Good Lord, these paint chips are KILLING me! GM please change your ways!

[Mr CLuTcH]

I'm sorry, everyone of us loves our car as if it's a son, and it's pretty common that we HATE rock chips and the likes,...but let me say this again, because I've repeated this countless times before, half of you on this forum complain about rock-chips that are so small and insignificant that I find it absolutely ridiculous-because the thing is, to EVERYONE ELSE on the street driving about, THE CHIPS ARE TOTALLY INVISIBLE. Especially if your car's clean.

These chips are invisible to any who stands 10feet from your car, let alone people driving on the road. Keep that in mind,......I have a great number of chips on my front bumper(10+) and side gills(3), but I keep my car clean and everyday I still get flooded with compliments. You see it's all about "perception". From the car owner's perception, you can see every single chip on the car, but to a nonowner of the car, it's totally invisible;the car looks showroom floor. I can even take a picture of my car from 5-10 feet away with my camera, even on camera, from a 10 feet distance, despite me already having tons of rock-chips,...from that distance, on camera, you cannot see ANY! And photoshop wasn't involved!

I personally feel like some of these owners are obsessing,...like I use to. I learned a valuable less from all of this- when you spot all the chips and flaws you see, as an owner who pays close attention to detail, you should quickly realize other people outside of your garage DO NOT see these chips.


My camera is pretty good, and my bumper is pretty chipped, well, REALLY chipped, but let me show you this recent picture. You cannot see any chips, and my point is neither can anyone else, unless you're face to face with your car. It's something how in reality, something can be totally invisible to you until someone gives you knowledge of it's existence, then all of a sudden your able to point it out. It's called "Hidden in Plane View". Now I love my car, but I also need to drive the hell out of it! It's fun, addictive, and stress relieving...for me. So I don't let these rock chips bother my emotions on a daily basis, whether GM didn't put a thick enough layer of paint or not, it's a great car for it's time, live with it. Perhaps the Z28 will be painted correctly.

Hey rock chips are not good, nor do I like them, but from what I see, they damn sure don't take away from the actual beauty of this car. If you drive your Camaro, it's gonna get chips, and the more you drive it, the more chips you will get. It's an eventuality. An inevitability-unless you keep it in a garage and rarely drive it.

Here is a picture of my rock chips......

*note* I have 10+ on my front bumper* Can you spot them?

Originally Posted by dragrcr

I gave up a LONG time ago. I have 12K miles on my car and it is impossible to control. Seems everybody wants to cut this Camaro off and the car does NOT want to go slow........

DUDE, sure GM may suck for not putting on enough paint, but you have to be damn nuts to be crying about those infinitesimally small chips! That s*** most likely cant be seen from a distance, at all! Which means,.....it's invisible! So what?! The human eye isn't even designed to pick up s*** that small from mid to long distance. Dude come on.......your obsessing. The car will not stay in perfect condition.

[BlaSSt Off]

Originally Posted by Mr CLuTcH

I'm sorry, everyone of us loves our car as if it's a son, and it's pretty common that we HATE rock chips and the likes,...but let me say this again, because I've repeated this countless times before, half of you on this forum complain about rock-chips that are so small and insignificant that I find it absolutely ridiculous-because the thing is, to EVERYONE ELSE on the street driving about, THE CHIPS ARE TOTALLY INVISIBLE. Especially if your car's clean.

These chips are invisible to any who stands 10feet from your car, let alone people driving on the road. Keep that in mind,......I have a great number of chips on my front bumper(10+) and side gills(3), but I keep my car clean and everyday I still get flooded with compliments. You see it's all about "perception". From the car owner's perception, you can see every single chip on the car, but to a nonowner of the car, it's totally invisible;the car looks showroom floor. I can even take a picture of my car from 5-10 feet away with my camera, even on camera, from a 10 feet distance, despite me already having tons of rock-chips,...from that distance, on camera, you cannot see ANY! And photoshop wasn't involved!

I personally feel like some of these owners are obsessing,...like I use to. I learned a valuable less from all of this- when you spot all the chips and flaws you see, as an owner who pays close attention to detail, you should quickly realize other people outside of your garage DO NOT see these chips.


