We picked up our black '04 from the dealer on Friday and took it for a drive. Parked it in the garage and walked around to see how great it looked. Then-- my wife found a deep scratch on the right side, just in front of the rear wheel-well near the rocker panel. There's no way that it could have happended while we had the car, so it must have been there when we bought it. Looking closer, it seemed more like a crack in the panel than just a scratch. Of course we were sick. Managed to sleep anway.

Yesterday we took it for a nice long drive on the highway and on some curvy roads out in the country. Stopped the car, and my wife looked at the scratch. Turned out not to be a scratch or a crack. It's a tiny little panel (on the left side also) that had some white wax where it joined the rest of the car. Whew! It's ok. But, it seems to serve no purpose. It appears to be a superfluous little panel on top of the rear quarter panel.

Now, no car company would go to the expense of adding an unnecessary panel. Does anybody else have any idea what this is?

 

Rock guard, protects the paint! It's actually clear plastic.

 

Not a panel. It's a chip guard thingy!( best way I could describe it.) It's actually like a thin film that it put on the car to help prevent that area from getting chipped from rocks on the road and other debris. All 8's have them.

 

Normal. Don't remove it. Also, congrats and welcome to the club!!

- Irish

 

Thanks, guys. It did seem like a thin plastic thing over the regular sheet metal. Really scared us, though, when my wife saw it. Didn't think that I could go back to the dealer and say that they'd sold me a damaged car. Would have looked pretty stupid when they saw what I was worried about.

BTW-- it's great! Took it up to Marin County (north of San Francisco) and had some great backroads. My wife drove the curves faster than I did. And now I'm teaching her about matching engine speed on downshifts-- and about not going into 2nd when she thinks that it's 4th.

 

Thats what it is alright. Also, take a look at the bottom-rear of the rear door opening and you will find more of the stuff. There, I answering your second question before you asked it.

 

Glad we could help! Enjoy your 8, it's a great ride!

 

Did the same thing over Thanksgiving when I visited my mother and sister in Marin. The 8 is the perfect car for twisting along those NorCal rural and semi-rural roads. Just watch out for the cows.