Paint problem stories under Ford Warranty 1980s

[scenarioL113]

Anybody have any stories or knowledge of paint problems on Fox Mustangs that had paint issues and were covered under warranty?

Cars repainted or partially repainted?

Any experience in this area???

[KevinK]

By the 80s Ford was getting pretty good at avoiding paint warranty issues.

[mrmustang]

Anybody have any stories or knowledge of paint problems on Fox Mustangs that had paint issues and were covered under warranty?

Cars repainted or partially repainted?

Any experience in this area???

Is the car in question painted silver metallic, if so, while a rare occurrence, in the 1983-1985 range, there were a number of cars across the manufacturer spectrum (IE: not just Ford), where "spot" warranty work did happen.

Bill S.

[scenarioL113]

This is a general question and am solely trying to get info from people that may have experienced issues in the past etc...

I just want to know the different ways Ford handled QC issues and issues that arose for the end user (customer). I have heard that local auto body shops were sometimes used on cars that had bad paint etc...



yes I remember certain metallic paint that Ford had issues with. I think it flaked off

[mrmustang]

This is a general question and am solely trying to get info from people that may have experienced issues in the past etc...

I just want to know the different ways Ford handled QC issues and issues that arose for the end user (customer). I have heard that local auto body shops were sometimes used on cars that had bad paint etc...



yes I remember certain metallic paint that Ford had issues with. I think it flaked off

Having had some experience with "warranty work", and having more than my fair share of insiders (friends, business associates, etc) over the years, since the late 70's and early 80's, most was before the customer(s) ever took possession of the car, yet billed back to the manufacturer, or the shipper depending on the type of repair, and who was determined to be at fault. In some cases, "warranty work" was performed before the car left the assembly plant property. Those particular cars went through a secondary QC line, where they got picked apart by the line supervisors and usually ended up on the employee lot with deep discounts for incentive purposes, at least with Ford, across all lines. When it came to the previously mentioned Silver paint cars, long before paint depth meters were a thing, they were handled by whatever shop a dealership used at the time, their own, or a local shop they did business with from time to time (my old shop and 100's like them included).

Bill S.

[scenarioL113]

The more body shop guys I talk to, the more stories I hear of problems with cars that most people are not aware of. Even on brand new cars today there are still plenty of "fitment" issue and paint problems that people would not believe.

Going back to the 80's and earlier, it would take a lot to scrap a chassis off the assembly line (I would say never really for paint tho). I am sure that cars had probs when sprayed at the factory tho....worker was hungover and touched it b4 dry...lol who knows, bad calibration on the spraying machine etc...and there is no doubt that cars got damaged in transit on the Rail or car carrier depending how it was transported. I am sure that there were brand new cars that had bad scratches or rock hits etc that required paint work and things of that nature upon delivery. There is NO DOUBT that that has happened and that is the purpose of this thread. I am just trying to gather info and stories from people that have had these type of experiences.

I am sure cars that were "brand new" legitimately brand new but had work done before the consumer actually received the car OR things got noticed that FORD ESP had to cover that were subbed out to local shops like Bill S mentioned.

[KevinK]

Silver cars were the worst. Smart people avoided them. Any warranty was pretty short, like 3 years. I'm sure there were lots of disappointed owners. Earlier years had flaking paint due to lack of adhesion on zinc coated panels. Not all dealers had body shops or good body shops.

[MIKE'SVO86]

When I worked at a Ford dealership in the late 80s we had a bunch of vehicles damaged by kids throwing rocks at them while sitting in a storage yard. A lot of them had to go to the body shop for paint repair, among other repairs.

[Bentley]

Too far back to be very specific, but I remember around that time all of the car companies seemed to have some paint problems... One brand had some bad primer and the paint would not stick to it, and another ( Seems like it was ford and GM were having the problems) had really bad paint fading problems..
I can remember what looked like entire sheets of paint that had come off of hoods and tops of cars driving around......
ONe might think it was changing to water based paints and primers???

