LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community - View Single Post - Lotus -- Daily Driver Blog by Patrick Shim

PatrickShim · 01-18-2008, 11:32 PM

Here's my "Lotus Daily Driver Blog" documenting my experience of driving my Lotus Elise as my daily driver. I have three other cars, but I don't think there aren't many cars that can match the "fun factor" that Lotus delivers.

One of the first times I saw Lotus Elise was on June 4, 2005 at the Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, CA. After having a dinner date, I was in the valet area and a gray Lotus Elise came to the hotel. The driver looked very familiar, and as he was helping the passenger out of the car, I realized that they are Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. I actually didn't care who they were, as I was busy checking out the Lotus! The car looked amazing. (Jennifer Lopez had hard time getting out of the car - the car had the hardtop on - and it was quite funny to watch her getting out).

Also on Dec. 3, 2005, I attended VIP Auto Fashion Show and saw a beautiful blue Lotus Elise. The car was stunning. There were several beautiful fashion models there, but I could not keep my eyes off of the Lotus.

[Test Drives]

Prior to buying my Lotus, I had opportunities to test-drive Lotus Elise in a couple of occasions. On July 2, 2005, I saw a beautiful orange Lotus Elise at the Crystal Cove show and thought, "hmm... I want one of these..."

After the Crystal Cove and a visit to a friend's personal car collection in Newport Beach, I stopped by at the Newport European. They gave me a key and said, "be back in one piece"! It was a red/tan Lotus Elise with touring pack. I drove around Newport Beach for about 30 minutes and I totally fell in love with it. I told myself I need to get one.

On March 25, 2006, Symbolic Motors had an open-house event at its service/restoration facility in San Diego, CA. Gary Hagens from Lotus USA invited me to test drive a Lotus and as I remembered from my first test drive, it was an amazing experience.

[Purchase] October 15, 2007 - a new car with 161 miles on the odometer

After over 2 years of thinking about getting a Lotus, I finally decided to pick one up. I went to Symbolic Motors in La Jolla, CA and picked up a '06 Lotus Elise. It is laser-blue/black with hard top, sport pack, touring pack, star shield. The sticker price was $51,415 and I paid $50,646.87 + tax & registration (total: $55,000 plus free Stage-II exhaust). Considering it was a '06 model and had 161 miles (the car was brand-new, but had some demo miles), I thought I was over-paying a bit, but I really did not care, as I could not find any laser-blue Lotus Elise with both sport and touring pack anywhere.

Dan Gooda, Olivia Falcone, and Carmen Despie-Williams did great job getting me in/out quickly and the process was completely painless.

Here are the pictures of my car from Symbolic Motors' website.

[First Canyon Road Drive]

October 20, 2007, just a few days after picking up the car, I had over 500 miles on the car. I thought I should take it up to Mt. Baldy (near Claremont, CA) to try the canyon roads. It was still a very new car, so I baby-ed the car the whole time.

[1,000-mile Service] October 22, 2007 - 1,100 documented miles

Just a week after the purchase, I went back to Symbolic Motors for the 1,000-mile service. In addition to the 1,000-mile Service, I got the Stage-II exhaust installed. Lee Denman, my service advisor, was very patient and great to work with.

[Service #2] November 14, 2007 - 3,375 documented miles

I went back to the Symbolic Motors service for a few minor adjustments, including alignment correction. On the way to the service, I got my first "Check Engine Light". The service told me that it is because my gas-cap wasn't tightened properly and erased the code for me.

[Sector 111 Wine Run]

November 17, 2007, just little over a month after the purchase, I participated in the Sector 111 Wine Run. On the way to the run, I got my second "Check Engine Light". I checked the gas cap, and it was on properly. The guys at Sector 111 checked and erased the code. They told me that it might be an intake problem.

Although the "Check Engine Light" problem concerned me a bit, it was wonderful to meet other Lotus owners and enjoy the canyon roads through Temecula and Fallbrook.

[Service #3] December 28, 2007 - 7,285 documented miles

I got the "Check Engine Light" again so I stopped by at Lotus Beverly Hills. Allen and Stephen took a look at the car and found P420 code stored in the ECU. They reflashed the ECU for me.

[Service #4] January 8, 2008 - 8,231 documented miles

I stopped by at Symbolic Motors for an oil change. Since the oil change interval is every 7,500 miles, 8,600-mile mark was my next scheduled oil change (I got my 1,000-mile service at 1,100 miles). I wanted to take care of my "Check Engine Light", but they did not find any codes stored. In addition to the oil change, I got my rear blinker replaced and head-light recall issue serviced.

[Hal's Malibu Run] January 13, 2008

It was so wonderful to meet many other Lotus owners!!! The drive through the canyon roads of Malibu was really great!

