Issues with my 2...

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2011 Mazda 2
I'm wondering if anyone has had similar issues with their 2. I purchased mine last September. I do drive a lot with my job as it ticked over 31k this month. In that time I've received a bunch of rock chips in the paint. Much more than any car I've owned before. Also as of last Friday 2 chips in the glass. The first one was fixed at no charge with my insurance. As I was driving this last Friday another pebble was kicked up and hit the top part of the windshield. I thought it hit the roof so I didn't pay any mind as I didn't see a chip or crack while driving. I stopped at my location. When I left about a minute later what ended up being a chip in the glass turned into a foot long crack that isn't covered under my insurance. I already have to replace my glass. I've hit birds in previous cars with nothing but stories to tell and no damage to those cars. Is this car just built with one layer of paint and super thin glass? I'm starting to get a little disappointed in my purchase and am unfortunately thinking about trading it in for something else. Any thoughts?
 
I just replaced my glass 6 months ago. A motorcycle kicked up a rock on mine instantaneous 1ft crack! Heater was up and it was cold outside. So I called a local glass company got a 2 for 1 deal because my 5 needed one also and f@$k insurance! It was cheaper out of pocket and won't mess with my premium.
 
I'm going to end up doing the same thing if I end up keeping the car. I called a few places. 1 place quoted 320. The other was 160. Amazing the difference in pricing between places.
 
Get used to rock chips in the paint. Sadly, Mazda's paint seems to be pretty prone to them -- I have a ton of them on the front end of our 3. I installed some of the 3M clear film on the front edge of the hood, and it helps a bit, but I wish I had just done the whole front end of the car.
 
Dont feel bad. I've come to realize that all paints chip. I have a brand new Dodge as well and it already has 2 chips in the hood paint. My last 2 hondas chipped and on the honda forums everybody complains about cheap honda paint. My last vehicle was a Nissan titan and it had chips down to the metal even on the tailgate! who knows how that one got there. I have geico and added window replacement and in the last 5 years i've used it 4 times on 2 cars. It seems the more we baby our cars the more they become targets for door dings, chips, and mishaps.
 
blame eco-friendly paint standards (remember the 1st gen neons that lost basically all of their paint after a few years...that was the start of it). My 2 is riddled after one year and 18k miles...bought the touchup paint...was desperately needed.
Funny thing is when I had a blue 3 hatch, 2nd day I owned it, it got demolished by a moron in a dakota...BUT...the local mazda shop did an incredible job and the paint that they used (or just more of it\crap ton of clear?) that thing was chip proof and done a lot better than factory after that.
 
There is no reason why the cracked glass would not be covered. If you have Comprehensive cov then it is covered, period.
 
Stop tailgating, just pass them ! ! !<LOL> Just kidding.

Actually, the newer paint is much better in terms of longevity than a lot of the older paints. However, it is applied very thinnly which is a cost saving measure not a measure of the paint quality itself.

No chips of any significance in my silver 2 after 20K miles, but I pass fast.

John
 
I'm curious to hear which manufacturers offer higher quality paint that's less prone to chipping from road debris. In my opinion, you go on any forum and you will have someone complaining about how the paint chips incredibly easily.
 
They all attempt to save $$$$ where they believe it doesn't show. Hence the thin paint.

I would hope that the Big Dollar car manufacturers like Lexus, Mercedes, etc, might be better, but I wouldn't count on it.

A re-spray by a good body shop at 5 years would do wonders for longevity. Years ago, I had a guy back into my wife's car (fender and door). I sprung to have the rest of the car re-sprayed and it made an incredible difference in durability. The primer used by body shops is thick and has a cushioning effect, reducing chips.

John
 
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You should see what a weekend of road racing will do to the paint on a Mazda 2. All it takes is one car cutting into the dirt on a corner and you get showered with rocks, dirt, etc. I will try to remember to take a picture of the 2 next time it gets off the track and show you guys.

-Derrick
 
Just think of it as a lightweight paint job. An extra coat or two would probably be at least an extra 15 lbs I'd think. Put a clear bra on the front if it bothers you.

Derrick - I just saw an advertisement in GRM for racers tape. Clear thick tape you can apply to reduce chips and whatnot. Should be useful for non-racers on long road trips as well. You may want to check it out.
 
Just think of it as a lightweight paint job. An extra coat or two would probably be at least an extra 15 lbs I'd think. Put a clear bra on the front if it bothers you.

Derrick - I just saw an advertisement in GRM for racers tape. Clear thick tape you can apply to reduce chips and whatnot. Should be useful for non-racers on long road trips as well. You may want to check it out.

If we get the front end of the car re-sprayed I will look at doing the clear tape path.

-Derrick
 
Derrick - I just saw an advertisement in GRM for racers tape. Clear thick tape you can apply to reduce chips and whatnot. Should be useful for non-racers on long road trips as well. You may want to check it out.

Just use two layers of blue painter's tape. I do that for road trips. It won't stop big rocks, but does a great job preventing normal rock chips.
 
I'd rather get a rock chip than have blue tape on my car for a road trip. But I'm happy to use it for auto-x and rally-x (though I haven't done that in awhile, and probably won't in the 2). Actually with the 2, I've got to use yellow tape now for #s since blue doesn't stand out enough against SG. It really bugs me that black painters tape isn't readily available.
 
Yea I completely forgot about the green frogtape! That would be perfect. It would have to be a pretty long roadtrip though for me to bother with it though. We're taking the 5 on a long trip in november, I'll see if my wife wants to go that route for protection. That racers tape still looks really good to me (but wayyyy more expensive).
 
Our M2 is too new to have a chip, BUT my wife's 04 Accord's paint is GARBAGE - clear coat peeling off like sunburned skin. Seems no car today can take any abuse...
 
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