Help From the fourm

[GTx]

Ok folks here is my story and I would like your thoughts.

I got my GT in January. With less than 50 miles I was the unfortunate recipiant of a small crack in the front facia. I contacted a dealer (over 100 miles from my home) ordered the part and brought my old one to them to match when paiting the new one. 8 weeks and several trips to the dealer later they have not been able to match the color of the paint or the white stripe. At this point I am a little frustrated and call GT support. Now two weeks after I started that process I have an offer. For $2,500 I can have a new factory painted front facia; but wait there are a few strings attached. First no warranty it will match my car. Second no warranty it will not get damaged in shipping. Third it is being painted by Saleen (not Ford?). Should I find another dealer to paint it or pay to have Saleen do it??

 

[TEXAS GT]

Is the crack a result of an accident or a warranty issue? If it's warranty, you shouldn't be having these problems. If it's on you, take it somewhere else. Matching the color shouldn't be that hard at a quality body shop.

 

[ByeEnzo]

When my car was getting fixed after the mechanic had an "off' it, I had a nose cover sent here in primer. The body shop did an excellent job in matching the white with blue stripe. I was told by Ford GT guys in Detroit that having it painted locally would insure a better match, including have the stripes line up right. If they do the stripes up there, when the nose is put back on your car, it may not line up exactly. Get a good body shop to do it locally. AC

 

[AZGT]

I would assume you saw the links about colors? Maybe this will help if you share it with Ford.

If the car was "new", why is it your issue?

http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=687&highlight=paint+codes

 

[Neilda]

I had Roush in the UK do a little remedial paintwork on my (red) GT (some small shipping damage) - they used a local body shop. A first class job was done and in a really tricky paint area too. If this is not a warranty issue have a good local body shop do it.

If you wish, mail me off Forum and let me know where you're based. I collect Aston Martins and I know many Aston enthusiasts in America (Aston owners are generally perfectionists when it comes to paintwork), I'd be happy to find out who uses who in your location.

If not, there will be a lot of good advice on this forum on good paintshops, the GT paintwork (not including stripes) is not difficult to match - we're not talking Lamborghini pearlescent paints.... but to be honest, I have no idea how the stripes are applied, which is where my knowledge starts to get a bit thin.

Good luck and do ask if you want an Aston contact..... Neil.

 

[Neilda]

Just had another thought.....

Aston Martin headquarters here in the UK are the only 'authorized' body repair company for the GT - apparently because the GT and the Aston Vanquish use similar build techniques. Why not contact Aston Martin of Dallas? I'm taking a guess you're somewhere near Dallas. The manager there is Kurt Fegraeus and his email is kurt@amdallas.com. I'm sure if you dropped him a note explaining your problem he might be able to put your GT through their bodyshop.

Just a thought....

 

[B O N Y]

Just had another thought.....

Aston Martin headquarters here in the UK are the only 'authorized' body repair company for the GT - apparently because the GT and the Aston Vanquish use similar build techniques. Why not contact Aston Martin of Dallas? I'm taking a guess you're somewhere near Dallas. The manager there is Kurt Fegraeus and his email is kurt@amdallas.com. I'm sure if you dropped him a note explaining your problem he might be able to put your GT through their bodyshop.

Just a thought....

Great advise, after all they are both Fords :biggrin , Sorry, just could not resist that remark. :lol

 

[Neilda]

Of course they're both Fords - there's no embarrassment over here about that - really.... :cheers

I am a huge supporter of Ford, it is Ford money that has put Aston Martin and Jaguar on the front cover of just about every motoring magazine in the UK. Before Ford arrived, Jaguar and Aston were dead in the water - beautiful but unreliable cars. We Brits tend to go misty eyed for the wrong reasons about our motoring heritage, yes great cars but badly run companies.

This sounds defensive, it's not meant to be. As a motoring enthusiast I can't help but praise Ford - even if the corners are a bit rough sometimes..... :thumbsup

 

[ReiKo]

Not to mention your Ford GT brakes are from Aston Martin... Look on you calipers... Aston Martin logo is stamped into the caliper...

 

[Neilda]

Is it? Are they? I didn't know that....

 

[cobrajeff]

They are Brembos, but the model was originally developed for Aston Martin - the AM logo is on the calipers. This was one of the things I found out last week during a tour of the Wixom Assy plant. We spent about three hours walking up and down the lines, getting up close to see the cars.

If the VIN of the car you're waiting for is in the high 800's, I probably saw it there. There were nearly 100 Canadian models on hand, waiting for some paperwork to clear before they ship. It was also a great opportunity to see most all combos of colors, and stripes/no stripes. The Plant guys who stayed over to give the tour were all "car guys", and quite enthusiastic about the work they're doing.

Jeff

 

[AZGT]

They are Brembos, but the model was originally developed for Aston Martin - the AM logo is on the calipers.

Looked, but don't see it. Is it obvious? :confused

 

[cobrajeff]

We saw it on the rear calipers - facing forward, near the top (unfortunately, they would not let us take cameras or cell phones with cameras on our tour). There was no wheel on the axle at the time - might be difficult to see with the rim on the car.

Jeff