Tricky warranty problem

[maverick25]

I took my car for a spin (literally)on a roundabout last december and damaged the bodywork on the backend.
I took it to an excellent bodyshop who repaired it like new. You would never know there was a problem,from the outside.
However as the weather got better and brighter I noticed some paint blistering in a semicircle following the outline of the boot catch and on the other side of the car, where there had been no damage,by the wheel arch.

I know that it is not uncommon for elises to have blistering problems and Lotus usually sort it out. However, I think i'm going to have problems as I guess by taking it to a bodyshop to repair the damage, who had to respray the rear clam, this will invalidate my warranty.

The bodyshop have been very supportive and have said that the blistering cant have been caused by them as the area effected hasn't been touched.

So do I bite the bullet and pay for the work to be done myself or spend a lot of time back and forth between bodyshop and Lotus?

I can see both points but wondered if anyone had any bright ideas?

I cant prove that the blistering was there before the accident...

[dragstar]

Do the dealers/lotus know you had a prang and got it repaired? If not tell them, if so...not sure

Shirley if they didnt touch the affected area, then the dealer doesnt have a leg to stand on. Check the fine print.

[cuzza]

Tricky one - at the end of the day if you have an accident in a car, you don't have to get it fixed by the dealer and your anti perforation warranty or any other warranty will still be intact.

Take it to Lotus and give it a go.

[maverick25]

Its with the dealer today being assesed so i'll let you know what they say.
Just wanted to be prepared with an answer If they say that Lotus wont fix the problem.

[dragstar]

Chin up!

If they say they wont pay for it, give your side of the story and offer to pay for half.

If that doesnt work out, you could always try another dealer! I remember a post by somebody stating that when at the dealer for some work, one of the technicians noticed some blistering paint (owner didnt). The dealer offered to sort it straight away EVEN THOUGH he was *just* out of warranty.

There's only a handful of dealers, give them all a call (and be honest )

[maverick25]

Just heard back and they wont fix it as the car has had other paint than "lotus" paint, even though the paint used is exactly the same as Lotus paint.
Hey Ho. And so the adventure begins...

[dr bob]

Surely this is down to Lotus / The bodyshop to sort out?
If the affected area wasn't touched by the repair, wouldn't Lotus have to prove that it was?

Kick up a stink and suggest they fight it out between them - gotta be worth a try?

CH