Don't measure the paint on your vehicle if you want to mock the maverick. 2.28 on the door sills isn't terribly low and id bet that's where it was. Ive seen that low on vehicles that cost 10x what a Maverick costs. Plus it's most likely a tinted clear so the base is thinner. Ford trucks with the aluminum body and tinted clears are generally thinner than some others. Never caused me an issue. I don't know what the maverick body panels are, aluminum like the F150 or no . Ive not done a paint correction on a Maverick and likely never will. (and as a bottom of the barrel economy car I can't imagine getting a ceramic coating on it in the first place. Usually such cheap cars aren't what we see come in for an expensive correction and coating)

I've seen a lot of crappy paint the last 3-5 years from several factories. 2.5 on a hood or cab is an issue. Look at most any 90s car and see what happened. Not enough UV protection from too little clear. They peeled. That little on a fold or door sills, which is where we generally measure because it will be the thinnest spot, is pretty normal.

 

Who cares. This is a Santa Cruz site

 

In the sub- forum "Santa cruz vs the competition" BTW

 

I've been seeing more and more articles online about owners complaining about the build quality on the Maverick.

 

Same thing they said about the old festiva/ probe/aspire/ contour/ cavalier/ Beretta/ neon..... people expecting a bottom of the barrel vehicle like those or the maverick to rival their king ranch/ town car/ Denali etc. It's foolish. Regardless of the fact idiots are paying 35k for the Maverick its still a sub 20k dollar car. It's built to that price point . 35k is cheap f150 msrp and far better build.

If I pay 200k for a 2001 supra I don't get to bitch that its not as nice as a 200k dollar Maybach Benz. Regardless of what I paid is still built to the msrp price point.

Most vehicles are pretty easy to tell the msrp by sitting in the driver seat. The plastics/ materials etc is a far better indicator of the price point than the body. Few exceptions (like the jeep wrangler Rubicon that was 30k+ and didn't have glass windows or power locks, or the 1st gen Viper with no windows and no door locks. Lol) What people want to pay is another story entirely.

 

To be fair to the Maverick, you only have to hang around this forum to read horror stories about the SC, Bear in mind I have no interest in the Mav, and don't read any articles on it, I can tell you I have read a lot of scary things about the SC. Mine to date has been problem free, and everything the ad men said it would be, however If I was starting to look from scratch, and came here first? I could be swayed away.

 

however If I was starting to look from scratch, and came here first? I could be swayed away.

True.

Unless we see a rash of paint complaints like we saw with the aluminum hoods at Ford (on F150s and Mustangs) I wouldn't label this as a real problem just yet.

 

My paint was very good for the price point. I had a defect on the leading edge of the passenger front door, nibbed it off GTG, I also have a spot on the tailgate just left of the handle where the clear pilled up and pulled some of the base color out leaving three pen head craters with a slight grey tint. Not sure how to resolve that yet or if I will. I did a minor paint correction and had PPF installed on the front half, did the upper half of the rest of the truck with very little effort. I still have to go through the bottom half but for me, the overall paint quality, application and finish is very good. Maybe mine was painted on a Tuesday

 

I think that's why I've said all along that I don't think the Maverick is a competitor of the SC. It's two different customer bases. For me, I had no interest in buying a bare-bones, bite-sized truck. I wanted a nice SUV feel that could do some truck things when needed. The Maverick and the SC can coexist in the same market without pulling customers from each other. I think the true competitor of the SC is the Honda Ridgeline.

 

Undeniable that the Cruz and Maverick compete some though. Too many "got tired of waiting on maverick and bought a cruze" folks on here. I think the first gen Ridgeline would have been more competition to the Cruz. The new one is IMO too big and too close to the ranger (which I feel is too big and too close on size and price to the F150)

I agree completly that the maverick is more festiva/ Fiesta/ aspire/ neon/ cavalier etc etc initial build quality. While the Cruz is more up level initial build. Both are entirely new vehicles and the issues im reading on the Maverick are all "bad paint" "wimpy body panels" "stickers falling off" " info tainment system needs reset" while the Cruz is "great build but my cars stalls out in the road". Personally my Lariat xlt and gt 350 are about as cheap as I intend to drive these days and the Lexus is just about right. I spent many years driving cheap and slow cars. I don't intend to go back. But I could tolerate the Cruz with its size and interior IF it got the maverick 42 mpg. Maybe as a hybrid or all electric. I could use a mpg beast. Of my 7 tagged vehicles my mustang gets the best mileage at 27 but only on the interstate. City is closer 17. My 21 5.0 with its cylinder deactivation hasn't got below 19 during the winter with warm ups. I'm super impressed actually . Our Lexus (up trim highlander) can break 20 highway but stays 18 ish city. As is though, I wouldn't have the maverick and the Cruz isn't impressing me either. Definitely the nicer build though.

I for one want a Baja with the fa 2.4 271 hp and a 6 speed..... and I want it similar in size to the old Baja/ outback/ cross trek or the impreza. Not some bloated Ridgeline wannabe.

Subaru likely doesn't care what I want. If it comes out it will probably be the anemic 150 hp 2.0 and cvt from the crosstrek. Subaru has a habit of botching designs. And maybe that would sell. Just not to me

 

The SC rules!

 

Got tired of waiting for a Maverick, and after all the recalls decided to see if I could find a SC. Then I saw the Night edition and was sold. Love the looks, ride and WARRANTY.