Any cross shopping with the 2019 RAV4?

[Unobtanium]

Good morning - not yet a member of the Mazda family, but probably will be by June. I shopped CX-5, RAV, CRV and Forrester. I have a deposit on CX-5 Signature in Soul Red. The engine and interior were the tipping points. Reading thru this forum, second guessing regarding comments about steering wheel thickness, paint thinness. Since 1990s, I have driven German cars. Auto magazines rave about the CX5 going upscale, so hoping I*m making a good decision. CX-5 seems to have more personality than competitors.

That color can go to hell.

Other than that, you'll love the car!

The color is amazing, but I bought the machine gray and wish I never had. It's impossible to touch up properly, and if a shop CAN match it, it will cost 200% more because it's a multi-shot process. Stick with one of Mazda's "normal" colors. I wish I had.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Good morning - not yet a member of the Mazda family, but probably will be by June. I shopped CX-5, RAV, CRV and Forrester. I have a deposit on CX-5 Signature in Soul Red. The engine and interior were the tipping points. Reading thru this forum, second guessing regarding comments about steering wheel thickness, paint thinness. Since 1990s, I have driven German cars. Auto magazines rave about the CX5 going upscale, so hoping I*m making a good decision. CX-5 seems to have more personality than competitors.

Well paint thinness will be any of those options frankly.

 

[GEM12144]

Anything I can do to minimize front chips to paint? Clear bras seem to have their own issues. Thanks

 

[Unobtanium]

Anything I can do to minimize front chips to paint? Clear bras seem to have their own issues. Thanks

Clear bras don't have any issues I'm aware of. Had them on 3 of my vehicles. It's t he minor fender bender that will be your undoing, or a bad door ding like I got. I really recommend a better color for fixing, honestly.

 

[Sig cx-5]

If you buy a new vehicle and are worried about the paint chipping, get a quality clear bra. Buy the color you like and don't be overly concerned with the color being hard to match, unless you're accident prone. How many times have your previous vehicles been repainted? If your answer is "all of them", try UBER.

 

[GEM12144]

Thanks !! I did a quick search on clear bras (before posting) and the articles mentioned fading / turning yellow, bird droppings can eat through the bra. Maybe they were old articles. I*ll domore research. And NO, never repainted a car. (But there is always a first time). Just hoping I really enjoy this car and want to keep it for many years.

 

[Unobtanium]

If you buy a new vehicle and are worried about the paint chipping, get a quality clear bra. Buy the color you like and don't be overly concerned with the color being hard to match, unless you're accident prone. How many times have your previous vehicles been repainted? If your answer is "all of them", try UBER.

You're right. I'm such a failure for being sideswiped by an SUV that spun out of control, the drunk that ran the light, the Mexican that pulled into a 4 lane and stopped in the middle of traffic immediately in front of me, the buckett that flew out of the service truck and landed on the bumper, the guy who rammed my mustang literally as I pumped gas at the station, etc...

 

[Sig cx-5]

You're right. I'm such a failure for being sideswiped by an SUV that spun out of control, the drunk that ran the light, the Mexican that pulled into a 4 lane and stopped in the middle of traffic immediately in front of me, the buckett that flew out of the service truck and landed on the bumper, the guy who rammed my mustang literally as I pumped gas at the station, etc...

Yes, you're what's referred to as "accident prone". Has your insurance costs gone way up? In my early years I was involved in a couple accidents that weren't my fault. My insurance company labeled me that and jacked up my premiums.

 

[Unobtanium]

Yes, you're what's referred to as "accident prone". Has your insurance costs gone way up? In my early years I was involved in a couple accidents that weren't my fault. My insurance company labeled me that and jacked up my premiums.

Zero, because 100% of those were the other person's fault and unavoidable. I probably just drive a lot more than most of you, and always have. How the hell am i supposed to know someone is going to ram my parked car or run a light that's been red for a while?

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Yes, you're what's referred to as "accident prone". Has your insurance costs gone way up? In my early years I was involved in a couple accidents that weren't my fault. My insurance company labeled me that and jacked up my premiums.

How did accidents not your fault cause your rates to go up? Hit and runs? Uninsured? I'm assuming you ended up going through your own insurance somehow.

 

[Sig cx-5]

How did accidents not your fault cause your rates to go up? Hit and runs? Uninsured? I'm assuming you ended up going through your own insurance somehow.

Nope, my insurance didn't pay a dime. Like I said, they labeled me "accident prone". This was back in the '70's, so maybe things have changed, or maybe it's just something they use/used for new drivers. Even though they weren't my fault, maybe they assumed I could have avoided them if I was paying better attention. Who knows???

 

[sm1ke]

The color is amazing, but I bought the machine gray and wish I never had. It's impossible to touch up properly, and if a shop CAN match it, it will cost 200% more because it's a multi-shot process. Stick with one of Mazda's "normal" colors. I wish I had.

It's harder to repaint, but far from "impossible" or even costing 200% more. Those are gross exaggerations. The shops that quoted you just didn't have the experience to do it. I have MGM paint on my CX-9 and a Honda body shop repainted portions of the rear bumper and quarter panel on both sides of my car. I can't even tell that there was any work done. Soul red crystal metallic is a different beast, but it can still be paint matched just like MGM can. When I was researching paint repair for my own car, it seemed that most body shops who initially failed to match the soul red or machine grey paint needed to bring someone from PPG in to show them how to paint the colour correctly. After that it was smooth sailing.

