Interior Exterior
Q:
Weird. Touch-up paint for my elise was £7 for a small (lipstick-sized) container, with built-in brush.
Craigy
A:
Why does everything have to be someone else’s fault?
After spending 3 years on the waiting list for my Elise, I was well aware of the availably of star shield. I read posts on this board recommending it, the dealer recommended it, and I could tell simply by looking at the car that chips were going to be problem on the rocker panels and the rear quarters.
Despite all this, I didn’t opt for the star shield option when I purchased the car. Both because I was worried about how it looked and because I thought the price was unreasonable. I just didn’t care for the film going halfway up the nose and putting it on the side mirrors seemed a bit much.
So I drove the car w/o star shield for a few weeks while I did some research. During this time I was very careful not to get on any gravel if I could avoid it and took special care to minimize any chances that I might kick something up. I eventually found a local shop that cut some custom sections to cover the rockers, rear quarters, and just the very tip of the nose. They did this for $850, gave me a receipt and warranty for the work, here I am a year later and my car doesn’t have a scratch on it.
That said I am still careful around gravel even with teh film, that’s just common sense and part of taking care of a nice car.
I was also aware that Lotus included the film in with the car, but I had to ask my dealer for it. Not that I wanted to install it, I just wanted to have everything that came with it. Frankly I wouldn’t install it as I figure the 3m film is probably better and it has a yellowing warranty. The fact that I had to ask for it doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.
I don’t really understand how someone could buy a car like this, not do the due diligence involved in owning it, and then try to blame the manufacturer.
I purchased a MR2 Spyder new back in 2000. The dealer didn’t offer film, I didn’t ask for it or even think about it, and wouldn’t you know I ended up with plenty of scratches on the nose and the quarters. I didn’t go back to Toyota and blame them. I chalked it up to experience, spent a bit of money on some paint work and film, and made a point not to make the same mistake twice.
Sorry you had to learn this lesson on your Lotus, but it’s ultimately your responsibility to do the due diligence ahead of time or to man up and learn the lesson on the back end if you have too.
You can’t blame Lotus for this anymore than I can blame Toyota for the scratches on my MR2. At least Lotus was kind enough to point out the issues ahead to time and to provide free film if you wanted to use or ask for it.
A:
Where do you get the touch up paint in true Lotus color? My dealer says they don't have such a beast.
Well, they are..... WRONG! and stupid. They have to know about it every dealership I have been to has either had it, or been able to order it.
-Jeff
A:
Not only is Lotus aware, all car manufacturers are aware. The EPA forced all manufacturers to use only water based paint to help clean the air that we all breathe. Great. However, there is one small problem. The paint is physically weaker than before. Therefore rock chips are a fact of life whether you drive a Lotus or a Kia. Lotus did their part by offering a kit. You choose to save a few pennies and now are whining because of supposed yellowing of the film kept you from doing what you should have done in the first place. Quit trying to place the blame on others when it is your own fault. It carries a 5 year warranty against yellowing. I doubt that you will keep your car that long.
I install 3M Scotchgard Paint Protection Film for a living and have done many a Lotus at the local Lotus dealership here in San Antonio plus for a good many other new car and truck dealers not to mention a Harley or two.
A:
Hey Scratchman, go easy on Joe already. He paid his price long ago. But these threads have a life of their own and never die -- including people's reactions today to comments two years old.
One of the penalties Joe paid was having the heaviest elise on record (unless I count the 20 pounds I gained since getting mine -- ). However, his has the lowest cg too, so it wasn't all bad.
A:
It is a tough deal. Everyone wants someone else to be responsible for our problems.
A:
Robert from Blackwatch Racing just sent me some prototypes of his new rocker protectors to test. Guessing he'll have these for sale sometime soon, but you'll need to contact him about that.
The protectors are made from thick 3M 200MP High Performance Acrylic Adhesive. It would take one hell of a rock to penetrate this stuff. Installation took me about 15 minutes a side, with special care taken where the 3 curved surfaces meet (the curved cutout on the leading edge is necessary to make this happen). I installed them directly over the existing thin OEM protectors, which I find almost useless. It's imperative that the car and protectors are warm to allow the material to flex a bit, or you'll never get them to lay flat. Looks like it will be a good solution to an old problem, or at least aid in the fight.
