Hey Guys,

Bought my 380 back in 2008 and just recently on the front spoiler and roof the clear coat is beginning to crack, flake off and remove itself completely in areas. The car warranty was transferred to me upon sale of the car from a Mitsubishi dealer.
I went to another local Mitsubishi dealer the other day and was told that the areas with the clear coat breakdown were not covered under my warranty as i did not purchase the car "new", however the car is still under its warranty...
Little confusing... would what I've been told about it not being covered be correct?

5 year bumper to bumper applies and is transferable is my understanding.

5 year bumper to bumper applies and is transferable is my understanding.

That was also my understanding... and I mean... I have had other parts claimed under the warranty for interior panel issues and an issue with the brake disc...
It just threw me when it then came across as "well you don't have a warranty"

As Blackstar said, the warranty is transferable. The paint defect should be covered under warranty, go to another dealer for a second opinion.

As Blackstar said, the warranty is transferable. The paint defect should be covered under warranty, go to another dealer for a second opinion.

Alrighty, well we believe its covered. Will contact another dealer and get another opinion... Thanks guys

They are just trying to get out of doing what they are supposed to do. DEMAND the service you are entitled to from them or complain to the ombasdman. We have had to do this recently with great success I must say

They are just trying to get out of doing what they are supposed to do. DEMAND the service you are entitled to from them or complain to the ombasdman. We have had to do this recently with great success I must say

That's what I figured as I am guessing it will be an expensive exercise for them... Just gonna suck not having a car for a while...

mine is looking to do the same on the roof atm. No clear coat lifting as such but defiantly something abnormal with the paint. Mines just out of warranty so im currently waiting on a call back from the company who applied the paint protection to the car as their warranty states a lifetime warranty that is transferable providing it gets taken in for an inspection every 18 months, will be interesting what they have to say about mine also.

Do you guys park the car outside perhaps? Still it shouldn't go that quick. And yes as blackie said only the extra 5 years on the transmission etc is not transferable. Get his (or her) name and ask them to put that in writing on letter head and see what they say to that. If they say no then they are bluffing, if they say yes and do it you hit pay dirt son!! Straight to MMAL with a copy and tell them that they are in breach of warranty and if it doesn't get fixed it is straight to fair trading with the letter. Again, log names, dates, times and what is said. It pays dividends in the long run as I can guarantee you they wont log what they say to you!!

my car gets parked in an underground car park all day at work, gets cleaned at least 3 times a week, maybe more and a wax maybe once a fort night, so can't understand how mine is going like that as its always too clean to be able to get damaged from tree sap and bird droppings. :s

UV from sunlight does the damage. There is a hole in the ozone layer, remember?

PERFORATION CORROSION WARRANTY
(5 years from purchase)
MMAL warrants that the original equipment sheet metal components of the Vehicle will be free from
holes formed as a result of the rusting of those components under conditions of normal use and service
within Australia during the period commencing on the date of the Vehicle’s original retail delivery or first
use (whichever occurs first) and expiring 60 months (5 years) later (“Perforation Corrosion Warranty”).
The Perforation Corrosion Warranty is subject to the proper care and maintenance of the Vehicle in
accordance with this Manual.

seems like they only cover rust

Specifically, that clause only applies if there is a hole, surface rust doesn't count, nor does it cover any rust caused by flood damage.

Is paint finish mentioned anywhere?

Specifically, that clause only applies if there is a hole, surface rust doesn't count, nor does it cover any rust caused by flood damage.

Is paint finish mentioned anywhere?

yes twice


MMAL warrants that the Vehicle will be free from defects in materials and factory workmanship under
conditions of normal use and service within Australia during the period commencing on the date of the
Vehicle’s original retail delivery or first use (whichever occurs first) and expiring 36 months (3 years)
later, or until the Vehicle has been driven a distance exceeding 130,000 kilometres (whichever occurs
first) (“Initial Warranty”).

deterioration of the paint would be covered either under materials (the paint) or workmanship (application of the said paint)


These warranties:
• Do not exclude or limit any warranties implied by any applicable Federal, State or Territory legislation.

goods sold in Australia prior to 01 January 2011 is covered under the old TPA and must:

be fit for purpose; and
be of merchantable quality

clearly such rapid deterioration of the painted surface of a new vehicle shouldn't normally occur

lodge a complaint with your local office of consumer affairs and then fax off a letter of demand to Mitsubishi customer service. its bloody disgusting that a company would treat its customers with such contempt. hence why i'll never buy a Mitsubishi again.

hence why i'll never buy a Mitsubishi again.

