Problems!

[simon mac]

BTW I should clarify this video is out of date, I am not sure if since Jean-Marc Gales they have changed QC procedures back, or have something new in mind. I read there is some focus on using less parts, and less assembly, which would logically lead to higher quality (the KISS principle.)

[Ishy]

Well I'm pleased to say that on Friday just seven months after first collecting it my V6 was finally complete & problem free (to the best of my knowledge)

 

It's been a long road, have to admit I've wavered from time to time along the way, threatening to deliver it back to Hethel on more than one occasion.......

 

The dealer (JCT Leeds) have been excellent throughout both accommodating & supportive nothing has been too much trouble & although it has taken some time/effort they have stuck with it.

 

Just saying 

 

That shouldn't have needed to be the case it should have been right when it was collected but stick with it!

[Fortis]

Didn't know that you had any problems Richard, think I must have been lucky so far with mine only had the steering wheel replaced for the correct one. Got a few thousand miles on it now too and really enjoying it, it will probably let me down after saying that.

[BillTheButcher]

I've had my Roadster for about five and a half months; it's just rolled over 3,000 miles.

 

Problems so far:

- Water coming in through the top of the driver's door. New door seal sorted it.

- Excessive movement of the driver's seat when it should be locked in position. Seat runner replaced. Within fifty miles it was as bad as it's ever been. I'll get them to look at it again when it goes in for service.

- Various rattles and squeaks that seem to come from somewhere different every time I drive it. It sounds like heatshields and plastic covers rattling and buzzing rather than anything mechanical so I'm ignoring them.

 

The most problematic car I've ever owned was a Porsche 996 911 C2 cabriolet. It cost me a bloody fortune to keep it on the road and, just to rub it in, when I decided to sell it, the main gearbox bearing failed.

[Ishy]

Nothing very serious Peter just a few bits missing silly squeaks & rattles, the now standard rocking seat etc etc

Seems like its taken forever to get it how I'd have expected it at delivery but got sorted in the end!

[ColinH]

Well I'm pleased to say that on Friday just seven months after first collecting it my V6 was finally complete & problem free (to the best of my knowledge)

 

It's been a long road, have to admit I've wavered from time to time along the way, threatening to deliver it back to Hethel on more than one occasion.......

 

The dealer (JCT Leeds) have been excellent throughout both accommodating & supportive nothing has been too much trouble & although it has taken some time/effort they have stuck with it.

 

Just saying 

 

That shouldn't have needed to be the case it should have been right when it was collected but stick with it!

Sounds like you and I have had a similar experience...so frustrating when you love the car and love everything Lotus. And yet, when, despite your limitations you feel that handling excellence through the wheel you know you've bought a great car and forgive them everything..?!

[Fortis]

Nothing very serious Peter just a few bits missing silly squeaks & rattles, the now standard rocking seat etc etc

Seems like its taken forever to get it how I'd have expected it at delivery but got sorted in the end!

Glad they have just been little niggles Richard and that you managed to get them sorted.

If you tighten the harnesses really tight it stops the drivers seat movement 

[simon mac]

Nothing very serious Peter just a few bits missing silly squeaks & rattles, the now standard rocking seat etc etc

Seems like its taken forever to get it how I'd have expected it at delivery but got sorted in the end!

 

Did the bits missing include the "trinket tray divider". I just spotted mine is AWOL

[gregs24]

The trouble is mass produced Euro hatches such as my Mondeo blow Lotus away in terms of QC and build quality. Yes I know they are mass produced etc etc but they are also a fraction of the price. My last three Mondeo's have been faultless - and I really do mean faultless. Everything just worked and continued to work.

 

Lotus need to invest a lot of money and time in QA if they want to compete with makers of similar priced cars

[Bibs]

Ford spent £6bn developing the Mondeo, Lotus spent £58m on the Evora development. That's less than 1% of the Mondeo budget, that's why they don't rattle.

[ColinH]

Ford spent £6bn developing the Mondeo, Lotus spent £58m on the Evora development. That's less than 1% of the Mondeo budget, that's why they don't rattle.

Yeah, that is of course very true. As a customer I hate it when my car goes wrong yet the truth is I know absolutely nothing about the process or economics of developing and building a car. If I'm buying a Focus or an Astra it's understandable if I moan when they go wrong, but is it fair if I want to pay 'only' £60k for a car with the performance of an Exige to expect Mondeo or 3-Series levels of build quality?

I think that's the nub of the problem: no it probably isn't fair, but the customer doesn't care how the biscuits are made, they just want them to taste good...and, for most people, £60k is a lot of money for a depreciating asset so they are unlikely to be charitable.

