2 Tone Ivory Tricoat Back Half of Truck Paint Doesn't Match Front

[Rototerrier]

Purchased the truck on a nice sunny day and when inspected up close, you can't really tell, until you know. We've had a bunch of overcast days and the problem finally revealed itself.

Looks like someone took the back half from another vehicle and transplanted it onto my truck.

The white is brighter and the brown on the bottom is lighter. It's this way all the way around.

To me, this is totally unacceptable. It appears I am driving around in a brand new truck that's been wrecked and had the back half painted...and the paint shop didn't match it properly.

It looks even worse at night when another vehicle's lights shine on it. If it's parked in my driveway and we come home at night, the back half of the truck glows while the front remains significantly darker.

The dark brown around the wheel arch doesn't even remotely match either. I'm usually really good about seeing these things, but I never caught it on the lot in the direct sunlight, but I also never walked way back to inspect it at this level. First vehicle I've ever purchased where I even would have thought the paint would need to be inspected to this degree. 40 years old and have plenty of new cars under my belt and this is a first for me. I suppose you live and learn, and I'll never make this mistake again.

Anyone have any suggestions? Letting a dealer attempt to fix this would require a paint job....which will just result in the same scenario. The factory paint can never be matched. I'm stumped.

Lemon Law says you need to give them 3 attempts. Since it can never be properly fixed, do I give them 3 shots to paint it and just keep taking it back since it'll never match? I suppose they could paint the entire truck..but who would want that. I doubt RAM will take it back without me going through the paces.

Obviously I'm not happy with it and every time I walk out to it I'm disgusted by the fact that I got duped and paid this much for a truck that's totally out of whack between the front and back.

 

[Rototerrier]

Here's another shot from a side angle where you can see the transition in white's from front to back. Not sure how they managed to pull this off.

 

[grinch72]

That's crazy. I can see it clear as day!

 

[go-ram]

I can clearly see the difference.

The thing that I'd worry about most is that something bad happened to the vehicle and you're seeing the result of an unreported repair job. I mean, it's totally unacceptable that the paint is mismatched - that alone would make me return the vehicle and demand a replacement. But in the back of my mind is the question, did something bad happen to the truck during transport or wherever and it's been repaired, but not reported as a previously damaged vehicle.

If it was me, I'd push back hard, including contacting your state's consumer affairs office, and possibly even paying an attorney a few hundred to write a letter so they know you mean business. If the vehicle has not been damaged, and it's truly just a cosmetic paint issue, I'd push for a huge discount, i.e. a cash refund in your pocket (but I understand totally if you just can't accept the mismatched looks).

I can't recall where I read it (probably here on 5thgenrams), but Ram's Sterling Heights factory has reportedly been having significant issues with their paint booth capability and capacity. Hopefully the problem with your truck is as "benign" as two different shifts painted cab & bed, or bed painted one day and cab painted another day after paint-booth switchover, i.e. hopefully not the result of a collision repair.

 

[mikemcfarland]

maybe the lack of quality/consistency of the 2 tone paint is why it is/was on restriction.

 

[Rototerrier]

Well, it's not isolated to just me truck.

I've also done a little more research and found other trucks that also exhibit this same mismatch. They aren't 2 tone, so the lower color issue doesn't exist, but you can clearly see the whites don't match between the bed and the front of the trucks.

This isn't my truck....just one I found on my dealer's website.

Definitely not been in an accident. This is all factory.

 

[knightro84]

The walnut brown at the bottom of the bed isn't even close to the cab. It looks like the rear bumper and fender flare match the cab, but yeah the bottom of the bed is way off. I have a harder time seeing the difference in the white between the bed and the cab on your truck - but it almost looks to me like your tailgate matches the cab closer than the sides of the bed? It might just be lighting in your pics though.

I have a sport appearance package Laramie in Ivory, and my bed and cab appear to match, or at least it is close enough to where I can't tell a difference with my eyes.

What is the build date of your truck?

 

[Longhorn]

Purchased the truck on a nice sunny day and when inspected up close, you can't really tell, until you know. We've had a bunch of overcast days and the problem finally revealed itself.

Looks like someone took the back half from another vehicle and transplanted it onto my truck.

The white is brighter and the brown on the bottom is lighter. It's this way all the way around.

To me, this is totally unacceptable. It appears I am driving around in a brand new truck that's been wrecked and had the back half painted...and the paint shop didn't match it properly.

It looks even worse at night when another vehicle's lights shine on it. If it's parked in my driveway and we come home at night, the back half of the truck glows while the front remains significantly darker.

The dark brown around the wheel arch doesn't even remotely match either. I'm usually really good about seeing these things, but I never caught it on the lot in the direct sunlight, but I also never walked way back to inspect it at this level. First vehicle I've ever purchased where I even would have thought the paint would need to be inspected to this degree. 40 years old and have plenty of new cars under my belt and this is a first for me. I suppose you live and learn, and I'll never make this mistake again.

Anyone have any suggestions? Letting a dealer attempt to fix this would require a paint job....which will just result in the same scenario. The factory paint can never be matched. I'm stumped.

Lemon Law says you need to give them 3 attempts. Since it can never be properly fixed, do I give them 3 shots to paint it and just keep taking it back since it'll never match? I suppose they could paint the entire truck..but who would want that. I doubt RAM will take it back without me going through the paces.

Obviously I'm not happy with it and every time I walk out to it I'm disgusted by the fact that I got duped and paid this much for a truck that's totally out of whack between the front and back.

View attachment 12353 View attachment 12354

Can definitely see that the paint don’t match. WTF.

 

[Longhorn]

Here's another shot from a side angle where you can see the transition in white's from front to back. Not sure how they managed to pull this off. View attachment 12355

Can see the difference. Those are the exact colors I want on my longhorn.