My camera is pretty good, and my bumper is pretty chipped, well, REALLY chipped, but let me show you this recent picture. You cannot see any chips, and my point is neither can anyone else, unless you're face to face with your car. It's something how in reality, something can be totally invisible to you until someone gives you knowledge of it's existence, then all of a sudden your able to point it out. It's called "Hidden in Plane View". Now I love my car, but I also need to drive the hell out of it! It's fun, addictive, and stress relieving...for me. So I don't let these rock chips bother my emotions on a daily basis, whether GM didn't put a thick enough layer of paint or not, it's a great car for it's time, live with it. Perhaps the Z28 will be painted correctly.

Hey rock chips are not good, nor do I like them, but from what I see, they damn sure don't take away from the actual beauty of this car. If you drive your Camaro, it's gonna get chips, and the more you drive it, the more chips you will get. It's an eventuality. An inevitability-unless you keep it in a garage and rarely drive it.

Here is a picture of my rock chips......

*note* I have 10+ on my front bumper* Can you spot them?





DUDE, sure GM may suck for not putting enough paint, but you have to be damn nuts to be crying about those infinitesimally small chips! That shit most likely cant be seen from a distance. The human eye isn't design to pick up shit that small from mid to long distance. Dude come on.......your obsessing. The car will not stay in perfect condition.

[dragrcr]

Originally Posted by HeaterMan

I have had over 150 collector cars with nice and /or new paint and these cars chip way worse than any of them. Gm cut corners in materials or in procedure.. plain and simple. I am picking up a new challenger R/T this weekend and i have been all over the challenger forums and dont read anything about paint chipping issues over there. the cars are painted in Canada.. U.S enviromental laws don't apply there.

Well, I had an 09 CHALLENGER SRT8 6M Every Option and it got just as many. I put 6000 miles on it in 4 months and sold it. BECAUSE IT WAS EMBARRASINGLY SLOW.

But, it got a lot of chips too, so all I can say is good luck. And, I really mean that. I hope you get a good one.

[Patriot]

Originally Posted by dragrcr

Well, I had an 09 CHALLENGER SRT8 6M Every Option and it got just as many. I put 6000 miles on it in 4 months and sold it. BECAUSE IT WAS EMBARRASINGLY SLOW....

wow!

[67 Convertible]

I put the molded splash guards on, and the gill chipping has just about stopped. I have one or two on the front, but oh well.....it is a DD with over 12k miles.

I understand what Mr. Clutch is saying in the above post, but geez, I just didn't expect this amount of chipping with a brand new car. The car I got rid of to buy the Camaro, I bought new and it had 175k on it.....had a couple of chips on it, but way less chips than my new Camaro.

I am not obsessed over this, but when I buy a brand new car, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect to get 40k-50k miles on it before it starts looking like crap.

[tradosaurus]

Originally Posted by bumblebeecamaro

so today I get home and yet once AGAIN, I have found ANOTHER paint chip on my car. this time it's on the hood from a rock that got thrown up from a 4 wheel drive in front of me on my way home from work.

this is getting out of hand. I probably have a good 8 to 10 rock chips on my car now. this is totally insane for a car that's been under my ownership for only 6 months with 4500 miles on the odometer.

Jesus, it seems like a splattered mosquito can put a chip in this stupidly thin paint job that's on my car. when the heck is GM going to do something about this???

Taking my Lords name in vain will only make it worse.

[tradosaurus]

Originally Posted by Mr CLuTcH

I'm sorry, everyone of us loves our car as if it's a son, and it's pretty common that we HATE rock chips and the likes,...but let me say this again, because I've repeated this countless times before, half of you on this forum complain about rock-chips that are so small and insignificant that I find it absolutely ridiculous-because the thing is, to EVERYONE ELSE on the street driving about, THE CHIPS ARE TOTALLY INVISIBLE. Especially if your car's clean.

These chips are invisible to any who stands 10feet from your car, let alone people driving on the road. Keep that in mind,......I have a great number of chips on my front bumper(10+) and side gills(3), but I keep my car clean and everyday I still get flooded with compliments. You see it's all about "perception". From the car owner's perception, you can see every single chip on the car, but to a nonowner of the car, it's totally invisible;the car looks showroom floor. I can even take a picture of my car from 5-10 feet away with my camera, even on camera, from a 10 feet distance, despite me already having tons of rock-chips,...from that distance, on camera, you cannot see ANY! And photoshop wasn't involved!

