Oxford White Owners Check In

[ScubaDadMiami]

Salsaguy brought up the question about white staying cleaner looking in this thread: http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/1934-platinum-white-owners-check-in/?p=19078.  I selected Oxford White as my color choice.  I didn't want to take away from the happy platinum white owners' thread by preaching the many virtues of Oxford White.  So, I decided to start a new thread about why this is my color selection.

 

I live in South Florida.  The summers are disgustingly hot and humid.  White (with a light interior) really does seem to help with getting the car cooler faster.  This was the first reason that I went with OW.

 

White seems to look clean for longer than some of the other color selections.  I intend to keep my new CMAX clean.  However, with it raining pretty much every afternoon for six months of the year down here, I want something that will keep looking good between washings. 

 

I see people ordering all kinds of wraps and protectants for their vehicle's exterior.  Some are quite expensive.  The combined cost of some of these protectants and the metallic flake tricoat paint job starts approaching the cost of the Panoramic Roof.  I elected to put that money toward the Roof instead of paying for the paint job and protectants.

 

Does this mean that I am not going to take car of my Oxford White exterior?  Not at all.  My last car was a variant of metallic flake tricoat white.  When I got some scratches in it, the body shop told me that matching the paint, blending and applying the clear coat would be much more expensive than if I had just gone with plain white for my vehicle color choice.  This time around, rather than getting the more expensive paint plus protectants at the outset, I am just going to make it easier to keep my new CMAX new looking in the less-expensive-to-maintain Oxford White.  If something happens, I'll get it touched up professionally for a reasonable price.

 

So, these are some of the reasons behind my color selection.  I carry no ill will toward CMAXes of any model or color.  :hi5: Hurray for Oxford White!  :rockon:

[jmckinley]

Amen on white being easier to keep looking good.  Has to be really dirty before it looks dirty.  Waxing is a breeze since you don't have to worry about streaks and spider webs.

 

Also amen on staying away from metallics since they are impossible to match.  My C Max was backed into so a rear door and rear quarter panel had to be repaired and repainted. It is a perfect match and you can't tell it was ever injured.  If it was Platinum White I guarantee the new paint would not have matched.

[fotomoto]

In a former profession, I had a few white company vehicles and I agree they do well with dirt but........ they are bad with chips (black underneath) and bugs on the front fascia and road tar/oils behind the wheels.  Give and take.   Personally I've found the best color for hiding road grime/dirt, by far, is brown/tan/light gold/etc.   

[plus 3 golfer]

I bought the Oxford White for virtually the same reasons.  

 

The Platinum does look nice but having owned two other tri-coat white variants, I will not spend the extra for tri-coat when one buys the car and then spend more again when one has to get it touched up professionally.   I have tried touching up tri-coat paint chips with many types of after market touch up kits (which usually only supply the base coat) but the paint never matched. From 3-4 feet it's acceptable but any closer and one can easily pick out the mismatched paint.

 

I've also had large areas resprayed professionally (after son had two minor collisions) and you could always see the difference from an OE painted tri-coat body panel and an after-market tri-coat painted panel.

 

BTW, I am a fan of the clear-bra film albeit I paid about $500 for the installation.  If I owned a tri-coat colored car, planned on long term ownership, and freeway driving (at normal freeway speeds ;)), I'd recommend investing in a clear-bra.  IMHO, one either pays upfront for protection or pays when one sells the car either with a respray of the front end or lower resale value due to front end chips.   

[fordfan82]

My sales guy says the oxford white looks dull and boring? He said he likes the metallic better. Is oxford white really that bad?

[ScubaDadMiami]

I now have over 15,000 on my C-MAX, and I am still very glad that I chose Oxford White. Sure, some of the other colors look great when the car is brand new. Put a few miles and a few scratches on your new car, and then see how much it costs to get a touch-up job done by a professional, because you will certainly need one to make the more expensive paint job look like it never happened.

 

Try this experiment. Call a local body shop, and ask them how much it would cost for a scratch to get repaired with one version of the paint versus the other. Make sure to let them know that one includes the metallic flake plus clear coat, and that the other does not. Oh, and you might also ask them about getting a perfect match with the tricoat versus the Oxford White.

 

With the other colors, it costs more for the paint job as an option, and then it costs more to maintain. If it costs more to maintain, you are less likely to get scratches fixed as often. Which car will look better then?

[knahs42]

Got my Oxford White 2014 C-Max Hybrid SEL yesterday - so far I love it but didn't drive it to work today as it is supposed to rain and I didn't want it to get wet on the first day.

[mtb9153]

My sales guy says the oxford white looks dull and boring? He said he likes the metallic better. Is oxford white really that bad?

I have to say I do prefer my Platinum White much better, but that's just my opinion

[mtb9153]

I now have over 15,000 on my C-MAX, and I am still very glad that I chose Oxford White. Sure, some of the other colors look great when the car is brand new. Put a few miles and a few scratches on your new car, and then see how much it costs to get a touch-up job done by a professional, because you will certainly need one to make the more expensive paint job look like it never happened.

