Reading the "what do you dislike about your tC" thread on the main forum, a lot of people seem to be saying the paint chips and scratches very easily.

I'm assuming this is exterior paint, although some people were mentioning the interior plastic scratches up really easily too? Are any colors better than others for chip resistance?

What I'm wondering is, if you kept on top of things keeping the car waxed & the interior protected with armorall or something, would that make any difference?

If it is true, did they address this at all in any model year, or is the paint on an 06 still going to have these issues?

Thanks.

 

unless the wax is about an inch thick, it will not help with rock chips...

armor all will clean up the normal rub marks, but it will not protect the intior at all.
and you will hear the armor all is bad from someone else very soon i am sure.

the insides of these cars has a lot of plastic and it is kinda soft (as far as plastics are concerned). so if you keep or move a lot of sharp or hard things, your interior will look like it lost the fight to a tiger...

 

I have about 2 small rock chips on my hood.. They're really small though. That's from 1 1/2 years of driving on crappy roads, also.

My eclipse was faaaar worse.. I had about 10 rock chips in a few months.

 

yes, scions have soft paint, tons of chip marks all over my car, not just the front! even on the side of the car :T

if you live in an area with alot of constructions like me.... gg, expect to repaint your car one day

 

I've read terrible things about my IIP's paint. Crappy roads here too. Then again, every single car I've owned has about the same problem.

Don't let this stop you from gettig a scion though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DGHOTLAVA!

 

thanks Jess

 

I think there was a thread or article about how switching the paint process to the 'eco-friendly' method makes the paint more prone to chips. Check out the clear bra on my car:

Hopefully this will keep the front end of my car looking new for years. Chips are esp painful if you have a dark color like IIP or black, because the chip outline is whitish. I had plenty on my IIP Corolla!

 

Unfortunetly, one way Toyota was able to keep costs low so that our beloved Scions would remain affordable, was to use a lower quality paint. This is for all makes, models, and years. Certain colors may be less noticeable, but chips and scratches are inevedable. Get yourself some touchup paint or a clear bra and you'll be fine.

 

ichiban, $500 for the clear bra?

 

get the clear bra like this ^ guy, worth every penny. imo though, a rock chip is gonna do pretty much the same thing to whatever car the rock hits. scions do come with a 5year/unlimitted mileage rust and corrosion warrenty if it makes ya feel better.

 

I have shizz load of chips on the front of my car from extensive driving from sacramento to monterey and from sacramento to davis. Lots of bugs taking of fthe paint and rock chips as well. I usually wax my car once a month and i drive my car every 2 weeks. So yeah, but don't let it stop you from buyin a tC.

 

Well, I drive from Philly to Boston and back all the time, so considering that they have some of the worst roads on the east coast says something. I have chips ALL over my front end. So when I repaint my front end and get a CF hood, I'm gonna clear bra it up. Should have done it from the start, but I didn't have the chance to.

I used the get my car waxed one or two times a week last summer so it held pretty well over the winter. This summer, I'm no longer sponsored so having to do it myself, I only have time to wax once a week. Oh, well, lol.

 

Don't even bother with Armor-All for the inside.

Use Meguiar's, or 33 Aerospace protectant--Armor All does next to nothing as far as actually proctecting the interior. Besides, the stock interior is pretty resilent--the only problems I've had have been with scratching on the painted parts--keep it waxed, and there's not really a problem.

As far as the exterior, a good coat of wax will keep your paint protected.

It's really a matter of how you treat the car. Yes, Toyota uses cheap paint--or Eco-Friendly, however you want to put it. I'm hesitant to deem it Eco-Friendly when I know their Lexus line has much, much better paint. Maybe Lexus isn't as Eco-Friendly with all of the new hybrid models?

Anyway. Clear bra is a great idea. I wish I'd put one on before I got even a single chip in my front clip or hood.

But I'm just crazy like that.

 

Dear lord.. did someone say they waxed TWICE a week??? You do know you can wax a car TOO much dont you?

I wax mine about every 3 weeks or so, a little more in the winter, but I usually drive my other car in the winter and keep the tC in the warm garage

As mentioned, armor all is USELESS and I have seen many cases where it was said to be bad for the interior. Not to mention it looks greasy and nasty. I use meguires on all my car interiors. Looks great, not greasy, and actually offers good protection. My 96 saturn has had it used on the dash all along. It has also been parked outside its whole life (including a lot of that life in Oklahoma summers). The dash looks like a brand new one, literally.

 

It was briefly mentioned earlier, but to avoid such chips in the paint, or rather make them less obvious, don't get a dark colored car like mine (black). Any TINY little thing shows up clear as day! Silver seems to be the best in this area.

 

but what will the dealer do, touchup's when i could do that at home? Or a re-paint?

 

They will do nothing at all for chips. That warranty only covers if the body panel is perforated by rust. In other words, if it rusts completely through they will cover it. Other than that you arent covered.

 

^^thats what i meant! Thanks!

 

of course a dealer won't help with rock chips, that would rock though, i was just posting the info cuz your original question was a general "hows the quality"

 

White's the absolute best color for not showing damage. You can't really touch-up silver. It really has to be sprayed, not brushed or put on with a toothpick.