Technical Fiat 500 Collezione

[Fletch1954]

Has anyone recently purchase a new Collezione in the two tone grey and cream colour?
When the sun shines do you get wavy white marks appearing on the bonnet?
We have been told that the lines are just a reflection from the chrome strip on the bonnet but, if so, why do the lines look like water marks?
We're not getting much joy from the dealership and have raised a case with Fiat customer care.
Is this a problem with just our car or is it a general issue with the Collezione?

 

[John202020]

Temporarily cover the chrome strip and see what appears or not?

 

[306maxi]

Temporarily cover the chrome strip and see what appears or not?

What he said.

 

[alexGS]

Looks like sun reflections to me. The surface of the chromed plastic is not completely smooth, so the reflections (at an acute angle) have differing lengths.

The chrome bonnet strip was an option in the early days of the 500 but not many people paid the extra to have it fitted. There was also an optional chrome trim for the front bumper intended to evoke memories of the bar used for fitting auxiliary rally lights.

https://goo.gl/images/YNU8H8

It has to be said that as faults go, this isn’t a particularly major one

-Alex

 

[Fletch1954]

Hi Alex
You, and Fiat, may not consider this to be a major fault but to us it completely spoils the looks of the car. If we'd seen it either before placing the order or on delivery we would have walked away from the deal.
I accept that the chrome will reflect sunlight but the imperfections in the chrome are really magnified and look unsightly. To me its either a defective chrome strip or, if the imperfections are unavoidable in manufacture, its a design fault

 

[jrkitching]

Hi Alex
You, and Fiat, may not consider this to be a major fault but to us it completely spoils the looks of the car. If we'd seen it either before placing the order or on delivery we would have walked away from the deal.

Whilst some may consider this to be a minor cosmetic fault, the 500 collezione is not cheap and if I'd paid that much for a new car, I'd want it perfect. (I'm assuming you bought the car brand new).

Is the fault with the trim strip itself, or the adjacent paintwork? - it's not that easy to see from your photo.

IIRC the so-called 'chrome strip' is actually metallised plastic and is stuck on with adhesive; removal with a hot air gun should be straightforward, should you want to change it.

If the adjacent paintwork is discoloured, then it could be due to a reaction between the adhesive and the paint, before the latter is fully cured.

 

[306maxi]

Hi Alex
You, and Fiat, may not consider this to be a major fault but to us it completely spoils the looks of the car. If we'd seen it either before placing the order or on delivery we would have walked away from the deal.
I accept that the chrome will reflect sunlight but the imperfections in the chrome are really magnified and look unsightly. To me its either a defective chrome strip or, if the imperfections are unavoidable in manufacture, its a design fault

Have you covered up the strip to see whether the effect is indeed the light being reflected off the chrome strip?

If it is a reflection, you may want to check what other cars are like. If they’re all as yours is, then it probably isn’t a design fault or a manufacturing fault, but merely a limitation of cheaply applying chrome to a cheaply moulded part which Fiat don’t pay a huge amount for.

 

[jrkitching]

If it is a reflection, you may want to check what other cars are like. If they’re all as yours is, then it probably isn’t a design fault or a manufacturing fault, but merely a limitation of cheaply applying chrome to a cheaply moulded part which Fiat don’t pay a huge amount for.

I'm not a fan of stick on metallised plastic bits; they're never going to be long term durable. It's only a matter of time before they tarnish, discolour, crack, chip, pit, suffer water ingress between the chrome and plastic or just plain come loose and detach in a car wash.

 

[Fletch1954]

Yes its brand new - only had the car a couple of weeks. I agree the car should be perfect.
I don't know enough about paintwork to say one way or the other. The dealership say its reflection and so do their pet body shop!
Whether it is reflection or not is not the point - the car should not look like that in sunlight.
I'd like to know if there are any other Collezione owners who have the same experience as us

 

[jrkitching]

Whereabouts are you based? There may be someone here who can take a look at it for you and give you a considered opinion.

 

[Fletch1954]

I'm not a fan of stick on metallised plastic bits; they're never going to be long term durable. It's only a matter of time before they tarnish, discolour, crack, chip, pit, suffer water ingress between the chrome and plastic or just plain come loose and detach in a car wash.

So basically you're saying if it is reflection its only going to get worse!

 

[Fletch1954]

Temporarily cover the chrome strip and see what appears or not?

Hi John
You live not far from me and probably know the dealership we got the car from (RH at S'link).
I'm no expert and so would welcome any independent opinion if you're able to meet up and cast an eye over the car - unfortunately the marks (or reflection) are only visible in sunlight though!

 

[AndyRKett]

Some people above did comment to ask if you block the light does the affect on the bonnet go away.

Next time you see it shade the chrome strip with your hand and see if the paintwork adjacent to the strip still shows the same effect.

