Warning (Factory Car Cover)

[merc]

I purchased a factory car cover a few months ago and really liked the logo and appearance. In the last couple of weeks high winds have be in the forecast in Northern Virginia. This caused a major problem with my paint, the horror. This weekend I pulled off the cover and to my surprise my 7-month-old paint job was destroyed. All the pointy surface areas, where the car cover made contact with the car showed deep buffing. The best way to describe is like taking a nylon cloth and rubbing it thousands of times to remove the clear coat and some of the base paint, and that’s not all. Have any of you seen bag less vacuum cleaners at the store. They pick up the dirt and move it in a cyclone fashion within the canister. Well, with all the snow this year we had plenty of sand still on the streets and with high winds they moved easy under the car cover and was trapped on it’s peak, the roof of the car. If anyone owns this cover and has left it outside for any time you will notice the ballooning effect. On the top of my car, underneath the car cover, trapped sand swirled around destroying my paint. A body shop in my area estimated 5,210 dollars damage to my car. In short, that is a total re-paint of my car.

I visited my local L/M dealer this morning and my service manger feels I have a case. I was informed that the regional service manager wanted to inspect my car for damage. I will keep you posted on what happens next.

[mensrea]

good luck, let us know how it turns out

[RF Overlord]

Oh MAN, merc...

That is a major suck-blow... :( :( :(

[merc406]

What RF said ^^^^^

[ChuckB]

That's a shame. i hope the service manager can / will do something for your car.

man you gotta be careful with car covers for just that reason. you might consider using an "inside" cover even when parked outside. i'm a big fan of the tan flannel from cover craft. It's not great for dust but the inside is the same soft flannel as a sweatshirt. Keeps the sun, bird stuff off an dries pretty well when wet.

after it get's painted - no cover for a few months. let the clear coat cure completely.
Just a second experiecnce about covers. if you choose to use one AVIOD any tire shine stuff. the tire shine collects all brake dust and dirt which gets stuck to it and re-deposites it to the cover. which in turn smears tire goop and the particulate on your paint.

[martyo]

merc: Believe it or not, I had a similar situation that involved a boat rather than a car. The insurance coverage covered the damage (less the deductible which for boats is sometimes higher than for cars). Nonetheless, make a claim sooner arther than later and, in any event, before the dealer/rep takes the car cover from you for "inspection."

Let us know how you make out.

[Thomas C Potter]

I recently bought a cotton/flannel cover from Calif Car Cover, great cover, 202$ delivered. Use spring loaded C clamps on door handles to minimize blow around. I have used this same material on other cars with excellent results.

TP in Fairfax VA, Blue MM

[Bigdogjim]

merc: That does suck! Big Time
:mad2: You buy a cover to keep the MM nice and looks what happens.:help: I just picked my cover last week but did not use it yet:confused: It does suck not having a garage:mad:
Please let us know what happens.
Big Dog

[JamesHecker]

Wow! I'm glad you posted this as I have been considering getting that cover! I hope they cover the damage. Good luck!

[Mercury_Rising]

Merc-

Look at it this way- It could be a blessing in disguise. American cars espescially Ford/Mercury are notorious for their lousey paint.

Do some research for custom paint shops that specialize in restoration jobs and check out their past work. They will do the job right-a nice deep black with lots of clearcoat. Most of these privately owned shops will work with you on the price, just explain your situation to them.

If Mercury/insurance is picking up the tab, that is a bonus.

Whatever you do, do NOT let your dealer insist that they do the work. You'll just get the same thin, orange peel paint job all over again.

Good Luck!

Jay

[jgc61sr2002]

merc - Thanks for the heads up. I hope that FMC will correct the problem or as MartyO stated "you can make a claim with your ins. co" and let them fight it out with FMC. John:(

[RCSignals]

Originally posted by CrownVic1

Whatever you do, do NOT let your dealer insist that they do the work. You'll just get the same thin, orange peel paint job all over again.


That's not necessarily correct. Some dealerships, that have their own Body and paint shop, have excellent facilities and use high quality paint, such as PPG

There is no "orange peel" on the factory paint of my car.

[merc]

Thanks all for the information and support. At this time I don’t have any new information to add, but I am dreaming of Black pearl paint and 8 coats of clear coat.

[JohnnyB]

All car covers are not created equal. I would recommend either the Noah or Weathershield covers. a bit more expensive, but worth it.....

[chapel1]

Originally posted by JohnnyB
All car covers are not created equal. I would recommend either the Noah or Weathershield covers. a bit more expensive, but worth it..... The factory cover is a Weathershield Cover,I have one.
Merc, I store my car in a garage and use my cover as a dust guard.Good luck !

[merc]

Friday I got some additional information from my L/M Service Manager. He stated that the Ford Rep. asked to have a repair estimate by a local ford dealer that has a body shop. Jerry’s L/M uses a outside service, because they don’t have a body shop. Anyway, It looks like they will repair the damaged paint but I am sure how they plan on doing it. Naturally I would want the car fully painted, but this may not happen. I am still in the opening stages of the claims process and until the paint is on the metal, or the fat lady sings, it truly not over.

[MAD-3R]

Merc If you wandered around back of Jerrys, you would have seen mine :( Anyway, check Circle Auto body. They do GREAT work. Located off 606 comming out of Herndon.

[merc]

Thanks for the info. I will be looking for your car.

[chapel1]

Merc I wonder how cooperative L/M if it had'nt been a factory cover?Good Luck,it still sucks that it happened.

[RCSignals]

Originally posted by merc
Naturally I would want the car fully painted, but this may not happen.

From the damage you described, they may well have to paint the whole car

[merc]

Ok another long day at the L/M dealer. This time I was sent to Cherner L/M to have an estimate done from their body shop manager. In his professional opinion 90% of the damage was done to the clear coat and wet sanding was all that was necessary. It sounded like a great speech, but they also wanted to remove everything on the car. The estimate for this work is 3343.93, with no additional paint needed, so they say. Performance Auto Body (The other estimate) wanted to re-paint the car for 5212.55. Now Ford has supposedly everything they need from me. Let the waiting game begin.:mad2:

[MarauderMark]

glad i read this i was thinking of getting one myself.but heck im better off leaving it out side than covering it...

[CRUZTAKER]

I never caught this post....

What a shame on your damage. But let it be known, particularly with our shabby paint on the 7-02 thru 1-03 300a's, a car cover outdoors is a big no-no. As a matter of fact, a cover not specifically designed for outdoors on any car left for more than a short period of time is a no-no. Wax the car and leave it uncovered if you can't store it under some sort of overhead protection. Even the major car cover manufacturers have small print clauses regarding the elements. Look what a bra can do to a finish in the matter of a few wet periods and driving.

Not trying to flame, but, to me this was a no-brainer.

[jabird56]

There are/were 2 part numbers out there for the car cover. They discontinued one because of troubles with it. The bad one is 2W3Z-19A412-BA. Supposedly the good...better cover is 2W3Z-19A412-CA. Both are listed at FordParts.com, BA for $183.26 and the "CA" cover is $217.13

[RCSignals]

There are/were 2 part numbers out there for the car cover. They discontinued one because of troubles with it. The bad one is 2W3Z-19A412-BA. Supposedly the good...better cover is 2W3Z-19A412-CA. Both are listed at FordParts.com, BA for $183.26 and the "CA" cover is $217.13

I don't think the part numbers are "good and bad" versions. Just different materials, and one may be marked "Grand Marquis" instead of "Marauder"

[bigslim]

Someone had asked in a post sometime ago how people felt about car covers. I had commented on that post that some covers scratch the paint. Dirt and debris get under the cover and no matter how secure you put it on they still move and get some flapping. I learned this sometime ago with a car I had. It did not scratch my car because I took it off after I saw the dirt under it. I am really sorry to hear that this happened to you. I hope that others read this before they do the same thing.

[RCSignals]

Wait 'til Mac sees how old the thread is :lol:

[Bigdogjim]

Yeah RC: Chalk it up to the long cold winter months..........

[Merc-O-matic]

Merc...sorry to hear about your ride.
Hope Ford or your insurance will cover it!

Keep us posted. Good Luck. :cry:

[merc]

Merc...sorry to hear about your ride.
Hope Ford or your insurance will cover it!

Keep us posted. Good Luck. :cry:

Thanks for all the support. This is an old post and the bottom line is as follows. Ford didn't cover the damage due to the Factory cover and warranty guidelines. Months later I requested service for a door alinement issue that has pledged many marauders owners on this site. The service manage agreed that it was a factory problem. I was only aware of the problem after damage to the upper corner of my door and roof showed metal to metal scuffing. While at the body shop, they not only painted the damage area and re-alined the door, they also wet sanded the roof. The majority of the scratching from the factory cover occurred on the roof and truck lid edge. So now I am a happy camper and I have some satisfaction on this issue. Ford didn't fix the hood or some of the other damaged areas, but something is better then nothing.