LBH-rip -Lotus of Beverly Hills-

[Lotusmotion]

I agree with delise.

Customer service is as much about accessibility as it is about consistent and high quality sales and service staff and facilities.

The trade area of a metro L.A. Lotus dealer covers +/- the basin from Pasadena (North), to Long Beach (S), to east L.A. (E), to the 405/101 exchange (W). Outlying areas are covered by existing dealers to the south in OC and west (Westlake and Thousand Oaks).

Any future Lotus dealership should be near the center of that trade area, for maximum accessibility, rather than at a far end.

[Ronbol]

Originally Posted by Flash G

By the way... Does anyone know how Silver Star is doing since the arrival of the Calabasas dealership??

Been wondering the same thing. They ARE awfully close to each other.

[daysineuropa]

How are Silver Star doing?

I live five miles from their location. They are on my route to work. I used to have my AMG Mercedes serviced by them.

You would think I was the perfect demographic, right?

I went in to make an inquiry and after ignoring a grandfather-grandson looking at an Exige Cup car, the salesman continued yapping on his cell phone. The other folks took off in a brand new M3 four door, I left in my M Roadster about five minutes later.

I talked to some folks at work and they said I should try again. I at least got someone to talk to me this time. The sales guy told me the following:
1) We don't have any cars except a 72D (which I really don't care for).
2) We don't do test drives - you should go to Marina del Rey and rent one............
3) We don't negotiate on price.

I asked him if that is why it took him two years to sell 2006 models that were both visible on his lot and on his website and took my leave.

Mercedes service was excellent, Chuck Lesser in particular would always fight for the customer. Their sales guys were also hopeless, couldn't even grab you when you were clearly wandering in from their service area.

I discovered Newport European from this forum. My wife and I went down to the dealership, which also happens to sell Rolls Royce and Spyker. We were treated very well. Kevin Smith gave me keys to the demo car and let me take it away. We viewed the service area and met the service manager and sat in the car I ended up buying.

I hear the service is excellent at Silver Star on Lotus too, but I cannot envisage buying a car from them in my lifetime.

IMHO, Rusnak would do a far better job with Lotus. I have serviced both BMW there and had numerous test drives whilst just looking. Maybe they would even put a Lotus sign somewhere on their building? Silver Star looks like Jaguar only from the outside.

[Stormy320]

Perhaps it's hard for dealerships to understand Lotus and the Lotus customer. South Bay really got it.

As far as you West LA cats - I live in Pasadena. It's not that big of a deal. You guys just had it made.

If you live in the South Bay and have to come to Pasadena - that is a little bit of a hall, but I've been doing it ever since I got my car.

[Allan Gibbs]

I really think Saturday service is a most for any dealer in the LA area. I mean most of us work M-F.

[xxxotic]

Originally Posted by Allan Gibbs

I really think Saturday service is a most for any dealer in the LA area. I mean most of us work M-F.

But then you would still have to wait because they would be backed up with everyone only wanting to come in on Saturday for service!

I would consider an hour away to be reasonable if I had to take a car like a Lotus in for servicing. Some people in other parts of the country may only have one dealer in their state which might be several hours away.

The problem around here is that the dealers need to have enough people trained to service the car. Right after I got my Elise, the Esprit mechanic at Lotus of Palm Beach left and so their was no one their that knew how to service them, and people who had bought 2002- 04 Esprits that were still under warranty werent too happy.

I tried to make an appointment for an oil change and it they only have one person that works on Lotus and he was out on disablilty, so they said that I should try calling back in a few weeks. Since I had a day off in the week, I just went to the other dealer about an hour further south instead.

Everytime I go to the dealer they can usually fix everything right away, but I have another car and dont care if it takes a few days, but others who use the car for a daily driver may not be happy with having to wait. It is even worse for people when a part has to be ordered under warranty, and then a second trip needs to be made to have it installed a week later. People are put off by not being able to get their car serviced or by not havng their calls to the dealership to set up appointment returned or by having to find a way to drop the car off and still get to work.

If they give Evora owners a free rental car (even a cheap beater) when cars are in for serving or warranty work, it would be a step in the right direction. All of the BMW and Lexus dealers around here do it. Also they should be able to offer shuttle service to local trains and bus stations or peoples workplaces.
I think PB Motors does this to locations as far as 10 miles away, and I'm sure they would probably drop me off at home (15 miles away) if I was stuck and couldnt get home. Most dealers also offer night drop off service, so you can leave the car after work, and then their showrooms are usually open late so that you can pay in advance with your credit card and a salesperson can give you the keys if you come in after work.

[Allan Gibbs]

Southbay Lotus didn't have the problems with Saturday service....actually, they didn't even have enough people to justify a full day. I don't know what Beverly Hills Lotus' problem with over book services was.

And, it was a really pain in the ass to have to drop my car off to Abe (sales) on a Saturday so I could pick my car up the following Saturday because I couldn't make it during the week but I'd rather do that than drive through LA traffic in rush hour.

I don't think typical Evora owners would be willing to put up with that because that's not how Porsche works (assuming the Evora's target market are Porsche owners). I don't think they'll be as willing to tolerate the inconvenience as an enthusiasts.

But I do agree with you that a free rental car or loaner is the way to go.

[Flash G]

Originally Posted by daysineuropa

How are Silver Star doing?

I talked to some folks at work and they said I should try again. I at least got someone to talk to me this time. The sales guy told me the following:
1) We don't have any cars except a 72D (which I really don't care for).
2) We don't do test drives - you should go to Marina del Rey and rent one............
3) We don't negotiate on price.

I asked him if that is why it took him two years to sell 2006 models that were both visible on his lot and on his website and took my leave.

With only one Lotus in stock, maybe they're not going to be in the Lotus sales business much longer.

