1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Black car and poor paint quality... Prius 7+ Europe

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by JohnRobinson, Apr 30, 2013.

  1. JohnRobinson

    JohnRobinson Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2009
    99
    29
    0
    Location:
    Norway
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Hi all

    Been a while since I have posted here but always check in. Anyway we just swapped our white Prius premium gen 3 for a new (demo) Prius V (7+) black.

    I have had black cars before and I do understand that they show scratches easier. However I have had this car for 1 month and it was an ex demo car. Now after the 4th wash all of the wax the dealer put on has gone and there are scratches everywhere. Really bad.

    Also I drove along a lane and a small twig scraped along my car but its left a horrible scratch down to the primer. Is it possible that there is not enough layers on my car? Never before have I had to be so careful with a black car. Dare not look at it in fear of scratching it... :(

    Also any tips on keeping it scratch-ish free?

    Thanks in advance all! (y)
     
  2. skwcrj

    skwcrj Member

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2011
    278
    68
    5
    Location:
    Gig Harbor, WA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    Yep. That's my only complaint about these cars. A simple scratch goes all the way to the primer. I wished they had at least used primer in the same color as the top coat!
     
    Reetha123 likes this.
  3. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2009
    6,722
    2,121
    45
    Location:
    North Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    The black on my gen3 is weak. I think a lot of modern black paints are, but the mat black on the Prius seems especially so.
     
  4. JohnRobinson

    JohnRobinson Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2009
    99
    29
    0
    Location:
    Norway
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    V
    And I suppose there is nothing I can do about it? Except never buy another black car...
     
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,936
    16,159
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I tend to stay away from Toyota's solid black paint, colour code 202 (which is the paint offered on all Prius models). They're not clearcoated like the metallic paints are (e.g. Attitude Black Metallic [218] or Black Sand Pearl [209] in North America).
     
    GrumpyCabbie likes this.
  6. Bill_Kelly

    Bill_Kelly Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    9
    3
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    My 2013 Prius V Five is black, now with 10,000 miles. The first week, I gave it a thorough wash, claybar and wax job with Zaino. I constantly get comments about how deep and scratch-free the paint job is. I do not baby the car, but only do my own hand washes, no commercial car washes. Zaino Store
     
  7. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2013
    5,884
    3,486
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Black paint sucks! Stay away from black, this is not a Toyota issue, its an industry issue.
     
  8. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2009
    5,683
    953
    124
    Location:
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    False. Paradox confirmed with Toyota that 202 Black is indeed clear-coated.
     
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,936
    16,159
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Excellent. Thanks!