Evora...problems??

[mik]

There is a saying that you either love your car despite its faults, or hate your car despite its virtues.

Sounds like you moved firmly into the latter camp.

Fair enough - good luck with your new car.

[pete757]

I think he will already be on the Bimmer forums guys... 🤭 

[C8RKH]

The 640i is a lard bucket and all those fancy electronic gizmo's will make the £3k for a new Evora clutch seem like a bargain IF they go wrong.  The 640i will be ideal for cruising A roads in the UK - quite quick (in a straight line), reasonable ride, but very big for smaller roads.  However, wish you the best with it.

[ramjet]

On 16/10/2018 at 19:30, CocoPops said:

I think the latter.

I’m sure the BMW is more up OP street.

To be fair, it was hatters that turfed his Evora for a Beemer.

Lorenzor (the OP), hasn't been back on TLF since he posted this topic.

[CocoPops]

Ahh my mistake.

Still, he’s probably gone to a BMW/Merc/A.n.other

[Rob T]

I know this forum thread dates back a number of years but I wanted to join to get an update on Evoras. I'm looking to purchase a third hand 2014 Evora with 25k on the clock. The current owner is fastidious and the car visually immaculate with full service history and a very well regarded Lotus service team here in Sydney, Oz.  The plan is to use it as my every day car travelling about 10k a year and I drive like miss Daisy. Am I dreaming or is this a reasonable plan I have in mind..

[Bibs]

Drive the wheels off of it. It's a hugely capable car and the performance is addictive. Reliable and cheap to service too. 

[C8RKH]

Several use it as a daily driver and know of one that has done 125k miles with no issues

[DaveC72]

2 hours ago, Rob T said:

I know this forum thread dates back a number of years but I wanted to join to get an update on Evoras. I'm looking to purchase a third hand 2014 Evora with 25k on the clock. The current owner is fastidious and the car visually immaculate with full service history and a very well regarded Lotus service team here in Sydney, Oz.  The plan is to use it as my every day car travelling about 10k a year and I drive like miss Daisy. Am I dreaming or is this a reasonable plan I have in mind..

Try this and this.

[jep]

@Rob T totally realistic. You won't lose much on depreciation and running costs are low. In 15,000 miles on my 10 year old Evora (2 years of ownership) I have spent almost nothing. 

Bibs is spot-on, they are better the faster you go but if leisurely is your way, you will still have a sense of occasion every trip.

Justin 

[EGTE]

I do 12000 miles per year in mine (2010 NA) and it laps it up.  I greatly enjoy it, too.

[Barrykearley]

Sadly the rear trim thingy that goes over the top of the rear glass on mine has broken. Apparently it’s a common issue part number A132B0209S. I’m shocked at the price of one. Oh well..

[cdco]

@Barrykearley as is mine, I think it's  called the sail panel, plus both the A-Pilar trims have cracks as well. Just an excuse to get some CF replacements , plus the trims around the rear lights that are no longer chrome. But factored the cost of these into the buy. Just fixed the Cruise on mine , not working when I bought it and replaced both post Cat Oxy sensors, not expected, but it's a 10 year old car so you factor these things in. As @mik said "There is a saying that you either love your car despite its faults, or hate your car despite its virtues" and I know which camp I fall into.

[Nelly]

My rear light surrounds also went milky, so I took them off and painted them black.  Also changed the LOTUS lettering to black and it looks so much better. My car is white so it was an easy decision.

I damaged my sail panel annoyingly, £400 for a new one.  The old one had already been repaired at some point in its life.  

[EGTE]

Been thinking about blacking up my Lotus and Evora scripts, too.   What did you use to do that? Plasti-dip doesn't work too well on chrome/aluminium, unfortunately.

[Bravo73]

Black spray paint works fine. Followed by a coat of clear, to give it a bit of longevity. 
 

 

15 hours ago, cdco said:

I think it's  called the sail panel

It’s not. That’s just an internet thing, for some reason. 

[Bibs]

It's officially 'Ventilation Panel, Engine Bay'. 👍

[Bravo73]

Exacerly: https://www.deroure.com/diagrams.asp?TBL=12628&MAK=1&MDL=20&SMA=0&SMO=0&ST=&SC=0

[Bruss]

Or

https://elise-shop.com/engine-bay-vent-panel-in-carbon-fibre-evora-evora-s-p-502950.html?zenid=749420aa0a047e43b6734dadab22af14

[C8RKH]

11 minutes ago, Bibs said:

It's officially 'Ventilation Panel, Engine Bay'. 👍

Opportunity missed - Sail Panel sounds much sexier so you could charge twice as much over a ventilation panel... 

