Wife wanted a black Mazda CX-5. We bought it in August 2013 (a 2014 model). It has gone through 3 winters in Western NY and the front grill and front hood look like like it was shot with a shotgun containing birdshot. Nicks and chips in the paint like crazy... hundreds of them. Dealer states it's from the salt they use on the roads in winter. Okay, fine, then why doesn't my 2009 Chevy have any? It's gone through 7 winters. And I pay $30 a month for a wash and wax club so the car is cleaned weekly... PLUS... it's garage kept. But my truck isn't. Another BS story from dealerships that just won't fix the problem, i.e. a repaint. I'd settle for just the front end being repainted and not the whole car. But apparently they say there's nothing wrong with the paint. I disagree.

Within the first week of ownership, my front hood and bumper started experiencing paint chipping to bare metal. The chipping appears to be from road debris, however, the paint quality on the CX-5 is poor and not durable. Any and all road debris will cause chipping to bare metal. In only a couple months my car hood has large chips (the size of a pencil eraser tip), deep scratches, and approximately twenty nicks, all to bare metal. I understand chipping is part of normal wear and tear, but unfortunately, the chipping on the CX-5 is beyond normal wear and tear, when compared to other vehicles. I live in an urban area where road debris is limited. However, as I already mentioned any and all debris will damage the vehicle's paint. I have other older vehicles with far fewer paint chips than my 10 month old CX-5. Mazda touch up paint does not match the vehicle providing an unsatisfactory result.

Overall, it is a great vehicle however the paint issue is pretty bad and very unimpressive compared to other vehicles. The appearance of the vehicle has gone down hill pretty quickly due to the lack of paint durability, which in return is reducing any future trade-in/resale value.

Probably would not have purchased in hindsight and definitely would not have purchased brand new Grand Touring. New car feel diminished within first week when large chips started to appear.