Paint blistering on the Rear Quarter Panel...!!! Am I the first??

[robrmon]

QUICK UPDATE

Lotus CS called me AM this morning and were more willing to replace the Rear Quarter Panel.

They are not committed to it as of yet because the Lotus Warranty Team would have to approve it.

I made it clear to them today that under NO CIRCUMSTANCE my car should be painted at a bodyshop.

It is to much of a large area I'm my mind to paint and blend with a different batch of Nimbus Grey Paint.

I have expressed to them that my Emira should go back to the factory for the paint warranty repairs. Possibly replace all the panels to get the right match.

If not Refund or Replace the car.

Excellent, hold firm

 

[Yas.totti10]

UPDATE

Lotus HQ have been stringing me along for 2 weeks telling me that they would get this issue sorted properly...

They agreed that the Rear Quarter Panel should be replaced with a new panel from factory.

SHOCKING EMAIL TODAY

Well well well!!!! Email from LOTUS HQ informs me OF VERY GOOD NEWS!!! (In their mind)


The body shop have sanded down and painted over the microblisters on the rear quarter panel

(Without my approval)

This has been resolved to the "highest possible standard" according to them.

All work was approved from Lotus Warranty team without liasing with me or even asking me.

Car is now back at the dealership

What a way to make you feel like an outsider towards a car that you own

I am feeling very disheartened now.

 

[Yas.totti10]

It all feels like a conspiracy...cover up job

I was never privy to knowing where exactly the blisters were on the rear quarter panel.

Everything was managed without any communication.

Now I am supposed to be happy with a panel that will inevitably Fail.

 

[Wonza]

UPDATE

Lotus HQ have been stringing me along for 2 weeks telling me that they would get this issue sorted properly...

They agreed that the Rear Quarter Panel should be replaced with a new panel from factory.

SHOCKING EMAIL TODAY

Well well well!!!! Email from LOTUS HQ informs me OF VERY GOOD NEWS!!! (In their mind)


The body shop have sanded down and painted over the microblisters on the rear quarter panel

(Without my approval)

This has been resolved to the "highest possible standard" according to them.

All work was approved from Lotus Warranty team without liasing with me or even asking me.

Car is now back at the dealership

What a way to make you feel like an outsider towards a car that you own

I am feeling very disheartened now.

That’s your reason to reject. It’s all down to costs.

 

[Yas.totti10]

That’s your reason to reject. It’s all down to costs.

Thanks Wonza!!!!!

You've been spot on all along.... the response I had today infuriated me!

Here is some of it

"The necessary repairs have been meticulously executed by our skilled Lotus centre staff, following the precise directives of the warranty team to restore the car to its optimal condition. With unwavering dedication and a commitment to excellence, our team takes immense pride in their work, and we are fully confident that you will be nothing short of delighted with the exceptional results.


In the rare event that any imperfections with the rear panel should surface upon repossessing the vehicle, we are fully prepared to swiftly arrange for the replacement of the panel to ensure your complete satisfaction and peace of mind.

While we understand that this may not be the news you were anticipating, please rest assured that we stand behind the high quality of our work"

What a load of Tosh!!!!!!!

 

[Green]

Thanks Wonza!!!!!

You've been spot on all along.... the response I had today infuriated me!

Here is some of it

"The necessary repairs have been meticulously executed by our skilled Lotus centre staff, following the precise directives of the warranty team to restore the car to its optimal condition. With unwavering dedication and a commitment to excellence, our team takes immense pride in their work, and we are fully confident that you will be nothing short of delighted with the exceptional results.


In the rare event that any imperfections with the rear panel should surface upon repossessing the vehicle, we are fully prepared to swiftly arrange for the replacement of the panel to ensure your complete satisfaction and peace of mind.

While we understand that this may not be the news you were anticipating, please rest assured that we stand behind the high quality of our work"

What a load of Tosh!!!!!!!

Yeah this is enough for me to cancel my order. The fact that the Evora had paint problems and now the Emira is having similar issues is not a good sign. Imagine being in the US and trying to get Lotus to warranty. There has been zero communication from Lotus about the issue that I know of. How can people buy a product with a known issue that has not been addressed by the seller? People saying it is just an early production issue are clearly in denial. I’m loving my GT3 and will stick with it. Probably revisit in a couple years if bespoke colors and paint issue is clearly resolved. Good luck!

 

[Yas.totti10]

Yeah this is enough for me to cancel my order. The fact that the Evora had paint problems and now the Emira is having similar issues is not a good sign. Imagine being in the US and trying to get Lotus to warranty. There has been zero communication from Lotus about the issue that I know of. How can people buy a product with a known issue that has not been addressed by the seller? People saying it is just an early production issue are clearly in denial. I’m loving my GT3 and will stick with it. Probably revisit in a couple years if bespoke colors and paint issue is clearly resolved. Good luck!

I've been 6 weeks without my car now.

It gets tiring being treated like it your fault that a brand new car has these embarrassing issues.

Lotus Customer Service is classless.

It's like their measure of success is how much they can leave you hating them and regret buying a Lotus Emira.

I own my own business...

Rule number 1..

Treat your customers well!!!!

 

[Green]

I've been 6 weeks without my car now.

It gets tiring being treated like it your fault that a brand new car has these embarrassing issues.

Lotus Customer Service is classless.

