anthonyyule

Because completely coincidently I decided to change my car at almost exactly the same time as the factory gave Leven Lotus the Goodwood blue show car and of course Leven Lotus already have their new Orange one which has been there for ever. I traded mine back to Leven Specialist in exchange for my 600LT and so they have decided to keep the car themselves and try to sell it from Corstorphine Road. So the Leven group now find themselves with 3 GT430s on their books and I guess they just want/ need to move some of them on.

My old car is for sale.... easily the cheapest 430GT I have seen on the market.

Never received mine 😫

My car is for sale: https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/evora/lotus-evora-gt430-2-0/9438189 https://www.lotusforsale.com/ads/lotus-evora-gt430-2/ I'm looking for a quick sale.... please pass on to anyone you think might be interested. Thanks, T

bibs. I’m really sorry but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to attend at the weekend 😞. Following a couple of incidents with the car it’s not looking it’s best at the moment (!) and the time I need to take off to come along to hethel this weekend will be better spent working to try and pay for the damage to get repaired. At least it shows I’m using the car though and it’s definitely not a garage queen. I hope everybody has a great time and I look forward to seeing the pics. Anybody who has seen the “seagull” picture will understand! I’ll try and post pics later!!

I’ll be there! Planning on convoying down with Leven Lotus and making a weekend of it but I’m sure the car could be made available to you if you plan to make a display. Im now on silver wheels like Marks...... could be good bookends

1 & 2 Mark plus 1 (Fullx2) 3 & 4 Brian & Jackie (Full x2)  5 Jim S (Full ) 6 Mike C (Full)  7 & 8 MarkT and SJ (Fullx2) 9 & 10 Andrew and Alister (Full x 2) 11 & 12 David and Maryann (Full x2) 13 C8RKH - bacon rolls 14 & 15 - Tony and TBC - just a quick drop in for a cup of coffee before heading back to Ballater for their annual vehicle parade. No need for breakfast

This interested me greatly. With so few cars actually built and sold..... who complained? I love the panels on mine and feel that it adds to the cocooned nature of the cabin. Under what circumstances would a glass panel have made 'that' much difference that new owners (or potential purchasers) felt the need to complain.... and shock of shock.... Lotus felt compelled to collate all such complaints and make a change to the design? We must be talking single figures for complaints.... surely not enough to warrant a change? Is it not more feasible that this was one of JMG's last cost cutting measures and simple 'cheap' glass was substituted in place of the more expensive carbon and a plausible story was woven to mask the change?

Nope. Not from what I was told. Same internals for sure but completely recalibrated again.... the software was causing the engineers some headaches which was going to delay my GT430 auto so eventually I went manual. If it had been identical then this delay wouldn’t have been an issue

I honestly don’t know Darryl..... as a driving machine I personally believe it to be quite peerless at the moment. When you start to look at aspects of the car and the brand beyond the aspect of actually driving then I still believe there is some room for improvement...... infotainment/ finish/ after-sales/ access to dealer network could be improved - purely on those points alone I could be tempted into a Mclaren 570 or a new Aston Vantage or possibly an AMG GT. I don’t fancy a 911 of any sorts. But seriously, I enjoy the feeling of the GT430 and can’t think of anything right now that I would swap out for.... I’m waiting to see what Geeley do and the changes which come from Lotus over the next 24-36 months or so.

I would completely agree. There still doesn’t seem to be the same consistency across Lotus dealers as there is with something like Volvo,..... both in the way you are dealt with as a customer and the way in which th dealers look. Lotus needs to brand across all dealership buildings accordingly. But I think it’s gettinng better? That’s very unlikely to happen! The love for the XC90 is real! I’ll have it for it’s 3 year term for sure. To be honest there is more chance of the GT430 being traded before the Volvo!

Absolutely! If it is built to the same quality and it rides and goes like my XC90 then sign me up now. It’s a great piece of understated technological luxury and I absolutely love it. When Geeley start to trickle Volvo stuff through to Lotus it’s going to be epic! I have a short term memory and a very forgiving nature. Although deeply pi55ed at the time, my experience thus far with the GT430 has been very enjoyable and hopefully my future experiences are as good. I stand by my feelings that Lotus warranty are the effective weak link in the chain and that Sales could do more to retain “serial” buyers/ Owners, but on the whole I still hold the brand dear to me and I’m ever hopeful that under Geeley things can only get better!

Im not sure how relevant this is but I’ll be honest that I’ve never actually gotten down and checked over all of the carbon on my 430. It actually took my detailer to point out several small glitches in the weave. Does that make me lazy or less of an owner - I don’t think it does... but I can live with minor imperfections in something like carbon fibre which is a natural weave. The same sort of weave that we find every day in our clothing and I wonder how often we return clothes which has a slight weave out of line? Maybe folks do?? ive messed up my front splitter and I’m gutted by that but it was self inflicted. I’ve also got a couple of marks on the roof which are clearly part of the manufacturing process but I appreciate they are small enough that they would pass QC. I can live with that. tbh - I can’t see any noticeable defects in any of your pics.... sorry!

