Advice needed

[Elisa2000]

Hi,

I have a Lotus Elise S1 X reg and have had it for around 10 years. Unfortunately it has an issue with the paint work and the Lacquer is peeling off all around the back clam shell and the doors. The paint underneath is damaged and it is in need of a respray. 

This is not something I have any experience in and I have asked around and found a lot of people that “know a guy” that could do it but I am a bit nervous of asking someone without recommendations from people that have had a respray on this type of vehicle. 

I am in two minds if I should sell it or have it sprayed. Given the condition of the bodywork I wouldn’t know where best to list it for sale, given the nature of what needs to be done.  

If anyone has any advice on this I would really appreciate any feedback. 

Thanks in advance. 

Lisa

[Jonathan E]

Pretty much everyone on here will say take it to option 1 in Bromsgrove. They know their onions in regards to painting plastic cars and will do a good job and give an honest opinion of cost.

The choice to paint or sell is a decision only you can make. S1’s are an appreciating asset and within reason whatever you spend will be worth the investment, but that all depends on the rest of the car history/condition etc.

Post up some pics and more information, there are always people out there looking for tatty Elises although most are dealers who will offer very low ££’s so they can turn the car around at a good profit.

 

[The Cakes]

As long as whoever you talk to has experience of fibreglass then ‘anyone’ can do it. From recent experience all repair shops of any worth can paint but it depends if they can be arsed! The experience I had with Option 1 and I didn’t take it there in the end was that they are expensive but by all accounts they can do the job very well. I just chose a less expensive option. I had my 2-11 done to a very good standard and he was a local one man band but he cared about the end result and that is the most important part with any sprayer. 

[DeanB]

If you are wanting to sell the car find out what it's worth now, estimate what it will be worth with a respray and subtract the cost of the respray (you'll need quotes but three grand plus is probably the ball park) from that number. If you still end up with a number bigger than what it's worth right now you may want to paint it (if you have a spare three grand lying about). My guess though is you won't end up getting your respray money back on a sale.

Different considerations if you are keeping it, of course.

Good luck!

Dean

[duncx]

Hi Lisa, difficult one this because the cost of a paint job is a 'how long is a piece of string' type question. You can look around and get a cheap job that might be perfectly ok or might only last a few months before problems begin to reappear. A 'guaranteed' job from someone who really knows what they are doing (painting fibreglass is not the same as painting metal) will almost certainly not be cheap. Depending on the amount of work needed, think in terms of thousands rather than hundreds  

As previously mentioned, S1 cars needing a bit of work (and priced accordingly) will always find a willing buyer - you can advertise on here for free and to reach a wider audience you can join SELOC and advertise on there for free too. In your position (and if I decided to sell) I would try this approach first, if your price is reasonable (no need to give it away!) you could have a hassle free sale in a couple of weeks.

However, what you should really do is keep it and come on some runs/events, the paintwork doesn't matter  

Good luck