When you say deal, was that below MSRP?

 

i got it at msrp but when we did all the options and taxes we got a better price as opposed to what mark was giving us, frankly i was not to happy about my experience with HRM. that is all i am saying because i do not want to cause any problems i just stated my experience and my opinion

 

while I am sure we all want to hear about both the good and bad experiences at each dealer, you are definitely in the minority regarding your HRM experience... and the fact that you chose to go negative on HRM in the title of your thread because you didn't get the deal you wanted seems a little odd...

 

how long ago did you place your deposit? how long from the order date did they say it would take?

 

i placed my deposit about 2 months ago. and curt said around april i will get my car. to ivan1 thats your opinion, i will not get into the details of why i didn't like the HRM experience, it all comes down to the money situation, thats about it i have nothing against Mark or anyone at HRM

 

am i reading it right that mark starr HAS the car though, but u decided to get on a waiting list to save a few bucks??
if so, hey, thats ur choice.....you may recognize mine.....

 

Curt's been lucky with cars. Seems to have people drop out at the last minute and is able to sell them within a day or two. Ascot sold a lot of Esprit's over the years so they may be getting al large allocation than one would think for how small a market Pgh is. I don't think that he's sold an Elise over MSRP.

 

Yep, it's my understanding that Kurt was one of the biggest US sellers of Esprits, so he's probably getting a lot of Elises. Ascot sells at MSRP.

 

so when you say 49 that number doesn't count the cars that have been delivered? I was number 68 on the list 3 months ago...or did that many people drop off?

 

Mark at HRM is a class act. By far the best of about a dozen dealers I talked to in this process.

Chris

 

i was just lucky because he had a few people drop off the list

 

I think we have all had bad times with some dealers. what are ya gonna do. I am not buying my car from Mark but I like him very much. I am buying from Valenti who has their share of unhappy customers on elisetalk. I think the thing is you are getting an elise and that we all can agree on.

Unless.....

ah yes....

you are getting CO

Forgret everything i said

You are one of them The dreaded co mafia. -eek-

 

I do not know much about HRM, but if they are one of the dealers who charges $2-3,000.00 over MSRP, plus a $500 "service fee" or "acquisition fee" (whatever they call it), and act like they are doing me a favor, then HRM is no great dealer to me.

 

Hey one thing to keep in mind Mark from HRM has been very active in the wallabyguy accident. (read the posts)

He is ready to help a fellow elise talker and hold a blue elise for a friend of elise talk and eastern region coordinator for club 111.

Dealers are in business to make money if you dont like what they charge don't buy from them its as simple as that. I have not shopped HRM because I went to my closest dealer so I cannot speak to pricing issues.

 

I compliment HRM and/or Mark Starr for their enthusiasm with respect to the Elise, etc. No dispute about that. I do not doubt that they have great customer service.

All I am saying is that if HRM/Mark Starr is charging $2-3000 over MSRP, plus other fees, I am not certain that this is "the" dealer.

Let's do this. Those of you who bought cars from HRM, let the rest of us know what you liked about the dealer:

(1) Did you get a good price

(2) if you did, what was your price vs MSRP

and/or

(3) did you just like the service after the sale?

The price is king as I, and perhaps many others, would have to have car serviced at a dealer closer (much closer for me) to home.

 

I do not know much about HRM, but if they are one of the dealers who charges $2-3,000.00 over MSRP, plus a $500 "service fee" or "acquisition fee" (whatever they call it), and acts like they are doing me a favor, then HRM is no great dealer to me.

Cant speak for others but I paid MSRP with no added charges at HRM

where are you coming up with these figures ? do you have any direct knowledge of these charges at HRM????

 

Both Mark and Curt are Lotus enthusiasts, both are great people, etc etc.. let's not get into one of these "My Dad can beat up your Dad" things.

Let's keep things nice here. People are limited to what their bosses say they can do with reguard to pricing. I know with Ascot they sell RR, Bentley, Land Rover and that's where they make their $$$.

