Last November we picked up our new 2006 MCS, all BRG. It replaced a 2003 MCS, also all BRG. The '03 had better than 33K miles on it when we traded it in on the 2006. The '03 had very few paint chips from road debris (maybe 6 total). Today, I was once again waxing the '06 in preparation for the drive to the Dragon later this week, and I counted paint chips and found over 20 of them. The '06 has less than 6K miles and has had a more pampered existence than the '03. The paint chips are almost all on the lower parts of the bonnet, not on the bumper of the aerokit.

I am beginning to think the '06 has very poor paint quality and wonder if anyone else is noticing less than superior paint quality in the '06 models.

thanks,

Paul

 

I dont know how that's possible, I dont think they've changed the paint.

 

My 05's paint is terrible compared to other cars I've had. Every MINI I've seen up close without a clear bra has chips.

mb

 

I was out with the touch-up paint this morning and finally just gave up...

 

I thought i was the only one with bad chip issues on an 05 Mini, i have never seen anything like it...and i do believe that the paint on the MINI...sucks (i hope im wrong)...still deciding on whether i should get a clearbra or something else...

Giancarlo

 

Can't you just fix the chips with a dab of touch up paint? Doesn't MINI sell that stuff? At least then you wouldn't have to worry about it not being a factory finish.

 

I don't have too many chips yet, but my BRG MCS came from the factory with a big nasty run in the hood, not to mention BRG overspray on one of my white S-Lites, do you think there may have been some shipping damage there that was repaired? I think so....

I also spent today waxing in preparation for The Dragon, my passenger door had a very rough finish up towards the top, near the window, took quite a while to get it smooth to match the rest of the car.

This is my first NEW car ever, so far I'm not impressed with the paint quality, but over all, the car is still GREAT!!

Jason

 

I have a 2005 MCS with 5,000 rough miles and zero paint chips. IMO the MINI paint is better than on my Mercedes and other BMWs that I've owned.

 

I have 33K miles (and a clearbra) plus lots of Klasse applied and mine looks great.

 

I have also moved from an 03 BRG to an 06 BRG. I do have more chips on my 06 but that is due to being behind a truck when it hit a bump and released a clump of rock filled dirt from its mud flap. While the paint is not very tough compared to some other cars I have had. Mine seems the same for the 03 and 06.

 

My 05 MCS got so many chips in the first 1-2 months of ownership that I just recently got the bonnet repainted at 4-5 months old. Everything seemed to be getting chipped/nicked, including the bonnet stripes and windshield.

The frustrating part is that I've been driving basically the same route to/from work for the last 15 years and I've never had this problem on another vehicle, and I usually buy a new car about every 2 years, so there have been plenty of them in that timeframe.

The new paint job is not chipping like the factory paint job was, and I've got the clearbra in my garage ready/waiting to be put on (now that my new paint is cured).

To be honest, I think the issue is more with the design of the MINI - the front end and windshield are very blunt, offering up a nice flat target for any rocks/debris, compared to other cars that have a thinner and more sloped target on the front end. I tend to think rocks will 'skip' off other vehicles where they nail the MINI head on with nowhere to go but deeper into the paint. However, with your comment re: your previous model year not chipping as much, and my new paint job not chipping as much, I don't know what to think.

Any additional/new road construction around where you're driving?

 

I have an 06 that I picked up in December that now has about 6000 miles on it. It has more chips then I care to count(20-30+ easy). I have some touch up paint I'm going to use to get ready before a nice waxing, but I have never had this problem with another car. I understand the shape of the car has some impact, but this seems ridiculous. I'd hate to think of what the front of the car would like like if it was not touched up after a couple years....

 

I was never too happy with the paint quality of my '04 MCS (CR/W). I sold and replaced that car with a '05 MCS CR/W and the paint quality is miles better in comparison to the '04.

Paint chips are a fact of life in these cars because they use EPA mandated water based paint, which is "good" for the environment, but otherwise offers very poor chipping resistance. This is also true of nearly every new car sold in the world today.

I hate paint chips and to me they are 1000000000000000 times the eye sore in comparison to a clearbra or even a black vinyl mask. I just hate them and have little patience and time to deal with them.

