I have my eye on a used Prius, but there are some chips in the paint on the front of the car. They look like they were cause by stones from the road, but it seems a little strange that a car only two years old would have this problem with the paint (was told it was the factory paint). The seller offered to touch up the paint, but I would worry about the possibility of rust. Can you repaint just the hood? Do you have to get it done at the dealer? Anyone have any idea how much it would cost?
Every car that gets normal use has chipped paint on the front. Usually, these chips don’t get all the way down to the metal, so if rust is an issue, you will see rust. If you don’t see rust, all it needs is a little touching up.
This isn’t a problem with the paint. All paint chips away like that.
Chances are, if you get the whole hood repainted, it won’t last as long as the factory paint.
If you are that worried about a few paint chips, I think you would be happier with a new car.
You can drive off the lot in a new car and get hit with stones especially in the winter after the roads are sanded. Can’t imagine any car that has been driven a while without a few chips on front of hood. That is what the tube of touch-up paint is for that is available in the parts dept.
A properly done paint job should last as long as a factory one.
It’s entirely possible to pick up rock and bug chips on a 2 year old car but you also might consider having a body shop look at the vehicle for prior damage.
It’s possible the car could have been hit in the front and the paint is being easily chipped because the paint work was not done properly.
Any age car can have paint chips. Where and how many chips there are depends on if the hood only can be painted. If the chips are on the outer portion of the hood the fenders would need to be blended depending on the color. Also a simple repaint will not fix it. The chips would need to be sanded, filled and then primed and painted. Simply painting will give you a painted divot.
The paint chips on the hood wouldn’t be there if the car had suffered a recent front end collision. The dealer may not have repainted the hood for this reason. If you really want the car, you might make refinishing the hood as part of the deal, or use the chipped paint to bargain the price down and then get some touch-up paint.
You can drive off the lot in a new car and get hit with stones…
I know. I just think it is unreasonable to shop for a used car and expect it not to have any signs of use.
The chips DO go all the way down to the metal and one is showing signs of rust already. It’s certainly not a deal-breaker, but I want to know what I’ll have to do to the car after I buy it.
In situations like that, I use a product at Walmart called “rust converter.” It converts the rust into a primer coat. Once that has dried, you can apply touch-up paint.