A&Q about Lotus
Q:
Originally Posted by Needspeed
No surcharge here. Last week I signed a contract on an Exige S for MSRP for Delivery in December.
What I don't understand is why people didn't know or wouldn't let themselves believe it was coming... even after people posted that they put deposits down.
What dealership are you going with?
Not trying to bust your chops but a deposit placed by another person means nothing. Many people have put deposits on "talked" about cars before. Cars that ended not being built or not being built to the original specs. Putting a deposit down is one thing. But it does not really hold a lot of water. That is why I ask you what dealership you went to. I spoke with a dealer today and they knew NOTHING about the car period. That is not to say that someone at that dealership is not in the "know" but I think that highlights the "iffyness" of the entire situation. If members of this board say it is coming than it probably is but there are still some sources that I would have thought would have mentioned or posted on their sites that have not mentioned it in the least yet. At any rate, I inquired about trading my car in on one with the idea of having that option in the next couple of months. How this all unfolds remains to be seen. I can't say that I would be terribly shocked if the car ended up NOT coming but that just may be my Bigfoot/Lochness monster syndrome. I need a little more detail.
A:
Originally Posted by mark.r
I spoke with a dealer today and they knew NOTHING about the car period.
You're in Northern Virginia....Please tell me Criswell isn't playing "clueless" about the Exige S.
What dealership knew nothing about the car?
A:
Originally Posted by Exigent
You're in Northern Virginia....Please tell me Criswell isn't playing "clueless" about the Exige S.
What dealership knew nothing about the car?
Dude, I don't even want to get into the whole thing to be honest. If the car comes great, if it doesn't so be it. We all know GM did the same thing to their LS1/LS6/LS2 owners so it really shouldn't be a big surprised. As I said, before the only issue I have with what has unfolded is the stated price. I do find it amusing as to some of the claims of "I know this" and "I knew that". There are some members on this board that I truly believe have greater knowledge the others. But some people are stoking their own egos big time. Perhaps I just don't get it, but simply because a car exist somewhere else really does insure the it will be available to us in the states. The US is the single largest car market and low volume cars such as the Zonda F, MB CLK DTM, Audi S3 have not been/are not being offered here in their current format. Will they maybe, but their is no reason to think one way or the other.
A:
There is no question in my mind that I will strap on a supercharger when they are more plentiful here. I don't really need it and wouldn't bother trading in because I bought the car for the diving experience which for me is mostly lightweight handling with a relatively low center of gravity and mid engine. If I wanted power to shoot out of red lights or slow corneres, I would have bought a corvette.
But now that I own an exige, it woud be kind of cool to have the extra torque, etc If it comes from a wrecked car fine, or a retro fit kit, it doesn't make much of a difference. Once you get ahold of the ECU, it should be pretty simple. As for the warranty, how much could a slightly used toyota motor really cost - assuming you actually blow it up.
A:
Originally Posted by Exigent
You're in Northern Virginia....Please tell me Criswell isn't playing "clueless" about the Exige S.
What dealership knew nothing about the car?
It was not Criswell.... Robert from Sport and Specialist Cars in NJ took my order. He seems like a great guy.
A:
funny my dealer told me about the exige s when i first brought my exige, and i still brought the "base" exige.
A:
I remember when Lotus announced the Exige they said there would be between 300 and 350 inported to the US for 2006. They never said it was a limited edition, or that there would not be any next year. I felt from the way they said it that there would be 300 to 350 each year. If you bought your Exige thinking there would never be any more, then you bought for the wrong reason.
A:
I agree with Pete, I bought also under the assumption there would be a production run of 300 or more per year. Pete, I have a 06 SY EXIGE with touring pkg, starshield, 2800 miles--- any idea what it would bring? I'm definitely interested in also buying an S.
A:
Originally Posted by Tysons06SY
I agree with Pete, I bought also under the assumption there would be a production run of 300 or more per year. Pete, I have a 06 SY EXIGE with touring pkg, starshield, 2800 miles--- any idea what it would bring? I'm definitely interested in also buying an S.
Not sure, but I am planning on keeping my Exige when my Exige S comes. I don't know why, but I love the car. I believe that the N/A Exiges in 5 years will be more desirable than an Elise, and Lotus has in a way made them rare by bringing out the Exige S and discontinuing the regular Exige. Rare, however, does not mean valuable. Still a great car.
A:
Originally Posted by pete k
I remember when Lotus announced the Exige they said there would be between 300 and 350 inported to the US for 2006. They never said it was a limited edition, or that there would not be any next year. I felt from the way they said it that there would be 300 to 350 each year.
I read it the same way you did. 300 to 350 for 2006. But if you couple that with the other information floating around regarding the expiration of Federal waivers, you can see where people might have felt a need to buy the car while it was available and legal.
As long as there is an affordable retro-fit made available for the N/A exige, I won't really care too much. When I bought my Exige, I expected to add a supercharger someday anyway (didn't plan to replace the car).
In the meantime, maybe I'll call Comptech and get something fun for my S2000. I just have this compulsion to supercharge something!!
A:
Originally Posted by Exigent
I read it the same way you did. 300 to 350 for 2006. But if you couple that with the other information floating around regarding the expiration of Federal waivers, you can see where people might have felt a need to buy the car while it was available and legal.
As long as there is an affordable retro-fit made available for the N/A exige, I won't really care too much. When I bought my Exige, I expected to add a supercharger someday anyway (didn't plan to replace the car).
In the meantime, maybe I'll call Comptech and get something fun for my S2000. I just have this compulsion to supercharge something!!
"Federal waivers"... you bring up a good point. Just like everyone wondered if the Exige S was coming now we wonder if the bumpers will be changed on cars imported after 12/31/06???
