Disappointed with Acura Overall

[ABPDE5]

...whether I'm buying brand new at 30k or 150k, I expect the paint not to have runs in it/orange peel/ craters/ dust, etc. I mean they charge extra for colour options, I'm paying for it, why would I settle on anything less than the bare minimum expectation? Has no one had these issues and reached some kind of decent resolution - i.e., a discount off the MSRP price point?

Ideally, I agree with you. And, while I also agree with you that it shouldn't be acceptable, I think the sad reality is that $30k doesn't exempt you from orange peel, etc. these days.

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[optronix]

I feel like all Japanese cars have extremely variable paint quality, and almost none of it is "good".

Let's be realistic here though. No one is noticing these things but the person who owns it. I'm not trying to argue that we shouldn't expect a new car to have impeccable paint, but I am trying to reset the implications that it's some sort of catastrophe.

Ultimately, we all are on the hook for taking delivery of cars with imperfections. I don't anticipate a dealer stepping up to offer any sort of resolution after delivery, when you've lost all leverage. I guess if there's something to be learned, it's that if you're sensitive to these sorts of things just bring a paint gauge and penlight when you take delivery.

 

[UWU-mancer]

I'm probably going to do the same thing and have it touched up - what choice do I really have? The mechanical/noise deficiencies I can live with.



I hope when I decide to remove my PPF the paint doesn't come off with it...



I get this point, but whether I'm buying brand new at 30k or 150k, I expect the paint not to have runs in it/orange peel/ craters/ dust, etc. I mean they charge extra for colour options, I'm paying for it, why would I settle on anything less than the bare minimum expectation? Has no one had these issues and reached some kind of decent resolution - i.e., a discount off the MSRP price point?

Nope. No one in the world will argue with that. I feel like that’s sort of a basic expectation for any new car. U know?

 

[UWU-mancer]

I feel like all Japanese cars have extremely variable paint quality, and almost none of it is "good".

Let's be realistic here though. No one is noticing these things but the person who owns it. I'm not trying to argue that we shouldn't expect a new car to have impeccable paint, but I am trying to reset the implications that it's some sort of catastrophe.

Ultimately, we all are on the hook for taking delivery of cars with imperfections. I don't anticipate a dealer stepping up to offer any sort of resolution after delivery, when you've lost all leverage. I guess if there's something to be learned, it's that if you're sensitive to these sorts of things just bring a paint gauge and penlight when you take delivery.

Saw a modern gtr before covid. Brand new. Shit paint.

modern Lexus paint seems to be ok tho

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Saw a modern gtr before covid. Brand new. Shit paint.

modern Lexus paint seems to be ok tho

I dunno, the Germans seem to know how to paint a car, and durably. Porsche kind of excluded to be frank. I haven't been impressed by Porsche paint, especially darker colors. Germans also use the least amount of paint I've found. My audi was a consistent 4.5 to 4.6mil all around, except for plastic parts. The bmw is fairly close to that as well. Ime with paint, thinner is a lot less likely to chip and peel, especially if prepped properly.

After I pointed out several issues to the acura dealer, they still had dealer add ons waiting to be delivered (like the Alcantara wheel and carbon spoiler) so I told them I'm not trusting their service department to install them. They cut me a check off the purchase price, and with a steep discount on the parts given the frustrations of all the other things. That's the best I could hope for for them "making it right". Shame it had to take negotiation though.

 

[UWU-mancer]

I dunno, the Germans seem to know how to paint a car, and durably. Porsche kind of excluded to be frank. I haven't been impressed by Porsche paint, especially darker colors. Germans also use the least amount of paint I've found. My audi was a consistent 4.5 to 4.6mil all around, except for plastic parts. The bmw is fairly close to that as well. Ime with paint, thinner is a lot less likely to chip and peel, especially if prepped properly.

After I pointed out several issues to the acura dealer, they still had dealer add ons waiting to be delivered (like the Alcantara wheel and carbon spoiler) so I told them I'm not trusting their service department to install them. They cut me a check off the purchase price, and with a steep discount on the parts given the frustrations of all the other things. That's the best I could hope for for them "making it right". Shame it had to take negotiation though.

When I coated my wife’s 2025 b10 s5 (Daytona grey pearl). Yeah. Paint was good. Not great. But definitely good, and that is saying a lot. The word good is doing some heavy lifting only cuz tons of manufacturers paint results aren’t what they used to be.

as far as Porsche goes. I’ve only done brand new ones. At worse, 20 minutes of paint correction after the body is prepped due to how new they were. Their paint did seem fine to me tho?

 

[Victorofhavoc]

When I coated my wife’s 2025 b10 s5 (Daytona grey pearl). Yeah. Paint was good. Not great. But definitely good, and that is saying a lot. The word good is doing some heavy lifting only cuz tons of manufacturers paint results aren’t what they used to be.

as far as Porsche goes. I’ve only done brand new ones. At worse, 20 minutes of paint correction after the body is prepped due to how new they were. Their paint did seem fine to me tho?

Their nicer paint options are okay, but things like their standard black tend to be really soft from what I've seen. They just scratch and etch super easily ime. It's not like clarity is bad, color not uniform, or paint is flakey but just the general paint quality itself is on the softer side. Great for polishing out quickly and taking rocks, but not great for longer wear.

That's been my experience, though. Certainly possible others have turned out better or some models are more effected than others.