I remember Chevrolet had some soft cam lobe problems around this time too.......

[MIKE'SVO86]

Yes, both GM and Dodge had delamination issues in the early 90s. We took a ton of vehicles to approved shops for warranty work.

[scenarioL113]

Yes, both GM and Dodge had delamination issues in the early 90s. We took a ton of vehicles to approved shops for warranty work.

approved shops? OK when they did the paint work it was mask, tape and spray type work, right? They weren't disassembling cars or parts to paint, correct?

again, I am trying to gather info on cars that have had paint work done under warranty that might be noticed on a car that is otherwise original

[MIKE'SVO86]

If the dealership didn't have a body shop, then they had approve shops. Only masking and painting. Some jobs were pretty sub par.

The ford dealership I worked at had a body shop, so everything Ford went there.

[bluemax]

I purchased my first SVO, Sept build '85, from the original owner. I had a folder full of documentation on that car. It was repainted under warranty due to "primer issues" and this was done in '91 if I remember correctly.

[mrmustang]

approved shops? OK when they did the paint work it was mask, tape and spray type work, right? They weren't disassembling cars or parts to paint, correct?

again, I am trying to gather info on cars that have had paint work done under warranty that might be noticed on a car that is otherwise original

Typically, the vehicles with delamination issues were not disassembled, but chemically stripped to bare metal, and repainted. This was long before the switch to Waterborne paints, which did not occur until the 2012-2014 range. Sometimes a hood, trunklid, or doors would be removed, as it was more efficient to paint those parts off the car, then to risk overspray and additional cleanup work for the shop and/or dealership. In addition, not all paintwork was done under warranty, sometimes the end user had the work done themselves, or subsequent dealerships (new or used car pipeline), or even auto auction companies did this type of work without being able to charge back to a specific manufacturer. The most recognizable scenario is as follows: Paint starts to flake off in small areas, owner gets worried, or fed up and trades car in, or sells car privately before things get worse, trading dealer plays up the costs associated with having to strip the entire car/truck and respray, then offers a low ball offer, which surprisingly was accepted by the unsuspecting owner. Dealer then either takes car to bodyshop for minimum work (IE: fix only what is currently seen, sometimes only spot painting and not allowing the shop to do a proper strip and repaint of the effected panel), sells to his list of various small, mom and pop used car dealers, or takes the car to the auction, before or after quick repair work. The next dealership or owner makes their purchase, and this whole cycle starts again. Scenario one is the most used to this date when there is a potential problem with a specific make and model, paint or otherwise, although today, you have factory recalls and tougher consumer laws that cover the original, and subsequent owners vs those that were in place in the 80-90's.

I purchased my first SVO, Sept build '86, from the original owner. I had a folder full of documentation on that car. It was repainted under warranty due to "primer issues" and this was done in '91 if I remember correctly.

What color was the car?


Bill S.

[scenarioL113]

I purchased my first SVO, Sept build '86, from the original owner. I had a folder full of documentation on that car. It was repainted under warranty due to "primer issues" and this was done in '91 if I remember correctly.

That must be one of the last ones made, No? I dont know when they stopped the 86 run. Was a big change over for the new style 87 Fox body

[mrmustang]

That must be one of the last ones made, No? I dont know when they stopped the 86 run. Was a big change over for the new style 87 Fox body

Looking back on my production records, I show the last SVO to have come off the assembly line on April 22 of 1986, so a September 1986 build date for a SVO appears to be incorrect. Perhaps the poster meant to say it was sold new in September of 1986, instead of built in September of 1986. By September of 1986, the 1987 Mustangs were already on the dealer lots.

Bill S.

[bluemax]

Sorry guys, corrected my post... it was Sept '85, very early '86 model. Apparently, I was in a hurry and not paying attention.

[bluemax]

What color was the car?

Bill S.

2A Medium Canyon Red