Poor Quality Paintwork

Take a look at the paint on Hyundai Sonatas, cars coming out of their state of the art US plant. They're incredible.

There's no excuse for this. That Ferrari owners and wannabes like me have put up with it for so long, or the fact that these cars are pushed to speeds that eat up finishes, hardly add up to arguments for this sort of thing.

Back to working on the CRX . . .

 

This thread is funny as today I was looking at a Rolls which had nearby an F430 spider.

Honestly, the Rolls was not much better in orangepeel and luster. And, for what is clearly a luxury car costing far more than a Ferrari, you would guess it should be a lot better.

Sure, everything can be improved but --- think we complain maybe a little too much.

 

No, not your car. But I think in general it's not as bad as people let on here. If you listen to Fchat, you would think a Ford Pinto had better paint.

I said before everything can be improved. And a lot of this I believe is actually poor dealer prep before it's given to the customer.

 

There is a lot of variability in the paintwork, and it is that that is unacceptable. I think that a majority are perfectly fine, but this is not the result of a rigorous survey. A large percentage need paint correction in at least some areas to achieve the expected level of quality. And too many are as bad as Traveler's very beautiful 458.

There are other problems with delivered cars. Some arrive damaged, presumably in transport. Body fit in some joints and cut lines is often compromised. Sometimes the ordered options do not exactly correspond to what is actually built. Mechanical or electronic bugs are not infrequent. Such problems with delivered vehicles are not uncorrectable, but it is unreasonable to saddle customers with the job of working them out. Frankly the risk of such mishaps was a major reason I decided to buy a low mileage 458 out of dealer inventory, rather than order a new one. The particular car was close to -- but not exactly -- what I would have ordered. But I could see exactly what I was getting. I judged that the value of ordering "my own" 458 was not worth the risk of problems.

I understand perfectly well why so many buyers love the process of "building" the exact car they want; it is a great part of the fun. Then comes the long period of waiting and the building of excitement of the prospect of taking delivery. It is unfortunate that too many need to deal with these kinds of problems when taking delivery.

Having said all this, the fact remains that these cars are simply remarkable in all respects, and it is that that keeps us all as customers of Fcars.

 

The paint sucks plain and simple and has on our 2011 458 and 2013 458 (30K+ Custom Paint Color)

The dealers old service rep told us it was "uniquely ferrari," but privately agreed that the paint work on at least the 458's is incredibly poor

FERRARI needs to get a handle on it, it's a quarter million dollar + car. Judging by the fact that YEARS have gone by with no response to its owners.. leads me to believe that FERRARI simply DOES NOT CARE or they intend it to be that way "uniquely ferrari....."

 

Here is an idea to attract attention to this issue and perhaps get some action on it.

A short respectful letter to Luca di Montezemolo expressing concern over the paint quality issue signed by a number of international customers and enthusiasts for Ferrari automobiles. Signatures could be gathered in a special thread and the letter forwarded as hard copy to Luca's office. No external publicity should accompany the letter.

It would be some work to pull it off, and signatories would need to provide some kind of verification (e.g., VIN) that they are indeed owners. It would best be organized by someone who has had this problem and who would be the recipient of any response.

Just an idea.

 

Ferrari's paint quality will miraculously improve when it starts to impact sales. Until then, its all just noise to them.

Human nature is a funny thing; we usually do what we are compelled to do. Ferrari is so used to eating that Carrot that they have completely forgotten about the stick. When they are brought to their senses, the paint quality will look like a Bentley. Until then, find a good detailer, avoid metallic colors, or stop lining up to beg them to take your money.

 

Just took delivery of my 458 spider and yeah there are some significant paint issues. I remember there's a guy who is an expert in fixing these issue - he has posted extensive before and after shots somewhere on the forum previously. Anyone know his name and contact info? Thanks.


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Todd from Esoteric Detail is the maestro and will do wonders to your car.

Check the F40 he has done in that section.


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Todd has figured out the 458 paint issues from lots of practice. He noted 'because of the styling there are lots of tricky areas on the car that are difficult to do correctly.
Have total Confidence, in the quality of his work!
CH

 

Thanks guys. Just emailed him.

The Rosso Dino color is awesome but paint needs some work.

Does anyone else have strange areas of rubbed off paint inside the wheel wells?

 

Todd and DJ Mayo often work together. When Todd was on injured reserve this summer, we had DJ come out and do corrections and 22ple on our 458 and FF, Todd posted a thread about the cars on Fchat.

If you got your 458 at Miller, might be worth asking John and Anthony in service about it. Todd and DJ often try and set up "multi-car road trips" out to the NY/CT area and we're probably due for a "refresh"

Before/after was astounding.

 

Yes, I think a separate thread, with a letter that everyone who has had a paint problem with a 458 can sign on to. The VIN is to ensure that the car is real and to avoid the need to post owners' addresses, but one would have to take the owner's word that the paint had issues. The thread should be started and run by someone who has had a paint issue in a 458. Owners signing on would need to use their real names of course.

Someone has to have the energy to do it. In my own case, my paint was OK, but I have seen others that were not. I would help write a letter.

After a reasonable number of owners have signed on, the OP would send a hard copy to Luca. I think a short respectful letter signed by say 20-30 owners would get attention.

 

It's a great idea and if you can start getting a body of opinion fired off to Luca & co it could just trigger some change for the better.

 

I hear you on this. My detailer showed me all the wet-sand scratches that came from the factory. A good detailer can get those things fixed up

 

Today I was at a Mercedes Benz dealer here in Munich, Germany. As I've been looking exactly on the paitwork of the new cars (particulary on the AMGs) I must say the had a smilar orange peel like Ferrari. I think thats normal for new cars.

 

Maybe, Ferrari believes the dealer should address this issue: the dealer should detail the car to the level of satisfaction the customer demands.

 

+1. This should be an issue between the dealer an Ferrari but perfect before delivery to customer.

 

If I were in the Ferrari marketing department, I'd simply add a box to check on the order sheet that was "Show Quality Paint" and make it a $15,000 option. For that you would be guaranteed a perfect paint finish, even if the delivering dealer had to be paid by the factory to correct it. Everybody wins and Ferrari makes more money. Not likely to get a call for that position anytime soon, so don't hold your breath!

 

while this is shocking, my F cars have all been delivered to me in excellent condition. whether it required a lot of elbow grease from my local dealer is not known but I've been happy nonetheless

 

Same here my 458 came in great shape. I went over the paint very carefully. No swirl marks nothing. I have concoursed my 89 930 with original paint and the paint on my 458 is excellent. I know I will have to take care of the paint on a yearly basis since swirls are inevitable. But the paint has a good start.

 

just had my 458 pain correction performed by Auto Concierge (Bob Willis owner) in Fremont, CA, widely considered to be the best in the bay area. What a dramatic improvement. The car looks better then new. Everyone should have this done! no more swirls or scratches. just clear, deep red with perfect reflection. very happy.
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Is "pain" correction a Freudian slip?