XF weak paint?

[jsinger]

My pride and joy (2012 XF 3.0D Lux) is pampered on a fortnightly routine of being meticulasly hand washed, dried and buffed. Including a full wheel clean and polish.

However, I am noticing more and more paint damage on the front of the bonnet and even the front door posts. This is being caused by the obvious small stones chipping the paintwork.

My disappointment comes at the amount this has happened in the 6 months I have had the car, somewhat more damage showing than on my previous modeo after 3 years!

This was explained by the dealer as the paint being much softer now as it is water based and no longer toxic!, the old paint used on vehicles was much harder, but not people or environment friendly. Not sure if this is a credible reason or not, but is this common with the XF or on a much wider scale.

Welcome feedback from other drivers on this, as this could be a costly issue after a year or so!!

[jbb]

I also have had problems with paintwork on a September 2011 registered XF PL 2.0 Diesel. After numerous caklls and emails to the dealer and Jaguar customer services who stated damage to the paintwork was outside the warrantee, they resprayed the front sills and applied PPF (plastic protection film) to the sills behind the front wheels where the worst loss of paint occured. My arguement was straight forward in that the paintwork/design in these areas is not fit for purpose. I now notice that paint is being chipped off the bottom of both front doors and from the sills in front of the rear wheels. Also a number of small chips have appeared on the bonnet. I would add that my car is dark blue and the loss of paint is very obvious as the undercoat/primer is very light in colour. Clearly Jaguar have paint problems and I have queried why the application of PPF to the car sills is not standard as it is with some other prestigious cars! Current mileage is abour 15,000 miles and I fear after a year or so the paint loss will be very serious on the sills and lower edges of the front door panels.

At a recent visit to Jaguar works arranged through the club I queried whether they recognise this well known issue, but apparently not - having their heads buried in the sand might be an appropriate expression! I am very dissapointed with Jaguar customer services as it took nearly 5 months to get the the front sills sorted and a threat of going to arbitration seemed to trigger action! This problem must be widespread!! Regards JBB

[Jamescraig]

Interesting fault this, can I ask what colour paint you have? Certain colours ie red are a pain in the butt to live with in many ways. I have a 2009 XFR (in indigo metallic) and the paint has been faultless. Is the car parked up outside like mine?

[stratusxfs]

I have the same issues with chips on bonnet and front bumper. My XF is black - well midnight. I'm going to have to take mine in for respray of front bumper.

[maxclint]

The paint on all modern cars seems weaker than it used to be.But the trade off is the huge range of colours available and the brilliant finish that can be achieved.

[SHANNCON]

I'm just changing to a Polaris White XF, from a Mercedes C320CDI.

 

Living in Australia must give the worst roads for grit, chips, etc.

 

I just hope I don't have the problem.

 

My Mercedes is 5 years old and there are no chips whatsoever and the paint finish is immaculate. However, the windscreen has been shot blasted by the gravel on OZ roads. This shows that modern paints can stand up to the job.

 

However, my previous car (another Mercedes) had terrible paint with lots of chips and faded paint. I know Mercedes recognised this problem and changed their paint for the later models. Maybe Jaguar have done the same? (Fingers crossed.)

[alwea]

I have the same issue at the lower rear area just in front of the rear wheels, on a 2012, 5k miles white XF.  Guildford dealer was told by jaguar it is not a warrantee issue and I have contacted Jaguar and await a call-back.  Not fit for purpose is certainly the case.

 

With a passenger door seal coming unstuck and hanging outside the car, this may be my last of 7 or 8 Jaguar's.  REALLY poor quality control. 

 

Update 02/07/14:  Spoke to Jaguar directly and they maintain it is not a warrantee issue.  To say they were not interested, is an understatement.  I also have a door seal which has come loose for the second time and consider this current XF to be the poorest build quality of the 7 or 8 Jaguar's I have owned.

