Paint Problems
Discussion
I think I may have asked about this before, but need to ask again.
Has anyone got a new/newish Elise which is suffering excessive stone chips.
Mines a Magnetic Blur 111R and has only done 4000miles and yet looks worse than the family car which has done 55000miles.
I know Gooby has exactly the same problem (Magnetic blue too), his has done a few more miles and was wondering if anyone else could say if they are experiencing issues.
The really worrying thing is the size of the paint chips. It seems that the paint comes off around the impact point, far more than you would expect. Some as large as 3-4mm.
Has anyone already gone to thier dealer or Lotus direct and if so what was the outcome.
Any News would be helpful.
Has anyone got a new/newish Elise which is suffering excessive stone chips.
Mines a Magnetic Blur 111R and has only done 4000miles and yet looks worse than the family car which has done 55000miles.
I know Gooby has exactly the same problem (Magnetic blue too), his has done a few more miles and was wondering if anyone else could say if they are experiencing issues.
The really worrying thing is the size of the paint chips. It seems that the paint comes off around the impact point, far more than you would expect. Some as large as 3-4mm.
Has anyone already gone to thier dealer or Lotus direct and if so what was the outcome.
Any News would be helpful.
Hi Beachbum
Myself and Boggy bought our Lotus Elise 111R last September (54 plate) from Strattons in Norfolk and we have got the same problem, there are scratches and chips at the front of the bonnet, we have let Strattons know and been told that it is prone to chipping and Strattons are going to investigate when it goes in for its next service. I think it is one of those things as the paint they have used is a lot thinner and will need to be resprayed in a year or so.... doesn't stop the enjoyment of it!!!
Mrs Boggy,
Thanks for that, is a bit concerning though as it seems to be more prevelant on the newer cars. What colour is yours as the only 2 instances so far of it being really bad are to Magnetic blue ones.
Mines also came from Strattons, via Micronet showroom. Funny thing was that when I rang strattons they would only give me retal price. Micronet saved me £2000, even though it came from a dealer I had already tried to deal with. Daft eh.
I might be taking mine down to the local dealer next week to try and get it looked at. Its far worse than it should be given the milage and the type of roads its driven on
Thanks for that, is a bit concerning though as it seems to be more prevelant on the newer cars. What colour is yours as the only 2 instances so far of it being really bad are to Magnetic blue ones.
Mines also came from Strattons, via Micronet showroom. Funny thing was that when I rang strattons they would only give me retal price. Micronet saved me £2000, even though it came from a dealer I had already tried to deal with. Daft eh.
I might be taking mine down to the local dealer next week to try and get it looked at. Its far worse than it should be given the milage and the type of roads its driven on
Beachbum
Seems to be the case that it is happening to the newest cars, ours is Ardent Red and the chips are very clear! We bought our Elise the same way you did via the internet and picked it up from Strattons.
We rarely drive on stoney roads and if we do Boggy and I drive soooo carefully to try avoiding chipping the car and making it worse, they should really give all new owners a respray for free!
Seems to be the case that it is happening to the newest cars, ours is Ardent Red and the chips are very clear! We bought our Elise the same way you did via the internet and picked it up from Strattons.
We rarely drive on stoney roads and if we do Boggy and I drive soooo carefully to try avoiding chipping the car and making it worse, they should really give all new owners a respray for free!
Mrs Boggy said:
Beachbum
Seems to be the case that it is happening to the newest cars, ours is Ardent Red and the chips are very clear! We bought our Elise the same way you did via the internet and picked it up from Strattons.
We rarely drive on stoney roads and if we do Boggy and I drive soooo carefully to try avoiding chipping the car and making it worse, they should really give all new owners a respray for free!
Hi Guy's
I'll speak to my contact at Lotus and see what the deal is, Mrs Boggy I'm sure Norman might be able to shed some light on this
Boggy
My honest opinion is that they havnt allowed the undercoat or paint to dry sufficiently before then finishing it off, hence the larger chip sizes than usual.
I have other issues around the engine cover, small white pin size spots, again something I intend to raise with the dealer when I have time.
Be nice to hear what your Lotus contact has to say. Mr Boggy are you not near enough to Mrs Boggy to mention Norman, by just shouting ?
I have other issues around the engine cover, small white pin size spots, again something I intend to raise with the dealer when I have time.
Be nice to hear what your Lotus contact has to say. Mr Boggy are you not near enough to Mrs Boggy to mention Norman, by just shouting ?
I've got an ardent red 111R, 3 months old with 2500 miles on the clock. I am absolutely sick of touching up paint chips on the front of the car and the sills
look as if somebody's fired a shot-gun at them. The paint seems to be very thin and has absolutely no impact resistance whatsoever. It's my second Elise. The previous one at 1000 miles threw up a stone from the nearside front tyre which went straight through the rear wheel arch!
>> Edited by blat on Thursday 12th May 22:45
look as if somebody's fired a shot-gun at them. The paint seems to be very thin and has absolutely no impact resistance whatsoever. It's my second Elise. The previous one at 1000 miles threw up a stone from the nearside front tyre which went straight through the rear wheel arch!
>> Edited by blat on Thursday 12th May 22:45
My Ardent Red 111r has also taken a hammering on the nose in terms of paint chips. I'm seriously thinking of a respray for the front clam at 12 months and an application of Armourfend thereafter. There are also quite a few swirls appearing, particularly on the rear haunches. However, you can get away with murder touching up the paint on a red car, so long as the repair paint is a reasonable match.
