Joined
·
1,945 Posts
1) I just had a brief back-and-forth with another prospective Elise owner, and he pointed out some concerns about the unrepairability of the chasis. This prompted me to do some keyword searching on elisetalk, and I discovered a posting that suggested there are three levels of addressing body damage: replace individual clamshell parts; replace entire clamshell, or total the car because the aluminum chassis itself have been compromised.
My question: Is the Elise somehow more succeptible to "bent chassis syndrome" compared to other cars, all accidents being equal? And how many accidents end with total write-offs compared to other cars? I'm looking for hard facts.
In one funny way, I'm thinking maybe I would want my car to be a total write-off at the point where the chasis's been compromised enough to consider repairs. I mean, who wants any car that's been through thousands of dollars in chassis repairs? My reasoning is that I would never trust the car to be straight again, so why not start from scratch and retain piece-of-mind.
Thoughts? Should we just not give a damn about the unrepairability of the chasis? What have our European friends experienced?
2) Assuming that when the car hits our shores, it's insured at the rate of any other $40,000, open-top two seater, how long will it take for the insurance industry to build a book on the Elise, and change rates to reflect actual claims? Six months? One year? Does anyone know how the insurance industry works?
3) Finally, will the car have a warning chime that sounds when you turn off the engine with the headlights still on? Sounds like a "luxury amenity," I know, but I drive with my lights on more and more frequently, and I've found chimes to be invaluable.
My question: Is the Elise somehow more succeptible to "bent chassis syndrome" compared to other cars, all accidents being equal? And how many accidents end with total write-offs compared to other cars? I'm looking for hard facts.
In one funny way, I'm thinking maybe I would want my car to be a total write-off at the point where the chasis's been compromised enough to consider repairs. I mean, who wants any car that's been through thousands of dollars in chassis repairs? My reasoning is that I would never trust the car to be straight again, so why not start from scratch and retain piece-of-mind.
Thoughts? Should we just not give a damn about the unrepairability of the chasis? What have our European friends experienced?
2) Assuming that when the car hits our shores, it's insured at the rate of any other $40,000, open-top two seater, how long will it take for the insurance industry to build a book on the Elise, and change rates to reflect actual claims? Six months? One year? Does anyone know how the insurance industry works?
3) Finally, will the car have a warning chime that sounds when you turn off the engine with the headlights still on? Sounds like a "luxury amenity," I know, but I drive with my lights on more and more frequently, and I've found chimes to be invaluable.