 

I hope Jaguar have a great new-business development team as they will not be keeping customers after such an experience.

[Quila]

I've been wondering the same, since I find new chips and scratches on mine every time I clean it. I seem to be forever 'correcting' the paint job, which is all well and good for the scratches (here's hoping the clear coat is plenty thick), but trying to touch in the chips is a nightmare. I bought the 'Chipex' kit, but whilst the colour is spot on, the paint just comes off again no matter how little pressure I use. Complete waste of money :(

 

Wonder who decided white was a good primer colour for indigo

[Old Peter]

Interesting discussion.  Stone chips are a bit more than an nuisance to drivers who like to keep their their car bodywork in good order.

 

I have also got a car with Indigo metallic paint and also get annoyed with the white undercoats.  They use white for all cars as the paint experts think that they should have a lighter colour than the paint finish.

 

My car has had paint protection applied expensively by the dealer, and fair to say, does a good job, but does not want to allow chips to be repaired with a paint pencil.  Maybe, Amanda, you car has also had that application done in the past.

 

Regards

 

Peter. 

[knightsmith]

Peter,

 

My car is Kyan blue ( or some trendy colour like that) is has a metallic finish .

 

So far I haven't had any trouble from the rubbish thrown up by our cart tracks around here

 

ATB,

 

Trevor

[Old Peter]

Hi Trevor,

 

Some models of cars seem to get stone chips more than others, and whiles it is not how they are driven but often how the cars coming towards them are being driven.  I have had in the past two smashed windscreens caused by cars coming towards me throwing up stones on roads that had been recently surfaces.

 

Slightly off topic, our roads are a bit less busy  --  it often takes 30 minutes to get into the town centre -  just two miles - between 8.00am and 9.00am.  But wheile they are all down in the West Country it is much easier.

 

I am always up early, Trevor.  Every month I have a day more of life than those who don't get up early.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[knightsmith]

Peter.

 

You are right about them all being down here ( and it's not just the caravan peeps who get taken by surprise at our cart tracks) .

 

I have never had a lie in in my life, and get up by 4-45 am every day, followed by taking the wife's dog (prefer caravans to dogs by the way) for a three mile walk around the reservoirs .

 

Punctures are quite common on our dirt tracks, which is the one thing I am dreading . I haven't a spare wheel, just one of those compressors and a tin of gunk, which would be useless on anything but a small puncture I think.

 

So when that happens, Jaguar breakdown it will be !

 

ATB,

 

Trevor

[Old Peter]

Hi Trevor,

 

The absence of spare wheels is an annoyance to me.  My last Jaguar had a spacesaver, but this one has a proper spare wheel on a matching alloy wheel, which is good, although the design needed to accommodate it does reduce boot space which is surprising small for a big car.  The rear wheel drive also contributes to that as well. 

 

But I am not bothered about that, as I really enjoy my S Type.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[Lord H]

Cant say as I have noticed any damage to the front of my Portfolio XF S and been washing it 2-3 times a week since owning it I can only advise dont drive so close to the car infront be patient and wait for the fecker to move the feck out of the way before nailing it past the fecker....

 

lol

[Quila]

In my case it's not so much how it's driven, but where. His nibbs is currently having to drive through a building site a couple of times a week to visit a client (came back with concrete splattered in and around the wheel arches last week and didn't tell me - the air was a deeper blue than the car when I found it (fully set) at the weekend!), and there are lots of narrow roads with overgrown hedges. I've just fitted a set of mudflaps today to help with the road splatter, but not a lot I can do about the local flora, unfortunately.

[Old Peter]

Hi Amanda,

 

Good point!  I went to an air show at RAF Waddington a few weeks ago and had to park in a muddy field.  The next day I took a bucket full of mud from the mud flaps and wheel arches.  That was bad enough.  I don't envy the clearing out of cement.

