07 3500 with terrible paint

[repoman]

i bought a black 07 3500 dually diesel crewcab 4x4 about 3 weeksa ago and the paint on it is horrible. firs off i noticed orangepeel all over it. then i noticed solvent pop in several places.solvent pop is small pinholes in the sirface of the paint where solvent pops thru the surface during the drying process.then i noticed debris in the paint and a letter L in the left fender under the paint.another problem is the paint is thin. in direct sunlight my tailgate is brown and you can see thru it almost. the last problem is the paint is really brittle.i got a few stone chips on the front end in the first week of owning it.i chalked it up to bad luck. i now have atleast 50 marks all over the hood area and dually fenders. i understand stone chips are not covered by warranty but thin brittle paint should be. i dont drive off road or follow gravel trucks around i just drive it like anyone else would. if after 3 weeks it looks this bad i can imagine what it will look like after 3 months or a year. i have contacted my dealer but they were no help so i contacted chevy and im waiting to hear back from them this week. i would love to hear from anyone on this issue cuz i think im going to have an uphill battle to get any satisfaction from gm on this one. thanks in advance

 

marc

 

UPDATE 1/3/07 CHEVY STEPPED UP SE MY LATES POST BELOW SEVERAL OTHER POSTERS

[repoman]

come on someone must have something to say about this

[HawkeyeOC]

Show up at the dealer's service dept, have the service manager write your truck up with those problems and drop it off.

 

If you don't get anywhere with that, try this next. GM uses the BBB (Better Business Bureau) to arbitrate complaints about it's vehicles. At least they do with GMC, check to make sure Chevy participates too.

File the paperwork (you can do it online even) explaining the issue and how unhelpful the dealer/Chevy/whoever was in dealing with your issue. Explain what you want done about it (new paint, new truck. etc.). The BBB will take it from there.

 

I did this with my "06 after GM couldn't find my driveline problems and walked away with a new '07.

 

Good luck!

[repoman]

i hope it doesnt come to all that. im going to be on the road for the next couple of years living out of a 5th wheel trailer. i can imagine how hard it will be to do without a permanent address.i appreciate the advice though.im hoping to find some other 07 owners having the same problems.the more people having the problem the quicker they are to fix the problem

[k3500CC8.1]

Had most of same problems with my black 2006 K3500CC. Built 4/12/2006. The tailgate was transparent, the rear fenders had transparent spots, the firewall was barely painted, have a mysterious L shaped spot in the basecoat on the left front fender, fuel door interior barely painted.

 

I wasn't happy. This is the result of maxium cost cutting by GM, plain and simple. Black is the color where you(the customer) will really see how poorly these vehicles are being paint. The problem exist in all the other colors, its just much harder to see. With my truck, I had to have it cleaned and in direct afternoon sun to see the problem on the tailgate and fenders, but in the proper conditions it was very noticable. The firewall looks like it was painted with a spray can and can be seen in any lighting condition.

 

GM offered to repaint the whole truck or replace body sections from other suitable black trucks. I could have also re-ordered a new 2007, since my truck was delievered after the cutoff date for 06's, but no one knew for sure if the 8.1L would still be available in the 07 classics. I choose a 100K mile warrenty on the paint and truck, replaced the tailgate with one off a black 3/4 ton that was decently painted(looked at over 15 black HD's before we could find one that the problem was noticable), and will live will the rear fenders(hard to see) and firewall.

 

My K3500 is a garage queen that is seldom drove and will never see rain. I bought it because I wanted one of the last big block trucks. Repainting was not an option in my book, I'm too picky and rationalized that the truck would have turned out much worse than it started. In the end, I got the truck and drivetrain that I wanted with three problem areas that are visible to me on the exterior of the truck. I can live with that knowing that the 8.1L is know longer available. The pending doom for the 8.1L is the only reason I bought. GM has lost a customer for good.

 

I have watched them cheapin these trucks up over the past 6 years to the point that its almost laughable. No carpet on the door panels, no external locks on the passenger side doors, no under hood light, no visor mirror lights, no lumbar support adjust, no bucket seats with manual transmission, then no manual transmission, rat hair carpet, no two-tone paint, you have to now pay for the spare tire lock, you now have to pay for side current airbags on suburbans(used to be standard and now its extra to pay for the safety of your family, you now have to pay for the luggage rack cross bars on suburbans, you have to pay for the cargo package to get the rear cargo net and mat on the suburbans, body metal so thin that a properly sized june bug will dent it and these things don't stand a chance in a light hail storm, cheap tires, poor paint, no big block, $10K for the diesel option, and $40-50K+ will now be the normal price for these trucks. And GM wonders why they are in trouble.

