fu@K, Sh!+, CR^P! DAMAGE!!!!

[def]

Crazy pict - sorry for your loss

I took mine to America's tire (discount tire) to have an A048 patched and plugged. I made sure they used manual jack (with my hockey puck) and jacked it in the "B-spot" or whatever right between the rear of the door and rear wheel. it jacks up the whole side of the car so you can get to both wheels on that side easily. i was like a vulture around them and watched everything

[Rugbyduck]

Originally Posted by khamai

If there's a hole in the floor, then the chassis is toast. The floor panel is bonded in and can not be replaced.

Here's an idea...

[LARRY]

South Bay Lotus mounts tires.

[qball]

This is what I've done.

1. I photographed the car at the Goodyear store.
2. Car has been flat bedded to Dimmit Lotus in Clearwater (their expense)
3. I've already spoken to the body shop manager and he knows that I am going to be picky about the car (if salvageable). They said they were going to bring it to the Lotus shop and have the mechanic go over it for mechanical issues.
4. I've asked for a copy of the incident report to be faxed to me from the Goodyear store (not received yet)
5. I've called my insurance agent and they are aware. He said the first step was to see how Goodyear would handle it.

Am I missing anything else?

[Ian]

Originally Posted by qball

This is what I've done.

1. I photographed the car at the Goodyear store.
2. Car has been flat bedded to Dimmit Lotus in Clearwater (their expense)
3. I've already spoken to the body shop manager and he knows that I am going to be picky about the car (if salvageable). They said they were going to bring it to the Lotus shop and have the mechanic go over it for mechanical issues.
4. I've asked for a copy of the incident report to be faxed to me from the Goodyear store (not received yet)
5. I've called my insurance agent and they are aware. He said the first step was to see how Goodyear would handle it.

Am I missing anything else?

Yes, I would contact the body shop manager and make it clear that you would prefer the car be totalled. Talk about the stress of the fall and the hoists on the suspension arms.

[babak]

Originally Posted by e-Lise

10 bottles of Lomotil to the guy who did it - STAT.

With a nice healthy dose of lasix. It makes me ill just looking at it.

[babak]

Originally Posted by qball

Am I missing anything else?

Use your insurance agent as the 'champion' of your cause. Make sure you educate him about the precautions you took, manual, showing them etc. Also make sure he understands that bit about the wishbones and the hole in the floor. I'd even go to the length of showing him the bit from Lotus about not towing the car from there.
I would not fear about him thinking that this is a fragile car and your insurance rates. They dropped your car on its arse form 7 feet up for pete's sake. I would not settle for anything other than a replacement. If they want it fixed the dealer can have it fixed and sell it for all I care.
With you having family ties to that place I'd encourage you to keep calm, even and firm. I wont do anything with the dealer ship until I see their offer/response to this. In chatting with them just say "let's see what Dimmitt says." This way you are not the 'prick with the lotus' off the bat to them. Honey and vinegar thing. Good luck.

[fishguy]

I would congratulate them on their new car purchase, YOUR ELISE. no way would I want that car after it fell off of anything. these cars are fragile. FIL or not, the car should now be theirs, and you should have a new one. that car just wont ever be the same IMO.
BTW that bald guy in the phot looks like a total idiot just standing there. maybe he should be picking his nose and examining the collection , or something. i blame him. sorry about the car.
fishguy

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by xtn

It is my humble opinion that there are NO correct jack points for putting the car on a 4 pt lift!

Not correct. You should use the rear jack points - that are located under the engine under-tray. The problem is that you need to lift the car to get the under-tray off to get to the lift points that you need to lift the car. A nice Catch-22.

Next time my car comes off the ground (the brake bleed is due real soon now), I'll back it up on ramps, drop the under-tray, and put it back on the ground. Then jack one side, install two jackstands, and the repeat on the other side. Repeat as necessary to get it up high enough to meet the necessary work height.

The problem is that those that don't know, would thing that the two jack points in front of the rear wheels are the lift points - they are not. They are where you lift one side of the car for a tire change - no the whole car.

[Eddie Haskell]

Man, that sucks. Sorry to hear...

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by Rugbyduck

the sport wheels are heavier than the touring wheels?

Darn, I haven't had to do this for quite a while...

[MattG]

Why was it lifted so far off the ground for a simple tire change?!

So sorry to hear about this, that's horrible!

[peck555]

very sorry for your loss,and after you showed them the manual

[doma]

Originally Posted by Surferjer

I never let any shops near the car other than Lotus dealers. For tires I bring in wheel and tires and tell them what to do.

Even that doesn't always work. I dropped off my rear wheels at a local Firestone shop for new tire mountings. When I got them back one rim had a nasty cut in it. The 'tire removal' tool crunched it.

[TWCNY]

I would have also had a police report made prior to the car being moved.

[slaughtr]

It may sound like a pain but each time I've ordered new tires (with 048's that's a lot), I've taken them off myself, put on my autocross wheels and tires, and taken the wheels to the tire shop in my truck for them to switch out the tires, then put them back on myself.

[smoseley]

Originally Posted by ivan1

we should have a caption this photo contest

"It ran 9 seconds flat. It had so much power, it twisted the frame and lifted the front wheels clear off the ground."

- The Fast and the Furious

[tsmith]

Hey Are your tires for sale!!!!!
That sucks

[PhoneBoy]

Originally Posted by qball

This is what I've done.

1. I photographed the car at the Goodyear store.
2. Car has been flat bedded to Dimmit Lotus in Clearwater (their expense)
3. I've already spoken to the body shop manager and he knows that I am going to be picky about the car (if salvageable). They said they were going to bring it to the Lotus shop and have the mechanic go over it for mechanical issues.
4. I've asked for a copy of the incident report to be faxed to me from the Goodyear store (not received yet)
5. I've called my insurance agent and they are aware. He said the first step was to see how Goodyear would handle it.

Am I missing anything else?

I'd get the shop's insurance into - it should be their problem.

I agree with others - with the hole in the floor and other damage, it should be clearly totaled. The sooner the shop's insurance company realizes this, the sooner you can be out shopping for your new car.

Last - even though the guy who put it on the lift may not be too sharp, at least he wasn't killed.

[SweetDaddyD]

Painful man. Painful. Ohhh, and family involved too, possibly good and bad. (just in time for the holidays too!) So, does the person who lifted it still have a job? Hindsight is 20/20 but it's clear by the responses that there are plenty of owners here that don't know how to lift their car either. I knew I was paying a premium to have the dealer install new tires but I was too worried to release some tire shop on it for fear of something like this. At your (and Goodyears) expense I can have a mental image now too. Heck maybe we should print this and include with the lift instructions in our owners manuals.

That had to be one heck of a noise. I'm sure massive embarassment for your FIL too. How comfortable do you think the other customers were who ran to the window to see what the commotion was while their car was on the lift?

You HAVE to upload this to wrecked exotics and break.com For plenty of other people (besides us Loti owners) this will be a highly entertaining photo. (maybe you'll get that $200 from break for submissions- not sure if it applies to photos or only vids).

Such a bummer to see.