[Gavin01]

While cleaning my car a recently I found a flaw in the paintwork which I'm contemplating getting fixed under warranty. I say "contemplating" as I'm concerned that when I come to sell the car there will be a record in the database stating that the car required this work and it could possibly discourage a future buyer. I've spoken to a really good body shop and they've quoted me about $2K to fix the problem.

So my question is - would having a record in the cars history saying that it required some re-painting be worth the $2k it would cost me to keep it out?

The car is an 04 Coupe GT and I plan to keep it for 18 months and then sell it with a few months of warranty remaining. This will be also be the point when an 06 GS can be had for sensible money

 

[Fred]

Seeing that it took you a year to find the paint flaw on your 04, I would assume it is kind of minor.

I would rather have an OEM paint job with a minor flaw than a perfect refinished panel on the car.

 

[DeaneG]

The second dose of paint will never be as nice or as durable as the first, unless they take the whole car down to bare metal, which isn't reasonable. I'd leave it as-is.

 

[M!]

i can reassure you that maserati's paint quality is not the best.
both my cars have minor blemishes (some might consider it major).
you are correct in thinking that a respray may add a history to your car.

as well, you might be opening a can of worms and making the blemish even more visible.

 

[mille162]

Having talked to an authorized (i.e. Factory approved and endorsed by Maserati and Ferrari) paint shop, keep in mind that in order to properly fix the paint to factory or better condition, you'll need to paint the entire section of the car. You'll also have to replace the rear glass if you're doing the rear panels as they can't be removed w/o breaking. Estimate to do the entire car was around $12,000.

 

[Glenn Wallace]

I have heard that Maserati is not overly keen on honoring paint warranty claims. Has a factory rep taken a look?