Riiiight....

I was with you up until here - so Ford and Holden and Toyota are radically different?

I feel all dealers of any car company try to limit any liabilty

Subaru tried to shirk some responsibility on a friends car
Toyota did it with my corolla at there HO dealership

it is not isolated to MMAL

I have to agree. They all will try and bluff their way out of work if they can. You have to be better at playing their game.

Riiiight....

I was with you up until here - so Ford and Holden and Toyota are radically different?

yep, the tailgate on my territory was rubbing and when i showed it to the dealer they apologised, gave me a courtesy mondeo for a week while the affected areas were repaired, repainted and adjusted back to spec. no questions asked and u cant tell its been repaired at all. the car was returned washed and vacummed, the dealer showed me the work they carried out and left a customer satisfaction survey on the passenger seat for me to rate the service.

and much as i hate hyundai one of the guys at work has a elante and he put a spoiler on and then mentioned to the dealer the boot slams shut. no problemo they fitted uprated springs upder warranty! no questions asked. and it was an aftermarket spoiler!

thats pathetic of mits to have paint flake on a 3 yr old car

thats pathetic of mits to have paint flake on a 3 yr old car

Paint flake is an understatement. I'll try take some pics cause I am beside myself how much of the clear coat has come off on an area that doesn't get touched... except by air...

and much as i hate hyundai one of the guys at work has a elante and he put a spoiler on and then mentioned to the dealer the boot slams shut. no problemo they fitted uprated springs upder warranty! no questions asked. and it was an aftermarket spoiler!

Yep, got to agree with Hyundai warranty and service being exceptional. When I had my 07 Accent, I had issues with door trim scratching easily, they replaced all my door trims under warranty without any question. They could of easily said that it was wear and tear, but they replaced it anyway. Luckily the new door trims didn't scratch as much.

alright. So i took mine in for an inspection today at the place who applied the paint protection and with out me even saying anything he looked at the damage and said its lime that has leaked onto the roof more then likely from an underground car park that leaks when it rains then asked where i park my car. I said in an underground car park but i dont park where it leaks as i know its not good for the paint work. He said it doesnt take much to do it, even just driving under a leak that hits the paint work as you pass will do that to the paint work with the water sitting on the roof all day while im at work even if i dont park directly under the leaking concrete. I now have to get a qoute from a body repair shop and give the bill to the body corporate of the builing and seeing what they are prepared to do in regards to repairs as there is a spot on bonnet and boot aswell as the roof. So currently not happy

Does your "paint protection" warranty have an exclusion clause for underground car parks leaking limey water? I doubt it. Paint protection is supposed to protect your paint, no matter what, after all. Sounds like a copout to me. Body corporate will just give you the runaround as well.

There are some lime and scale removers around that might be worth a try.

Paint protection needs to be applied every 6 month to maintain the warranty.

he said their warranty only applies to natural things, tree sap bird droppings ect. He did try removing it with a product, not sure what it was but it wasn't doing anything for it.

If its just a layer of dried up lime, try a scale and lime remover. Vinegar would work too.

he said their warranty only applies to natural things, tree sap bird droppings ect. He did try removing it with a product, not sure what it was but it wasn't doing anything for it.

Check your warranty. If this is true, it would exclude a lot of things and make the warranty pretty useless.

the company that mine is with is wax guard and requires re application every 4 years from initial application or when ever they think its due when they do their inspection which is due every 24 months from application date.

Life's a bitch!
For that to happen to someone who obviously loves their car. Words fail me. Commiserations mate.

Good luck with paint claim, MMAL would not cover the window mouldings around the rear side glass on my wagon.

At 2 years old they had lost all of the black finish and were cracking., it was blamed on the environment and being exposed to the sun all the time, which it was not. All the other rubbers were perfect? Personally I blame local manufacture as I'm sure this part would have been Australian sourced being a wagon which was an Australian development, whereas the rest are probably Jap.

I was not the original owner either so hard to fight it not knowing how exactly it had been treated in the past. I also tried for paint under warranty but it was blamed on Bat Droppings which we did have a lot ofbats but the cars was under cover and well kept. Once again not being the original purchaser i could not conclusively eliminate if that had occurred.