 

[Biga]

It almost looks like the front half of the truck is Ivory and the bed is the standard white. I'm assuming their is flake in both?

 

[Rototerrier]

Built 7/18

 

[Rototerrier]

Yes, there is flake. It's definitely Ivory, but you are correct... The back is much closer to White. I thought the same thing.

 

[Rototerrier]

I've started a case with FCA but they told me the next step was to contact a dealer. Not sure what good that will do.

I emailed the GM and General Sales Managers together a couple days ago, but haven't heard anything back. Figuring today is probably their first days possibly back to work. Figured the email was the easiest way to get it started since I could include all the photos.

Will be trying to call them shortly to see if they've had a chance to review my email.

Having successfully gone through a lemon law buy back with Chevrolet about 15 years ago, I am aware of the hassles these dealers and manufacturers put us through. But, that was based on a mechanical defect that they were unable to fix. This seems a bit different and I'm unsure about how to handle it or if it's even something that would fall under the lemon law.

 

[SpeedyV]

This is interesting. I've been thinking since early 2018 that the Ivory on these 2019s is too white—almost like you're paying an upcharge for white paint. Seeing this issue on your truck makes me wonder whether FCA has been tweaking the Ivory color to provide more depth, and there is inconsistency when beds that were painted earlier were matched with cabs painted more recently. Of course, this is COMPLETELY speculation on my part.

This could also simply be a quality control issue. I have noticed that my Delmonico Red fender flares are a bit lighter and have more metal flake to them than the truck body, but it's not enough to complain about. And I'm not too surprised to see a difference there, since the flares are added after the truck is painted.

 

[geotex1]

All fender flares, mirror caps, and other plastic body-matched items are finished separately. You can very much see the difference in those when looking at them - typically the base color is a decent match, but the metallic flake is either in excess or laid in opposing direction. I'm told these pieces are supplier-finished.

The body-matched bumpers are also finished separately, but I believe that's done at the factory. I would also imagine that the beds are still finished separate of the cab, and the tri-coats are really unforgiving of the slightest variance.

Your truck does have a strong mismatch between cab and bed. However, I've observed this myself on several other tri-coats at the dealers when I was shopping. I think in your case it is accentuated to the eye because of the added mismatch of the two-tone...

Talk to the dealer and to @RamCares.

 

[79 300]

You could check the paint thickness with a gauge. If the bed was repainted due to damage, most likely most of it was only scuffed up and painted over. Any good body shop would have one of these gauges. Stop by one and have them check it.

 

[RamCares]

I've started a case with FCA but they told me the next step was to contact a dealer. Not sure what good that will do.

I emailed the GM and General Sales Managers together a couple days ago, but haven't heard anything back. Figuring today is probably their first days possibly back to work. Figured the email was the easiest way to get it started since I could include all the photos.

Will be trying to call them shortly to see if they've had a chance to review my email.

Having successfully gone through a lemon law buy back with Chevrolet about 15 years ago, I am aware of the hassles these dealers and manufacturers put us through. But, that was based on a mechanical defect that they were unable to fix. This seems a bit different and I'm unsure about how to handle it or if it's even something that would fall under the lemon law.

Hi Rototerrier,

I'm so sorry to hear about the paint concerns with your vehicle, and we'd like to look into this further. Please send us a PM with your VIN or case number so we can take a closer look.

Jennifer
Ram Social Care Specialist

 

[Longhorn]

Hi Rototerrier,

I'm so sorry to hear about the paint concerns with your vehicle, and we'd like to look into this further. Please send us a PM with your VIN or case number so we can take a closer look.

Jennifer
Ram Social Care Specialist[/QUOTE

At least RamCares monitors this forum. Thank you.

 

[Jordan2929]

Purchased the truck on a nice sunny day and when inspected up close, you can't really tell, until you know. We've had a bunch of overcast days and the problem finally revealed itself.

Looks like someone took the back half from another vehicle and transplanted it onto my truck.

The white is brighter and the brown on the bottom is lighter. It's this way all the way around.

To me, this is totally unacceptable. It appears I am driving around in a brand new truck that's been wrecked and had the back half painted...and the paint shop didn't match it properly.

It looks even worse at night when another vehicle's lights shine on it. If it's parked in my driveway and we come home at night, the back half of the truck glows while the front remains significantly darker.

The dark brown around the wheel arch doesn't even remotely match either. I'm usually really good about seeing these things, but I never caught it on the lot in the direct sunlight, but I also never walked way back to inspect it at this level. First vehicle I've ever purchased where I even would have thought the paint would need to be inspected to this degree. 40 years old and have plenty of new cars under my belt and this is a first for me. I suppose you live and learn, and I'll never make this mistake again.

Anyone have any suggestions? Letting a dealer attempt to fix this would require a paint job....which will just result in the same scenario. The factory paint can never be matched. I'm stumped.

Lemon Law says you need to give them 3 attempts. Since it can never be properly fixed, do I give them 3 shots to paint it and just keep taking it back since it'll never match? I suppose they could paint the entire truck..but who would want that. I doubt RAM will take it back without me going through the paces.

Obviously I'm not happy with it and every time I walk out to it I'm disgusted by the fact that I got duped and paid this much for a truck that's totally out of whack between the front and back.

View attachment 12353 View attachment 12354

Print this out and take it in when you visit the dealer...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ls4v2wv1b9hcv27/Lower Body to Wheel Flare Paint Mismatch.pdf?dl=0

 

[Longhorn]

Print this out and take it in when you visit the dealer...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ls4v2wv1b9hcv27/Lower Body to Wheel Flare Paint Mismatch.pdf?dl=0

There you go problem solved that’s why I like this forum