Hi all, first post here as not yet in an Emira but really want to be…

[cwfg]

Apologies in advance for the long post. Yesterday I drove 2 hours to a Lotus dealership in the South East of the U.K. to view a 23MY V6 Emira in VG. While there my wife and I were handed the keys to a demo and told to take the car for an hour long test drive which I was not expecting but it was great. Everything I’d heard or read about the Emira was spot on and “I want one” was all I came away feeling - that and like I’d just done 10 rounds with my 5 year old after a bag of sugar.

Now to the problem. I was about to pay a deposit on a 2 year old, Verdant Green FE V6 with 5k miles, priced at £63k from Lotus. That was until I noticed the extensive bubbling of the paint along the top of the passenger door. I pointed it out to the dealer but he was dismissive saying it would be sorted before sale but it just didn’t sit well with me. 2 year old £60k+ car with bubbling paint?

Anyway, that’s how I ended up here. Despite hours of YouTube reviews raving about the Emira, I hadn’t come across the paint issue until now. I’ve since spent several hours going through this forum reading everything I can on the paint issues and it’s left me hanging by a thread on buying an Emira at all. I called the dealership back today and asked how long to fix it and if both doors would be sorted and this time I was told that I would need to sort it myself after purchase, through the warranty . More red flags. The reality as I see it is that in about a years time when warranties start expiring, Emira ownership will be in a game of roulette with these paint issues. Potential mechanical issues, the odd electrical issue, distant dealerships, etc, all manageable, but the risk of the paint blistering in the future and the expense that may follow given it’s not just skin deep, makes this car a sizeable risk for any out of warranty owners of these early cars.

I guess I’m posting because it’s very hard to know how to treat this issue. The shadiness of the 5 to 3 year paint warranty ‘scam’ shows just how Lotus intend to play it - string it out until warranties pass and leave the owners holding the baby. I don’t know if anyone has advice, but my head right now is saying run a mile from Lotus as a brand. Is this really the Lotus “experience”? If Lotus appeared to be owning the situation I wouldn’t have an issue with the defects but who wants to spend £60k+ on a car with that hanging over their head! Am I overthinking this, or is this a ticking time bomb?

 

[Lotustoronto]

Early cars seem to be more prone to the paint bubbling. There has been different sources that claim revised doors being put on new cars has rectified the issue. In the US/CAN market the paint bubbling seems to be mostly rectified, although some have had it.

My opinion, if this is a Lotus dealer and they refuse to have to door's fixed prior to delivery, I would not purchase the Emira. If they have it warrantied I would not have a problem with it. Apart from small niggles, my car has been great. Remember this is a low volume sports car and will always have some quirks. You only live once!

 

[Beardedbradley]

Sounds like one of endeavour lotus cars, they’ve probably had it a while as I’ve watched their stock for ages it hardly moves, Offer a low price and start the paint warranty door process.

 

[Lucaboy]

I bought a pre registered car with less than 20 miles on the clock from a lotus dealership in Southampton. Paid in full, arranged collection and was then notified of the paint bubbling. It was effectively a brand new car. Registered August 2024. Taken 2 weeks later. I accepted the car and arranged to get it rectified under warranty as I was like a spoilt child and just wanted to drive it. I lost the car for one week. The car is worth every penny of anyone’s money and I’m delighted with it. It’s gorgeous to look at and somehow even better to drive.
I haven’t had single issue since.

My advice is this. Request that they must pay for paint correction across the full car with a ceramic coating. This so the paintwork on the full car will look gorgeous and protected. Without this you will have perfect paint on the doors and down the sides where they blend the paintwork but potential swirl marks on the rear and front of car, these are inevitable on any unprotected dark coloured car. Get £1k knocked off so that you can pay to do this after you get the car back from the body shop. It will then look brand new as opposed to used. So in effect you have benefited from needing the work!

If they agree to the sale at a lower price, drive it from the forecourt like you stole it. No one will notice the bubbling if you are on the move. The only regret you will have is losing her for a week, or not buying a V6 whilst you can still get one. Good luck and send photos when completed

 

[RPM06]

I had more or less the same experience as you at the same dealers last Wednesday. Was seriously considering purchasing the Magma Red V6 auto 23MY but wanted to know about what happens when the warranty runs out and the answer was vague. I spoke to Lotus yesterday who confirmed that you cannot extend the warranty, even though their own website is very ambiguous about this. It does state that you can get a 1 year extended warranty for £999 and 2 years for £1799 BUT this is only available to the original owner if they select this at the point of sale. It is not available to pre-owned buyers. So it seems that if anything goes wrong after the 3 years are up, then us, as the customers will have to foot the bill. Also, I wasn’t happy buying it knowing that when I come to potentially selling it on, then it would have no warranty and would that put potential buyers off of it. I’m used to Porsche and have found their warranty is exceptional and is easily extended if required. It’s such a shame because I really like the car but agree with you about running a mile from Lotus as a brand.

 

[Blackthought_]

I had more or less the same experience as you at the same dealers last Wednesday. Was seriously considering purchasing the Magma Red V6 auto 23MY but wanted to know about what happens when the warranty runs out and the answer was vague. I spoke to Lotus yesterday who confirmed that you cannot extend the warranty, even though their own website is very ambiguous about this. It does state that you can get a 1 year extended warranty for £999 and 2 years for £1799 BUT this is only available to the original owner if they select this at the point of sale. It is not available to pre-owned buyers. So it seems that if anything goes wrong after the 3 years are up, then us, as the customers will have to foot the bill. Also, I wasn’t happy buying it knowing that when I come to potentially selling it on, then it would have no warranty and would that put potential buyers off of it. I’m used to Porsche and have found their warranty is exceptional and is easily extended if required. It’s such a shame because I really like the car but agree with you about running a mile from Lotus as a brand.