I personally feel like some of these owners are obsessing,...like I use to. I learned a valuable less from all of this- when you spot all the chips and flaws you see, as an owner who pays close attention to detail, you should quickly realize other people outside of your garage DO NOT see these chips.


My camera is pretty good, and my bumper is pretty chipped, well, REALLY chipped, but let me show you this recent picture. You cannot see any chips, and my point is neither can anyone else, unless you're face to face with your car. It's something how in reality, something can be totally invisible to you until someone gives you knowledge of it's existence, then all of a sudden your able to point it out. It's called "Hidden in Plane View". Now I love my car, but I also need to drive the hell out of it! It's fun, addictive, and stress relieving...for me. So I don't let these rock chips bother my emotions on a daily basis, whether GM didn't put a thick enough layer of paint or not, it's a great car for it's time, live with it. Perhaps the Z28 will be painted correctly.

Hey rock chips are not good, nor do I like them, but from what I see, they damn sure don't take away from the actual beauty of this car. If you drive your Camaro, it's gonna get chips, and the more you drive it, the more chips you will get. It's an eventuality. An inevitability-unless you keep it in a garage and rarely drive it.

Here is a picture of my rock chips......


DUDE, sure GM may suck for not putting on enough paint, but you have to be damn nuts to be crying about those infinitesimally small chips! That s*** most likely cant be seen from a distance, at all! Which means,.....it's invisible! So what?! The human eye isn't even designed to pick up s*** that small from mid to long distance. Dude come on.......your obsessing. The car will not stay in perfect condition.

Buddha dang! Your car looks fugly with all those rock chips.

[acatlover13]

Wow...I guess I've actually been pretty lucky (excluding this one very unfortunate incident). I had all of two very miniscule paint chips in my front fascia when I left for C5Fest (6300 miles). On the way however, I was assaulted by a flatbed truck with a lot of gravel on the bed....had 11 chips when I got to C5Fest. That made me mad as hell, but I don't know of any car's paint that could have withstood that kind of attack, so I wasn't mad at GM...just the driver of the truck who didn't clean off his flatbed before taking off, therefore subjecting me to his stupidity.

[Mr_Draco]

Originally Posted by HeaterMan

the cars are painted in Canada.. U.S enviromental laws don't apply there.

Actually it does.

1) Whenever the US enacts new environmental laws Canada enacts those same laws at the same time.

2) In order for a company to SELL their cars in the US they have to meet the US environmental laws. Doesn't matter where the car is made and painted, if it's not water based paint then it can not be sold here.

[Romeloc]

i have a lot of chips too. but its nothing you can do about it. either dont drive or geta ugly bra

[Patriot]

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

Actually it does.

1) Whenever the US enacts new environmental laws Canada enacts those same laws at the same time.

Huh? How do ya figure?

2) In order for a company to SELL their cars in the US they have to meet the US environmental laws. Doesn't matter where the car is made and painted, if it's not water based paint then it can not be sold here.

Very true.

[HeaterMan]

i don't buy that argument. you're telling me that car manufacturers in germany have to follow US epa regs in order to sell their cars here. what about japan or Korea? i call BS, if that were the case china wouldn't be exporting anything to the US. make excuses all you guys want.. the paint is crap.

[2010 Bumblebee]

Originally Posted by fireresq157

Try alternate routs with less traffic even if it means longer commute or tolls. Allot has to do with the way each individual drives like tailgating, speeding, driving close to the curbs, construction areas, etc. I've commented on this on other threads . Sometimes it's just bad luck . If it makes you feel better the real bumblebee is full of paint chips.

Not sure which bumblebee you are refering to here, but I just drive my car for fun and far stay away from everything. I'm a professional driver and I get trained all the time on how to drive safely, if you can believe it.

I never tailgate, stay away from construction areas because I'm just cruising around. I don't speed, but everyone in a camaro get into the throttle from time to time. If you know what I mean. Which you do. I'm sure. It's a camaro ss.

I too have made comments on other threads about how not to tailgate to avoid chips, buy they usually have more chips.

I think I would feel better if the real bumblebee was full of paint chips!

Originally Posted by nalinc23

I noticed this too. I have at least 6 chips w/ 6300 miles, one is even on the rear bumper (WTF!?)

