Emira Update from Lotus

[New Emira]

Lots of faults showing on those that have the car so I am now quite relaxed about delivery in the hope that ours will be more reliable 

[Whitey]

Mine was Jan build, now Feb, so not too bad and hopefully the salt will be gone by delivery, although the email didn’t state when that would be………

[MJON]

Latest update today also and same as last one, i4FE  “October” Have to say re some of the issues reported I’m starting to feel a little concerned at how they fair with the intro of a totally new engine setup and from what I understand so far some dubious after sale support?

[simonb]

Held firm on July production (UK i4), however I think the test will be whether dealer demos appear in April, and I suspect they will remain (at least) 3 months ahead of customer cars

[JimH]

What was your deposit date please?

[simonb]

02/06/21

[New Emira]

Following further reports of significant problems on recently delivered cars I have just cancelled my order after an 18 month wait. I simply cannot face the risk of owning an unreliable car 90 minutes drive from the nearest dealership. I have lost faith in every step of the process and will now hang onto my F TYPE that hasn’t missed a beat in over 3 years. I hope everyone has enjoyment from their Emira which looks stunning.

[MJON]

Understand your concerns @New Emira. My Elise failed me twice with some easily fixable issues but didn’t mind to much as the dealer was close by and personable. They are no longer Lotus dealers and i’m not sure I care to be dragging back and forth over an hour each way, with unclear opportunity to borrow a car just to return home. A sports car is supposed to be fun not frustration 😖 So I am now pretty much on the fence myself. Keep enjoying the F type. 👍

[Scrute]

I had two emails around November December “confirming” my April build. I thought this was great as it was finally a consistent message on my delivery timeline.

Then last week I had another “personal update” cut and paste template email that “confirms” a June build. 
I’ve remained patient and respectful up to now but honestly I’m really, really fed up. 
 

But importantly, celebrities and  influencers have their cars. Isn’t that great. 

[Emiralust]

What was the date you placed your deposit?

[New Emira]

On 24/12/2022 at 19:05, Trevsked said:

This is just another reason I cancelled, apart from the appalling customer care. I didn’t want a part finished car that was then gone back to with parts that arrived late. A recipe for poor assembly and rattles.

 

T.

After 18 months I have just cancelled following the growing number of issues being reported 

[Emiralust]

I’ve not had a single issue yet 😃

[Trevsked]

1 hour ago, New Emira said:

After 18 months I have just cancelled following the growing number of issues being reported 

It’s difficult to tell if there are a lot of issues, of course people do tend to report on anything negative naturally. It’s a real shame given the gestation period that there should be any issues at all, plenty of time to get it pretty much perfect with all the testing and the resources available through Geely. However, as I mentioned, I believe there were many cars built with parts missing which was the delay but most of all the disrespect afforded to previously supportive customers when Lotus were struggling, in my view is unforgivable.

Trevor.

[C8RKH]

9 hours ago, Trevsked said:

the disrespect afforded to previously supportive customers when Lotus were struggling, in my view is unforgivable

A good point well made.

[New Emira]

I cancelled my order 2 days ago and didn’t even get an acknowledgment which confirmed I had done the right thing.

[DH2]

On 08/02/2023 at 11:11, New Emira said:

I have just cancelled my order after an 18 month wait.

11 hours ago, New Emira said:

After 18 months I have just cancelled

11 minutes ago, New Emira said:

I cancelled my order 2 days ago

Have you cancelled your order? 😉

[C8RKH]

Given the communication issues I would call cancelling the order three times the belt, braces and suspenders approach.  

[ramjet]

On a slightly different track, what are all of the issues that are being reported by owners?

Are they show stoppers or just niggly things that could wait until the first/second/third service?

Or are they things that get fixed, but keep recurring?

Is it possible that Lotus aren't aware who the 'previously supportive Lotus owners' are?

[exeterjeep]

6 minutes ago, ramjet said:

Are they show stoppers or just niggly things that could wait until the first/second/third service?

From any posts on here the problems seem to be fairly minor?, compare to the host of problems with other cars. MG4

[C8RKH]

@exeterjeep says @ramjet the majority of the issues are minor and as I have pointed out before it seems Lotus have minor issues then they are show stoppers, others like Porsche have major issues (IMS Bearing, Bore Scoring, GT4 suspension turrets popping etc) but that's Ok as Porsche is a "premium" brand 

However, let's be clear, Lotus have dug their own hole hear and they appear to be digging it deeper. Lot's of talk about massive production investment, massive increase in production quality etc etc, then lot's of what we are used to from Lotus - poor comms, some QC issues, shipment delays, parts delays.  Nothing major at all, just quite a few "niggles" and a bit of a let down.

They will get it right, but they do need to seriously up their game re how they engage with customers. Fancy marketing videos and tweets/linkedin/instagram/ posts are NOT a substitute for quality comms and good old fashioned customer service.

Re quality, this is not (as posted earlier) what you would expect of an £80k car product. Just look at the OEM finish on the silver bits . That looks a bit cheap and nasty (to be fair photo's do show up all imperfections) and must be how the finished part comes from the manufacturer.

[Denno]

There seems to be talk the Facebook pages that some doubt they will even make the i4?! 

[Bibs]

Those fb experts eh  Meanwhile Lotus are road testing the i4 but what would they know! 

[exeterjeep]

Lotus cars web site says...4 cyl first edition available from Q2 this year....still....

 

[Denno]

32 minutes ago, Bibs said:

Those fb experts eh  Meanwhile Lotus are road testing the i4 but what would they know! 

Ha fair enough, but I believe most of them are on here too! 😁

[Frickin_idiot]

Last week I was sent an email stating build in May and that I had to check out by 15th. CS called today reminding me to complete check out and I asked to be moved to the bottom of the list.

Had the car been delivered last year it would have been magic, I was not overly concerned by the delays but the economic turmoil caused by the complete shower in London has caused me to reevaluate. Pay off the mortgage or buy a car? My head says pay off the house but heart says buy the car. I’m going to sit it out until next year to watch if interest rates drop before committing.  I am hoping that Lotus will honour the price agreed when I placed the deposit.