Doesn’t every single car manufactur warranty expire after about 3 years? If your dealer doesn’t offer extended warranty then just consider going through a third party.

 

[Rcktmn]

Doesn’t every single car manufactur warranty expire after about 3 years? If your dealer doesn’t offer extended warranty then just consider going through a third party.

Typically there's a 3 year 36k mile warranty for wear and tear/maintenance items (basic coverage). And there is a separate warranty for powertrain that is longer (6+ years 60k miles).

The difference with the Emira is the powertrain warranty is also short (3 years 36k miles)

 

[Elise111s]

To the OP I went through much the same thought process and soul searching before I bought an Emira. Having had a few interesting cars (911s, McLaren, Exige, Elise) in the past I thought I had ticked that box and was quite happy with the Elise 111s which I still have. Then I was out on a bike ride about 18 months ago and saw a Magma Emira in stationary traffic not far from Hethel. I thought it looked incredible and assumed it was a Ferrari. I was so out of touch with cars I didn't even know what it was. When I saw LOTUS on the back that was the start of the slippery slope to ownership.

A couple of test drives only confirmed that this was the car for me. Then a wave of reality kicked in when an Emira I went to view had the dreaded blisters. Digging into the issue revealed the other common faults and I questioned the wisdom of buying a car which was likely to have some issues and with potentially flakey customer service.

In the end, I had a word with myself and went ahead. It helped having had 2 Lotuses previously and knowing that there was over a year left on the warranty to sort any other issues out. The Lotus centre addressing the paint has been great and the work's been approved.

I look forward to taking the car out every time I drive it. For me, there's nothing else that I'm interested in owning short of a manual GT3 (at over twice the price) and I'm not convinced I'd take even that over an Emira. So my advice would be to go for it at the right price and get all the issues sorted under warranty. If anything goes wrong after that it's at Lotus prices rather than Ferrari / Lambo / Porsche money. A bit of hassle is all part of the Lotus experience.

 

[911toEmira]

Apologies in advance for the long post. Yesterday I drove 2 hours to a Lotus dealership in the South East of the U.K. to view a 23MY V6 Emira in VG. While there my wife and I were handed the keys to a demo and told to take the car for an hour long test drive which I was not expecting but it was great. Everything I’d heard or read about the Emira was spot on and “I want one” was all I came away feeling - that and like I’d just done 10 rounds with my 5 year old after a bag of sugar.

Now to the problem. I was about to pay a deposit on a 2 year old, Verdant Green FE V6 with 5k miles, priced at £63k from Lotus. That was until I noticed the extensive bubbling of the paint along the top of the passenger door. I pointed it out to the dealer but he was dismissive saying it would be sorted before sale but it just didn’t sit well with me. 2 year old £60k+ car with bubbling paint?

Anyway, that’s how I ended up here. Despite hours of YouTube reviews raving about the Emira, I hadn’t come across the paint issue until now. I’ve since spent several hours going through this forum reading everything I can on the paint issues and it’s left me hanging by a thread on buying an Emira at all. I called the dealership back today and asked how long to fix it and if both doors would be sorted and this time I was told that I would need to sort it myself after purchase, through the warranty . More red flags. The reality as I see it is that in about a years time when warranties start expiring, Emira ownership will be in a game of roulette with these paint issues. Potential mechanical issues, the odd electrical issue, distant dealerships, etc, all manageable, but the risk of the paint blistering in the future and the expense that may follow given it’s not just skin deep, makes this car a sizeable risk for any out of warranty owners of these early cars.

I guess I’m posting because it’s very hard to know how to treat this issue. The shadiness of the 5 to 3 year paint warranty ‘scam’ shows just how Lotus intend to play it - string it out until warranties pass and leave the owners holding the baby. I don’t know if anyone has advice, but my head right now is saying run a mile from Lotus as a brand. Is this really the Lotus “experience”? If Lotus appeared to be owning the situation I wouldn’t have an issue with the defects but who wants to spend £60k+ on a car with that hanging over their head! Am I overthinking this, or is this a ticking time bomb?

You should be negotiating a heavy discount on the car, they will not want it sat around and most people wouldn’t buy with the paint issues.

Once resolved it seems not to reoccur, I’ve just bought a 24 plate at £63k 700 miles it is 6 months old and was up for £68k. New doors and painted - use that as a guide.

The dealer really should be running it through warranty themselves, the dealer I bought from did and they have been on top of everything pre-delivery.

If they don’t care now they won’t care after the sale - go to another dealer.

 

[cwfg]

Wow, great responses. Thanks all for taking the time. I know there is probably a bias to the advice as this is an Emira forum and if I were being honest with myself, I was hoping that would be the case because I really want the car.

So the general consensus seems to be to use the paint as leverage to get the price down, get it sorted and to go enjoy the car. I think this was the nudge I needed to get my head to catch up with my heart. The Emira blew me away on the test drive - like no other car ever has and I’ve been thinking about it since the moment I left the dealership. I’m in. Will give the guy a call tomorrow and see what I can haggle the price to. I will then take the advice to do paint correction and ceramic coat. Nice touch.

@RPM06 - funny, that red car looks stunning and they were quick to tell me they had a “very likely buyer” already.

@911toEmira - did you buy from Lotus? That does seem like a great price you got. Based on that, I’d be looking for sub £60k for this car.

I’ll report back once I have a deal and hope to become a more frequent member of the club.

Thanks again for the nudge/advice.

 

[911toEmira]

Yes, I bought from a lotus dealer, it’s easy to let the heart rule but there are plenty of cars out there so no need to rush.

I say this as someone extremely impulsive myself