Yet another, but different, bubbling paint question

[alalalp]

With all of the bad press going around about the bubbling paint issue, I am still considering rolling the dice and getting one. This vehicle meets my needs for towing and hauling the family around, which I am currently using an E350 12 Passenger Super Duty van for. Problem is, here in Central NY, the E350 sits all winter because it's terrible in the snow, so the 4WD Expedition EL seems to fit the bill. I've been looking at 07 - 08's and every one I've found, except for one, have had the bubbling paint issue. The one that didn't, or at least didn't appear to have it, was the only one of the bunch that was manufactured in it's prior model year, 2006. Not sure if that was just a coincidence. Most of the dealers I ran into acted surprised when I asked about the bubbling paint and made like they didn't know anything about it. A couple have said they would talk to their manager about repainting it. Not sure if I would trust them to do it the right way (unless they guaranteed it of course), or try to get them to knock of the $1600 I've been hearing it costs to repaint correctly price and have my body shop fix it. I would much prefer to get one that didn't have the problem. Does anyone know if there is a certain date, or any other way to tell if the vehicle is prone to getting the bubbling paint? If it is repaired correctly, is there a decent chance that it will not come back or appear in different areas of a 6 - 7 year old car? If I didn't get the areas repaired, would the aluminum eventually corrode all the way thru just like steel does? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[jimb726]

If its done properly, then you want have any issues. I believe the issues revolve around contaminants that got onto the bare aluminum during the process. The aluminum will not rot through like a piece of steel, but it wont be pretty. Again, if a qualified body shop does it and preps it correctly, you should have no issues and they should guarantee it!

 

[jglopic]

I agree with Jim. Any body shop worth a salt should be able to prep and paint aluminum. If the paint comes off, the aluminum shouldn't corrode significantly. You just have to live with the missing paint!

 

[GaryH2]

Just a question - has anyone noticed if any particular paint colors are more susceptible to bubbling? I know Ford (and others) had real bad problems with dark blue and silver many years ago.

The reason I ask is that there's bubbles in the Expy and on my 06 Mustang. Both are black.