Volkswagen paint: Terrible?

threadbare said:

I bought my '13 used and it now has 70,000 miles. It doesn't have a single panel without at least 1 rock chip; you can see primer on a few spots on the hood. Maybe it's the black that makes it look worse, but I have never seen anything like it.

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It's 5 years old, that's going to happen after 5 years and 70k miles. Yes, being black makes it look worse than it would on another color. The paint on my '14 is better than my previous Subaru, and Chevy's.

I've never seen a car get paint chips as bad as these golfs do. And 5 years isn't old for a car at all.

A fair number of rock chips, but overall it’s held up well. Before Volkswagen released the latest models any time a non enthusiast commented on my car they’d say they thought it was new. My car has only been through auto washes a few times, otherwise typically washed with Optimum No Rinse as needed and waxed with Optimum Spray Wax once a month. However, there have been times when I’ve slacked and gone for months without the wax.

Aside from manufacturing defects the key is to be absolutely sure that everything you rub on it is clean. I wash with a microfiber mitt and dry with microfiber towels that are washed every time and stored in their own box. So I have no light scratching or spiderwebbing anywhere, and for a white car it’s incredibly reflective.

Have some chips on the hood and fenders, just like everyone else. Seems a little soft to me, but other than that no issues on my '13 R. Clear coat seems to be holding up well - better than it did on the Japanese cars I've had in the past ('02 Camry and '04 Accord).

Colorado driving has done terrible things to my front bumper and hood, not just small chips but large chips.

same thing happened on my Audi.

Yet my other cars have no issues.

So yea... VW Paint is cheap trash.