 

Try this experiment. Call a local body shop, and ask them how much it would cost for a scratch to get repaired with one version of the paint versus the other. Make sure to let them know that one includes the metallic flake plus clear coat, and that the other does not. Oh, and you might also ask them about getting a perfect match with the tricoat versus the Oxford White.

 

With the other colors, it costs more for the paint job as an option, and then it costs more to maintain. If it costs more to maintain, you are less likely to get scratches fixed as often. Which car will look better then?

Love my tri-coat well worth the extra cost

[mtb9153]

Amen on white being easier to keep looking good.  Has to be really dirty before it looks dirty.  Waxing is a breeze since you don't have to worry about streaks and spider webs.

 

Also amen on staying away from metallics since they are impossible to match.  My C Max was backed into so a rear door and rear quarter panel had to be repaired and repainted. It is a perfect match and you can't tell it was ever injured.  If it was Platinum White I guarantee the new paint would not have matched.

If it was Platinum White I guarantee the new paint would not have matched....Not if it is done right and by a decent shop.  You get what you pay for.

[finallycarforme]

I've had my Oxford White for a week now and I do like it.  It was more a case of buying what they had to make a deal on than choosing it but it looks very clean and fresh and I like that it has high visibility.  It's very easy to spot in parking lots and I like knowing that it won't disappear into shadows when my teenagers are driving it.  I would have preferred the light stone interior but ended up with charcoal.  My chief complaint about that is that my favorite down coat leaves tiny feathers stuck to it and they really show.  I'm surprised at how much I like the comfort of the cloth seats though, they are much warmer to sit on initially than leather.  I love the way the leather looks but it is freezing to sit on in winter and I've scorched my legs on it in summer.  I know the heated seats would fix that, I have them on the cloth seats and they are awesome, so much better than the ones on my Odyssey.   Overall, I love this car, every time I get into it, I do a little happy dance.    :woohoo:

 

I'd also like to point out that this website has the best emoticons ever...   :clapping:

[rotozuk]

At the dealership I loved the Ruby Red, the darker Blue and both of the whites. I originally wanted the metallic white but they could not find a car with the options I wanted in that color. (Only one and it was 500 miles away.) Luckily while they were hunting I came to my senses and went with the Oxford. I have had a number of white vehicles, and prefer white. The metallic whites are starting to look kind of old to me. Cadillac has done that color to death, so has Toyota and well, most all car companies. While simple clean white seems to always look better to me, even on older vehicles. 

 

I have owned black cars - pain in the butt, but look great for a few hours after a car wash. Grey and silver cars - I hate these colors now. The silver car developed cracks in the paint and no body shop wanted to touch the car without a full repaint. 

 

Besides, black looks so good against the white.

 

For the interior I went with the stone as we have a yellow lab. Pretty simple really. I think Ford did a great job with the black interior, it just looks amazing, but it is not yellow fur friendly. 

 

While it is not hot season yet, I'm happy to report that I have been driving around with the a/c system off. Not something I could do last week with my gun metal grey Mazda 3 that the C-max replaces. I was affraid the pano roof was going to heat up the car, but so far it does not seem to be an issue. 

 

-Wayne

[jeffdunncom]

Just bought my 2015 SEL w/ Oxford White. I definitely like it, but don't think it's worth the extra cost. But dealer inventory was really sparse and this was the best selection for what was available. Would have preferred the blue - or, better yet, if they still offered Ice Storm.

[DaveofDurham]

Just bought my 2015 SEL w/ Oxford White. I definitely like it, but don't think it's worth the extra cost. But dealer inventory was really sparse and this was the best selection for what was available. Would have preferred the blue - or, better yet, if they still offered Ice Storm.

. Welcome to the forum. What extra cost are you referring to?

[ScubaDadMiami]

. Welcome to the forum. What extra cost are you referring to?

+1. Oxford White is not a premium charge color.

[Gary H]

Proud owner of an Oxford White C-max SEL. Not what I wanted but there are so few C-max's to choose from in Montreal. I am starting to really like the white. I have yet to see another C-max of any color on the road. I've had the car for 2 weeks now and so far I love it!

[marshtex2]

My 2013 was white platinum and l didn't know then it was supposed to be something special. Grew to like it less and less especially considering repair expense and matching. The Oxford white on the 2015 helped grab into trading. Love it.

Edited June 26, 2015 by marshtex2

[cheezy]

Just snagged a '13 in Ox White on accident, it was all they had.

 

Used to work in A GM paint shop, white was the easiest for everything spray, repair, you name it.

 

As we heat up she'll stay cooler, which reminds me I have to name the beast. 

[jackalopetx]

I've always wanted a white car for less heat absorption but was never able to find one, until now. My Oxford White C-Max is great. It's amazing how cool it stays on sunny days. The tan interior is great too. The dash is black so it probably doesn't matter for temperature, but the tan feels very spacious.