 

Wy wife had a paint  protection system applied to our S Type [indigo with Dove Interior] before we took delivery and it seems to work.  It cost £300, but I believe you can do it yourself if you have a day or so to spare.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[kbcp]

I have the same issue at the lower rear area just in front of the rear wheels, on a 2012, 5k miles white XF.  Guildford dealer was told by jaguar it is not a warrantee issue and I have contacted Jaguar and await a call-back.  Not fit for purpose is certainly the case.

 

With a passenger door seal coming unstuck and hanging outside the car, this may be my last of 7 or 8 Jaguar's.  REALLY poor quality control. 

 

Update 02/07/14:  Spoke to Jaguar directly and they maintain it is not a warrantee issue.  To say they were not interested, is an understatement.  I also have a door seal which has come loose for the second time and consider this current XF to be the poorest build quality of the 7 or 8 Jaguar's I have owned.

 

I hope Jaguar have a great new-business development team as they will not be keeping customers after such an experience.

[kbcp]

I to have a problem with door sill coming away from main body, am back to main dealer 12/7/14. Will update after their review. My XF is a 2013 2.2 Portfolio.

[knightsmith]

Keith,

 

My friend recently paid £30K for an XJ, he said

 

" mines been back to jag twice in 5 weeks so getting a bit pi**ed off with it now. Exhaust manifold paintwork loose trim ! I'm asking for my money back if it goes in again. 30k is a lot of money to me."

 

He bought it on the strength of me praising the XJ Supersport I used to have, quite embarrassing really !

 

But saying that, I really have been very impressed with the build quality of both of my Jags, but both of them have been ex directors cars so might have had preferential treatment .

 

ATB,

 

Trevor

[Old Peter]

Sometimes you get a Friday night car, and sometimes you get a "Foreman's Friend."

 

My Uncle Frank was a Charge Hand Fitter at the Ford [now Jaguar] Halewood Factory at Halewood.  He once had a Ford Escort 1.3L exactly the same as mine except that it had a top notch radio, the Carpets were from an Escort Ghia, as were the seats and other trim.

 

And he got a 10% discount on price, and the cost was deducted from his wages without interest.

 

When a car goes onto  the production line it's final destination is known, and if it is destined for someone influential that is known also.

 

Peter.

[knightsmith]

Peter,

 

So I did right then having the directors cars?

 

ATB,

 

Trevor

[Old Peter]

Yes, Trevor.

 

My Rover Sterling was a Director's Car.  It was bought by a company which then leased it back to the MD of the Main Dealer who "sold" it to the Leasing company that leased it back to him.  Then sold to me after 8 months at half the price that it originally cost.  I think tax had something to do with it.

 

Peter. 

[stephenmisson]

A newby here.

Just bought a XF 2.2 PL in red. I didn't examine it too closely (mistake) and now I find there are many chips marks on the bonnet (hood) which I didn't notice when purchasing it. I am having it resprayed first week of January 2015 and fortunately my dealer says he will help me out with the cost, whatever that means!

I notice that, in common with others, the sills in front of the rear wheels are also particularly bad.

I love the colour, I just wish I had been very picky before buying it.

I am also noticing that the eco mode doesn't activate in the cold weather when the fans are working to heat the car. It seems as if the battery doesn't have enough charge to handle both because it works ok when up to temperature and charged. Is this common?

[Old Peter]

Hi Stephen,

 

Batteries are often the source of many small issues if they are not up to scratch.  It could be that the battery is failing or is not the correct one.

 

I would recommend that you check the battery out, as when it is on the way out smaller matters appear to switch themselves off to enable the car to function.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[Quila]

Hi Stephen,

at the risk of getting yelled at about spoiling the lines of the car, consider a set of mud flaps once it's been painted. Not a cheap set of generic ones, mind; you need the genuine ones - at a pretty extortionate price for a bit of rubber, it has to be said - if you want them to look right. Fitted a set to mine a few months back and the amount of crud they collect is quite spectacular.