2 of mine are on my roof ! How does that happen? the other two are on my front bumper. Like I said before I have 4 on the car that I know of, and 4 in my windshield. I know we are talking about the paint here and not the glass, but one of them on my windshield bothers me the most.

Originally Posted by Silver ice SS

This is horrible!!! I just noticed a few more also. We should nit have to spend more money on a 3m clear bra just to protect what should be pretty sturdy and durable from the start.

Just about every time you wash and wax your car you are going to find something new.

Originally Posted by BlaSSt Off

People, I have had several show trucks with custom paint jobs with lots of clear coat and here is a news flash... IF YOU DRIVE IT, YOU WILL GET CHIPS!!! If you dont want chips, leave it in the garage or sell it. If you put your car in the garage and dont drive it, all your doing is saving it for the next person to enjoy. DRIVE YOUR CAR!!! Shit happens.

This is true, but the new camaro, atleast mine seems to chip easy. We know the paint is a factor. The other factor is the terrible roads out there and the other drivers. Did you ever notice that no matter what you do to have a safe following distance someone always cuts over in front of you and fills in the gap? Usually they come from behind you and cut over just in front of you, almost out of spite, instead of further up the road.

Originally Posted by HeaterMan

I have had over 150 collector cars with nice and /or new paint and these cars chip way worse than any of them. Gm cut corners in materials or in procedure.. plain and simple. I am picking up a new challenger R/T this weekend and i have been all over the challenger forums and dont read anything about paint chipping issues over there. the cars are painted in Canada.. U.S enviromental laws don't apply there.

The production environment laws might not apply, but the materials laws might because they are sold here for use here in the US. I think the idea is when new cars get scraped less paint or less toxic paint will go where ever car paint ends up.

Originally Posted by Mr CLuTcH

I'm sorry, everyone of us loves our car as if it's a son, and it's pretty common that we HATE rock chips and the likes,...but let me say this again, because I've repeated this countless times before, half of you on this forum complain about rock-chips that are so small and insignificant that I find it absolutely ridiculous-because the thing is, to EVERYONE ELSE on the street driving about, THE CHIPS ARE TOTALLY INVISIBLE. Especially if your car's clean.

I personally feel like some of these owners are obsessing,...like I use to. I learned a valuable less from all of this- when you spot all the chips and flaws you see, as an owner who pays close attention to detail, you should quickly realize other people outside of your garage DO NOT see these chips.

Unfortunately you are right, but we bought our cars for us, because we love them & we want them to last forever, and we see all the chips.

You have a good color for hiding chips, swirls, and flaws. My next new car will be silver unless I'm getting a another color for a specific reason like I did for Bumblebee.

Originally Posted by 67 Convertible

I put the molded splash guards on, and the gill chipping has just about stopped. I have one or two on the front, but oh well.....it is a DD with over 12k miles.

I put molded splash guards on mine too. I did it mostly for extra protection and peace of mind. I don't have any chips on the gills, but I didn't before the splash guards either. They do help.

Originally Posted by acatlover13

Wow...I guess I've actually been pretty lucky (excluding this one very unfortunate incident). I had all of two very miniscule paint chips in my front fascia when I left for C5Fest (6300 miles). On the way however, I was assaulted by a flatbed truck with a lot of gravel on the bed....had 11 chips when I got to C5Fest. That made me mad as hell, but I don't know of any car's paint that could have withstood that kind of attack, so I wasn't mad at GM...just the driver of the truck who didn't clean off his flatbed before taking off, therefore subjecting me to his stupidity.

Those kinds of trucks, construction truck, trash trucks, and roll off trucks are one of the biggest problems. Not cleaning their tailgates good enought and not trimming their loads good enought is a big problem, but no matter how much they clean it won't matter because they need to wash them too. Every time they hit a bump in the road the rock dodging begins. I hate going anywhere near those kinds of trucks. There is no safe place. I don't know ifI should stay far behind or speed up and pass it. If I speed up and pass it and he/she hits a bump while I'm close I'm all done. The same truck got me twice on two different days and there was no name on the door of the truck.

[picard2112]

Originally Posted by Captain Awesome

Maybe only certain colors are having trouble?

I'm starting to think the same thing...I have an IBM and I have no paint chips or problems at all (of course it is a dark color, but I have looked pretty hard). And if you want really shitty thin paint....just buy a Toyota. In my opinion GM has decently thick paint.