 

[UWU-mancer]

Their nicer paint options are okay, but things like their standard black tend to be really soft from what I've seen. They just scratch and etch super easily ime. It's not like clarity is bad, color not uniform, or paint is flakey but just the general paint quality itself is on the softer side. Great for polishing out quickly and taking rocks, but not great for longer wear.

That's been my experience, though. Certainly possible others have turned out better or some models are more effected than others.

Ooooh gotcha. Yeah all the caymans (and that one macan) I’ve done (never done any 911’s) definitely had the colors that costed a little more. Never done a basic black or white

 

[honduken]

This paint does chip way too easily because of how it's applied. The paint thickness variance is a concern, point blank. It's Tesla level bad. Also the ppf I've had removed in areas has occasionally taken paint with it .

I'm in the process of some repairs due to an off course excursion, and I will not be doing ppf again on it. I'd rather just replace parts and repaint sections every few years at this point because it's not a garage queen.

I agree on the PPF.. if i could do it over again I would probably skip it. It doesn't seem worth the hassle and expense with my experience. I had a supposed top tier shop do my PPF and I felt like it had lots of blemishes and they had to redo a few sections and I'm still not super happy with it. Just repaint the car down the road at that point.. lol No garage queen here we've had our fun dirt road excursions already hence the paint chip.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I agree on the PPF.. if i could do it over again I would probably skip it. It doesn't seem worth the hassle and expense with my experience. I had a supposed top tier shop do my PPF and I felt like it had lots of blemishes and they had to redo a few sections and I'm still not super happy with it. Just repaint the car down the road at that point.. lol No garage queen here we've had our fun dirt road excursions already hence the paint chip.

Have you had something go through the ppf yet? I got a hard bug strike that went through the ppf. Did nothing to the paint, but wrecked the ppf and gave a semi permanent bug mark that cut and etched the ppf. And same here... 5k for a top tier ceramic pro installer and top tier ppf and I had to go back numerous times to have them redo panels, trim, pop bubbles, and I can still see fingering, wrinkling, and lifting after. The El cheapo dealer job on my q7 was better. Sure it wasn't a fancy rolled edge, but at least it never lifted and looked like crap

 

[NoelPR]

$50K gets you an average car in 2026

 

[CANDE5]

Sorry to hear so many less than enthusiastic reviews. My experience has been very solid. So far I have to say I’m absolutely impressed with this car. Like others have said I did not expect German build quality and it definitely is not. But it is better build quality than many cars I’ve owned and I have owned over 50 vehicles from all kinds of manufacturers. For what the car gives you and what it does for the money, it’s hard to argue you got ripped off. The German fit and finish is excellent but the German cars are worth absolute shit after only 2 to 3 years let alone try to hold one until later years and it’s life. The Integra build quality is solid. I too have small paint flaws. I’m a GM at a collision shop so I noticed it right away. It’s not terrible. It’s not what I’d hoped for either. BUT ALL THE FLAWS AND ALL…. it will still be worth almost retail 2 to 3 years from now and you can’t say that for almost any German car.

On a performance note, I have run two SCCA events in this car and it performs insanely well in XA where I am surely punching up. I only have an intake, a front pipe and lowering springs.

Big picture, I have to disagree. This car is the best car in the market for 56K and even more. Just my opinion.

 

[UWU-mancer]

Sorry to hear so many less than enthusiastic reviews. My experience has been very solid. So far I have to say I’m absolutely impressed with this car. Like others have said I did not expect German build quality and it definitely is not. But it is better build quality than many cars I’ve owned and I have owned over 50 vehicles from all kinds of manufacturers. For what the car gives you and what it does for the money, it’s hard to argue you got ripped off. The German fit and finish is excellent but the German cars are worth absolute shit after only 2 to 3 years let alone try to hold one until later years and it’s life. The Integra build quality is solid. I too have small paint flaws. I’m a GM at a collision shop so I noticed it right away. It’s not terrible. It’s not what I’d hoped for either. BUT ALL THE FLAWS AND ALL…. it will still be worth almost retail 2 to 3 years from now and you can’t say that for almost any German car.

On a performance note, I have run two SCCA events in this car and it performs insanely well in XA where I am surely punching up. I only have an intake, a front pipe and lowering springs.

Big picture, I have to disagree. This car is the best car in the market for 56K and even more. Just my opinion.

I’d disagree politely bro. Like many things in life, you take care of it and it’ll last

German cars can’t be owned by people who are willing to listen to VW or Audi or whatever and stick to the service schedule they want.

for a German car to actually be reliable. It needs to not only be loved but its maintenance needs to be on time. And its repairs need to be done using authentic parts and ancillary’s.

I will concede. The Germans, they make some fruity ass engineering decisions. But there’s mk7 GTI’s out there with damn near 400wtq - 450wtq about to cross 150-200k miles that get the absolute dog shit beat out of them and are still fine. They might be on their 40th water pump. But they’re doing fine.

 

[CANDE5]

Numbers don’t lie. Resale is garbage and it costs a fortune to keep them running. If you’re pockets are deep then waste away but id buy a Caddy before dumping money like that in German cars. Love their styling but I’ll enjoy them like I enjoy fake women. From afar.

 

[clark1566]

I don't normally join discussions like this one but I have to admit I am a little disappointed with the interior of my Intergra. It is SO loud. My RDX was not that way. And the Genesis G70 I had before that was definitely not that way. That was one of the best cars I have ever owned. My Integra is a fun car to drive. I have taken it up the mountains once already and it is an absolute blast to drive up there. The interior fit and finish just sort of lets it down. I would have gladly paid a little more for the car if they had just put more into sound deadening and interior build quality.

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