I had the steering wheel replaced after it became unbonded. Coincidentally this occurrred immediatedly after it spent 30 days baking in the NT sun at the dealership waiting for a new crank pulley. They could have denied that as it's exposed whenever you drive but they did not.

They won't cover damage due to the environment but where are the lines drawn?

So I hope you have a win but this will be a tough one.

Sunlight destroying windscreen trim? Bat droppings? Dribbley underground car parks? Don't MMAL do field testing anymore?

Where is the line drawn? Just out of reach, it seems! SCORE: Dealer 1, owner 0.

I wonder if Mitsu dealers are any better on warranty claims on current models?

Kif I wouldnt bother trying the BC they will just tell you to !~@#$% off

Wax guard should be fitting the bill

however paint protection is a contentious thing as I feel it is a rip off and others feel it is the best thing since slice bread

however paint protection is a contentious thing as I feel it is a rip off and others feel it is the best thing since slice bread

Yes, reminds me of the now extinct racket in rustproofing new cars. They promised a lot, but didn't deliver on warranty claims either. They just drilled some holes, sprayed fish oil in box sections, and put in some plastic plugs.
Warranty claims? "You - or a previous owner - must have driven the car on a beach somewhere! Go away!" lol

Kif I wouldnt bother trying the BC they will just tell you to !~@#$% off

Wax guard should be fitting the bill

however paint protection is a contentious thing as I feel it is a rip off and others feel it is the best thing since slice bread
Had a meeting today with one of our engineers and took him for a walk down to the car park where the leaks were still dropping from the roof and we haven't had any rain since yesterday and came across where i USED to park right above were what can only be described as multiple iceicle looking things hanging from the roof above where i once parked when i first brought the car 2 years ago now. Engineer was dumb founded cause he said they fixed it. Then found the same stuff leaking onto one of the company ve's and said its apparent that it is the leaking water mixed with the lime in the cement being the cause of it, he sent me upto upstairs for a meeting with HR and the General Manager and they are going to discuss the course of action required for repairs to car park and my paint work which im hoping they approve. Fingers crossed for me!


Edit: i also found out that the paint on another one of our engineers black GTO Monaro was also damaged by the lime leaking through the cement, his still on holidays so i am not sure if his car got repaired or not.

Good result if they will wear it. It should be covered under their insurance.

Good result if they will wear it. It should be covered under their insurance.

or they might decide Kif is a bit of a troublemaker and make his life difficult. lol

A couple of coats of bituminous paint should stop the leaks. The lime sludge will just start oozing out the sides of the concrete slab after a while. lol
It's a problem with many underground car parks, best avoided if possible.

update. I got a quote for the repairs and handed it to HR then she handed it to the general manager who wasn't at all impressed with the quote and said he would let me know in a few days time. I got called back upstairs the next day where HR said the general manager doesn't think they are liable and therefor he said he was being quite fair in going 50/50 for repairs to my car, i said that it was disappointing but is better then nothing. I went to thank the GM then he said to come in and shut the door as his changed his mind about fixing my car, he went on saying how they can see potential in me rah rah rah and has agreed to pay 100% of the repairs to fix my car which was a whole re spray. Cannot tell you how happy i was hearing that! So a full re spray is underway in the next few weeks. :)

'potential' is a wonderful thing. I had some once according to the missus. lol

I hope they fix the roof in the car park before you get the paint on the car fixed!

Great result!

However, let this be a lesson to all of us re paint. I had no idea that underground car parks might have this problem and have warned other members of my family. Mitsubishi has a valid point in their reluctance to pay out on paint damage. For instance my previoius manager had a Pajero with the grey colour similiar to the 380. It too had deteriorating paints spots all over it. He complained and got nowhere.
Now, in light of this thread, I realise he used to park it regularly between the Brisbane Airport car park and the city office carpark which is underground. In retrospect, I've got no doubt that was the cause, when I remember how it looked.

Here's your chance to get the black 380 you want!

Ask them to respray it in black!

Might be pushing your luck a bit though.

Time for a black roof perhaps?

the car park only leaks in one spot which i don't park near anymore. Am thinking about the black roof but it would be too much work to do the whole car. HR at work joked around saying instead of giving everyone at work a gift voucher for christmas they'll just buy everyone tarps to cover their cars with! She did say to not say anything about her joke to anyone as she could get in shit lol

Good luck with the respray. Got me worried... my company is relocating late this year/early next year to new site that features 2 underground parking levels. Currently car is only "undercover" by way of a roof-top parking level above it.