A:
The Esprit is also in the pike. No promises from Lotus. I could probably put a deposit down on that speculation. But I decided to take my chances and go with the S instead. I got lucky that they are releasing it. Not better or worse than anyone else, I just got lucky. I also think that everyone on this forum that wants one will have the opportunity to buy one at some point within the next year.
I also believe that there is a good chance the later ones coming out (after 1/1/07) will have the new fed bumpers.. but I also believe they will have all the new upgraded goodies that are going elsewhere, including the interior trim package.
Will I be POd that mine will be equipped like an '06? Probably a little. But I had the chance to get one of the first ones or wait, and I chose to gamble and get one of the first ones available, so I will have no one to blame but myself.
A:
bumpers could be a big thing.I can't picture them looking good ? How much higher will horsepower go to offset weight ?
A:
Originally Posted by LotusFamily
Oh well, might as well throw in to.....
We got screwed on our Elise in 05 (told the Exige wasnt comming)
Got screwed on our 4 Exiges in 06 (told S wasnt comming)
No problems with the 04 Final Ed. Esprit
Soooooo here is our answer, we are done and out , we refused to take delivery of our final (4th) Exige and have sold the (3rd) one off already. Prob will keep the remaining 2 cars as drivers/track cars for the girls in the family, but thats all for us. In two years we have ordered/purchased 6 brand new Lotus cars and have nothing but regret with regard to being lied to, and one-upped by cars we knew existed but were told was never going to come. So your prob. all right, shame on us for being taken advantage of and believing what we were told (didnt think I was going to be lied to), but this is the last time it happends. Congrats Lotus on pushing away a family that helped your business to the tune of more than $300K in the last two years it's the last you will recieve from us. For everyone attending the Club 111 Dinner with Lotus' people at the South East run be prepaired, it might get a bit messy this year
The funny thing was when our dealer found out we were ordering (2) Noble m400's and an Ariel Atom 300 they asked "would it change your mind if we told you the Exige S was comming" Oh man that still makes me laugh.
By the way for those of you considering the Noble, out of approx. 74 stateside owners I have contacted, I have only talked with (1) upset/unsatisfied individual who likley had a bad instal from a non-recomended shop (he is a member here), so Im not sure who said Nobles are unreliable but that is just untrue, two of them just finished the 2006 Us. One Lap in 7th and 10th overall and the cars have local and overseas awards coming out of their @ss' on the track and from the motoring press. The only prob. is "track time heat soak" which can be handled with proper modifications should you be running the cars under race situations. Oh yes then there is the fact that they will kick the dog S*%t out of an Exige or most any other car priced under $400K (check Autocar's 2005 Best Driver's Car awards. as and example, in one (1) lap around Rockingham the 240R was 5 sec. slower, Ford gt 4 sec off, Ferarri F430 4 sec off, Porsche Carerra S 4 sec off, and the list continues.) Thats a car worth the money.
The scary thing is we arnt mad (though we prob. should be) just kinda numb and moving on. Who can you trust in life is the ultimate question , guess we are finding out who you cant. Feel free to flame up and yell about my post now and how Im wrong for feeling this way and stupid for buying like we did, it doesnt much matter to us anymore. But remember there are at least 200 Exige owners that prob. feel a bit of what I have just said so the simple fact remains, that something is wrong, loyal people have been cheated to a certain degree, and if this practice continues enough people will follow suit and go to another company for their kicks. See ya round, The Miller Family.
good post.
i see your point. i know ur not a naive man, but probably pretty bright as you can afford all these cars.
im sure you know car companies improve on their product, no doubt. what u are mad abt is being lied to and then 4 mos later there is another version.
yeah, i would be pretty upset too. part of the problem is that too many dealers/salesmen try to sell 1CAR AT A TIME. this guy bought several cars and still couldnt get an honest answer from his dealer. maybe the dealer was/is incompetent, or maybe he was deceptful, thinking u, the buyer, would hold off a purchase to wait for the next model.
maybe instead of buying 4 u would have bought 2 and waited for 2 more "s'es" and been happy.
i know its an integrity issue as far as you are concerned. not only the dealer, but lotus themselves because they did the same thing.
everyone is thanking lotus for the s, but shouldnt we thank toyota? toyota brought that "s" version to the european market and i suspect (dont know for fact) that toyota is bringing this configuration to the u.s. so it made it a lot easier for lotus to sell it here. toyota did most the work.
maybe im wrong...dont know, dont care.
i love all the cars ive bought, but i have a sour taste in my mouth for lotus too. if not the company, then certainly the dealer network.
ive documented on how my dealers service shop is just terrible. ive had do a lot of my own wrench work that should have been warranty work. i still have a rattling exhaust that they tell me is "gear mesh."
and they want me to spend 100k plus for an esprit? i used to be very interested in the esprit, but if i have service issues with my 45k lotus, i cant imagine how pissed off ill be over service problems with a 100k plus car.
no thanks. what i mean by service issues is the service shop themself. i know stuff breaks, but i expect an honest, competent service shop.
(keep in mind the warranty issues lotus raised by voiding warranties on cars that had been "revved too high.")
in 2 years there will be A LOT of new competition in that just over 100k price range. the esprit is going to be a 2500lb car with 400hp? for 100k or more?
keep it and the incompetent warranty service i know ill get.
ill be looking at a gen 4 viper that is around 2800lbs and an engine built by mclaren. (650hp)
i know dodge and vipers have service issues, thats fine.
but at least i dont have to drive to another state if i need warranty work and want to go to a different dealership.
lotus is a small company that appeals and sells to a very, very small target audience.
theyre pissing many of us off.
A:
Ugghh...did anyone read my last post or do people that own Exige's just like to bitch about dumb stuff.
...nobody told me there would be an Exige S in the U.S. (Reality - it's been rumored for over a year by many).