Hi there everyone!

I am the proud owner of a 2003 LWB 2.8 Ducato camper van.

The van was bought from I.H.Campers in 2003 for a load of money!

The colour of the vehicle is "COBALT BLUE".. I think!

Right- down to business!

I have not bothered washing the roof of the van all last year.. poor summer and couldn't be bothered with the step ladder etc.

Last week I got up there to give the roof a good wash and a wax only to find that all the paint is coming off in flakes!

Looking closely you can see that it's the whole of the roof area that is peeling leaving a white van underneath!

I.H.Campers say that it is after all six years old so it's well out of warranty so it's just "one of those things"!

They can do the work for a measerly £960 plus vat!.. any suggestions?

hi i have the same problem with my ducato jtdvan except min is flaking across the front and the roof. i have been in touch with fiat dealers at tonbridge who contacted fiat direct who said that it was not in the warranty plus the warranty had run out. i do not know how long paint warranty are on vans but all i know is that there is definately a problem with the paint . ps i have also been told by fiat dealers that it has got to be stripped right back to bare metal before being repainted perhaps some one else could shed some light n this problem

Hi
I also have a major problem with the roof paintwork peeling on my Trigano Tribute. I have had it from new since 2006 and really looked after it.
A commercial paint specialist tells me it is a problem that has arisen at point application. Fiat have been very unhelpful in their responsibilities and refuse to assist with the cost of repairs.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Have you got any suggestions on bringing pressure to bear on Fiat.

Flaking / Peeling Fiat Paint Like a Rash.!

Hi I have owned since 2007, A 2006 - 34,000 F i a t Ducatto JTD11 van that has problem's with Flaking paint Like a Rash all over the Roof , the Bonnet and now coming on the side panels. I got nowhere by chasing F i a t as they do not want to Know!! However the law of the land in The UK is that If you purchased your Vehicle by using a Finance Company ie Hire Purchase then you have rights as the Finance company own the vehicle until your final payment this right last for 6 years from the date that you purchased your vehicle. I tried to get the finance company to address the problems however they tried to duck and dive and get out of there responsibility so I withheld my final 5 payments having paid just over £9,000 of a £10,000 agreement leaving approx £1,100. the finance company made a small claim trough the courts. So I counter claimed for the total cost of a complete Respray . I have a motor engineers report stating that the, problem was in the manufacturing process as the paint had not been bonded properly basically F i a t are at fault but don't want to address the problem by taking the finance company to task you have a much better chance of winning and then the Finance company will need to take it up with F i a t .. I have had a 10 minute hearing so far at which the finance company tried to get it thrown out the judge set it aside for a two hour hearing as he felt that the Finance company had a case to answer to. I have since seen a solicitor as the finance company have applied to bring the case forward to get a summary Judgement. I would be very interested in anyone else that has a problem with Flaking paint on their Vehicle as it IS a manufacturing problem and if we can swap info etc it may just make F i a t sit up and take account for there faulty manufacturing . Messsage me.

Mines just the same.. except now theres hardly any paint left on the bonnet (well i have done 282k on the motorway ) and the roof is going the same way, touch wood the rest of the van seems ok.

One good thing is though i suppose, theres no paint hardly left but theres no rust, so at least the body material is decent enough, unlike alot of other vans i see

Re: Flaking / Peeling Fiat Paint Like a Rash.!

My 2005 Fiat Ducato motorhome (converted by Timberland) has the same problem. Paint started flaking off about 2 years ago and it now looks a complete mess. As Fiat only offer a 3 year warrantee I now have to foot the cost of a complete respray but reading the above posts this may not solve the problem as the new paint could flake off too. Is the problem the compatibility with the primer.
Would I buy another Fiat - DEFINITELY NO. With only 35.000 miles on the clock the Ducato has already had 2 replacement gearboxes, the last one at my expens and now the paint flaking off. I am appalled at Fiat's washing their hands on both these issues. I cannot wait to get rid of it!

Same flaky paint problem with our silver 2007 Trigano camper. Can't believe it. Never thought to test the paintwork before we bought it. Fiat really ought to pay to rectify the problem. It goes beyond the usual consumer expectation / rights issue surely. We never thought we needed to specify that we wanted a vehicle where the paint stays on!! Has anyone actually had the problem resolved at all?

Hi,

My van is a 2005 SWB, was painted silver. All the paint came off the roof so i finished it off by using my airline. just white primer then. Then I painted the whole van green. reason for the paint flaking off, they use water base paint which is rubbish.

Simon.

As above to a degree. It is due to the earlier water based paint technology. They were water based base coats to colour - yet laquer had to be solvent. This meant their was water trapped between the laquer and body - which steamed itself off in hot weather!

Most manufacturers now use a 'breathable' laquer which combats this.

57 LWB 35K yes its a camper.
roof started to peel. most vans of this age will be off the road by now or at least on their last legs so who is going to worry about a few motor-homers.

last spring i used a pressure washer and a bit of paint came off - put that down to me being stupid.(who ever heard of using a pressure washer on a van)
this year just a soapy brush and hose and a fair bit more has come off - mainly in the valleys between the ribs.

going to find a can of spray paint to patch it up.

is fiat going to do anything? - dont be silly! dont stress just fix it - lifes to short.

bern

My 2007 camper van suffers from the same problem. In fact, here in Croatia nearly all X250 Ducato vans have paint damage on the bonnet and above the windscreen, probably because of the piercing sun in the summer. When on the road long enough, they all end up greenish gray.