Also, I noticed that the finish on the alloys seems to be pretty vulnerable as well.
I'm going to give mine a full AutoGlym treatment this weekend, then break out the touch-up stick and some aluminium paint to take care of any remaining chips.
[k]
Also, I noticed that the finish on the alloys seems to be pretty vulnerable as well.
I'm going to give mine a full AutoGlym treatment this weekend, then break out the touch-up stick and some aluminium paint to take care of any remaining chips.
[k]
Speaking of touch-up paint, where's the best place to get them from... do you guys get touch-up paint through the dealer/service network or just get some colourmatched from other sources? My S1 has a few stonechips around the nose that I'd like to get to work on filling and masking at some point... just to stop them crazing or spreading if nothing else.
For my Elise, I bought the touch-up stick from the dealer - cost about £6.50 IIRC, for a standard sized stick matched by paint code. It is an excellent match, but the integeral brush is a bit clumsy.
However, I did have to get some paint colourmached for my MGB, as I was unable to find any suitable BRG paint - no matter what I tried, all the off-the-shelf stuff was too light. In the end, I went to a local independent paint shop - they mixed up a batch and made me two spray cans full for a very reasonable price. I don't know what they used, but the match was spot on.
HTH
[k]
However, I did have to get some paint colourmached for my MGB, as I was unable to find any suitable BRG paint - no matter what I tried, all the off-the-shelf stuff was too light. In the end, I went to a local independent paint shop - they mixed up a batch and made me two spray cans full for a very reasonable price. I don't know what they used, but the match was spot on.
HTH
[k]
Esprit said:
Speaking of touch-up paint, where's the best place to get them from... do you guys get touch-up paint through the dealer/service network or just get some colourmatched from other sources? My S1 has a few stonechips around the nose that I'd like to get to work on filling and masking at some point... just to stop them crazing or spreading if nothing else.
Hi
www.LOTUSCARS.CO.UK
Boggy
>> Edited by boggy on Friday 13th May 09:28
beachbum said:
My honest opinion is that they havnt allowed the undercoat or paint to dry sufficiently before then finishing it off, hence the larger chip sizes than usual.
I have other issues around the engine cover, small white pin size spots, again something I intend to raise with the dealer when I have time.
Be nice to hear what your Lotus contact has to say. Mr Boggy are you not near enough to Mrs Boggy to mention Norman, by just shouting ?
Yay !
Ho ! Ho!
No mate, we both work at Canary Wharf she work's for Morgan Stanley & I Clifford chance.
Mrs boggy's just as much into Lotus as I am makes life very easy
Boggy
I've got a late 2003 Elise I had from new and I had it Armourfended after about a week.
It has kept most of the front clam stone chip free but if something hits you hard enough it still gets through.
The worst area is just ahead of the rear wheel arches - I guess stones fly up from the front tyres - even with Armourfend both are damaged quite a lot.
It has kept most of the front clam stone chip free but if something hits you hard enough it still gets through.
The worst area is just ahead of the rear wheel arches - I guess stones fly up from the front tyres - even with Armourfend both are damaged quite a lot.
Well that doesn't sound very normal to me, although ardent red and dark blue will show up stone chips more that lighter colour, hence i bought a Glacier Blue 111s, the colour is almost the same as the undercoat so stonechips don't show up. That being said, i have 9,000 miles on mine now (04 plate) and have maybe one or two 1mm stone chips on the front. Sounds like you guys have a paint problem, or maybe you just drive too close to the car in front 
donkeyboy said:
Well that doesn't sound very normal to me, although ardent red and dark blue will show up stone chips more that lighter colour, hence i bought a Glacier Blue 111s, the colour is almost the same as the undercoat so stonechips don't show up. That being said, i have 9,000 miles on mine now (04 plate) and have maybe one or two 1mm stone chips on the front. Sounds like you guys have a paint problem, or maybe you just drive too close to the car in front
Hi guy's
Yes I agree but I don't drive close to the other road user's in front & I also take it very easy when I'm on ruff road's, I had a letter from Lotus acknowledging my paint Issue but thus far Stratton's have not been in touch.
My contact at Lotus say's that they do suffer from stone chip's as there so low which I expected but I still don't believe it should be like mine
Being low shouldnt make the amount of difference I am seeing.
Bird shot from a shotgun, would have had less affect.
Going to contact Lotus direct next week and see where that gets me, if it only results in me having to take it to a dealer for inspection, it gets the matter raised.
If enough of us do it, then maybe they will start to take notice.
>> Edited by beachbum on Friday 13th May 15:38
Bird shot from a shotgun, would have had less affect.
Going to contact Lotus direct next week and see where that gets me, if it only results in me having to take it to a dealer for inspection, it gets the matter raised.
If enough of us do it, then maybe they will start to take notice.
>> Edited by beachbum on Friday 13th May 15:38
beachbum said:
Being low shouldnt make the amount of difference I am seeing.
Bird shot from a shotgun, would have had less affect.
Going to contact Lotus direct next week and see where that gets me, if it only results in me having to take it to a dealer for inspection, it gets the matter raised.
If enough of us do it, then maybe they will start to take notice.
>> Edited by beachbum on Friday 13th May 15:38
Mrs Boggy has got there Customer services Number I'll get her to E-mail it to you.
Boggy
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