01-18-2008, 11:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
PatrickShim Lotus = Daily Driver Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southern California Posts: 599	Lotus -- Daily Driver Blog by Patrick Shim Here's my "Lotus Daily Driver Blog" documenting my experience of driving my Lotus Elise as my daily driver. I have three other cars, but I don't think there aren't many cars that can match the "fun factor" that Lotus delivers. One of the first times I saw Lotus Elise was on June 4, 2005 at the Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, CA. After having a dinner date, I was in the valet area and a gray Lotus Elise came to the hotel. The driver looked very familiar, and as he was helping the passenger out of the car, I realized that they are Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez. I actually didn't care who they were, as I was busy checking out the Lotus! The car looked amazing. (Jennifer Lopez had hard time getting out of the car - the car had the hardtop on - and it was quite funny to watch her getting out). Also on Dec. 3, 2005, I attended VIP Auto Fashion Show and saw a beautiful blue Lotus Elise. The car was stunning. There were several beautiful fashion models there, but I could not keep my eyes off of the Lotus. [Test Drives] Prior to buying my Lotus, I had opportunities to test-drive Lotus Elise in a couple of occasions. On July 2, 2005, I saw a beautiful orange Lotus Elise at the Crystal Cove show and thought, "hmm... I want one of these..." After the Crystal Cove and a visit to a friend's personal car collection in Newport Beach, I stopped by at the Newport European. They gave me a key and said, "be back in one piece"! It was a red/tan Lotus Elise with touring pack. I drove around Newport Beach for about 30 minutes and I totally fell in love with it. I told myself I need to get one. On March 25, 2006, Symbolic Motors had an open-house event at its service/restoration facility in San Diego, CA. Gary Hagens from Lotus USA invited me to test drive a Lotus and as I remembered from my first test drive, it was an amazing experience. [Purchase] October 15, 2007 - a new car with 161 miles on the odometer After over 2 years of thinking about getting a Lotus, I finally decided to pick one up. I went to Symbolic Motors in La Jolla, CA and picked up a '06 Lotus Elise. It is laser-blue/black with hard top, sport pack, touring pack, star shield. The sticker price was $51,415 and I paid $50,646.87 + tax & registration (total: $55,000 plus free Stage-II exhaust). Considering it was a '06 model and had 161 miles (the car was brand-new, but had some demo miles), I thought I was over-paying a bit, but I really did not care, as I could not find any laser-blue Lotus Elise with both sport and touring pack anywhere. Dan Gooda, Olivia Falcone, and Carmen Despie-Williams did great job getting me in/out quickly and the process was completely painless. Here are the pictures of my car from Symbolic Motors' website. [First Canyon Road Drive] October 20, 2007, just a few days after picking up the car, I had over 500 miles on the car. I thought I should take it up to Mt. Baldy (near Claremont, CA) to try the canyon roads. It was still a very new car, so I baby-ed the car the whole time. [1,000-mile Service] October 22, 2007 - 1,100 documented miles Just a week after the purchase, I went back to Symbolic Motors for the 1,000-mile service. In addition to the 1,000-mile Service, I got the Stage-II exhaust installed. Lee Denman, my service advisor, was very patient and great to work with. [Service #2] November 14, 2007 - 3,375 documented miles I went back to the Symbolic Motors service for a few minor adjustments, including alignment correction. On the way to the service, I got my first "Check Engine Light". The service told me that it is because my gas-cap wasn't tightened properly and erased the code for me. [Sector 111 Wine Run] November 17, 2007, just little over a month after the purchase, I participated in the Sector 111 Wine Run. On the way to the run, I got my second "Check Engine Light". I checked the gas cap, and it was on properly. The guys at Sector 111 checked and erased the code. They told me that it might be an intake problem. Although the "Check Engine Light" problem concerned me a bit, it was wonderful to meet other Lotus owners and enjoy the canyon roads through Temecula and Fallbrook. [Service #3] December 28, 2007 - 7,285 documented miles I got the "Check Engine Light" again so I stopped by at Lotus Beverly Hills. Allen and Stephen took a look at the car and found P420 code stored in the ECU. They reflashed the ECU for me. [Service #4] January 8, 2008 - 8,231 documented miles I stopped by at Symbolic Motors for an oil change. Since the oil change interval is every 7,500 miles, 8,600-mile mark was my next scheduled oil change (I got my 1,000-mile service at 1,100 miles). I wanted to take care of my "Check Engine Light", but they did not find any codes stored. In addition to the oil change, I got my rear blinker replaced and head-light recall issue serviced. [Hal's Malibu Run] January 13, 2008 It was so wonderful to meet many other Lotus owners!!! The drive through the canyon roads of Malibu was really great! __________________ '06 Lotus Elise (Laser Blue/Black/Sport-Pack/Touring-Pack/Hardtop/Upgraded-ECU/TRD airbox/Stage-II Exhaust) - VIDEO I have three other cars, but the Lotus is my daily driver (My Daily Driver Blog). Last edited by PatrickShim : 06-07-2008 at 06:53 PM.