You could even take a picture with a portion of the strip shaded so we can get a better idea of what’s going on

 

[Fletch1954]

The dealership has suggested removing the chrome strip, which is glued on, but I'm concerned that the bonnet paintwork could be damaged.
At the very least I would want to thoroughly inspect the finish and, if needs be, demand that the bonnet be fully re-sprayed. Also would want something in writing to confirm that the bodywork warranty is still valid.
I haven't agreed to anything yet.
Has anyone got any views on this potential solution?

 

[AndyRKett]

Has anyone got any views on this potential solution?

Yes I made this suggestion as did others above but you've not commented to reply to any of these suggestions

Some people above did comment to ask if you block the light does the effect on the bonnet go away.

The strip will be held on with a piece of sticky foam. Many trim pieces are held on in this way and they can be easily removed without causing any damage to the paint and without invalidating any bodywork warranty, seems like you are going to war with your dealership over something which, to be honest, is fairly trivial.

Remember you'll have to take the car back for warranty work if its ever needed and you might want it serviced with them and looked after by them if you intend to keep the bodywork warranty and dealer service history. How you treat them now may come back to bite you further down the road. Be nice, work with them and decide what you want and what is reasonable to keep both parties happy, preferably without making irrational demands.

 

[306maxi]

The dealership has suggested removing the chrome strip, which is glued on, but I'm concerned that the bonnet paintwork could be damaged.
At the very least I would want to thoroughly inspect the finish and, if needs be, demand that the bonnet be fully re-sprayed. Also would want something in writing to confirm that the bodywork warranty is still valid.
I haven't agreed to anything yet.
Has anyone got any views on this potential solution?

As Andy said, why haven’t you actually done as was asked and checked whether the pattern is coming from the chrome strip?

That’s the first question.

Secondly you need to find out what it’s like on other cars, is yours bad? Is yours good?

Stop ignoring people’s requests! Listen! Don’t ask for help and then dismiss the help that you’re given. There’s a term for that sort of person ona. Forum, they’re called an ‘askhole’.

 

[Super Uwe]

I zoomed in on your photo and I agree it's annoying to look at. But as others have said, the quickest thing to do now is cover the edge of the chrome strip to see if it is a reflection or an actual fault with the paint. That's all you can do for now.

Anyway, hopefully there will be some other Collezione owners out there who can verify the same problem or not.

 

[Fletch1954]

As Andy said, why haven’t you actually done as was asked and checked whether the pattern is coming from the chrome strip?

That’s the first question.

Secondly you need to find out what it’s like on other cars, is yours bad? Is yours good?

Stop ignoring people’s requests! Listen! Don’t ask for help and then dismiss the help that you’re given. There’s a term for that sort of person ona. Forum, they’re called an ‘askhole’.

Hi 306
Just because I haven't replied to every post doesn't mean I've ignored or dismissed them.
Yes it does look like the issue is reflection off the chrome. I accept that you're going to get reflection off a shiny surface. However, whether its because the chrome has imperfections or maybe even the effects of light reflecting onto the metallic paintwork, or maybe a combination of a number of things, I would not expect to see a squiggly white line across the bonnet whenever the sun shines - the only way I can describe it is that it looks like a watermark.
My initial post asked whether there were any other Collezione owners out there who have experienced the same issue - as yet I've not had any replies.
I am no expert which is why I'm asking other people's views.

 

[Fletch1954]

Yes I made this suggestion as did others above but you've not commented to reply to any of these suggestions



The strip will be held on with a piece of sticky foam. Many trim pieces are held on in this way and they can be easily removed without causing any damage to the paint and without invalidating any bodywork warranty, seems like you are going to war with your dealership over something which, to be honest, is fairly trivial.

Remember you'll have to take the car back for warranty work if its ever needed and you might want it serviced with them and looked after by them if you intend to keep the bodywork warranty and dealer service history. How you treat them now may come back to bite you further down the road. Be nice, work with them and decide what you want and what is reasonable to keep both parties happy, preferably without making irrational demands.

Thanks Andy
The issue definitely looks to be reflection off the chrome. But the appearance of the reflected line is certainly not trivial. They are squiggly lines resembling watermarks right across the bonnet so therefore "in your face", not a straightforward reflection off the shiny surface. I think its unacceptable for a brand new limited edition car.
If we'd seen these reflections in the showroom we would have walked away from the deal straight away.
My only concern about removing the strip is that it may not come off cleanly or maybe leave a mark in the paintwork that looks worse than the original issue. You obviously think that it shouldn't be a problem so thanks for that advice.

 

[Fletch1954]

I zoomed in on your photo and I agree it's annoying to look at. But as others have said, the quickest thing to do now is cover the edge of the chrome strip to see if it is a reflection or an actual fault with the paint. That's all you can do for now.

Anyway, hopefully there will be some other Collezione owners out there who can verify the same problem or not.

We now think its reflection, but very unsightly. Maybe imperfections in the chrome are magnified. Maybe its made to look worse by the metallic paint. Whatever, its not acceptable for a brand new limited edition car.
My initial post asked whether there were any other Collezione owners with the same problem but so far I've had no replies to that question.