Car owners fighting Chrysler over peeling paint

A woman from Saskatoon is planning a class action lawsuit against the Chysler car company. Sandra Knipple says the paint on her Dodge Shadow is chipping and peeling and she wants Chrysler to pay for a new paint job.

Knipple says she thought she had made a great investment when she bought her 1991 Shadow. It was shiny blue when she drove it off the lot. But, bit by bit the paint began to chip off.

MORE INFO: CBC Marketplace's Chrysler's Paint Woes

"It's like a disease, it lifts and then it bubbles, and then it bursts open," she says. "So when you wash your vehicle it just comes right off. It's just spreads everywhere."

Automotive experts call this "orange peeling" when the paint fails to adhere to the primer. Knipple says she took her car back to Chrysler, but was told the company couldn't help her.

That's when she decided to take the matter to court. She wants Chrysler to pay $2,500 for a new paint job. The company has offered $500. Knipple says that's unacceptable. She's getting other disgruntled Chrysler car owners together to sue the company.

"Now that it's coming to light other people are coming forward. We feel if we have a group, we're stronger than just individually fighting."

Knipple says hundreds of people across the country have had the same problem. She's now starting up a group called "Chrysler Lemon Owners." Knipple is launching a provincial campaign this weekend designed to warn the public about the peeling paint problem.

Chrysler Canada refuses to comment on the matter.