So I am dropping my Stinger off for Repaint...

[forzanerazzurri]

If you're "emotionally attached" to a car you're more likely to at least give them a shot at it, as that doesn't negate the option to hand it back to them if you're not happy.

Unfortunately, we're seeing evidence that many owners are not going to be happy, and I'd expect more won't even bother giving them that chance and just walk away, as you stated.

I completely understand that. I have been there. Like im watching people in this forum turn down buybacks in order to get their cars repainted by some random shop chosen by KIA and its making me cringe. I went through a similar situation with Hyundai where I chose to let them resolve a paint situation like this because I didnt want to give the car up and it was a complete disaster. My excuse was the car was at the end of the life cycle and wasnt as easy to replace. Lesson learned.

 

[KiaofMuncie]

Update with lots of pictures. I took today off, and decided to wash and polish up My Babe this morning while it was still cool outside. Wash complete, waxed and then took a good long look at the paint. I am really shocked at some of the areas I found. Some blantant paint runs, more and more "chips", and the headlight rub on the drivers side has gotten larger.

Pics (not the best, my crappy cell phone camara):

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This is paint run #1, near the rear by the hatch. The streaking you are seeing is because it was still a bit wet from where I opened the hatch and water dripped down, then wipped it off with my shammy.



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This is paint run #2. Inside the rear passenger door jam. Because it is a raised area of paint, the door is rubbing (I am guessing here) it everytime the it is opened/closed.





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The headlight rub.




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These two spots are on the quarter panels on both side. This feels when touched like issues with the metal more than paint. Not sure what is going on in the second pic.



And just cause I posted about this earlier in this thread... The "painters tape" that was left between the panels and around the side reflector. Great work there. Yes, I left it there (not that I can get it out without doing damage) to show when/as/if needed.

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These final pics are of chips throughout the car body and the hood. These two specific pics are on the hood. Rock chips? I do not think so. With over 14K miles now on her, I have plenty of those on the front and they do not look anything like these.

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I am still waiting to hear back from KMA (Kia Motors America). Colby has been great and has been keeping me in the loop.

I am at a loss for words. Wow. Did the paint shop have anything to say?

 

[Christopher]

I completely understand that. I have been there. Like im watching people in this forum turn down buybacks in order to get their cars repainted by some random shop chosen by KIA and its making me cringe. I went through a similar situation with Hyundai where I chose to let them resolve a paint situation like this because I didnt want to give the car up and it was a complete disaster. My excuse was the car was at the end of the life cycle and wasnt as easy to replace. Lesson learned.

This situation is not a Kia issue in the sense that Kia didn’t repaint the car. A third party auto body shop did and unfortunately there are many out there that have no integrity and cut corners to put more money in their pocket. Unfortunately for Kia, they’ll end up shelling out more money to fix the situation and are risking their reputation. Unfortunately for the car owner, they are put through the ringer. It seems some have had good repaints. Does anyone really know what Kia’s directions are to the auto body shop on these repaints? The pictures in this thread clearly show a car that was not stripped down to the metal. Did they just scratch it and overspray? I could have done a better job with a can of Krylon from the hardware store.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Which is why affected customers should be pushing for buybacks at full price as I have said all along. Walk away. Buy another brand or buy another Stinger when you know KIA has figured out how to paint the car. This kind of repaint story was predictable and will be commonplace with others. People need to stop screwing around here, stop praising KIA for their awful handling of this situation and start sending demand letters. Its not funny anymore, people paid big bucks for this car.

You keep saying buybacks and "walk away", etc. How does that work exactly if you don't have a Yellow?

It was never "funny". And people have been saying from the getgo that cars in this price range shouldn't be having paint issues in the first place. Alright, neither should @KiaofMuncie's BMW, or any number of other buyers of other cars that nobody would expect to have paint issues.

Kia has already handled this better than those other manufacturers. That some cases will be handled shoddily is inescapable because the human race are a "honeybunch of stinkweeds". Where the original paint should be taken down to bare metal it will be instead patched over where existing flakes/chips show; allowing later chips and flakes to appear in the original paint. Where some shop sanded the whole thing to a uniformity and sprayed over the existing paint, the later chipping/flaking will appear months, even years, down the road; but it will appear nonetheless. Where the original paint is sanded completely away and a respray done there will be success; but there will also be a failure here or there, because not all shops are equal and some screw up; like some of Kia's cars.