[cdco]

47 minutes ago, Bravo73 said:

Black spray paint works fine. Followed by a coat of clear, to give it a bit of longevity. 
 

 

It’s not. That’s just an internet thing, for some reason. 

Well you live n learn ... Should have read up a bit better before being a smart a**e.

[Nelly]

1 hour ago, EGTE said:

Been thinking about blacking up my Lotus and Evora scripts, too.   What did you use to do that? Plasti-dip doesn't work too well on chrome/aluminium, unfortunately.

As Bravo73 mentions you could spray them, but I had already purchased a new set of letters which were already black (actually a chrome set painted).  The current lettering is a different font to what was fitted to earlier Evora's, its slightly shorter in height but broader in width.  It looks much better in my opinion than the older style, and I didn't have to apply new D/S tape to the old letters as a bonus.

If you like how it looks now then by all means spray your own letters at the same time as the surrounds, its what the factory did.  Just make sure you use a fine sandpaper to give the a key rather than a coarse as I did when doing the light surround and had to do loads of coats to get rid of the scratch marks.

 

[Barrykearley]

3 hours ago, Bibs said:

It's officially 'Ventilation Panel, Engine Bay'. 👍

Ooh that probably makes it cheaper if it doesn’t include boating terminology 

[Bruss]

15 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

Ooh that probably makes it cheaper if it doesn’t include boating terminology 

Errr no, its a Lotus.

[Relic222]

Well, to add some balance to this overwhelmingly positive thread, I have had a number of issues with my Evora over the past couple of years. Early on in my ownership the aircon compressor seized and needed to be replaced. 6 months later the new unit also failed. Fortunately this was covered under warranty, however I had a LOT of hassle getting it sorted by the Lotus dealer, partly due to low stock, partly due to poor communication; an issue that lasted over 4 months, and a very hot summer. Eventually it was replaced, though I have just had to have the gas topped up by Lotus Siverlstone (highly recommended over the other dealer) because apparently one of the valves was loose, so they suspect it was leaking through that.

More recently my passenger door latch has started to fail, so the window keeps dropping, also draining the battery due to interior lights. Once again there are stock issues (apparently there are 19 on back order) so I've not been able to get the issue resolved yet. 

I also had some issues with the car leaking - mostly into the boot. This was resolved by adding a few more drainage holes as stated by a Lotus service pack/manual/thing.

Finally, like a few others have said, I have a crack in my ventilation panel, but the cost of the new item and the fact that it doesn't bother me much means I've left that unchanged. I've had a few other more minor issues and some cosmetic blemishes (just due to age) which I'm gradually working through, and of course the usual wear and tear (brake discs will need replacing soon etc, the usual). My car is 11 years old, and approaching 40k, so I'd expect there to be a few issues.

I definitely have some days where I crave a more 'worry free' car - with the Evora it's a car that every time I get into I wonder whether it's going to work okay, whilst with my wife's Mazda you just assume it's going to work (I'm not comparing Lotus to Mazda, don't get upset, I'm just using the analogy for my mindset). Usually I get these feelings when I haven't driven the car for a while. However, as soon as I drive it, I instantly change my mind again, the feeling you get throwing it down a back road can't be matched by many, if any, other road cars. On top of that, my two year old absolutely loves it - he calls it 'daddy's racing car' and whenever I pick him up from somewhere in the Lotus he instantly gets excited and can't wait to go for a drive. He also goes out to play in it (stand on the seat playing with the wheel, pressing the buttons, pulling the levers) on an almost daily basis. Finally, I've taken it to a number of local car shows, and there's something very satisfying about just rocking up and getting waved into the show ground, and having chats with lots of car fans about your car. It always gets a very positive reception, both from people who have never heard of it, and people who know what it is.

One of the previous comments said something along the lines of "maybe an Evora was't for you" to one of the other users, and I think that sums the ownership up to an extent. I personally wouldn't recommend the Evora to someone, unless they were really set on the car, it's definitely not a car for a 'normal' person. You have to be the kind of person who really appreciates the handling and feedback of the car, over anything else, and be prepared to forgive its problems because you love how it drives, and how it makes you feel. If you're just after a fast car (like a C63 or a 640i), then the Evora isn't what you want, there are plenty of faster cars that are more comfortable, or practical, and even plenty that are more efficient, however once you get them down a nice back road, I guarantee you'd be having more fun if you were in the Evora.

Edited July 31, 2020 by Relic222