So it's been a while since I logged into TLF (or indeed kept abreast with all latest Lotus news). I'll add my 2c worth that I hope the departure of JMG is a good thing. I agree that he was the man for the job at the time but I do feel like some of the cut backs he made were a little too close to the pail. I had also heard that he wasn't the greatest boss in the world and for me that counts for a lot too. Anyway - I'm loving my GT430 and as you all shout and scream for pics I thought I'd share some. Unfortunately it's unusual for my car to be clean but that's because I'm driving it too much. I'm also loving my Polestar tuned hybrid XC90 and I can't wait to see what Lotus do with this tech........

I’ve got Matt black wheels. I’ve never ever been a fan of turned edge wheels. All a bit 80’s for me 😉

@The Pits - that’s good to know then Jonny 🤣🤣... but it’s definitely how it feels sometime! i hope they learn lessons for the future. And for any of you guys here that look to buy a new car - take heed and force the issue if there is something you really want! Lotus should realise that their pre/post sales experience is critical - and sadly lacking in many respects!

Ach. It’s not a serious consideration. It would have been nice to have had the chance when I ordered the car, but I’m not up for making large modifications now. Frustrating is all. i really enjoy the car when I’m not on these forums. Then I see all the personalisation and different things being offered - which I asked for and was declined - and it frustrates and upsets me. It really makes me feel as though I wasn’t/ am not in the “inner circle”. Some customers seemed to have had the “bent over backwards” treatment. I feel I was rushed and pushed and all requests were a hassle. A simple solution is for me to ignore the forums I can hear some of you cry.... but in my shoes - shameful from Lotus. I genuinely genuinely genuinely believe that Lotus don’t give a sh!t about me or my car. I believe that to the core. If they did/ do - I’d hope that they monitor the forums and contact me to discuss my feelings and dissatisfaction. But I can guarantee you that they won’t. As a result - I’ll not buy another Lotus. Which, having owned 7 (and not looked beyond the marque at any other sports car), is quite a statement for me to make. Ho hum. I have some tution booked at LDA this summer. A different company, I appreciate.... but 3 days paid for out of my own pocket. Little freebie treats like this being offered to customers would be a great way to plaster over ill feelings.... but ach... f@ck them.

Bearing in mind when I placed my order - I had my finger right on the pulse with this. I loved and breathed this order for weeks and weeks and weeks all throughout last summer. I was in constant and regular contact with the factory (not the dealer). Any time there was any news or option change I was right on it. i have email correspondence and a signed order form(!!) when (for approx 24hrs) I had a full fat aero GT430 2+2! Who’s ready to jump off that bridge? But then it was a complete u-turn. And the reasons above are what I was told directly from HQ sales. Too much downforce weight over rear wheels with the big spoiler means I could only have 2+2 in sport mode. I was also told that it was impossible to change the caliper colour because the brakes were “special”. Must have taken me for a fool on that one. Despite me questioning whether the calipers were different (I’m fairly certain they aren’t and it’s just when rotors?) I didn’t get a satisfactory answer other than - they will only come in red..... With all this talk about Lotus making amends with disgruntled customers maybe (just maybe) they should offer me the option to retro fit so I can get the girls out for an occasional hooley after all!

But now available on any Evora? So not that much of a homologation issue... Ill enjoy my 430 - and then I’ll not have anything further to do with Lotus. Unfortunately every seemingly innocent comment here generates further information which conflicts with what somebody somewhere was originally told by the sales force. This bullshit has no place in any sales team and undermines the good work which the engineers do. Give me the car that I want - I’m happy to pay for it. Don’t give me what you think I want but then tell the next customer that they can choose whatever they fancy!

So yet MORE amazing Lotus sales and marketing bullshit? i actually give the f@ck up. I asked for a 2+2 as soon as it was announced so that I could still take my kids out. The response above is what I was told directly by SW. he also told me on pain of death that I couldn’t change calliper colours or decal colours. I literally can’t believe the bullshit that comes out of these guys sometimes. Thankfully I do like my car.... but it’s not the car I would have specced had they answered yes to my (not too unreasonable) requests at the time of order. Idiots

From what I was told..... GT430 in 2+2 spec is only available in Sport. extra “weight” over the rear pushing into the rear axle with the wing precludes it being used. no cost option to have 2+2 with the Sparco seats

I’d be fairly certain Bibs that if the demonstrator which Scott Walker has been sitting in has has the exhaust mod done that this ridiculous situation has gone awa.

It’s maybe less of an issue for me up here in the frozen north. I have the only GT430 currently and there is only 1 more for sale (Orange at Leven)..... so yes regardless of numbers most Scots are not going to bump into another 1 very often at all