Leven Car company goes into administration

[Toeside]

Well just back from the 1 K service at Lotus Carlisle ........................... I always give people a second chance and I will be forced to play that card with Carlisle lotus. ............  just sayin 🤔

[Edinburgh 111s]

Can you elaborate? 
 

it’s a real blow not having a dealer or even approved service centre in Scotland. I haven’t heard any updates other than a rumour that the deal offered to grange wasn’t acceptable or fair, which doesn’t bode well for the future. 
thankfully we have Craig at CMC but that doesn’t help with warranty work. 

[C8RKH]

Scotland has been bloody good for Lotus. Murray's was their number 1 dealer for ages and specifically a great sales engine for the Evora. Lotus needs to get it's shit together and get something in place to support us.

I've had another look at a McLaren as I cannot survive without a dealer with a nearly new car.  Craig will be my standard go to for the 116 and the Evora once my warranty is up.

[Toeside]

@Edinburgh 111s From the point of fairness for the dealership I will keep it balanced.

Excellent comm's from the service desk and politeness.

Run in and out of Carlisle after dropping car off ............. all very good

When picking up the car there were some opportunities for improvement which were discussed with the Service manager and Owner. The issues centered around completing an oil change without leaving evidence of the process on the bodywork and refitting the engine cover correctly. Simple things that can be corrected and were fed back an accepted by the dealer. This indicates a level of QA within the dealership that needs improvement. (if I was an external assessor) ..............low hanging fruit ............ so I made the demonstrate the car had sufficient oil in the sump, which it had!

[Edinburgh 111s]

@Toeside thanks for sharing and good to know. I guess no dealer is perfect, but I only ever had positive experiences with Murray / Leven. It’s the thought of the drive to Carlisle that annoys me too. As other have mentioned it’s even worse for those in Aberdeen and the Highland regions. 
 

No Lotus dealer in Scotland is just unacceptable. I hope that something is sorted soon. 

[Guest]

So my warranty work appt on Thursday in Carlisle has been cancelled by the garage  this morning as their technician left this morning and is not coming back.
FFS!

If you’re booked in for any work before end of March then expect a phone call cancelling the appointment.

I’ve just had a 20 minute rather furious call with Lotus customer service at Hethel to express my thoughts about this and they point blank refuse to pay for warranty work if Craig does it for me, they also refuse to pay for transportation to a dealership further south too, again unacceptable in my eyes  

I have no windscreen wiper motor so driving without this at this time of year is madness.

 

[Duggie]

I'm lucky (unlucky) enough not to have a new Lotus, so I'm not tied to using dealers. I'd always prefer to use CMC anyway.

I'm curious though about the legalities of Lotus refusing to cover transportation costs for warranty work. Driving without a windscreen wiper is dangerous, particularly at this time of year with the amount of salt and spray on the road.

The fact that it is work required under warranty surely means that the manufacturer is responsible for covering all costs to rectify it. If my washing machine broke down under warranty, I wouldn't have to expect to pay for it to be collected.

Just a thought 😕

[Smapmap]

Been really impressed with CMC so far - appreciate it's no good for those with warranty work though

Lotus should be shouldering some of the costs here I think. It feels like they are washing their hands of it and basically leaving owners of new cars stranded with a 200-500 mile round trip, through no fault of their own - it's piss poor service IMHO.

 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Smapmap

[Bibs]

While that's a valid and good point, please remember it's not Lotus' fault either as it was the Leven Car Company that's entered into administration and been bought out. I'm not privy to the discussions held with Grange and the factory. 

If I hear anything myself from Lotus, I'll let you know but I'd be checking out this thread early next week if I were you.

[Smapmap]

You tease. 😄

[Edinburgh 111s]

6 hours ago, Andy Norman said:

So my warranty work appt on Thursday in Carlisle has been cancelled by the garage  this morning as their technician left this morning and is not coming back.
FFS!

If you’re booked in for any work before end of March then expect a phone call cancelling the appointment.

I’ve just had a 20 minute rather furious call with Lotus customer service at Hethel to express my thoughts about this and they point blank refuse to pay for warranty work if Craig does it for me, they also refuse to pay for transportation to a dealership further south too, again unacceptable in my eyes  

I have no windscreen wiper motor so driving without this at this time of year is madness.

 

Just ridiculous. The closest dealer is now Leeds I have read elsewhere?! Let’s hope for positive news soon. I do have some insight in to the grange discussion, which has made me question Lotus’s strategy and what they intend to do. It’s all hearsay and I will await any announcement next week. Really hoping it’s positive news for Lotus in Scotland. If this isn’t resolved soon I can honestly see me and others turning their back on the brand. 
 

Some of the dealers In the current network leave a lot to be desired. Cheeky chappies operating out of industrial units does not help brand image and future growth for Lotus and any new premium products. Some of the established dealers however are excellent.

If only CMC was an approved service centre, it would help and provide a viable alternative for people and warranty work. 

[aJayMitchell]

From the chat on the Lotus Ecosse FB page, it sounds like Lotus are trying to fast-track a new partner now that there are issues with Carlisle also. One person mentioned it may be Parks, but not confirmed.

