The Evora 400 Diaries

[Colin G]

So as I take mine out the garage to go sign the paperwork for the new car. Central locking, f***ed. Electric mirrors, f***ed. Alarm, f***ed. yeah, this is going to make it leaving a bit easier. 

[JayEmm]

Had it been left for a while Colin? Sounds like the immobiliser or the battery playing silly buggers?

[PaulCP]

1 hour ago, JayEmm said:

Thanks Paul. I am very familiar with the Consumer Rights act and in my mind the car fails miserably under the "expectations of quality".

The things that frustrate me more aren't so much the problems, but the way they are being dealt with and the fact that many of them should not have been picked up by myself.

 

James, IIRC the document outlines how sellers must behave when reacting to complaints. It is this particular point which has assisted some JLR owners circumnavigate the bull they were being given by dealers by pointing out the relevant section that the dealer is not complying with

[JayEmm]

I shall make sure to have a copy in front of me when I next converse with said dealer. It is appreciated.

[Colin G]

3 hours ago, JayEmm said:

Had it been left for a while Colin? Sounds like the immobiliser or the battery playing silly buggers?

Car immobiliser switched off fine, but powerfold not working, no mirror glass adjustment, no central locking from fob/passenger door/dash switch. Alarm doing nothing. Probably an easy one, but not my problem now!

[JayEmm]

How strange. Not so long ago my passenger side window just stopped auto-dropping, locked it and unlocked it and hey presto it was working again.

Will probably wind up being something quite basic, but these things never fill you with confidence

[JayEmm]

I am having a new sump fitted at present, the issue it seems is one which could affect any very early 400 but should not affect later ones.

[CocoPops]

Another reason to show dealer was telling porkies about the age of your car then? If it only affects very early cars....?

[JayEmm]

I'm going to be diplomatic and say the salesperson I dealt with was "misinformed" about the age of the car, unfortunately he was out by quite some way it seems.

The car has been at Stratton for a whole week this time round, I really love the Evora, it's an epic car, but it's pretty clear mine is not a shining example of the breed.

[C8RKH]

Can't help but think the longer you let this go on the weaker your case to reject.

[JayEmm]

I wish I could give more of an update other than to say I am pestering many people in many places nearly constantly at the moment. I am certainly not taking it lightly.

I am however also taking the opportunity however to give the Excel some much needed use - silver linings etc

[Colin G]

I agree with Andy, at the very least you should be pushing to have the car replaced. I know with the way mine has been it's made getting rid of it this weekend pretty easy, despite how much I love it. If it had reached the stage yours has just hit, there would be a lawyer involved. The fact that no other car handles/drives like a Lotus, I think it makes us suffer the 'quirks' too gladly.

[Inkyfingers]

@JayEmm Sorry this is still ongoing, really hope it comes to a satisfactory conclusion, whatever that may be.

Out of interest, how reliable have the Elise and the Excel been?

[JayEmm]

The Excel is my current daily driver, I'm going to be putting some miles on it. No issues to report on the reliability front. In fact there's a few items on it which work much better than you might expect from "an old Lotus" (eg. lights, heater)

The Elise has also not missed a beat and has a couple of issues to sort out, but those are nothing at all Lotus-specific

Much like @Colin G I am presently wondering why I bothered to buy a brand new car, because I seem to be funding depreciation on a vehicle that spends an awful lot of its time out of my service. I was doing my best to ignore some of the niggles - a dodgy headlight washer is hardly going to kill me etc - and I genuinely thought we were getting somewhere until it started running like dog shit, felt like going back to square one.

What's equally frustrating is the "solution" to my issues was to unplug and re-insert the MAF sensor. No parts were changed, no software was updated. What's also strange is my car had run *perfectly* right UNTIL the service bulletin on the MAF was carried out. In the same was my gearshift was superb until they decided to "improve" it and subsequently buggered up first and reverse. I had nothing but praise for the gearshift (and still do, but mine now refuses first or reverse sometimes unless you go into another gear first) - so why they felt the need to adjust it, I don't know.

