'03 Dakota Paint

Paint's bubbling and flaking off on my black '03 Dak, leaving rough, white discolored areas on the roof and hood. Of course, clearcoat's totally gone in those areas. Haven't been able to find it so far, but is there a warranty period for the paint? There's no rust, only paint problems. TIA.

Reply to
Joe
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Welcome to the wonderful world of Dodge.

Reply to
TBone

coming off an 03? Did you ever wax it in direct sunlight?

yeah, all my Dakotas did that but the truck is worth it. I got an estimate for repainting the hood and roof for $600 and did it myself for $250.

Reply to
Abby.Normal

Nope, only waxed in the garage. But it stays out in the South Florida sun all the time. Still...

"Abby.Normal" wrote in news:46e4c43b$0$6460$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:

Reply to
Joe

I know that Dodge has never learned to paint a vehicle. I've seen that happen on a lot of them. The paint sort of wears off. They don't put enough clear on and the clear they use must be cheap. Once you get it repainted by someone that does know how to paint it will last. I had a 1988 Pontiac do that and GM repainted it all for free. Dodge would never consider that. They don't even recall anything until the maximum allowed people have been killed first.

All in all, I still think they are a pretty nice vehicle. Although after this last crap they offered I am changing next time around. They just offered free lifetime drive train warranties on everything purchased after Sep. something this year. I just spend over $40 on two new vehicles from Dodge/Chrysler and do not qualify because I purchased them both just about a month or so prior to them making that offer. I'm done buying from them now. GM would have made that reasonably retroactive. Ford is simply crap in every aspect - don't even go down that road without a full box of tools, towing insurance, and a cell phone.

Reply to
Abby.Normal

It's weird - my neighbor has an '02 Ram (red) and it's gorgeous. Sits out in 90-degree-plus sunshine every day just like mine and his paint's beautiful. I love the truck, but some stuff on it is just garbage.

"Abby.Normal" wrote in news:46e54b35$0$19613$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:

Reply to
Joe

Reply to
Abby.Normal

Have you been using a buffer on it?

JAM

Reply to
Bill Dukenfield

That was my first thought. Many folks take their vehicles to 'detailers' and they have some kid with a buffer doing it and it scares the hell out of me.......:-). Buffing out a vehicle is a very touchy job to do and sometimes can take the clear coat right off a vehicle if not done properly.

Ed

Reply to
Ed M.

"Ed M." wrote in news:hgvFi.7540$z snipped-for-privacy@nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com:

No buffer. Just the occasional hand-applied Meguiars in the garage.

It's just a crappy paint job. And now the headliner's coming down to boot. Glue's disintegrating and the headliner's drooping.

South Florida sun is killer, but any vehicle sold in this country should be able to withstand the elements for at least 4 years. Mine simply didn't.

Reply to
Joe

"Abby.Normal" wrote in news:46e5a95d$0$18999$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:

Neat conversion on the Jeep. The Dak's a bit too small now (the passenger side is tiny), so I'd be interested in a Ram. I've got an R/T with a 360, so there's plenty of torque. I can only imagine what a slug a 6 would be, especially in a Ram.

I could see "so many years" (like maybe 10), but four years? No way. It's just a crappy paint job.

For your sake I hope so... ;)

Reply to
Joe

Concerning the headliner, does this vehicle regularly have someone smoking in it? Stuff in the smoke can cause the glue to breakdown.

The headliner in my Dak is starting to sag (no smokers), but it's a '97.

Ken

Reply to
NapalmHeart

"NapalmHeart" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Nobody's ever smoked in the truck, and I'm the original owner. I suspect it's sagging from the heat (just like the paint). The areas right in front of the visors near the windshield is coming down, as is the whole area above the front seats. The rear is ok because it's got a bit more "breathing space" between the actual roof and the headliner back there (it's a cc).

One of these days I'll remove the headliner and redo it. JoAnn Fabrics has spools of headliner material ready to go - all I'd need is the glue and the time to redo everything.

Reply to
Joe

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I had the one in my son's truck (previous owner was a heavy smoker) for around $85 installed. The visors were $15-20 each. I just steam cleaned them.

The heat will play a number on that stuff as well as the paint. My question is why is it that most other vehicles hold up and Dodge does not? I also know the clear coat is so thin that it makes me wonder how they even got a shine from a coat of paint that thin.

Reply to
Abby.Normal

No idea why the paint on Dodge trucks sucks, but you're right - I see a helluva lot more crappy paint on Dodges as opposed to others.

Thanks for the link. Think I'll leave the visors for later depending on how they look with the new headliner..

"Abby.Normal" wrote in news:46e6fbe5$0$26356$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:

Reply to
Joe

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