I've said this before: if you like the car enough, then repaint it. All you can do is cross your fingers anyway, because nobody knows the future. If you are fortunate in your body shop choice all will be as well as can be expected.

 

[Luminary]

I am at a loss for words. Wow. Did the paint shop have anything to say?

I did not speak directly to the body shop again after the first initial conversation (where they lied directly to me) when i dropped the car off. The dealership did drop said body shop for the bad work, and will not be sending any other cars to them in the future.

I am still hoping KMA will come through for my specific case with the same options the Sunset Yellow's are getting. Optimistic of me? maybe. But as I have said before, my Stinger is my 7th KIA. I have been a HUGE supporter of KIA for more then 10 years now. That has got to count for something.

 

[Tonkabob]

Which is why affected customers should be pushing for buybacks at full price as I have said all along. Walk away. Buy another brand or buy another Stinger when you know KIA has figured out how to paint the car. This kind of repaint story was predictable and will be commonplace with others. People need to stop screwing around here, stop praising KIA for their awful handling of this situation and start sending demand letters. Its not funny anymore, people paid big bucks for this car.

Luminaries car is blue so no buy back option just half ass fix if you are that lucky.

 

[forzanerazzurri]

Luminaries car is blue so no buy back option just half ass fix if you are that lucky.

If I had a blue stinger that was peeling, I wouldn't be letting KIA dictate my options. One way or another, I'd obtain a buyback. No additional risk variables like body shops.

 

[MerlintheMad]

If I had a blue stinger that was peeling, I wouldn't be letting KIA dictate my options. One way or another, I'd obtain a buyback. No additional risk variables like body shops.

You are obviously not on the same page as @Luminary. She is expecting Kia to come through and she loves her car. If her dealer dropped the crap body shop they will be on her side in further negotiations with Kia. I expect her history with Kia to count for a great deal with them. Her Stinger is going to get a full warrantied repaint to her full satisfaction. If she sticks with this to the end, that is. Patience and loyalty always have limits.

 

[Luminary]

If her dealer dropped the crap body shop they will be on her side in further negotiations with Kia.

That they are. The Service Manager was standing next to me when the body shop said they would remove the body panels and take them to bare metal. KMA has already spoken with the dealership about my case. At this point it is just a waiting game.

As I have said before, I love my dealership. The service department is really great and has never BS'ed me about any of my cars.

 

[Metalmania82]

Very sorry to hear of all these problems. I just picked up a blue GT last Friday, not knowing about possible paint issues with blue, just the yellows.

Could someone direct me to where I can find information on the production dates for affected cars?

 

[Tonkabob]

Very sorry to hear of all these problems. I just picked up a blue GT last Friday, not knowing about possible paint issues with blue, just the yellows.

Could someone direct me to where I can find information on the production dates for affected cars?

This is the place! There is one other thread with a build date poll. Most the chipping cars were made in 2017. Kia has not admitted to any paint issues outside of yellow.
If you have 2018 build you may be good but add some PPF to be safe.

 

[Metalmania82]

This is the place! There is one other thread with a build date poll. Most the chipping cars were made in 2017. Kia has not admitted to any paint issues outside of yellow.
If you have 2018 build you may be good but add some PPF to be safe.

Ok, I thought there might be a list somewhere with affected dates. I haven't checked my date yet, will after work. Also haven't noticed anything on the paint yet other than the rubbing under headlights and can see the paint is starting to come off. I'm really hoping I'm not affected!!

 

[eljay]

Kia has not admitted to any paint issues outside of yellow.

True, but when I called the customer line to confer about my unrelated paint problem on my white car, the rep I spoke to mentioned flaking problems on "yellow and blue" cars. Some time after we spoke, the yellow letters went out, and since then, no one at Kia seems to be publicly admitting to a problem with blue. Verrry interestink.

 

[phxgt]

Ok, I thought there might be a list somewhere with affected dates. I haven't checked my date yet, will after work. Also haven't noticed anything on the paint yet other than the rubbing under headlights and can see the paint is starting to come off. I'm really hoping I'm not affected!!