Like I said before, in October I told them the car should go back. They disagreed. I've since been through the document @PaulCP handily linked to and underlined the many criteria which have been met. I await their response. I just want a car I can get in without a list of problems that need sorting.

[Barrykearley]

It's the trouble with newly released cars. I'm afraid all manufacturers have these issues.

the recalls that are in place for other manufacturers would frankly make your toes curl if you looked into it.

not much help for you @JayEmm - but the cars built now should be a whole heap better

[JayEmm]

Correction to one of my above posts, I've had a new sump gasket fitted - not sump. But the sump I have is not the same design as current vehicles. It was a part Lotus decided to fit.

@Barrykearley I have absolutely no doubt the cars going out now should be miles better. It's just a shame they have cut corners on a lot of the parts, making the model look a bit cheaper.

It's quite annoying because I try and spend so much time defending Lotus' reliability and then people ask me where my car is... umm....

[Neal H]

I think you've been badly let down by your dealer James, but one of your problems has been buying a car hundreds of miles from where you live. If you had bought it from your local dealer I'm sure they would have been far more supportive (loan car etc), but it's hard for your local dealer to provide support on a car they haven't sold as it just costs them money. This is why I would always buy a new car locally even if it costs me an extra couple of £K, I want my supplier to take responsibility if things go wrong, and if they don't, I'll be in their showroom wanting to know why!

None of this excuses the fact that your car is sub-standard and that in itself isn't acceptable, and I hope you ultimately find an acceptable solution.

[Gashead1105]

Personally I'm not a fan of Stratton or Castle and I bought my car from Silverstone (who were very good) despite them being 100 miles away. However, if I were James (and particularly given the background with Stratton) I would have used @Hangar 111 now that they can do warranty work. They have looked after my cars for the past 4 years. I have been wondering if there would be an announcement from them in the near future...

 

Edited December 1, 2016 by Gashead1105

[JayEmm]

The primary reason my car is at Stratton is although it has been worked on by their mechanics Lotus have also been sending their service engineers out and it seemed convenient for them for the car to be at Stratton.For what it's worth I am going to be using @Hangar 111 for all my future work. They correctly diagnosed the sump issue when no one else believed it could be a problem. I am very thankful to them because we may have been spared a much bigger job down the line.

@Neal H I appreciate the sentiment but I gave both Stratton and Castle a fair chance at selling me a car but neither seemed interested in dealing. I did not have the luxury to just give away a few grand when it came to purchase time, unfortunately. 

[JayEmm]

One of the more minor issues that I'd asked to be fixed on the car's current batch of fixes has turned out to be potentially more serious than suspected. In short, my gearbox now needs to come out and be dissected. We all know how much fun that is on an Evora. We've elected to wait on this one as if we started work now there's zero chance I'd see the car again this side of Christmas.

Bugger

[Stuno1]

Can you really not just reject it???? It sounds a bit of a lemon fella ?

[C8RKH]

Ok surely that has to be the straw that breaks the camels back. Wishing you the best of luck matey

[C8RKH]

14 minutes ago, Stuno1 said:

Can you really not just reject it???? It sounds a bit of a lemon fella ?

Looks like one too!  

[JayEmm]

Thanks guys. My opinion of the situation has been conveyed using colourful metaphors to my dealer. 

I know I am a fully converted Lotus whore now but I can't see any way this can be deemed even remotely acceptable for any car at any price point, however it was made.

I am hoping for a Lotus shaped Christmas present!

 

[Arregueti]

You should donate your car to scientific research and (someone - fill the blank) get (you) a working one...

Seriously, I know exactly how you feel. Mine is currently sitting in Germany with its gearbox open all over the place and waiting for some pieces, which... seem to be in back order at the moment...

I really hope you will get all this sorted to your satisfaction and behind you soon.

The good side of it is that, at least, it is December and -2ºC outside. Santa is getting closer to your house.

We shall endure this test. You have all my sympathy.