JACK-07

Well I got my car back on Wed night, The dealer did a great job repainting the whole roof. No runs, color matches perfect. I was talking the service guy and he told me they had this problem with 2 other HHR's and an Avalanche all with SOM... For once, the dealer didn't piss me off... LOL

ProjectX

i've only had the issue of my hood and front fenders looking like they've been sand blasted, even on the very top of the hood, i don't live in a area with alot of dust/rocks, the paint appears to be very thin and brittle.

halfpanel08

ive got a few paint chips on the hood.
no sandblasting yet ...

The Curly 1

Cars made in America are required to meet all OSHA, EPA and other requirements. American made cars have to use water base paint which obviously is not as good as thinner based paint. But Big Brother decided that is what we will use for our own good and also requires us to use EXTREMELY expensive paint booths just to paint with it.
That is why you have seen American made cars and trucks with paint literally coming off in strips on fairly new cars. Once again we are not on a level playing field. All cars built in America get taxed over 25% before it ever leaves the factory. Then we have to use expensive paint booths and unrealistic requirements. Japanese cars paint the panels overseas using the good paint and no restictions then assemble it here. And they do not have to deal with our crazy workmans comp, social security, OSHA, EPA or anything else.
I do not know how you get a better quality paint job with one hand tied behind your back and the other trying to meet Government regulations.

Goodfellaz

I got my HHR back from the dealer, I climbed up on the rear tire and they tried blending it in. For one they used too much gold, so it doesn't match ( looks like someone spray bombed it). And for two, they didn't pull the roof rack, so its orange peely, it looks like a bunch of dirt in the paint. Not to mention all of the compound they left all over the roof and roof racks ( white compound on black racks). Terrible job. I called GM and spoke with them, they said they would contact the reginal manager. They called me back today and said that he is away right now, so they will call me back Tuesday. I just want the paint corrected. The car is 8 months old and it looks like Maaco painted it. SAD, really SAD. They said they will have to get permission to repaint it under warranty. They shouldn't give me the run around waiting for their managers, they should take care of the customer first, then work out the paperwork between themselves later on. I am really dissapointed.

sargechris

Man--I feel so sorry for you! I don't know how I would handle it--I am a detail-oriented person & that kind of experience would drive me nuts!!

But--having said that--let's hope that in the long-run it all works out to your COMPLETE satisfaction!

hhrcrafty

True.

Not quite true. The paint is water-borne, but when it's applied to the vehicle using the high-speed superbell process, it actually sticks better and is more resilient to scratching.

Painting cars at the factory is a lot like powder-coating, and it actually has very little to do with government interference. The EPA mandates a certain level of VOCs to be released into the atmosphere. It's entirely up to the manufacturers to figure out how they're going to do that. All assembly plants have rework booths where they can do spot repair and even full repaints using regular spray equipment.

I've haven't witnessed that phenomenon in 15 years, and that old problem was a supplier problem, not a process malfunction.

As much as even I would like that to be true, it isn't. The Japanese, Koreans, and Germans all paint their cars that are assembled in the transplants in those very plants. There is no efficient process for painting body panels overseas and shipping them to the US for assembly at random with zero defects. Granted, vehicles assembled entirely in China or Korea will have relaxed standards, but no worse than Mexico where our HHR is assembled and painted.

If they're assembled in America, they have to comply with all of our regulations from those agencies. The "level playing field" comes from their tax breaks for building plants in appalachia and the bayou, which the Big Three have NEVER been given, and the lack of legacy costs.

As far as these paint defects go, it was probably either a dirty piece of equipment or a person contaminated the panel before it was painted. Happens all the time in everyone's factory--even before the "new" paint process was introduced many years ago.

Goodfellaz

The woman got back with me from GM. SHe said I had to take it back to the dealer that made the paint repair. I took it back last week. 4 hours later they called me and said it was ready. I went to pick it up, and it was worse than when I dropped it off. Their was still a spot thatt the metallic didn't spread that made it look gold, their was grey primer on the entire edge of the tailgate, they buffed the dirt spots against the roof rack and tore up the rubber that sits under the rail, in between the roof and the rear 1/4 panel where the rubber is, they cleaned it out with a screwdriver or something, so the rubber it all scored like it may leak in the future, and the ovrspray that was under the spoiler, well they wetsanded and buffed it down to the primer, and best of all their is now a scratch about 8 inches long on the lower part of my right rear 1/4 by the tire. The body shop manager told me their was no making me happy, and that the car would never be as good as it left the factory no matter who painted it. He said I would just have to live with it. That is just not right. I paid just about $20,000 for this car and 7 months after I buy it, they make my car look like this, and their is no making me happy. I feel like dropping the car off at the dealer and telling them to keep it. This is the most rediculous thing I have ever seen. I called the woman back from GM and she said she has to get with the district manager again when he gets back from vacation so he can look at the car. This has been an ongoing problem since mid November and they keep giving me the run-a-round. Does anybody know what my options are in this case, do I have any, or could I get some opinions on the matter. THanks everyone

dr_fosg8

Goodfellaz, I certainly hope you get this straightened out. They should be able to fix a paint job properly they do have the equipment these days to do it very well. The problem may lie in the painters ability. And if they did not remove the roofrails to paint the roof that sounds like shoddy prepwork. Keep after them and maybe email the rep some pics where the primer is showing.

Best of luck, Parker

GTOMIKE

Just gave myself a bad day I have two big as my thumb oval paint spots on my 07 panel.Looks like it causes the paint to wrinkle up both mine are on the roof near the drivers door.Just the thought of them sanding the roof and repainting it makes me crazy.

The other thing is how long will it take for all of them to come through the paint.I may just let it go for a year and see if more show up.