Best as I can tell there is no definitive date list. November and December 2017 seen to be the worst but I have a Dec2017 build in Black with absolutely no issues thus far.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Best as I can tell there is no definitive date list. November and December 2017 seen to be the worst but I have a Dec2017 build in Black with absolutely no issues thus far.

Yes. The troubled cars start showing "signs". If you've got one that's been driving around for over half a year without flaking/chipping, then anticipating trouble down the road is borrowing trouble.

But also, I am very glad for my frontal PPF! My color is the least affected numbers-wise, by the evidence (none of those "4 yes votes" on the poll showed up till recently, and all within one week; very odd). But I wanted protection from road hazards. A full PPF or combination of PPF with ceramic will seal in the paint against any future chipping/flaking. Until you reach 36K miles / 36 months, that is: then once your warranty is done, all the paint will start peeling off! Isn't that how these things work?

 

[StingerGT68]

Wow, that's a rough paint job, sorry to see it. What did the papers you signed from KMA say about a poor-quality paint job?

 

[jondyer]

I was feeling good about dropping my (yellow) car off for a repaint until I saw these photos.

Horrible! I cannot even begin to imagine how messed up @Luminary feels. I will say that this experience encapsulates my issue with an exchange that the yellow owners like myself are "lucky" enough to be offered.

My what if is centered around what if I get a "bad" blue/black/whatever? If my car comes back like that, I am getting my cash back and buying a different make.

I don't know where @Luminary is, but love the shop or not, I'd be thinking about a lawyer.... Perhaps I've been in the US too long but that is where my mind is. I too love my car and I am seriously in like with the shop that sold me mine and the one that is getting the paint "sorted", but there is no way......

Sorry, salt in the wound I guess, but that is all I have. If it is any consolation when I was dropping off my car the shop there told me about a Soul that was in a similar condition. So I have it (3rd party, I know) that there is at least one other non-Stinger Kia that has paint issues roaming around Palm Beach county Florida. Maybe this is bigger than we all think and Kia will either sort it, or keep kicking the can down the road.

 

[Volvowith18psi]

Let this be a lesson to everybody.




DO NOT REPAINT IT. ANYTHING less than a full strip to bare frame is UNACCEPTABLE.




Sell the thing back to Kia and let them deal with it or exchange for a later build date if you set on keeping it.

These issues will keep growing and continue for the life of the car. The repaints I have seen being performed here and on FB are utter garbage, but its your money/time/car.

 

[StingerGT68]

Let this be a lesson to everybody.

DO NOT REPAINT IT. ANYTHING less than a full strip to bare frame is UNACCEPTABLE.

Sell the thing back to Kia and let them deal with it or exchange for a later build date if you set on keeping it.

These issues will keep growing and continue for the life of the car. The repaints I have seen being performed here and on FB are utter garbage, but its your money/time/car.

Don't forget, members who HAVE gotten good paint jobs likely aren't coming back to the forums. I know of two non-yellow Stingers that have gotten perfect re-paints. If I made a thread called, "REPAINTED MY STINGER, LOOKS INCREDIBLE" it would get some likes and that's about it.

Cars get repainted all the time. It's on the owner to do the research and make sure whoever is doing the paint job is experienced, has good reviews, and has a proper paint chamber.

A buyback is still a good option for people, and I look forward to seeing how the yellow re-paints look. I'm sure there will be varying degrees of fit and finish, based on the shop. If I was a yellow owner, I'd want to approve of the specific shop being used myself.

 

[Volvowith18psi]

Ya cars do get repainted all the time because there is no other feasible or practical option. This is a 50,000+ car that has been identified with a completely flawed paint system for some colors. Kia would NEVER offer a complete buyback or repaint plus 5,000 bucks if this was a minor issue. NEVER.

My point being that, a repaint without a full strip will never be as good as a factory line spray. Just because some people are "happy" and never report back here does NOT mean it was corrected.

I could let all the reasons why I would consider myself above average to make these comments, as I deal with safety related paint systems almost daily, but in the end, they don't matter and I'm just some random internet guy.

If the cars owners are "happy" with repaints, that's all that matters. But for me, if I owned one of these colors, you can bet your ass KIA would have been buying it back or trading me with a later build date.