[hogfan]

i am buying the car from the closest dealer but it is still 450 miles away. so i drive home then almost immed. have to turn around and drive back for 1st service. is there anyway around this? i could take a long weekend but its hard to find relief help esp. when i dont know when to schedule them. does the 1st service have to be at 1000 or can it go to 1500 without trouble?

 

[Stan]

1500, no problem...plus you can use the car more fully after 1000. Just keep the oil topped up. I went in at almost 1500 as there was a long Holiday weekend near that time.

 

[rob]

At what mileage point is the warranty invalidated?

What point is too soon to do it?

 

[huggy bear]

Is Dallas closer to you than your current dealership?

 

[zvezdah1]

Rob,
As Stan says the service can be carried out between 1000 and 1500 miles. I also think if it were 1600 or so they'd still service it. I don't think it's a written in stone type of deal.
Chris

 

[xfactor]

my owners manual said the service was at 1500 miles not 1000. Are there two sets of manuals out there?

 

[Maverick1]

I'm in the same boat.

I will be picking up the car near N.Y. city, however I live around 400 miles from the dealer.

 

[zvezdah1]

Pg 7 of the maint. record.
CHris

 

[xxxotic]

I think people are getting confused about breaking in the car and when they have to bring the car in for servicing. The manual says to take it easy for the first 600 miles.

I went to the dealer today and they said between 1000 and 1500 is OK. I have 800 and have to go on a 400 mile roundtrip for Thanksgiving, and was afraid I would be over the limit, but they said I would be OK up to 1500 miles.

Are we supposed to wait until the first service before hitting the second cam, so that they can verifiy that we havent abused the car? I havent gone over 4500 rpms normally, and accidently went to 5000 once. Or can we hit the second cam before going in for the first servicing as long as we have broken the car in correctly?

Has anyone noticed that the gas pedal has a thing stuck to the back of it that adjusts and limits how far the pedal can be pressed down? Is this set to a specific setting when the cars are new so that full throttle cant be applied, and then adjusted after the first servicing?

 

[MattG]

Are we supposed to wait until the first service before hitting the second cam, so that they can verifiy that we havent abused the car?

To the best of my knowledge...no. Ideally, wait until 600 miles before hitting the second cam. After 600 miles, and before your first service, it's OK to take the car to redline briefly, but don't *stay* in that high rpm region - no steady cruising around twisty roads at 7k rpm, keep it under 5k instead. Also, I'd advise against *any* standing start 0-60 runs for the first 1k miles - these are not prohibited, but they *are* tracked and could lead Lotus to believe you were not breaking the car in gently.

 

[ivan1]

speaking of which - my 1000 mile service is next week - I hope I pass

 

[hogfan]

Is Dallas closer to you than your current dealership?

yes it is. how long have they had a dealership? i swear it was not on the lotus usa web page last year when i was trying to locate the closest dealership. dont tell me that i just missed it.

 

[huggy bear]

yes it is. how long have they had a dealership? i swear it was not on the lotus usa web page last year when i was trying to locate the closest dealership. dont tell me that i just missed it.

you are correct. they weren't on the dealership list last year. they used to be a dealer, droppped lotus and then jumped back on board when deposits were being taken. i don't have any experience with their service dept. you may want to ask miguel or some of the other dallas area guys.

 

[MikeRoberts44]

hogfan

Did we ever make email contact? I can't find it. Please email or PM me again.

Mike Roberts
[email protected]

 

[hogfan]

Re: hogfan

Did we ever make email contact? I can't find it. Please email or PM me again.

Mike Roberts
[email protected]

i got your email and sent you 1 back but i am having to that from home the work computer wont send email. i will send again

 

[Cisitalia]

That excerpt from the ops manual indicates that service must be in accordance with the schedule and specific items to check and service. It did not indicate that service must be performed at only a Lotus dealer. Are there other statements in the ops manual that state this?

I have never had a car that required the dealer to perform the service. To maintain warrenty just follow the service requirements and document that parts were changed and the required service was performed by any independent service facility or even owner provided service.

Any one have the facts?

 

[rob]

That excerpt from the ops manual indicates that service must be in accordance with the schedule and specific items to check and service. It did not indicate that service must be performed at only a Lotus dealer. Are there other statements in the ops manual that state this?

I have never had a car that required the dealer to perform the service. To maintain warrenty just follow the service requirements and document that parts were changed and the required service was performed by any independent service facility or even owner provided service.

Any one have the facts?

Other than having the computer brain zapped to download your driving habits during the break-in period and sent to Lotus, it seems as if the 'post sales service' (to be differentiated from regular maintenance) could be done in your own garage!

Other than the 'post sales service' it seems as if anybody can do the regular maintenance, but I guess we need somebody to post the checkmark sheet of required items from the Lotus manual to find out!:huh: :huh: :huh:

 

[Miguel]

Service at Overseas in Dallas

i don't have any experience with their service dept. you may want to ask miguel or some of the other dallas area guys.

I did the 1000 miles service last Tuesday at Overseas in Dallas. They did good on the service even if I think it was the 1st one done there since I think everyone else in the area are still under 1000 miles. I didn't ask if it was the 1st one.

If you are picky about your paint, ask them not to wash your car. They do hand wash it, but I did notice some swirls, maybe I got unlucky and a dirty towel got in the way during the drying.

Call them ahead and tell them you are coming from out of town, I wasn't in a hurry so I left it there in the morning at 8:30 am and they had it ready by 4:00 pm.

They told me the service took 4 hours, since I'm only 20 min away, they delayed it a bit, but they were good in having it ready before rush hour as I requested.

If they know you come from out of town I bet they can accomodate you better. I was treated very well by the way.

Also ask them ahead that you want a copy of the ECU reading, they don't do that automatically so it's better to ask ahead.

Last, if you come into town and want to do something to kill time while the service is being done, PM me and I'll give you my Cell #, I could pick you up at the dealer and we could go get something to eat. Depends on the day, I work but they won't miss me for a couple of hours.

 

[jjb]

Miguel, what was the cost of the service?

I just sent the check and should have my car delivered by Wednesday from Mark Starr at Hunting Ridge. I plan to get through those 1000 miles quickly so that I can head to MSR. I live in Plano, work in Dallas, and play in Cresson

We should get a group together as move cars get delivered in DFW.

jjb

 

[Miguel]

Re: Miguel, what was the cost of the service?

under $300, I think I still have the receipt in my car, I'll edit the post with the actual amount.

Edit:

It was $270.32. $184.52 was labor.

I have to call them because they dated my delivery day Jan 1, 2004 and the warranty expiration is dated Jan 1, 2007. But I bet a phone call will fix that.

BTW about meeting, we did meet 2 saturdays ago.

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7140

But we should repeat it soon.