Shocked, dismayed, appalled, and also scared the heck out of the poor salesman. I stopped by my local BMW dealer, the names will not be revealed to protect the innocent, because I wanted to see if they had anything interesting on the lot. Lo and Behold there sat a beautiful 2008 335xi. As close as you can get to the 2008 M3 til spring. I was ooh and aahing as usual when the sun hit the paint. Holy mackeral the car was completely infested with "orange peel" "Orange peel", I hollered, "how could you" As the salesman ran with his tail tucked back to the showroom, I determined to check other BMW's for this travesty. The 2007 745Li didn't have any, some of the 328xi had a little, but not one had as much as that poor 335xi. Has anyone else run into this issue with new BMW's? If the new M3 has it I think I might have to do something drastic. So let me know what you have found, maybe this was a one time deal.
I've seen it but the paint process today is very eco-conscious, so you get a generally soft paint finish on a modern BMW. The paint is water-based I believe. If anything, it pays to look at the details before signing the bottom line. Wait until a year or two of ownership and getting those rock/debris chips in the front... One reason I put X-pel film on my cars. As well as headlight shields.
Yeah but they were my rock chips. Nasty little buggers. I was thinking of using the film on the front of my new car, glad to hear others use it.
Orange peel... uh... texture... on the side surfaces is normal on modern BMWs... the E92 seems to me particularly noticeable. Some colors may show less than others. It does seem very uniform... painting being entirely by robots.
Unacceptable "Orange Peel" paint . . . . I've been looking at new 3's - including the M3 . . . . & have been surprised/shocked to see terrible Orange Peel paint - as well. Other mfgs have to meet the same regs as BMW & do NOT seem to have this problem. What's up? Best. imo
