Quote:
Originally Posted by gomer_110
As someone who owned a Saturn at one point I have to say that plastic body panels are not the greatest idea ever. While they won't ding or dent they instead shatter or crack and break.
|
I'll throw in here.
I have owned 2 F-bodies, both 4th gen. As you know, they all use composite panels of some ilk everywhere but the rear 1/4. One had a metal hood, though.
I sold the first one after it was 9 years old and had 170K miles on it. It had a re-paint at 140K miles, and I took ownership at 148K. Other than the rear 1/4's it was completely flawless. Nothing got "shattered or cracked", either.
The other, I sold it after it was also about 9 years old, and I drove it from 72K miles to 149K miles. The hood was messed up due to paint peeling issues common on GM cars of that era. Not the composite hood's fault.
It too, was flawless in every way except the rear 1/4 panels.
Composite is the wave of the future whether you like it or not. The only thing that is going to shatter a composite panel is going to twist the hell out of a metal panel to the point that unless you want to be a bondo queen you're going to replace it anyway.
That said, I have also owned metal (steel) cars. Lots of dings. My G20 is covered in 'em, as was my '88 5.0.
My question:
Supposedly the 370Z is all aluminum skinned (?)
How well does it do? Do you guys all have a ton of dings, or does it shrug off most door-dings with nothing more than a paint smear and the aluminum just flex as required? All my steel cars dinged like crazy. I have never owned an aluminum car (to my knowledge).