I trust Lotus know how big an issue this is for all of its Scottish owners - so hopefully the 'imminent' announcement comes good soon.

[marcfair]

Stoneacre  Durham  are still a service agent believe, still a  canny trek for you guys (2.5 hrs from Edinburgh) but closer than Leeds. No disrespect  to the guys there  but stoneacre  were only a sales dealer for 6 months and don't  really know lotus cars that well 

[Edinburgh 111s]

Parks may be a good shout. They have some pretty good franchises with niche brands like McLaren and Lambo. Time will tell. Let’s hope something is announced soon. 

[C8RKH]

Fooking ridiculous situation. Yes, not Lotus issue but having a whole region like Scotland without approved service cover and not willing to "cooperate" sensibly over warranty work is just shite.

I really am falling out of love here. They know Craig and for warranty work they could make an interim arrangement surely.

As a. Customer, I feel about as valued as a Ryanair passenger who arrives at the gate naked, pissed and an hour late!  Why did I buy a new Lotus?

[Smapmap]

Thing is - even if they find a buyer for Leven,  having one dealer in the whole country is still piss poor - owners in Inverness and Aberdeen still face a round trip of 5-6 hrs to get to Edinburgh and back. Leeds is 12hrs! Either way it's a day off work. Most owners in the rest of the UK are less than an hour from their local dealer. Outside of the south east of England, Scots have the highest disposable income in the UK  you'd think Lotus would want a piece of that market?

 

[aJayMitchell]

Whatever happens, it won't be a Leven takeover now given that has gone to Grange/Macklin. Sounds like they are appointing a new partner, and hopefully if it's somewhere like Parks then that could mean multiple branches - just have to wait and see though. 

[The Lotus Position]

On 25/02/2020 at 21:39, C8RKH said:

Fooking ridiculous situation. Yes, not Lotus issue but having a whole region like Scotland without approved service cover and not willing to "cooperate" sensibly over warranty work is just shite.

I really am falling out of love here. They know Craig and for warranty work they could make an interim arrangement surely.

As a. Customer, I feel about as valued as a Ryanair passenger who arrives at the gate naked, pissed and an hour late!  Why did I buy a new Lotus?

A manufacturer cannot enter into an agreement with an independent to carry out warranty work - the rest of the franchised network would be, quite rightly, up in arms. If Craig and/or Lotus wanted to approach each other and put a formal agreement in place that would be another matter. There are garages out there who are authorised repairers for manufacturers without being full dealers (ie no sales) so it is possible.

Having said that, warranty work is a poison chalice for garages - it doesn’t pay as well as private work, there is a danger of not being paid out if the factory finds fault in the repair, and then there are warranty audits that can cost thousands in claw backs for any errors found. How many independent garages would want to take that on?

It’s also worth noting that Craig’s departure from Murray’s was far from amicable.

Apparently an announcement from Lotus regarding appointing a new Scottish Lotus dealer is imminent. For the sake of Lotus and Scottish Lotus owners I hope this is true. As you say the current situation is far from ideal.

[Bibs]

First bit of info...

Quote

 

SCOTLAND - Elise 2ZR (2019/02R) owners only

Further to your recent communication with us regarding our recent recall announcement, we are pleased to be able to advise that, as from Wednesday 4^th March, Park's Motor Group will be our Factory Supported repairer specifically in relation to our Product Safety Recall, 2019/02R, concerning fuel injector rail security.

Therefore, in the first instance please contact Park’s Head Office:

Park's Motor Group

143-149 Almada Street
Hamilton 
ML3 0ET

Tel - 01698 303999
Email - sb.lotus.hamilton@parks.uk.com

 

 

[Toeside]

Yup me too! 

I wonder if they managed to employ some of the the staff from Leven? That's a very rapid mobilisation! 👍

[C8RKH]

2 hours ago, Bibs said:

Factory Supported repairer specifically in relation to our Product Safety Recall

What about everything else?

[TerryCTR]

On lotus ecosse it also says ‘and for authorised service bookings’ so I’m guessing that’s warranty covered?

[C8RKH]

17 hours ago, The Lotus Position said:

A manufacturer cannot enter into an agreement with an independent to carry out warranty work

Actually, you are wrong. They can and they do. They are called Lotus Service Centres or similar and Lotus has/had at least 2 in the UK. Mostyn Broadway in Llandudno and Snows Lotus Service Only in Plymouth. I personally was hoping Craig Moncrieff would become the third.

[The Lotus Position]

That’s what I said in the bit you didn’t quote. At the point a formal agreement is made the independent becomes an authorised repairer.

I imagine Craig is unlikely to be made an authorised repairer now an agreement t is in place with Parks. Hopefully Parks will become a full dealer rather than just an authorised repairer.

[stephenwhyte]

1 hour ago, The Lotus Position said:

. Hopefully Parks will become a full dealer rather than just an authorised repairer.

Parks are getting the full franchise as I understand it - no doubt news will be broken soon now that they’ve taken the first step above.......this is probably the best news we could have hoped for in Scotland.

I would imagine there will likely be additional site/sites in the future once things start to move forward in a couple of years......when there’s more demand for the product and the subsequent service requirements🤞

For now this is a positive step forward for Lotus in Scotland after a time of serious uncertainty......