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Reply to "JPS & the Green Coupe #2"

Well, it has been raining here in the La La land since Monday, however, I still have not taken my coupe#3 in the rain. Knowing that the wiper is only 1 speed (slow), the defroster barely blows air causing the windscreen to fog up in 5 minutes and the fact that LA drivers does not know how to drive in the rain, I am not willing to risk driving my coupe in the rain.

Please understand what I am writing below is not to defend or offend anybody, but I am just writing based on my experience with coupe #3

A lot what has been said here is true in my experience dealing with John. He is overly optimistic on what he can do and the time he can do it. He is (a bit) unorganized, tends to forget what you asked him to do, etc. He also believes on what he is doing is the right thing. However, that being said, I also believe that he cares what his customers thinks about his cars and he will try to satisfy his customers.

My hat's off to Tom in trusting John to build his coupe living so far away. If it is not for his car, I might still be on the fence in getting mine. I saw his being built and also coupe#1 and his is much better quality (at least as far as the eye can see). One of the reason I went ahead with my order is due to the close distance where he builds his car. If it wasn't that close, I would not even consider getting mine. Even at this time, I would not even consider getting an IM as it is way too far for me even though, as I understand, is the gold standard of the 356 replica.

Do I have some teething problem, yes of course. Like so many of you say many times, it really depends on what you expect. After reading many postings here and before I put my money for my coupe, I formed my expectations on what the car is going to be. Since my expectation more or less is met by the result, I am happy with coupe #3. Is it perfect? No, not even for me, but here is where the tinkering comes in.

Do I think Tom is justified to be mad with the service that he gets? Yes, I believe so. We have communicated a few times via email and I understand where he is coming from and I truly feel bad for him. However, if I am not mistaken some of the main issues why the car was brought back to LA were fixed. I believe among other things the blown oil gasket, the ripped fiberglass at the back and some of the brake issue, although the last one I believe might not be completely fixed.

BTW : one time I asked John if the coupe is waterproof, and he smiled and said (and I paraphrase here as I don't remember the exact word), it is water resistant. I know first hand how difficult it is to make a car watertight. I used to have a Renault 5 living in the tropics with the bucket of rainfall, the water just seeps all over the car. Keep in mind that John does not have much experience in making a waterproof car as all the speedster that he built before will almost never be driven in the rain as they will be leaking from the roof like crazy. He even admits that most of his speedster is not even windproof, meaning there are a lot of air coming to the cabin. So he is learning how to make his coupe as watertight & airtight as possible as he builds the coupe. The last coupe that he is currently building has better rubber seal around the back opening window than mine. So I believe the quality will get better the more he builds the coupe.

Anyway, if it is still raining this weekend, I will try to take my coupe for a drive in the rain and maybe report back.

Peace
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