I was just wondering if this was a cost saving thing or maybe my car has suffered hail damage or something in the past as the paint under the bonnet and boot are a different shade of red to the rest of the car and is also not as glossy:shock: :confused: anyone else have this.

I was just wondering if this was a cost saving thing or maybe my car has suffered hail damage or something in the past as the paint under the bonnet and boot are a different shade of red to the rest of the car and is also not as glossy:shock: :confused: anyone else have this.

Having worked for MMAL i can tell you that yes its a cost cutting thing, they actually use a solid basecoat with no clear in the engine bay and boot (coloured primer as it was known inside the factory).

I wouldnt worry.... the first BA falcons had black basecoat engine bays (my dads mercury silver 2002 XR6T has a mattish black colour in the engine bay, my mates same colour 2004 model has dark silver basecoat) this was until people complained enough that now they use coloured basecoats under the bonnet.

At least with a white magna its not so noticable whereas the red and dark blues you could see the colour difference easily, also some were worse than others due to different "base coloured primer" colour batches, so its nothing to worry about but it does look a bit tacky considering the price of the cars when new.

yep nothing to worry about, my brand new silver rodeo was almost white under the bonnet.... i'd say it's a way to save $$$

Thanks guys I was a bit concerned my shiny new car had had a new paint job definately no clear coat under bonnet or boot:nuts: