Stonechips on a low miles car

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Billy610

Active Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2009
Messages
122
Location
Moodiesburn, Scotland
Car
E350 cdi Sport Coupe
I'm about to put a deposit on a SLK350. The thing is, there are a fair amount of stonechips on the bonnet. Is this a common occurance on a lowish (34K) miles 2004 car?

I was wondering if the paint is particularly hard or is it a sign of more than declared miles possibly.

Any comments?
 
Bad luck being caught behind a gritter could have done it all within seconds. Is it a dark colour?

My Goodwood Green MR2 was ruined by a gritter on the M6 once. :(
 
I had a new windscreen around 1500 miles ago and already there are few small chips. I don't recall hearing anything hit the screen though.


As well as being behind a gritter, just driving at speed on a gritted road for a distance will result in a few chips to the paintwork. :(
 
Bad luck being caught behind a gritter could have done it all within seconds. Is it a dark colour?

My Goodwood Green MR2 was ruined by a gritter on the M6 once. :(

Yes, Obsidion Black. In fairness, the guy who is selling said his dad was out in it and it came back like that! There are a scattering of little pin head sized ones and a couple of ones that are about 2mm in size. Maybe it was a gritter.
 
Yes, Obsidion Black. In fairness, the guy who is selling said his dad was out in it and it came back like that! There are a scattering of little pin head sized ones and a couple of ones that are about 2mm in size. Maybe it was a gritter.


You can do a mileage check on line. This is one company that do the checks but there are many others. Well worth it IMHO.
 
Done a mileage check through the MOT history site. Then I did a £15 Mycarcheck check and found they don't give you outstanding finance details :doh:. So then I had HPI check it out for another £20! No mileage discrepancies with any of them. :dk: No other issues either. Still worth the money given what I'm spending.
 
I have a late 2004 C Class with 45K miles with nano paint and I've never had a car that chips like this one.

The hard nano paint chips and splinters and the white primer (the car has a dark top coat) shows through as lots of little while spots.
 
I have a late 2004 C Class with 45K miles with nano paint and I've never had a car that chips like this one.

The hard nano paint chips and splinters and the white primer (the car has a dark top coat) shows through as lots of little while spots.

That sounds just like it. Tiny white spots, and the bits that are about 2mm do look like splinters. The chips have expose the white primer underneath which really stands out against the black. The car is a mid 2004 so the chances are it'll have similar paint.

I don't disbelieve the guy when he tells me the mileage is 34k, the rest of the car is mint, just the paint thing had me wondering.

As an aside, I've never heard of nano paint, what is that?
 
As an aside, I've never heard of nano paint, what is that?

It's ok, I just googled "mercedes nano paint" and found out. Maybe it's the same ceramic particles in the laquer that make the paint scratch resistant also make the surface brittle just like any ceramic.
 
Probably :)

To be honest, unless the stone chipping is OTT and severe, affecting the overall look of the car I would say it's about what you'd expect for a 34k 'sporty' car that's likely to have been driven at reasonable speed on open roads.

You only really notice it more because (a) it's black, and (b) you're thoroughly inspecting it - as anyone normally would - because it's a new-to-you purchase.

If the rest of the car is fine and the price is okay, I'd buy it.

You can either touch in the stone chips afterwards or have the bonnet painted if it's really bad. If the car is to be a daily drive then it'll probably pick up more stone chips afterwards anyway - you always notice them on black cars!

Will
 
I have (or 'had' in two days time) a standard non metalic black A Class which has done around 35K miles and I also have stonechip markings on the bonnet. I think all cars will have them if they drive on stoney roads etc... and I guess it being black makes it stand out more.
 
I have an 04 W203 @80k, with nano paint. It spent the first 2 years (50k) as a motorway car. Bonnet & leading edge paintwork has hardly any stonechips at all.

Categorically, it has not been resprayed since build.

Splitpin
 
I have an 04 W203 @80k, with nano paint. It spent the first 2 years (50k) as a motorway car. Bonnet & leading edge paintwork has hardly any stonechips at all.

Categorically, it has not been resprayed since build.

Splitpin

I do a lot of motorway miles and do get the odd hit on the motorway, but, per mile, I would say single carriageway A roads are 10 times worse for taking hits.
 

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