Paint issues? Does Your Car Live in a Garage or Outside?

[John_Matrix]

I have a friend on the factory tour soon. I’ll ask him to ask questions about this. Thought this issue was identified well before Feb24

 

[Beachbum]

Identified yes, fixed, not so much

 

[John_Matrix]

If they are fitting doors with a revised design as part of a solution, it would infer all the previous doors carry an inherent flaw. But I don’t think they have to recall unless it’s a safety issue.

 

[cwfg]

Whilst there is no enforcement of recall in this case, there is a pretty strong case for claims under the CPA in the U.K. It meets all the conditions - even for second hand owners, though Lotus will push back hard here as there is no automatic legal obligation but it’s not a get out of jail free card either. The paint/panel defect is widespread, affects resale value, and was due to a flaw present from manufacture. It leads to premature degradation of the product and is widely reported. Needless to say, it leads to financial loss for the purchaser through time without a car, repair costs or devaluation. All conditions for a claim are there but until the first out of warranty claim is made against Lotus no one knows how they will respond. That first case will set a precedent so it will be a fight.

 

[Beachbum]

In theory, given the info provided to me by a dealership yesterday, the Cars built post March 2024 all have the new doors fitted and therefore the first out of Warranty claim wont be until 5yrs after the first Emira was released, so I am guessing about 2027.
This is assuming Lotus try to claim this is a Paint issue and not a Bodywork issue. If Lotus accept it is Bodywork and/or the Claimant is able to get them to accept it, then we are looking at 2030 before an out of warranty claim is going to be made

 

[Beachbum]

If only... on my Feb 2024 build, first blister appeared a couple of weeks ago.

Speaking to a Dealer yesterday, his was adamant that anything after March 2024 should be OK. So you possibly missed the cutoff by a month

 

[RoryBellows]

In another thread about the new doors its mentioned that you can tell by the primer color on the interior of the door. They may have just switched primers to correct the issue. This would also correlate with them giving an end date for the initial problems.

 

[Biggles of Norwich]

I know even after manufacturing they sit at port for weeks even with plastic they are still getting weathered to some degree
and dealers do not have them inside for a week or two before picking up....And washing them still getting wet ..
These new paints they use today and it could be the enviroment of acid rain and such over time that could be breaking down paint life..
It's is something over time with those that are outside and not garaged....
Than the few who drive their Emira's all year round even in snow will be nice over time to hear how their paint is holding up..

It's not the paint, it's defective manufacture of the doors, ineffective sealing resulting in moisture lifting the paint. If it was just a paint defect the doors wouldn't need to be replaced.