Anyway, I've managed to partially fix my door so that I can at least close it and lock it manually. I'll get it fixed properly at the first service. In the meantime I've got the neighborhood to annoy with the exhaust open...

[Steve Banks]

Sounds like I'm the only one here who has not had a single problem with their car?. I have a roadster, delivered in January (built in November 2014). I've done 7500km to date and not had a single fault, rattle, or issue to talk of. It's my daily driver.

 

Actually, the only problem I had was the alarm sensor on the boot door got disconnected, but that was a result of it not being plugged back in by the mechanic after I had the new SC installed.

[ramjet]

And I doubt a Mondeo will EVER drive like a Lotus.

 

I can understand your annoyance at things like panel gaps etc, but these can be resolved.

A camshaft sensor could be a couple of screws. If these things don't destroy the car, get them repaired and keep going.

 

Even the best QC can miss things. My wifes brand new Honda Accord Euro made it 100 metres when she wound the window down and it would not move after that for love nor money. 1 hour in the dealers and it was fixed. If you have a dealer that is helping you, be thankful for that.

[simon mac]

Ford spent £6bn developing the Mondeo...

 

And even that didn't turn round the markets perception of Ford's quality

 

I have a Mondeo estate on fleet as a "pool car". It sits unloved in the office car park for weeks, then gets driven like it's been stolen chocked full of marketing stands by placement students or young sales guys. 

 

It's never missed a beat in nearly 10 years. Not a sign of rust (even around various dings and grazes), everything works, the seats haven't gone saggy, and still not a squeak or rattle.  The repairs list consists of 1 rear damper in all that time.

 

Yet still people think Fords are inferior in quality to Mercs.  

 

Ford would have been better off spending on constant TV adverts, skewing car magazine reviews by being the biggest advertisers, whilst selling a much less well screwed together car. It works for the German brands

[Bloke79]

My car has been great.

Two minor problems, one with a roof rattle, which has subsequently been fixed.  Seem to have a rattle in the drivers door which I'll get fixed next service and also an intermittent fault (happened twice in 10 months) around the car going into limp mode.. Something to do with misfires.  

 

There's a new ECU update which fixes it which I'm getting at next service.

 

10 track days since I've picked up the car, and only thing it's needed has been consumables (brake pads + oil changes).

[BillTheButcher]

There's a new ECU update which fixes it which I'm getting at next service.

Have you got any more info about this, like a list of what it changes?

[Simon Frood]

nobody had clutch/gearbox issues?

[simon mac]

Mine has baulked/ made some funny noises quite badly a few times, but only when warm. I'm keeping an eye on it.

 

It initially had some slight clutch judder for the first few hundred miles too, but that has gone now.

[LF1]

My car has been great.

Two minor problems, one with a roof rattle, which has subsequently been fixed.  Seem to have a rattle in the drivers door which I'll get fixed next service and also an intermittent fault (happened twice in 10 months) around the car going into limp mode.. Something to do with misfires.  

 

There's a new ECU update which fixes it which I'm getting at next service.

 

10 track days since I've picked up the car, and only thing it's needed has been consumables (brake pads + oil changes).

 

I would say I have exactly the same two rattles above, but not the limp mode issue. Genuinely really impressed with the car and quality control.

 

My new Golf is throwing errors all the time, has had the Air con pack in and their after sales service is the worst I have come across.

[ColinH]

Seeing as I started this thread, really depressed 'cos I couldn't drive the car as the door wouldn't close, I want to update everyone on the situation.... Well, I took the car in for it's first service. They lent me an Elise S as a courtesy car which was a real experience. A fantastic car - really great - tactile, fast, beautifully engineered, way too good for my ability, and yet...it made me long for my Exige back.

When I got it back, everything was fixed. I drove it for two minutes and was in love again. I hated myself for slagging Lotus off...I'd forgotten how lucky I was...

In the future I'm gonna forgive this car anything, it's just so good...

[simon mac]

@ColinH

 

Welcome to the world of Lotus addiction.

 

I'll bitch and moan till the cows come home about Lotus, and how I think maybe they should be more commercial... However sometimes I have to stop and think. If they were a UK version of Porsche, to the point where every man and their hairdresser had one, then my Lotus would feel so much less special.

 

So raise a toast for those lovely people in Norfolk and forgive, no praise, the way they do things differently.

[ColinH]

You, sir, have hit the nail on the head!!

[Neal H]

It's like having a pet, you don't stop loving it because it sometimes pee's on the carpet ☺

[ColinH]

That must be why I freaked out - I don't have a dog! But you're quite right, these cars are so special we must forgive them their idiosyncrasies...but of course Lotus must improve build quality as I'm sure they will...

[giorgiozeta]

@Colin: Really happy to read that!

@Norfolk guys: no more beer while working : )