Benz vs. Honda Paint

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Messages
1,600
Location
sw ohio
Greetings-
was at the local Costco and saw the small Benz sedan and Honda CRV next to each other. Side by side comparison of paint quality between the two was easy. Although we accept Honda reliability as stellar and Benz not so much, the Honda paint clearly exhibited orange peel, the Benz did not. Honda, in my opinion, has always had lower quality paint than just about everyone else. You see tons of them driving around with faded roofs,trunks and hoods. Maybe I'll rethink my upcoming car purchase.
 
That's why one is a Honda and the other a Benz
smile.gif


I had my Accord repainted earlier this year because of Honda's infamous cleacoat failure. The Pilots in Tafetta White have issues with paint straight peeling off. Luckily, Honda issued an extended warranty for this recently. Our old Benz ML320 had amazing paint quality. Very tough and didn't show scratches easily, despite being black.
 
The way 99% of car owners in US maintain their cars (cosmetic wise), orange peel or lack of thereof will make 0 difference- cars will be covered with scratches and swirls caused by automatic car washes and you won't even see the orange peel
 
Clear coat failures are caused by poor car washing practices as well as keeping the cars outodoors. Paint flailing off is certainly a manufacturing issue
 
I wonder if the cars painted outside of the USA have better paint? Are USA oem paints now low voc due to EPA?
 
many cars have soft aka cheap paints like subarus + others! paint is VERY $$$$ + little color is used as it costs most, but the clearcoat varies as well as one shop that did a great job vs another not so good job a year ago, yes lots of Bambi's in Pa !!
 
Automotive paint is like house paint or any other paint for that matter. You can buy cheap and you can buy good.
 
I see Benz with bad paint. They can park next to a Honda with perfect paint. If one car is in the sun all the time, and one is in a garage all the time, it makes a big difference. How many Hondas are seen on the street with all their owners various care and use, versus Benz? My neighbor has a 15 CRV and I always remark how high quality the finish looks.
 
In spite of the negative aspects of FCA vehicles, both real and/or perceived, my MOPAR vehicle paint has been stellar regarding long term appearance and resistance to damage over the past three + decades. At least they can get one thing right, LOL. Mine have been daily drivers that sit outdoors 24/7. I detail them once in spring, once in the fall.
 
About 10 years ago I was having some painting done by a highly reputed shop. This guy does a lot of the high end paint work in a large Canadian city - repairing transport scratches on undelivered Porsches and that sort of thing. He did some work for me that has stood up remarkably well.

In his opinion (and obviously at that time) he considered Honda and Toyota to have the best quality paint.
 
Originally Posted by parshisa
The way 99% of car owners in US maintain their cars (cosmetic wise), orange peel or lack of thereof will make 0 difference- cars will be covered with scratches and swirls caused by automatic car washes and you won't even see the orange peel



This is exactly it, It's amazing to think that people expect the hold up to exposure of heat/uv rays without any sort or care. I have family in Florida, and it's amazing to see the condition of 1-2 year old high end vehicles with faded, swirled paint. Clear coat is soft and unless the day you get it and start a proper car care procedure....it's not going to stand a chance. Unless it's garaged, but even then just preventing the inevitable. It's not a coincidence that you have 3-4 year old vehicles across all makes and model that need paint correction done.

Every vehicle I have ever owned, from new or even purchased used, first thing I do is give it a nice proper wax, and maintain it after every wash with spray wax. And I have never had a issue, and always been complimented at time of sale or just in general. I was lucky to find a mint 2013 Jeep Wrangler that was stock, meticulously maintained and in a garage most of time. After few coats of wax and maintaining it, that silver metallic pops like day it came out of factory.

And if people just did this right from new, that few bucks and few hours you spend taking care of it, you will make it up on resale. Not to mention how much easier it is to wax a new vehicle compared to one that has never been touched even after a year or two.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
The comparison is impossible, between ANY German car and ANY Japanese car.



The German car is the one with a person under it.
 
These generalizations don't necessarily apply to two different vehicles as much as other variables like potentially being parked in two different environments, two different owner income levels (when bought new) determining spare time or money to pay for washing and waxing, and possibly even different vehicle age.

Then there's the whole vehicle value thing. I spend less time and money on my less valuable vehicles. That works well for me but if you have a much loved older vehicle then I can understand spending time on it.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by edyvw
The comparison is impossible, between ANY German car and ANY Japanese car.



The German car is the one with a person under it.

I am personally afraid to lean on my Japanese car as I am not sure whether panel will ever pop out again. The true sinking feeling when one leans on it. I kept my Sienna 4 nights at Denver airport this week and this is first time in my life I had frost inside the car. Not to mention that it took car literally 45 minutes to warm up. I still prefer cars that need more attention but are assembled better than average toy for a 3 year old (and I am not sure about that too, as my 3 year old has some toys that are built pretty good).
 
Last edited:
Hondas are probably less likely to be garaged, while I suspect most Mercedes' would spend a good chunk of their lives indoors. Simply due to *who* is actually buying them.

Similar logic may apply even to things like car washes.
 
The MB paint is high end and $$$, there is no comparison to soft Japanese paints. My 1980 200D had the original paint at 25 years old when I sold it and it still held a nice shine.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by edyvw
The comparison is impossible, between ANY German car and ANY Japanese car.



The German car is the one with a person under it.

I am personally afraid to lean on my Japanese car as I am not sure whether panel will ever pop out again. The true sinking feeling when one leans on it. I kept my Sienna 4 nights at Denver airport this week and this is first time in my life I had frost inside the car. Not to mention that it took car literally 45 minutes to warm up. I still prefer cars that need more attention but are assembled better than average toy for a 3 year old (and I am not sure about that too, as my 3 year old has some toys that are built pretty good).





That was easy. 🎣
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top