BAD paint chips Sierra All Terrain

[crushNchowda]

So, my 2014 Sierra AT has been through 1 New England winter, and has 14,500 miles on it. The lower (painted) front bumper looks like it is a 2004 that has been through 10 winters with 124,500 miles on it. It is so bad that I brought it to my dealer and was basically like, this is completely unacceptable for a car w/ this mileage and this new, at this price. I traded my 2008 G8 w/ 130,000 miles on it, that was also black, and lower to the ground and its bumper didn't look nearly as bad if you can believe it.

 

I especially pointed out the fact that if you compared the actual bumper piece to anything painted just above it on the front end, the bumper was 100x worse, and looked like it chipped MUCH more easily. I argued that there must be some deficiency in the process by which they prep/paint the bumper, the material the painted bumper is made of, or the paint they use on it & clear coat. Some chips are expected, but dime sized chunks of paint coming off on a weekly basis is not.

Long story short the dealer got GM to agree to foot the blll to have the dealer respary it (luckily the dealer has their own body shop which I'm sure made them more eager to agree) and cover the cost. I am satisfied and will ABSOLUTELY be putting a clear bra over the bumper this time now knowing how prone the bumper is to chipping!

[fondupot]

I haven't noticed any chips on my front end. I'll be doing a spring detail though soon, so I'll be sure to look closely.

[Spurshot]

I had my AT covered with a clear bra yesterday at one week after buying the truck. It had one little nick in it.

[TJay74]

My truck has a clear bra on it as well for this very reason. We don't get much snow, but when we do the city puts down what seems like 6" of sand. Truck only has 5200 miles on it and had a bunch of chips already.

[KMGZ400]

Clear bra is a must on a painted front end

[amxguy1970]

That is why painted metal bumpers suck (chrome bumpers > painted metal). Plastic has some give, hence you are very hard pressed to find a big paint chip on a plastic bumper (usually just small pitting and it takes a while for any paint to go MIA) but a hood will get big chips, metal just has no give.

 

If I ever had to get a painted steel bumper I would no doubt put a clear bra on it.

 

Tyler

[zback]

Tell me more about these clear bras? How much $$?

[pm26]

Tell me more about these clear bras? How much $$?

You are talking at least $ 300, at that's just for the bumper. They are not cheap. I have seen estimates as high as $ 800 for the entire front end, including leading edge of the hood.

 

 

It may be cheaper just to repaint the bumper at your cost and have them spray gravel guard under the paint to make it more chip resistant. If your bumper is badly chipped, you cannot install the clear film over it, or it will look like crap. You need to refinish the damaged area first. Clear film is best installed on a brand new vehicle before any paint damage occurs.

[Silverado Steve]

You are talking at least $ 300, at that's just for the bumper. They are not cheap. I have seen estimates as high as $ 800 for the entire front end, including leading edge of the hood.

 

 

It may be cheaper just to repaint the bumper at your cost and have them spray gravel guard under the paint to make it more chip resistant. If your bumper is badly chipped, you cannot install the clear film over it, or it will look like crap. You need to refinish the damaged area first. Clear film is best installed on a brand new vehicle before any paint damage occurs.

I paid $850 to have the entire front end, A pillars and roof line done. You say its cheaper to get the bumper repainted, but check your A pillars, hood and roofline, you'll probably find chips there too and you're not getting those repainted for less than $850.

 

On another note much like the Toyota Tacoma, the Sierra AT use a painted plastic lower bumper which is the most easily chipped. Many people bag on the excess chrome on the Silverado, but chrome is the most forgiving in regards to rock chips.

[TJay74]

The Sierra AT package does not use a plastic lower bumper, it is metal.

[KMGZ400]

Tell me more about these clear bras? How much $$?

The price will vary as to what brand and where you get it done... I had a local xpel dealer install 6inch strip on my hood and got the whole bumper covered on my truck for 265. I didn't have them do the plastic cover above the bumper because the plastic Dosent chip like paint does.

 

 

Check out xpel.com

[Silverado Steve]

The Sierra AT package does not use a plastic lower bumper, it is metal.

Interesting?? I looked at a demo model back in December....it was definitely plastic like my former Tacoma. In fact it was cracked on the front passenger side where a salesman clipped a light-pole in the sales lot. Now i am intrigued.

[fondupot]

Interesting?? I looked at a demo model back in December....it was definitely plastic like my former Tacoma. In fact it was cracked on the front passenger side where a salesman clipped a light-pole in the sales lot. Now i am intrigued.

 

my AT bumper is metal.

[Silverado Steve]

my AT bumper is metal.

Hence my intrigue. I just looked on cars.com, the AT is fairly rare here, they had 1 in a 75 mile radius and from the pics the interior didn't have the red stitching that the one i looked at in December had. Does yours have red stitching on the seats and arm rest?

[fondupot]

Hence my intrigue. I just looked on cars.com, the AT is fairly rare here, they had 1 in a 75 mile radius and from the pics the interior didn't have the red stitching that the one i looked at in December had. Does yours have red stitching on the seats and arm rest?

 

Yes. That comes with the leather. But you can get an AT with the clothe seats too, which do not have the red stitching.