I have a six year old Renault. The coloured painting is peeling off in an abnormal way (no rust, just peeling off to the shiny metal below) just under the wing mirror. Renault france aren't interested (neither the local dealer nor the service clients on the phone - no longer under 'paint' warranty). The dealership where I bought it in the UK are more helpful but can't do anything from there. I'm going to get a second opinion at another dealership here but in the meantime any advice or ideas? Have never seen this on a car before so definitely 'pas normal'! Are my attempts to get Renault to do anything going to be a waste of time? Should i just bite the bullet and pay for a bodyshop to repair it? Any advice/experience please?
It's due to the regulations for paint to be ECO friendly so water based not solvent as it used to be. Had a Volvo where it happened first and also on my Renault, mainly the plastic bumper.
There is a really good reason why paintwork is only guaranteed for a short time now and i guess you have figured out why.
It seems when EU policies are passed by the pigs with their snouts in the trough who know nothing of the real world as they have servants to change light bulbs for them agree to ECO friendly paint (Low Vocs) water based they don't consider the extra coats required or the extra frequency of the repaints and the extra hydrocarbons all this will use when a coat of the original marginally higher vocs paint lasted the entire life of the car. Maybe part of the ECO directive is simply to toss out a perfectly good car in order to keep Europeans in work making new ones?
To save your soul from further despair, get a paint shop to repaint it and make sure you film it and put it on youtube as that is the future of customer complaints and many people will see it and maybe Renault and Volvo to name but two will try to fix the issue that the EU gave them.
Thanks John for your reply ages ago (having an email clear out and realised I'd never replied to your hepful comments). I did in the end ignore the problem so it's still there! I bumped into someone last week with a huge yucky mess down the side of their Kangoo and she told me it was also the paint peeling off and had been told it was too expensive to have a re-spray so has left it. She told me that it was definitely a Kangoo (or Renault) problem as sh'ed come across many with similar probs. Oh well. Thanks and when I'm feeling energetic I might just have some fun on twitter / FB / you tube with the photos of the damage and annoy Renault. YOu never know!