GEM12144, if you want to protect the paint as best you can, have the entire vehicle wrapped in PPF (after the OEM paint has cured). Suntek and Xpel make some of the best films for this purpose. If you wrap with PPF and then use a spray sealant like P&S BeadMaker or Meguiar's Quik Wax as a drying aid after a wash once a month, you'll get the best of all worlds with minimal investment. It's pricey, but worth it.

 

[Unobtanium]

It's harder to repaint, but far from "impossible" or even costing 200% more. Those are gross exaggerations. The shops that quoted you just didn't have the experience to do it. I have MGM paint on my CX-9 and a Honda body shop repainted portions of the rear bumper and quarter panel on both sides of my car. I can't even tell that there was any work done. Soul red crystal metallic is a different beast, but it can still be paint matched just like MGM can. When I was researching paint repair for my own car, it seemed that most body shops who initially failed to match the soul red or machine grey paint needed to bring someone from PPG in to show them how to paint the colour correctly. After that it was smooth sailing.

GEM12144, if you want to protect the paint as best you can, have the entire vehicle wrapped in PPF (after the OEM paint has cured). Suntek and Xpel make some of the best films for this purpose. If you wrap with PPF and then use a spray sealant like P&S BeadMaker or Meguiar's Quik Wax as a drying aid after a wash once a month, you'll get the best of all worlds with minimal investment. It's pricey, but worth it.

The shops who quoted me had shot multiple cars in this color. The billing is 200% because they shoot it twice instead of once. I will research further in the future, in case I need work done, because you're right, it is absurd to think they would total the car if someone keyed it. That said, I would have rathered buy a different color, knowing what I know now.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Thanks !! I did a quick search on clear bras (before posting) and the articles mentioned fading / turning yellow, bird droppings can eat through the bra. Maybe they were old articles.

Well you have to maintain a clear bra like the rest of the paint I believe with regular waxing. Someone can correct me if wrong as I don't have a clear bra, but that's what I've heard. If all you do is run it through the auto car wash and then sit in the sun, well yeah, it'll yellow and fade and such eventually.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Nope, my insurance didn't pay a dime. Like I said, they labeled me "accident prone". This was back in the '70's, so maybe things have changed, or maybe it's just something they use/used for new drivers. Even though they weren't my fault, maybe they assumed I could have avoided them if I was paying better attention. Who knows???

Weird.

 

[jmhumr]

Good morning - not yet a member of the Mazda family, but probably will be by June. I shopped CX-5, RAV, CRV and Forrester. I have a deposit on CX-5 Signature in Soul Red. The engine and interior were the tipping points. Reading thru this forum, second guessing regarding comments about steering wheel thickness, paint thinness. Since 1990s, I have driven German cars. Auto magazines rave about the CX5 going upscale, so hoping I*m making a good decision. CX-5 seems to have more personality than competitors.

Dont worry about any of that crap you read on the forum. No car is perfect, but a lot of reviews say the CX-5 is as close as it gets for the price. Buy and enjoy!

 

[Mantra 7]

Well you have to maintain a clear bra like the rest of the paint I believe with regular waxing. Someone can correct me if wrong as I don't have a clear bra, but that's what I've heard. If all you do is run it through the auto car wash and then sit in the sun, well yeah, it'll yellow and fade and such eventually.

The warranty on Xpel is 10 years. I assume they are figuring it will last at least that long under the absolute worst conditions. My '04 Accord had the original 3M ppf with a 3 year warranty. Since I garage my vehicles and take care of them, the 3M finally had to be replaced due to cracking after 15 years. It had not yellowed at all. Assuming that 5x extended life expectancy also applies to Xpel, my CX-5 should be good (in my case) for around 50 years. At 61 years of age I think I'll be ok with the ppf.

One other thing, you mentioned "running through the car wash and sit in the sun." That's exactly what you should do if you're inclined to use drive-through car washes. Xpel has a self-healing ability and minor scratches will disappear after exposure to the sun.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

The warranty on Xpel is 10 years. I assume they are figuring it will last at least that long under the absolute worst conditions. My '04 Accord had the original 3M ppf with a 3 year warranty. Since I garage my vehicles and take care of them, the 3M finally had to be replaced due to cracking after 15 years. It had not yellowed at all. Assuming that 5x extended life expectancy also applies to Xpel, my CX-5 should be good (in my case) for around 50 years. At 61 years of age I think I'll be ok with the ppf.

One other thing, you mentioned "running through the car wash and sit in the sun." That's exactly what you should do if you're inclined to use drive-through car washes. Xpel has a self-healing ability and minor scratches will disappear after exposure to the sun.

Ah, thanks for that tidbit. Like I said, I don't have anything on my car (Wish I had when I bought it), so wasn't entirely sure. Self healing, makes sense.

But you still wax it and everything too right like you would the paint? Or am I wrong?

 

[Mantra 7]

But you still wax it and everything too right like you would the paint? Or am I wrong?

There are many different products available that are recommended for ppf. Mine hasn't been on that long (car has 700 miles) and I'm still researching them but I'm leaning towards the CQuartz product line for paint and film protection.

Edit: My apologies to all for getting off topic.

 

[Felt_Rider]

Ive had XPEL on the front of mine since 2013. It sits outside all the time. The film now has a couple small holes from being hit really hard but the paint is good. No yellowing and I clean/detail it like the rest of the car. Right now it all has a ceramic coating from Gtechniq. I have to be careful using a clay bar near the edges of the film.

You dont have to clean/detail it at this level. Thats just my preference in attempt to keep this car looking good.