I also didn't think HRM was charging above MSRP.

 

Mark has been an outstanding asset to this board. Wouldn't it be nice if ALL car dealers cared this much about what they were selling?

I must be living in fantasyland to even dream that!

 

I realize that dealers may not always
be able to satisfy a customer's desires,
noting that in Connecticut there is a
small conveyance fee that is mandatory. Perhaps this is what the originator of this thread found offensive since Pa. dealers aren't 'bound by law' to charge this fee. Last Spring I found out about a catered event, that would include the
personal inspection of an Elise, being set up by HRM. I, being on Valenti's list, wasn't a customer of HRM but asked if I could attend anyway? Mark Starr said, 'definately yes!' and made me feel quite comfortable at the event. He even allowed me to partake in a raffle... Great guy, that Mark! Also met him at a large Lotus event he had set up in NYC at the NY Auto show. When I asked if I could climb over the ropes keeping the general public from touching, sitting in the cars, again he said, 'definately, yes!'

 

I put my deposit in at Ascot 13 months ago... still no car. ("maybe febuary") one thing about HRM makes me wonder though too, while i REALLY apreciate the HRM special editions - where are they getting all these spare cars?!?! and is that one of the reason i dont have mine....

 

Not all of the cars listed on the website are for sale. Some of them are customer cars.

 

I put my deposit in at Ascot 13 months ago... still no car. ("maybe febuary") one thing about HRM makes me wonder though too, while i REALLY apreciate the HRM special editions - where are they getting all these spare cars?!?! and is that one of the reason i dont have mine....

Here is your answer from http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7035&highlight=HRM

"This car was actually delivered to a local client by another dealer and his new Porsche Carrera S just arrived. We bought it from him and turned it into an HRM car. Most of the other cars are client's cars that we set up for them. If someone drops off our list, which has happened a few times already, we keep their cars and play with them. I have not bumped anyone back for one of our cars or held up anycars for an HRM Edition. Hope that answers your question.........."

 

Ivan1, when you go to the HRM website, the new cars say "call for price." That gives me the impression they are charging above MSRP.

Do you know if HRM is charging over MSRP for non-wait list cars. Again, certainly not trying to pick on HRM, or any other dealer, just trying to get a grip on what these cars are actually going for.

 

Ivan1, when you go to the HRM website, the new cars say "call for price." That gives me the impression they are charging above MSRP.

Do you know if HRM is charging over MSRP for non-wait list cars. Again, certainly not trying to pick on HRM, or any other dealer, just trying to get a grip on what these cars are actually going for.

Not all of the cars listed on the website are in stock and for sale. The pictured cars include many (mine is pictured too) that have already been sold. I believe Mark is showing them to give potential buyers possiblities on colors and options.

I paid over MSRP in the middle of October for a non-wait list car. The price was fair for the timing/market. I was more than happy to hand my money over at the time. Mark was fair and available at all times to answer my questions by email or phone.

From reading this forum, it sounds like there are cars available now at MSRP from East Coast dealers. If you're serious about buyer an Elise right now I would suggest you call Mark to see if he has any cars available and at what price. If the market price is MSRP for non-wait list cars then I'm sure Mark will be competitive...

 

So is the only purpose of the list to just order your own personal car spec'ed out for a dozen different colors and 3-4 options? Hmm... If that's the case I think we maybe negotiating prices below MSRP with no wait in the very near future. Assuming that's truely the case that cars are readily available at MSRP. I could see picking one up at $1,000 below MSRP - increased turn means decreased holding cost for a dealer. Interesting news.

I wonder what the chance of lotus offering rebates soon...I'm partially joking, but partially not. If their market is falling out from underneath them they need to find away to move cars or exit the market. If I sense they are exiting the market, I really don't want a car that has little support or requires parts to be mail ordered with a week+ lead time. Not a great selling point for me.

This is all fairly far flung thoughts, but again if there is no longer a wait for the cars, what's next?