 Gl was also quite good. I disagree that Mercedes has poor paint jobs.

Nashville

so you didnt buy a car because the paint was bad?

William Kayen

The Designo cardinal red paint on my GLE is beautiful and flawless. The same holds for my polar white GLK. Mercedes has great paint finishes.

ChuckinTucson

Was going to get this color on the GLE I ordered, but thought it was just a bit too orange and went to back to my old reliable Lunar Blue. What I really wanted was designo Mystic Red, but it looks like the G-wagon is the only one it's available on now. I'm getting the designo Porcelain interior.

BACnMercedes

Is this an example of crappy paint? (I'm not a painter and it is just something I noticed in the paint of my car)

This is on the drivers door of my GLE400. This is a picture of the rear bottom edge before the drivers front door stops and the drivers side rear door starts. All four doors have this, but this is the worst one. It looks like bubbles in the clear coat that was about to drip off. Does anyone else have this on theirs?
I'm probably not going to make a special trip back to the dealer but the next time in for service I will ask if there is an easy fix.

CHOPPRS

...for the third time I stopped by at the dealer and drove through the lot. It is a big dealer and there are hundreds of cars. Pretty much every new GLE series car is the same, some worse than others. The top surfaces are fine, hood, roof and trunk all shiny and glossy. The sides are awful. The orange peel is apparent from as far as twenty feet away. Easily noticed by the lack of gloss down the sides of the cars. When looked at up close they are all orange peeled. Two of them were so bad that it actually looks like someone painted them with house paint and a roller.
No it is not the matt finish. Gloss black is the most apparent.
Most of the older, used cars are not as bad unless it is obvious that they have been painted. It looks like this may be a new car thing...and seems to be mostly specific to the GLE vehicles. Is the plant in Alabama lacking in paint quality? This would be what I would deduce from what I see.

dieseldoc

I have two cars made in Bremen currently 14 C class and 16 GLC. The paint is beautiful. I just traded in an 08 GL made in Vance. The paint was fine.

CHOPPRS

Here, look at this video. Right around 1:20 they show the drivers door.

THIS is what I am talking about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

coladin

Quite the bump on this thread buy this is what search gave me...and I am horrified. My dealer was all happy to tell me they have a Brilliant Blue c300 in the showroom (i ordered the colour for my C43). It looked precisely as you said in the video. I told the sales manager that if my paint is like that I won't accept it. The fact they charge 900 bucks is a slap in the face, on top of it looking like it was done by a shop class in high school.

I told him to have the body shop look at it...because I won't accept it. My C400 looks perfect. All my Benzes have!

fabbrisd1

Man... looked at utube - what you "call" evidence of orange peel is visual reflection of the backgroun behind the camera off the paint... get a grip Chopper..

coladin

Nope, you don't see it.