USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[seriously]

A topic for another thread… but the point I was trying to make is that polishing down orange peel, scratches and even swirl marks makes the clear coat thinner and thinner, until it is eventually gone. Removing orange peel would likely remove most of the clear coat.

This is my understanding also. Ironically I noticed orange peel a lot more on German cars like BMWs and Mercedes than japanese cars like Honda and Toyota. No joke, I thought orange peel was a feature until someone told me otherwise.

 

[Finbarqs]

What PPF is best? Naples offers Xpel

 

[Magma]

Oy the orange peel thing again....It honestly scares me that I'm still reading that orange peel needs to be removed.

You never EVER remove orange peel on factory paint. Clear coat is as thick as a piece of paper. What happens when you thin it down too much? It fails and then you're repainting. And a repaint is never as good as Factory. It's just a different technique entirely.

The only cars one would ever remove orange peel on is a show car OR a car that's been repainted and has multiple layers of clear.

Also, when judging a classic car, one way to tell if a panel has been repainted is how orange peel matches from panel to panel. Repainted panels have a different texture.

 

[Fasttoys]

Quick update RE Lotus of Dallas -- got a hold of Tony who is my salesperson, and he said that the only fee required is the dealer prep fee of $1600, which includes a full paint prep before delivery. To me that's reasonable alongside all the other things they do. Pricey for just a paint prep but no other required fees. Ceramic/PPF is optional.

Prep fee of $1600 & Doc fee $289.75 Sorry that is $$$ for the dealer. Unfortunately, some are worse than others. I guess one way to look at it is Inflation, everything is expensive, interest rates, waiters want a 20% to 25% tip now, look at home prices my values keep going up.

 

[Fasttoys]

Oy the orange peel thing again....It honestly scares me that I'm still reading that orange peel needs to be removed.

You never EVER remove orange peel on factory paint. Clear coat is as thick as a piece of paper. What happens when you thin it down too much? It fails and then you're repainting. And a repaint is never as good as Factory. It's just a different technique entirely.

The only cars one would ever remove orange peel on is a show car OR a car that's been repainted and has multiple layers of clear.

Also, when judging a classic car, one way to tell if a panel has been repainted is how orange peel matches from panel to panel. Repainted panels have a different texture.

A friend of mine just did a Lotus Tour at the factory (3-13-24). The tour guide said the paint booth is state of the art and Lotus was able to get the paint down to 50 thickness from the average of 200 with the Evora & GT. I say No way on sanding the clear coat.

 

[benjh1028]

Just drove my Seneca blue Emira home. White interior, yellow calipers, black wheels. View attachment 38830

Awesome! I know that showroom!

 

[Porter]

Huh? You definitely want orange peel removed. Especially before ppf.

There isn't enough paint on a modern car to do that. You'd have to remove the entirety of the clear coat and half the paint.

The primary thing that will lower or eliminate the orange peel effect is actually PPF.

 

[robrmon]

The car I saw the other day in Miami had a ton of orange peel. If my car comes that way, I’ll probably live with it, but it was noticeable, so a little concerning.

 

[PrimalD]

Just drove my Seneca blue Emira home. White interior, yellow calipers, black wheels. View attachment 38830

Congratulation's, Looks great! I got the same spec but with tan interior.

 

[John777]

Just drove my Seneca blue Emira home. White interior, yellow calipers, black wheels. View attachment 38830

Myspec except i have diamond cut wheels.. these look sweet though.. have me contemplating.

 

[DaaS]

Just drove my Seneca blue Emira home. White interior, yellow calipers, black wheels. View attachment 38830

That’s my car bro! If it can only be released from the port

 

[DerTheDer]

You guys are paying fees?

 

[benjh1028]

You guys are paying fees?
View attachment 38842

Nope. Well, the 2.0 exclusivity fee but nothing more.

 

[Fasttoys]

You guys are paying fees?
View attachment 38842

Assuming no black pack, an 11k deposit is high IMO I put down 2,500. Must be a Gen 1.0. Mine is $93,900 before the Destination and Doc fee of 76.00 dollars. Then I pay the Dopey State Taxes & Tags when I get her home.

 

[Cwolf]

Picking it up tomorrow. They did the Starshield PPF at the dealer. Said it is the only PPF warranteed for any paint issues after that fact.

 

[KAR120C]

You guys are paying fees?
View attachment 38842

Looks like mine. No ADM, no dealer fees, no doc fees, no extra fees of any sort. One of many reasons I like dealing with Gator.

 

[Nova]

Looks like mine. No ADM, no dealer fees, no doc fees, no extra fees of any sort. One of many reasons I like dealing with Gator.

Yea, I was willing to order from them even being in VA, but there was *NO WAY* I was getting a car from them in a reasonable amount of time because of how popular they are. I think their list was already at 200+ by the time I learned about the Emira.

Great dealer.

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

You guys are paying fees?
View attachment 38842

I’m surprised there is no $2,350 destination fee, which is charged by lotus corp

 

[Lowtush]

Nice humble-brag...

 

[Porter]

Picking it up tomorrow. They did the Starshield PPF at the dealer. Said it is the only PPF warranteed for any paint issues after that fact. View attachment 38844

Lol I got the same story from my dealer about "Nano Fusion" PPF. They can't all be the only one right?