Paint blistering
Discussion
I had exactly the same issue as the OP - about the same size etc. Car was under Premium Warranty and it was handled without any fuss. I think this is subject to your dealer and the Factory... There are lots of contrasting stories and I suspect that I was lucky to have it done without any fuss. Some face a flat refusal while others are offered a 50/50 deal whereby half is paid by the customer and it goes to an approved paint shop... which is at a premium.
After using a magnet, I think I am correct saying that only the rear quarter panels are made of steel. As alloy and glass fibre cannot corrode, the warranty does not seem to be of much help.
As you say hanny1973, this topic has been oft repeated. It was suggested once that there might be a pattern to the blister problem, possibly by paint preparation process changes, or sometimes by special order colours which might be dealt with differently. It was also hoped that the problem might had been overcome at a certain date.
Would you therefore mind saying the Model Year of you own car?
Jon39 said:
After using a magnet, I think I am correct saying that only the rear quarter panels are made of steel. As alloy and glass fibre cannot corrode, the warranty does not seem to be of much help.
As you say hanny1973, this topic has been oft repeated. It was suggested once that there might be a pattern to the blister problem, possibly by paint preparation process changes, or sometimes by special order colours which might be dealt with differently. It was also hoped that the problem might had been overcome at a certain date.
Would you therefore mind saying the Model Year of you own car?
Yep only steel on rear quartersAs you say hanny1973, this topic has been oft repeated. It was suggested once that there might be a pattern to the blister problem, possibly by paint preparation process changes, or sometimes by special order colours which might be dealt with differently. It was also hoped that the problem might had been overcome at a certain date.
Would you therefore mind saying the Model Year of you own car?
Yep its not corrosion and is a prep problem
Good question on the model year!
Philip0 said:
So, as afar as PHers know, does AM head office have a policy on these paint blistering issues, or is all down to the negotiation of the owners and goodwill on the franchise network?
Now that, is a REALLY good question! I suspect it's the latter... and it all depends on where you are at, age of vehicle, whether it's on an extended warranty (I know this shouldn't matter), who the car was bought from, service history, and the list goes on. Perhaps this shouldn't hold sway but I sense it does - though I stand by to be corrected.I must of got them on a good day. Car was just under 6 years old and not bought fm main dealer. Had paint bubbles appear in several places so contacted AM customer service. They put me onto AM Walton on Thames who organised for the repairs. No cost to me and they even replaced windscreen which they broke when taking it out. Sale of Goods act means something should be fit for purpose. Respray on a 5 year old car isn't acceptable regardless of warranty. Aounds like I got lucky given the response to most on here.
Jon39 said:
After using a magnet, I think I am correct saying that only the rear quarter panels are made of steel. As alloy and glass fibre cannot corrode, the warranty does not seem to be of much help.
As you say hanny1973, this topic has been oft repeated. It was suggested once that there might be a pattern to the blister problem, possibly by paint preparation process changes, or sometimes by special order colours which might be dealt with differently. It was also hoped that the problem might had been overcome at a certain date.
Would you therefore mind saying the Model Year of you own car?
It's a 2007 black Vantage Roadster. The response from Aston this morning....As you say hanny1973, this topic has been oft repeated. It was suggested once that there might be a pattern to the blister problem, possibly by paint preparation process changes, or sometimes by special order colours which might be dealt with differently. It was also hoped that the problem might had been overcome at a certain date.
Would you therefore mind saying the Model Year of you own car?
''We would need to have the car inspected by an Aston Martin approved bodyshop and a quote for repair raised, then we can submit this to Aston Martin for their consideration.
Paint warranty on a new car is 3 years so your car would be outside of this, but we may be able to get a goodwill contribution from Aston Martin toward the repair.''
It would be good to understand what the cost would be before I take it there.
I did the same. AMW identified the small blister on my 2007 DB9's door handle but did not offer to fix it. I called AM Customer Service in Gaydon who explained I should go through AMW or a main dealer and they would know the procedure. As AMW didn't seem interested and they had the car all last week, I then tried Lancaster (no reply, so I assumed also not interested) and then Grange, who were very helpful. Grange's AM approved body shop called me and explained that the AM approved body shop will assess the problem, then send a photo of the blister to AM head office, who have a budget for this "recognised problem". They assess the problem on a case-by-case basis, taking account the age, mileage and condition of the car and then, if they consider it appropriate, they provide a contribution to the approved body shop to fix it. So there is a "procedure", but it's "woolly".
I have been fortunate so far with this problem on my own car, so can only mention a few points that I have read here in the past.
There have been some comments along the lines of, double the bill and then receive a 50% contribution.
Some posters have just used a body shop of their choice, at a much lower cost.
If you happen to be in the south east, a body shop in the Crawley area has several times been praised by Paddy, who is a detailer used by some of the AM PH members.
Hope that might be of help to you. Blistering is just not expected on these cars. It is a poor show. One of my daily drivers is a very ordinary vehicle, soon to be age 20, all original shiny paintwork and not one blister.
Best of luck having the problem fixed.
Edited by Jon39 on Monday 30th March 20:24
hanny1973 said:
... has anyone else suffered from the same issue? Presumably this is covered by a paint warranty??...
I would think about 6,000 people thus far 
The contribution will almost certainly take the cost of the repair down to that of a competent body shop. So I'd take it to a competent body shop and have them repair it instead
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