[Axlshaft]

The dealer should have done something about it. The best time to notice something is when you go and pick up the car from the dealer.

When I worked in a dealer detail shop years ago we would send cars with paint defects to the body shop where they would fix it up to and including a complete repaint. The tech's hours and materials would be charged back to the manufacturer under warranty or to the car carrier company, depending on where the damage occured. It seems obvious that it is a manufacturer defect. If your dealer is worth anything they will fix it and bill GM.

Contact your local news' consumer reports department if you don't get anywhere with them. The last thing a dealer wants is bad press.

[repoman]

wow k3500 it sounds like you have my truck,right down to the L on the fender above the front wheel.my left fender under the hood is barely sprayed,i can see the white primer on it.lots of solvent pop in the clear all over and debris all over.how hard did you have to fight to get satisfaction?im talking direct with gm rather than to my dealer.they basicaly told me they couldnt do anything for me anyway.it amazes me how different the quality is. i had a 96 1 ton dually that seemed to be built much better.not to mention a better looking grill and nose

[ZZ327]

id hate to say it but, never buy a first year or last year truck. At least until theyve been building them for awhile. The First years wont have the bugs worked out. The last year will be cheapened up because theyll be spending the $ on the New GEN.

 

K3500, they offered to repaint for free and give 100 mile warranty, why didnt you just have the rig painted?

 

Theyve gotten that bad on 06-07 classics? mine still has carpet on the doors, and the lights in the roof are so bright there is no need for glove box, or those makeup mirror lights

[repoman]

i didnt think i was buying a first or last year of a truck.mine is the 1 ton dually.pretty much unchanged for this year except for drivetrain mods.i dont think they are changing the 3500s for 2 yrs but i could be wrong.i thought i was wrong once but it turns out i was mistaken!

[k3500CC8.1]

I didn't have to fight hard at all. When the truck was delivered off the transport the dealer was instructed to do the pre-delivery inspection and drive(only in dry weather) and NOT to wash the truck or remove any of the plastic or window stickers. If the truck was washed or drove in the rain the deal was off. I know, I'm crazy. I only trust myself to wash my vehicles. Case in point, the day I picked up the truck I went back to where the truck as parked, walked by the wash bay where 5 guys were throughly washing a new red 06 Corvette Z06 with a high temperture, high pressure sprayer, and 4 nasty plastic brushes(the type you find at your locale car wash)!! Man, they were scrubbing hard. The new owner of the Z06 was due to pick it up that afternoon. Trust no one to wash your car.

 

Anyhow, the dealer owner knew me, and how I operate so when I called him up and told him about the paint, he knew I was serious and got the ball rolling. The truck only had 91 miles on it when I finally was able to wash it and notice the problem. But, I also did engage the BBB route just in case the GM rep failed to meet my expectations. It took about a week to reach an agreement, but 2 months and 15 black HD truck to finally find a suitable tailgate.

[repoman]

it took me a little longer to find all the problems on mine ive had it about 4 or 5 weeks and have 2400 miles on it.i am suppose to get a call from gm on weds between noon and one pm to discuss this further.i just ordered the complete banks diesel performance kit for it but i guess ill wait to see how this plays out before i install it. im sure they would find a way to blame the exhaust for the paint problem.

[HawkeyeOC]

it took me a little longer to find all the problems on mine ive had it about 4 or 5 weeks and have 2400 miles on it.i am suppose to get a call from gm on weds between noon and one pm to discuss this further.i just ordered the complete banks diesel performance kit for it but i guess ill wait to see how this plays out before i install it. im sure they would find a way to blame the exhaust for the paint problem.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

Try to wait to install options on your truck no matter how tempting it is until you resolve the issue.

When I turned mine in, I lost money on the Line-X (Can't take that off!) and reselling a tonneau cover.

[Truckman031]

^^Did you get your 07 yet???

[repoman]

when you turned yours in? did chevy have to buy yours back?

[HawkeyeOC]

when you turned yours in? did chevy have to buy yours back?

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

Yea, They actually did a trade for the '07. I paid a difference because I ordered more options on the '07 plus a "usage fee" for the year I had it. That was what the BBB, GM and I negotiated. Mine was an extreme case though. Nothing more could be done about my problems. You should be able to get a repaint out of it if Chevy won't help you.

 

I got the '07 finally!! Check the pictures out under "view vehicles" near my name.