ClubCJ - The CJ Lancer Club

Hi all,

I'm really tempted to pick up a new white Lancer SX this weekend- can't believe the prices dealers are offering it for.

Pretty sold on the car except for random comments I've seen around about paint chips. Some say it will chip on the ride home, others saying it takes a bit of gravel. I've even heard stories that birdshit will leave marks after a few hours. Figure all cars need to be kept clean but some of this sounds a bit extreme and would really spoil the 'new car' feeling.

Can anyone tell me if these stories are just one-offs or an old model or anything like that? It'd really help push me over the edge and pick one up and if it's just a care thing I wasn't planning on neglecting the thing anyway.

stone chips?, any car can get stone chips, usually caused by gravel.

birdshit, no, batshit, yes.

The paint on the Lancers are quite thin unfortunately so you will probably experience a higher chance of rock chips compared to other cars. How much/often this occurs will be based on how often you drive at high speeds and also on unsealed roads. An upside for you if you decide to go with a white sx is that the primer is also white, meaning that rock chips for you wont be too obvious.

To give you a means of comparison I've owned my car for around 6 months and I've touched up perhaps a handful of rock chips (being the ones that I have noticed...perhaps theres more on the car). I also own a black car so I guess if you get a white one, they will be quite hard for you to notice.

You'll be ok with white. Easiest colour to use touch up paint on etc.

Mines black, and has about 5 chips on the bonnet and one on the rim of a door thats rusting.
And the scratches around the door handles are starting to get really bad.
And its only done 15,000kms...

i have a silver colour lancer and have a few paint chips on the bonnet,and a few on the side skirts,but my previous car (08 corolla) had heaps of chips as well. Cant say the lancer is worse for paint,but as Jake stated,white is the best colour if your concerned about getting stone chips etc..

I have a white lancer you can see the stone chips but only if you look really close i have a few the colour i can see under mine are like a grey but you can barely see them from a quick up close glance only if you continuously stare and look for them but white is deffinantly an easier colour to colour match

Mine are grey underneath too. It almost looks like plastic rather than an undercoat or anything.

Very noticeable on a black car...

Yeah same here... I have an Effect Grey CJ and the primer is slightly lighter than the colour. It does chip like a bitch (if a bitch can chip) but I think of places I've been and trucks around me so it is understandable.

I think its something thats unavoidable especailly if you do a lot of country driving or around trucks. Was thinking of getting the car bra,but im not sure if its worth it considering i travel interstate only once a year.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm thinking White or Effect Grey so will have to decide how much I think it'd bother me. I'd potentially be taking a trip out of town 2 or 3 times a year along a lot of unsealed road.

Buy a car bra.

I don't have any chips other than the ones on my bonnet and that one on my door as far as I know... And I've driven on gravel and similar at speeds I probably shouldnt have.

Unsealed roads aren't the problem, its rocks flicked up by other cars/trucks that are.

And if you're really paranoid about the unsealed roads get the front mudguards

Had the car since May last year, only did around 8000kms so far, been on a few road trips (i'm from Sydney) going to Mudgee, Geelong, Brisbane, Hunter Valley, Port Stephens, Canberra to enjoy the car...

No paint chips. And I do really look over the car really carefully everytime I do my weekly cleaning or just everytime I walk by the car I go thru it very carefully because of the paint chip stories. So far nothing.

besides, stone chips on a rally bred car are a badge of honour

Thought u would have said that Steve, a car bra wouldn't help me unless it covers the whole car, I got a few chips on the roof and 1 on the spoiler