A:
Once you take delivery and don't have a "We Owe" from a dealer you are SOL.
The customer is given the opportunity to look over the vehicle BEFORE it leaves the lot. If it isn't to your satisfaction, DON'T take delivery...it's that simple. Case closed.
A:
Robert from Blackwatch Racing just sent me some prototypes of his new rocker protectors to test. Guessing he'll have these for sale sometime soon, but you'll need to contact him about that.
Dave (and Robert), great find! I've been looking for a vendor that carried the black euro-style cutouts, but wanted more protection than what they offered. Let us know how they perform.
A:
Hey Dave those look like my wheels, hehe. BTW the rocker protectors were first tried out on my car. Which is also yellow. So you made me do a double take...hmm I better check under the hood for a nitrous rig!
A:
Could you paint these protectors body color?
A:
Why does everything have to be someone else’s fault?
After spending 3 years on the waiting list for my Elise, I was well aware of the availably of star shield. I read posts on this board recommending it, the dealer recommended it, and I could tell simply by looking at the car that chips were going to be problem on the rocker panels and the rear quarters.
Despite all this, I didn’t opt for the star shield option when I purchased the car. Both because I was worried about how it looked and because I thought the price was unreasonable. I just didn’t care for the film going halfway up the nose and putting it on the side mirrors seemed a bit much.
So I drove the car w/o star shield for a few weeks while I did some research. During this time I was very careful not to get on any gravel if I could avoid it and took special care to minimize any chances that I might kick something up. I eventually found a local shop that cut some custom sections to cover the rockers, rear quarters, and just the very tip of the nose. They did this for $850, gave me a receipt and warranty for the work, here I am a year later and my car doesn’t have a scratch on it.
That said I am still careful around gravel even with teh film, that’s just common sense and part of taking care of a nice car.
I was also aware that Lotus included the film in with the car, but I had to ask my dealer for it. Not that I wanted to install it, I just wanted to have everything that came with it. Frankly I wouldn’t install it as I figure the 3m film is probably better and it has a yellowing warranty. The fact that I had to ask for it doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.
I don’t really understand how someone could buy a car like this, not do the due diligence involved in owning it, and then try to blame the manufacturer.
I purchased a MR2 Spyder new back in 2000. The dealer didn’t offer film, I didn’t ask for it or even think about it, and wouldn’t you know I ended up with plenty of scratches on the nose and the quarters. I didn’t go back to Toyota and blame them. I chalked it up to experience, spent a bit of money on some paint work and film, and made a point not to make the same mistake twice.
Sorry you had to learn this lesson on your Lotus, but it’s ultimately your responsibility to do the due diligence ahead of time or to man up and learn the lesson on the back end if you have too.
You can’t blame Lotus for this anymore than I can blame Toyota for the scratches on my MR2. At least Lotus was kind enough to point out the issues ahead to time and to provide free film if you wanted to use or ask for it.
Read the other posts.
The Lotus sales rep never said the damage would come from my wheels, but from other cars on the road. It is not possible to drive the Elise without damaging it if you do not have the 3M Starshield installed. That was never explained to me or anyone else that bought the car in the first year.
A:
My car i noticed today has no starsheild. i live in AZ where there is allot of crap on the roads, and do hear things hitting my car. Where do i get this Line-X stuff. can someone give me a website? also what does the rhino liner look like? is it clear, or is it colored. I have only 850 miles on the car, and would like to keep it clean, I am going to drive the piss out of it, but something on it will be better than nothing when the time ever comes to resell it. thanks in advance.
Josh
A:
Read the other posts.
The Lotus sales rep never said the damage would come from my wheels, but from other cars on the road. It is not possible to drive the Elise without damaging it if you do not have the 3M Starshield installed. That was never explained to me or anyone else that bought the car in the first year.
There were plenty of discussions about the StarShield. My car was on the first group ordered, and there was no question to me about opting for the StarShield - and my dealer did not give me a hard sell, I just had read enough and knew to order it. Even though the car had not been available in the US, Elises have been available in the rest of the world, and there was lots of information out there...