When I got the '05 MCS I had it fit with a VentureShield cleabra and the front end of the car, 1 year later still looks pristine. That's what I call dealing effectively with a very annoying and recurring problem. My '04 MCS never had a clearbra and within 3 months of ownership I had all sorts of paint chips in the bonnet.... Never again!

To those of you that spend time every weekend touching up rock hits, all I can say good luck to ya. You'll get so sick and tired of patching up the finish of your $20K+ auto that it won't be funny anymore.

Get a clearbra and cut your losses from now.

 

After 3.5 years my '02 MCS was riddled with paint chips. I had a touch-up pen from Auto Sharp that covered, but didn't blend them in well with the original paint. I didn't make the same mistake with my '06 and it had a clear bra before I drove it away from the dealer. While the clear bra isn't a perfect cosmetic solution, I'm much happier with it.......than without.

 

you think MINI's are bad, you should see subaru paint quality, atleast on the impreza line

 

I have an chili red 05 MCSC (driven for 16 months & 14,500 miles). Paint chips haven't been too bad. I have only noticed 4 or 5 & touched them up. They have all been located near the headlights

 

How much $$$ was the job? I just got an estimate from a body shop here in NJ, the guy is truly an artist, for $600.

If I keep the car I'll do that and a clear bra. I've seen them and they don;t look THAT bad. At least better than the chips. I'll also consider a total repaint in Solar Red or something similar. I probably would have traded up had SR been available on an 06 MCS.

 

I have had my Mini for FOUR days and already have a paint chip on the bonnet above the clear bra....makes me sick. Mild driving...

Glad to see it's not just me.

 

I hate the paint quality on my hood... I have an 06 and my dad has an 04 and his paint is fine, It looks like my clearcoat is all messed up... but only on the bonnett. and its only noticeable in my garage under flourescent lights, outside I cant even tell at all

 

i have owned and driven my 1998 318ti (50,000 miles), 2002 325i (40,000 miles) and 2005 X3 (20,000miles) in the northeast with a lot of salt and sand. add up all the paint chips on those cars, and they do not equaly the amount of paint chips on my 12,000 mile 2006 chili red MC.

there are a few really good sized chips to on the hood. touch up paint seems to create more of an eyesore to me than the chip. i tend to agree with the comments made below, DESIGN causing the chipping. however, i also noticed that rubbing off a few spots of bug guts off the front bumper with a wet rag and decent pressure have removed the paint and left a white color behind (primed plastic bumper i assume). additionally, there was a streak of primer showing around one of the headlights - i took the car to the dealer, they said it was due to too much polishing during prep, pulled the light out and oversprayed the area. funny - i haven't ever seen the dealer polishing any cars there...



To be honest, I think the issue is more with the design of the MINI - the front end and windshield are very blunt, offering up a nice flat target for any rocks/debris, compared to other cars that have a thinner and more sloped target on the front end. I tend to think rocks will 'skip' off other vehicles where they nail the MINI head on with nowhere to go but deeper into the paint. However, with your comment re: your previous model year not chipping as much, and my new paint job not chipping as much, I don't know what to think.

 

I've had my 06 for about 5-6 months and 3600 miles... no chips so far, that I can tell. Haven't really looked much, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when getting it waxed the other day.

Keep in mind that the roads you drive tend to have a big effect also...

 

I'm 60 miles south of 10,000 miles. It's been on the road since 12/13/05. Two stone chips on the bonnet & one in the windscreen. Not too bad I'd say. Each one does hurt , but in the real world these things happen.

 

After reading about the poor quality of MINI paint, I expected the paint of my 03 CR MC to not hold up well. After three years it looks great and seems to be better than the paint on any of my previous cars.

Just lucky I guess.

 

My 02 looks great. It doesn't have any chips, but it does have one small indent on the bonnet up near the windshield. My dealer has already told me that they can pop it out.

 

My (early) '05 has a bunch of chips on the front, especially near the headlights. At first it didn't look too bad; but once I gave it a nice wash and started inspecting, a whole lot turned up. I think it's because the dark metal against the Hyper Blue on mine, they aren't too noticeable unless you look closely -- but there are a lot after only two years.