Peeling Paint problem!!

[Irish Girl]

Hi!

I have a 1997 Dodge Neon and the paint has been peeling quite extensively for awhile now...I took it to my local dealer and they offered to pay half of a new paint job, as long as I had it done with the people that they have an "agreement" with. I declined, because I feel that A) if they have an agreement, they KNOW there is a problem, and B) if I paid $10K for my car and it has a factory defect, why should I have to pay anything?
I have found press releases and all sorts of info on this problem on the net, but I am wondering if anyone here has had a similar experience and what you did to get it settled?
Dodge knows that this is a problem, even stating that in an effort to cut costs at one point, they took a step out of the paint process...incidentally, the one that keeps the paint adhered to the primer....and "delamination" is a problem in many cars produced by Dodge in the late nineties.
Help?!?!?!? :help:

[mopar fan]

First of all welcome to Dodgetalk. This was a problem with the truck line also during those years. Somewhere on this site this problem was discussed quite extensively. I'll see if I can find the thread that talked about this problem and pass it on to you. In the mean time, try doing searches in different forums and see what you can find!

[Irish Girl]

Thanks...I went through the forums to see if there was anything about this, but found nothing....if you could find it that would be great!
I am really frustrated, as I still owe over $3K and would like to sell it, but wouldn't even get $2K out of it if I tried! :VHOT:

[dodgeneon_chick]

well ive seen lots of neons around here that have paint problems mine and my bf old one and now he gots another one and its doing the same thing i geuss they are trying to make you pay for more i guess but we just paint them our selfs my bf gots a air gun and everything he dose them at home and he even dose them for other people to make some money from it....and if you find out why the paint dose that let me know please!!!!

[metallicaman915]

i have a 1998 two door neon. i am having the same problume as you. The only place that i have seen it happen i the hud so fare. I i were you i would stay out of the car wash. This will make it peal more. i wanted to get it painted any ways. My car is red and i want to have a new color cause red faids. Will good luck on the paint problum

[TripleXJ]

well I have heard a couple diff ideas on this

1 Dodge expiremented on a waterbased paint in an attempt to keep from over poluting the air. Turns out this was the worst possible way to paint cuase it lost adheision

2. Dodge did not primer or seal the car before painting therefore not allowing adhereto the car as well as it should

[lukester]

Hi Irish Girl,let me start by saying that I was a painter at Chryslers for 12 years and I still work there,one thing that they have done over the last few years too cut costs (and manpower) is when they notice a problem during production and it has to be repaired is they no longer sand completely.Just the problem and then they rebase(color) the area and then clear coat,times may have changed,however certain processes still should be maintained for longevity.The companys theory is that as long as it looks good through the paint warranty,once it is out of warranty,it is not there problem,that is why we have so much delamination not only with Chrysler but all companys today.I had a 95 Neon that was in the early stages of delamination on the roof in 98,I took it to the dealer and humbly explained what our processes are in there and they figured I knew what I was talking about.End result they paid for it all just to keep me quiet.Knowledge is power,so if this can help you or anybody else...just don't use my name.Yours could have been reprocessed and you would never know.

[lukester]

Just to clarify on what Tuner was saying,all Chrysler cars and trucks have water borne base coats and solvent borne clear coat,they did expiriment with water borne clearcoat and have been unsucessful to my knowledge to date.The cars and trucks are dropped into phosphate to clean then e-coated then a full body anti chip then base coated and clearcoated which is really high tech saran wrap,which is why it takes forever to wash the front of them,shiny but not the hardest.The main reason they all went to base-clear is for the durability as the old acrylic enamel finishes would not stand up with todays UV's from the sun.Todays processes are far better than yesterdays,however if their not followed properly in system the end result is DELAMINATION.Just my 2 cents

[tchase]

I know the paint peel is quite common on neons but I've noticed that the white cars and the pale blue cars seem to be the worst affected, while I've never seen a dark green car peel. Anyone notice a similar trend? Any theories why? Also mine has been peeling for awhile now but only on the roof between the mouldings. I was going to get this section repainted but I figure as soon as I do it'll just start somewhere else, anyone think I might get off with just the roof? A co-worker has a similar car (both white) and it's almost completely bare now.

[metallicaman915]

thanks lukester for all that infomation

[JusCuzRam]

My buddy's dad has a 96 white Ram and the paint on the roof is peeling BAD. He had it parked in the sun the other day and the paint was just curling up on the roof.

[Irish Girl]

Yes - thank you lukester!

I have noticed it predominately on the white and pale blue cars myself (I own the pale blue, and almost every Neon I see on the road that color is peeling BADLY!!) A trend that I have also noticed, strangely enough, is that is seems to be a problem more on the 2 doors than the 4 doors....
I have also seen a couple of dark blue ones around town that are peeling too. I wonder if we could get Dodge to do anything about it if I got all these Neon owners together??? Sometimes there is more power in numbers....

[lukester]

I have found that it pays at times to call the 800 number in your manual,and speak to a customer service rep.They have reps all over North America that take care of Dealers.Chrysler has many hidden warrantys that the general public is not aware of.For obvious reasons you will not hear about them on the 6:00 news.All auto makers have these hidden warrantys,if you search the net you will find them.I have found that sometimes it pays to dig my heals in and not take no for an answer.PPG is the paint supplier for alot of plants in North America and the Neon is built at Belvedere Assembly .Chrysler is in the midst of offloading certain parts of all there plants to the supplier to further cut costs.PPG buys the car or truck from Chrysler,paints it,oks it and then sells it back to Chrysler which absolves Chrysler fianancially.In other words if there is a warranty claim and we go to the dealer Chrysler is not paying in the long run PPG Paint gets the final bill.There is very little in house supply anymore and it is only gonna get worse.Chrysler or PPG or any other large company has more money than me or you and they are hoping that we will dry up and blowaway.The sqeaky wheel always gets the grease first,and there is no way that they can say if the paint process was followed to the letter after the fact.Knowledge is power.Just my 2 cents

[Irish Girl]

and found this website:

https://www.bigclassaction.com/submit_form.html

Thought I'd pass it along for anyone else with the peeling paint problem...file a complaint and we'll see what happens! :rck:

[dodgeneon_chick]

who do i put for the defendant???

[dodgeneon_chick]

it says that a lawyer is ganna conntact me what do i do when they call me what am i ganna do...