Love the show and hoping it’s knowedgeable listeners can help a guy who knows nothing about cars! I have recently purchased a 2012 Chrysler Delta in the UK. She’s beautiful. However, there is one major imperfection (see photo). The paint seems to be warped on one of the panels on the rear passenger door. Can anyone tell me what has happened here?
Is there anything I can do at this stage to repair this? I don’t mind the size at the moment but I’m worried it will spread.
Also, is this something that would be repaired under warranty or would it be considered wear and tear?
It’s difficult to see in the picture you provided, but sometimes the metal can flex for some reason, and since the paint on metal body panels doesn’t have a flex additive, it doesn’t flex like paint that is used on plastic parts that has a flex additive mixed in with the paint. It is a dark color, and dark paint jobs tend to absorb more sunlight. Perhaps the metal flexed because of a combination of heat and an imperfection in the manufacturing process.
Since the car is less than two years old, I would take it to the dealership to see what they can do. If it were my car, I would probably just give it a good wash, polish, and wax, and see how it looks. Chances are it won’t be very noticeable, but then again, I have pretty low standards when it comes to how my car looks on the outside.
The pic isn’t great but it’s the best I can do, sorry. It looks like at the left hand of the panel (next to the glass) there has been some kind of chip that is starting to rust. And it looks like this has cause the imperfection (which looks rainbow-like in colour in the light).
I have washed and polished (which actually brought out the imperfection…the salesman had clearly covered this up for sale - a dodgy salesman…who would’ve thought it eh?). I’m willing to spend some money to nip this in the bud now if it will prevent future problems but if it’s likely to not get worse, I’m happy to just touch up.
I’m really looking for some indication of whether this imperfection is likely to spread (as it looks like it has already spread from the chink to the surrounding panel).
That is a flaw and should be repaired under warranty. Probably poor preparation or oil or something on the metal before painting or poor priming and the paint just didn’t stick. Once the paint is off, rust starts. Probably they should just replace the whole panel since it looks like it is a trim piece by the glass. IMHO anyway.
Ah, I didn’t realize you were talking about the chip, @bairn7. The trouble with something like that is identifying the cause. It might be a defect, but it could also be caused by something that hit your car in that spot either while it was parked or while you were driving it. The good news is that with a black car, something like this is pretty easy to hide. An amateur touch-up job will be easily spotted close up or by those who know what to look for, but at least the color is easier to match than on a red paint job.
Because there is visible rust, I can say with some certainty that it is likely to spread, and the least you should do is sand it and prime it to keep the rust from spreading. That might not be easy to do with it that close to a seam, but once it’s sanded and primed, a little black touch-up paint should hide it fairly well.
@bairn7
It is difficult to see exactly since it is to close but the part you show with the rainbow effect appears to be an applique. Typically an applique appears on the doors or quarter panel and is an adhesive part or it bolts on. If that is the case it can be replaced.
Also, black appliques are not painted. Either replace or live with it. Two years old? See if Walter P. Chrysler is kind enough to have Warren T (warranty) replace it.
My guess is that since you didn’t purchase the car new, there isn’t dealer covered warranty on it. Besides, that seems to be a wear and tear kind of thing.
CapriRacer, I bought the car with the remainder of hte manufacturer’s 3 year warranty (one year to go).
Weirdly, It has been raining overnight, I checked it this morning and it seems to have gone! It appeared after I washed the car. No idea what is going on!
irlandes, no good story behind the name. It stems back to my first email address - I wanted ‘bairn’ but it was taken, ‘bairn7’ was a suggested alternative and I was too lazy to think of another unique name!