It's like their measure of success is how much they can leave you hating them and regret buying a Lotus Emira.

I own my own business...

Rule number 1..

Treat your customers well!!!!

6 weeks

I feel your pain. It might work for some people but not me. The culture of corporate Lotus is becoming undesirable. Best of luck to you. So sad because I still feel it is one of the best looking cars available.

 

[Yas.totti10]

6 weeks

I feel your pain. It might work for some people but not me. The culture of corporate Lotus is becoming undesirable. Best of luck to you. So sad because I still feel it is one of the best looking cars available.

I completely agree with you with regards to the cars look etc

It takes the biscuit the my wifes local MINI garage and their customer service always impresses me.

It signals to you how bad you are being treated

 

[Speedy Emira]

Now I am supposed to be happy with a panel that will inevitably Fail.

Hi Yas.totti10: I have 3 little pimple blemishes on my near side rear quarter panel that I intend to point out to the dealer when I next pop passed.
When I bought my car it was pre owned with 2400 miles on the clock. There were some stone chips on the front bump that I hand repaired by a trusted paint sprayers. They did the localised repair, including blending it in and re-lacquering the whole pumper.

I’d be interested to know why you think that’s fair?

 

[Yas.totti10]

The doors, rear quarter panels, and tailgate are all made of the same material that seems to be prone to this paint bubbling issue. Sanding the rear quarter panel down won't do anything, it will fix it temporarily and it will bubble again.

I believe KitKat is spot on with regards to this issue.

I have looked into the material composite and manufacturing process and this simple conclusion is very accurate. The panel is DEFECTED if bubbles are present.

Sadly with regards to the Lotus Warranty Team.... I feel all warranty repairs are looked at according to what is best for their budget towards an issue arising.

A good indicator for this is......

My driver side door was a 4 week long daily battle to move from their suggestion to sand and paint TO change the door panel.

 

[seriously]

What is the cause of these paint bubbles? How can some panels be defective and some not?

 

[Drevil]

I ran into this exact issue with my elise a few years ago and it continued to worsen. It was the both doors. I had them stripped down and resprayed, it happened again!!!! just reading this literally gave me the shivers and makes me want to cancel my order. The seattle dealership has 15k non refundable of my money and that makes me sick.

 

[lion shf]

Is there no limit on your (Emira owners) acceptance of schit build issues?

 

[Yas.totti10]

Is there no limit on your (Emira owners) acceptance of schit build issues?

I think that runs through both us as consumers and Lotus HQ given how my experience is transpiring.

They act like it's normal and acceptable

 

[Speedy Emira]

Now I have mine back with the new paint and body panel I am really glad it has been sorted.
The only thing I’m not convinced of is whether it happens again in the future.
My personal view is we should get a new paint warranty starting from the date they rectified the sub standard build.
Do you think that is reasonable?

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Now I have mine back with the new paint and body panel I am really glad it has been sorted.
The only thing I’m not convinced of is whether it happens again in the future.
My personal view is we should get a new paint warranty starting from the date they rectified the sub standard build.
Do you think that is reasonable?

Totally, but it won't happen. My car goes into JCT600 in Bradford next week for a non working reversing camera and them looking at both doors blistering.

My car isn't garaged and I got it 6 months ago, prior to that it had been garaged and not used for over a year, so the time frame fits with others experiences.

I love the Lotus CS talking about 'high standards', JCT600 have an accident repair centre that covers all the brands they sell, even the service workshop isn't Lotus specific, and a user on here had a terrible paint job done. I wonder if Lotus would pay for actual paint specialists to redo?

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Has anyone with blisters had an "official" explanation from Lotus about the root cause of this problem?

There are lots of strongly held views on this forum and the dealers give their own (often incorrect) opinions. But what is Lotus saying is the root cause?

For example:

1. Moisture getting trapped during painting - that's a Hethel screw up
2. Bad panel design (drainage, etc) leading to moisture building up behind the paint layer - design screw up
3. Insufficient sealing inside panels also leading to moisture building up behind the paint
4. Moisture getting trapped in the pressing during panel manufacture - that's a screw up by the Japanese
5. Micro cracks in the panels - handling error

I guess the answer is at least partly #2, given they have modified the doors on more recent Emiras.

 

[Man.v.Cars]

Has anyone with blisters had an "official" explanation from Lotus about the root cause of this problem?

There are lots of strongly held views on this forum and the dealers give their own (often incorrect) opinions. But what is Lotus saying is the root cause?

For example:

1. Moisture getting trapped during painting - that's a factory screw up
2. Bad panel design (drainage, etc) leading to moisture building up behind the paint layer - design screw up
3. Moisture getting trapped in the pressing during panel manufacture - that's a screw up by the Japanese
4. Micro cracks in the panels - handling error

I guess the answer is at least partly #2, given they have modified the doors on more recent Emiras.

3. Chinese not Japanese?

The panels are made in France, Chinese company, from what I've read on here.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

3. Chinese not Japanese?

The panels are made in France, Chinese company, from what I've read on here.

The panels are manufactured and coated with conductive primer in Portugal by Teijin Automotive Technologies, a Japanese company.

The SMC raw material (sheet molded compound) is made in Teijin's factory in France before being shipped to Portugal.

Teijin is providing the doors, rear quarter panels, and the inner, outer and lower shells of the tailgate.