It's been about a year and a half since I've been to Silver Star. Last time I was there, they had at least ten cars all over the lot. I always wondered how long they would last since there's now a dealership just down the road. (Calabasas.)


.

[wallabyguy]

Before we put Silver Star out of business, we need to remember that Lotus has changed from a inventory sales type company to a order type. The idea is that there will no longer be dealers with tons of inventory or lots of cars sitting at port. The idea is now to have 8 cars +/- on hand and work off an ordering system.

[wallabyguy]

Lotus understands the need for proper coverage when it comes to dealer placement. This goes for Greenwich, California and the rest of the country. This is not a single region issue. But more importantly, Lotus also understands the need for a solid and compitent dealer network. To simply start throwing dealers all over the place just to have them is a insult to the community and the future buyer. You need solid, QUALIFIED, representation for the brand. This means not only financial strength, but also a understanding of the product and the community. I mean, let's face it folks, we are very high maintenance. If you hand a franchise off to a Toyota dealer that's been selling Corollas for 30 years that gives Lotus security that the dealer isn't going anywhere but it doesn't do anything to address that dealerships capability to properly work with us. Based on sales numbers, we just don't/ wouldn't matter to larger volume dealers. Heck, there are current Lotus dealers that are relatively lower volumes who still don't care about us. Not all but some. There's a very difficult balance that must be met and Arnie, Abe, Jim (the new guy), Gary and the rest of LCU are working very hard to accomplish it. This means that for awhile, we may see changes in the network while things get worked out but in the end, the enthusiasts in North America will be better off for it.

[Allan Gibbs]

What's that saying with every risk, there's also an opportunity. Lotus may have lost Beverly Hills Lotus (and I suspect eventually the Calabasas location since it's the owner that's at issue), but this is also an opportunity to build the Southern California region.

It's not good customer service to say, West LA people, drive over to Pasadena or vice versa and it limits sales potential too.

The way I see it, Newport Beach has the southern part of the LA area covered. Dealerships in the West LA/ airport areas, San Fernando Valley/Woodland Hills/Calabasas area, and Pasadena/Downtown/San Gabriel Valley area would cover the LA area nicely and not over populate the dealer network. I'm sure Lotus is aware of this so I suppose it's just a matter of time. It's much faster to type than to actually build a dealer network.

[LARRY]

Having a Lotus showroom in an exclusively Lotus dealer in Beverly Hills will sell more Lotus cars than anywhere else in the world.

Beverly Hills Lotus was three blocks from Ferrari of Beverly Hills, and two blocks from the O'Gara Coach Company with Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Lamborgini and Bugatti and Bentley.

Porsche is three clocks east, BMW is across the street...

Only a few thousand of ANY major exotic car are made in the world and they are ALL in Beverly Hills.

Lotus, I think you get the point.

[SKYVUE]

Looks us old guys are destined to drive 1980's Buicks after all.

Larry: I hope you got your Lotus out of the shop before they locked the gate for the last time...

The next words on a dealers lips will be:

"What color Buick do you want, geezer?"

--Hal

[Allan Gibbs]

Originally Posted by LARRY

Having a Lotus showroom in an exclusively Lotus dealer in Beverly Hills will sell more Lotus cars than anywhere else in the world.
Lotus, I think you get the point.

And yet they had like 5-7 2007 Exige S as of May 2008 and all had a $10K discount.

Incidentally, while I was there talking to Phil about an Exige S a few people showed up (one in a Mercedes Maclaren) but none of them were there too shop for a Lotus - just the Lambos.

[local600]

Originally Posted by Allan Gibbs

Well, I stopped by Rusnak Porsche/Audi/Mercedes in Pasadena today,...

Why is it that every (and I really do mean EVERY) car I have encountered with a Rusnak plate drives like a total a-hole? It seems from a public perspective that their plate is almost like a badge of shame to be avoided. The dealership might be great, but I'm almost convinced that they have you sign something that says you'll be an entitled ass-clown on the road.

[LARRY]

Lotus:

If you want to open a new Lotus dealership in Beverly Hills here's a hint.

On Olympic Blvd. between La Brea and Beverly Drive there are at least five empty car dealerships including Beverly Hills Ford, a huge facility with great service bays waiting for someone to move in.

Lotus cars deserve a Beverly Hills address.

[Allan Gibbs]

Originally Posted by local600

The dealership might be great, but I'm almost convinced that they have you sign something that says you'll be an entitled ass-clown on the road.

Under the terms of my lease agreements with Audi and Rusnak, I'm not authorized to comment on this.

Also, I don't want anyone to think I'm against a Beverly Hills Lotus location. It just it shouldn't be the only location in the L.A. area to sell and service Lotus. And, I'd gladly trade in my Rusnak plate frames for a Beverly Hills Lotus frame (I'm joking. I'm not really that shallow....or am I)

On a more serious note, with BHL gone and new management at Lotus USA (which I think were two issues Southbay had when the gave up the franchise), do you think Southbay may come back as a dealer?

[LARRY]

Monday 10-8-2008

The word from Lotus Calabasas is that they will post an announcement in LotusTalk in about a week about their new set-up.

[carl]

i'd love to see a dealer in santa barbara it would be half way in between silver star and smith. there's a 180 miles between them santa barbara is 60 miles north of silver star. carl

[FLuXeXigeS]

Originally Posted by LARRY

Lotus:

If you want to open a new Lotus dealership in Beverly Hills here's a hint.

On Olympic Blvd. between La Brea and Beverly Drive there are at least five empty car dealerships including Beverly Hills Ford, a huge facility with great service bays waiting for someone to move in.

Lotus cars deserve a Beverly Hills address.

as "stuck up" as it may sound, its very true and I completely agree