[MarvinVA]

Can anyone who's ordered thier car give us the pricing that you've been quoted on the dealer options ie sports exhaust, etc. ??

 

[smura]

MarvinVA,

Looks like I'm going to be taking a job in Tysons and moving from Seattle. Hopefully my dealer can do a courtesy delivery for me to VA. Is Chriswell the only dealer in the area? What's you experience been with them?

 

[Win]

Criswell is the only dealer in the Baltimore/DC area as of now. I have a deposit down with them. Tom was very nice and written down MSRP on my deposit form. As with all dealers, we will find out shortly if they are really going to honor MSRP.

 

[MarvinVA]

Criswell

Yeah, I've recieved the same service from Tom Skinner at Criswell aswell. Although, when I first asked to be faxed a copy of my deposit he wrote market value. I asked him to change it to read msrp and he did so immediately. I'm number 102 on the list over there.

 

[Surferjer]

I just ordered mine, and there was no mention of any dealer options. Perhaps my dealer is not all that sophisticated, or perhaps it's to come later. I don't really care. Stock is probably fine for me!

 

[jml1952]

I just ordered mine, and there was no mention of any dealer options. Perhaps my dealer is not all that sophisticated, or perhaps it's to come later. I don't really care. Stock is probably fine for me!

From what the Lotus guys said at the auto show, the dealer options are still being worked out. Since these would be installed by the dealer when they get the car and prep it, sounds like they just need enough lead time to make sure they have the parts.

Even if you are at the top of the list, there's still about 5 months before your car will arrive, so they have some time to work this out.

 

[Canyon Carver]

Thanks for posting that jml1952...as I read various threads it appears some dealers appear to hear rumors and take them as gospel and then tell all of their customers info they can't yet verify.
I have had a few of my customers call me and ask when they can order their cars, based on what they've read on this and probably many other boards about people getting to "order" their car. Please be patient with Lotus and your dealer, there is still ALOT of the details to be ironed out. We are all very very anxious to get behind the wheel of the Elise...it will be worth the wait

 

[jml1952]

Thanks, Derek. I don't know how much info Lotus is sharing with you and the other dealers. they told us at the auto show that some of the details have not yet been finalized, but nothing should change that would alter the look of the car in any significant fashion. They appreciate the excitement about the car, but some things just will take more time to work out. No doubt some dealers want to reassure their customers and share rumors as fact, but it seems that we need to be patient. Some things still are in a state of flux. And certainly things that we were told at the auto show are not carved in stone, although the Lotus guys seemed to make an effort to only say what they knew and tried not to lead us on. I had the impression that they were trying to be honest and not seeking to curry favor.

Michael

 

[Canyon Carver]

Glad to hear that Michael. I try to be patient and not lead people down a path of disappointment, with this being the first new car I sell that I can actually afford I can see the other side of the excitement too.
Heck...when I take an order for a car I know is several years away from being delivered and the customer wants to give me their colors and options at the time of placing their deposit, I ask them to give it some time and wait till the car is coming close to build before we start worrying about those details. I can't even take my own advice! I don't expect to get my Elise until early '05 but I'm already biting my nails on what to order!

 

[streetthrowback]

i know its a old theard but i was wondering, if i take my elise in to a lotus dealership would they do the "black pack" option or is that a factory only type of thing?

 

[MotoGeek]

What's a "black pack"? Does it come with spinners or something?

 

[karlInSanDiego]

Black pack changed color of diffuser and wheels to a near satin black.

Our car's wheels were sent out by the dealer for powder coating and the carbon stripes were added by them too. It was a 2 year old leftover, but it's not clear if these appearance changes were done when dealer first got the car, or in an effort to move the car.

I'd suggest you consult a respected powdercoater in your area. Blackpack was an option that substituted stock parts, so it was only priced at $495(??). No dealer could deliver you a fresh diffuser and 4 extra wheels in black for that price, including labor changing parts and tires. Since dealers appear to be used to this request for wheel color changes (exotic car dealers get these requests from ballers I guess) all the time, be careful if you go to dealer to be clear what work they'd be doing, as they're likely to just add their profit while subbing the important work out (quality powder coating.)

If you're handy and have all the right tools (including 4 proper jackstands) I'd wait until you were ready for a new set of tires. Buy tires (tire rack?) Then, make an appt. with best powdwercoater you can find in your area, lift your car, remove all 4 wheels & diffuser & anything else you want coated like fuel filler. Take wheels to tire shop and get rubber pulled including valve stems. Take all to powdercoater, and wait for call that they're done. Take wheels back to tire shop, and then home to refit everything. Labor cost saved not doing this at dealer to do all these steps and coordinate all of this for you could save you the price of the powdercoating or even the tires. Even before I owned a pickup, I'd do it this way with several trips with car trunks. IMO, this is the fun part of modding. You're your own general contractor.

Regarding jack stands, do your homework here regarding lift points, flat stand heads, and not trying to do this job with only ramps, a jack, and a driveway. I've got a lift at home with a 2 point jack. Even with that, it takes careful planning to get cars with all 4 shoes off in importantly stable position. Cars like to surprise you with weight distribution.
-kARL

 

[streetthrowback]

Black pack changed color of diffuser and wheels to a near satin black.

Our car's wheels were sent out by the dealer for powder coating and the carbon stripes were added by them too. It was a 2 year old leftover, but it's not clear if these appearance changes were done when dealer first got the car, or in an effort to move the car.

I'd suggest you consult a respected powdercoater in your area. Blackpack was an option that substituted stock parts, so it was only priced at $495(??). No dealer could deliver you a fresh diffuser and 4 extra wheels in black for that price, including labor changing parts and tires. Since dealers appear to be used to this request for wheel color changes (exotic car dealers get these requests from ballers I guess) all the time, be careful if you go to dealer to be clear what work they'd be doing, as they're likely to just add their profit while subbing the important work out (quality powder coating.)

If you're handy and have all the right tools (including 4 proper jackstands) I'd wait until you were ready for a new set of tires. Buy tires (tire rack?) Then, make an appt. with best powdwercoater you can find in your area, lift your car, remove all 4 wheels & diffuser & anything else you want coated like fuel filler. Take wheels to tire shop and get rubber pulled including valve stems. Take all to powdercoater, and wait for call that they're done. Take wheels back to tire shop, and then home to refit everything. Labor cost saved not doing this at dealer to do all these steps and coordinate all of this for you could save you the price of the powdercoating or even the tires. Even before I owned a pickup, I'd do it this way with several trips with car trunks. IMO, this is the fun part of modding. You're your own general contractor.

Regarding jack stands, do your homework here regarding lift points, flat stand heads, and not trying to do this job with only ramps, a jack, and a driveway. I've got a lift at home with a 2 point jack. Even with that, it takes careful planning to get cars with all 4 shoes off in importantly stable position. Cars like to surprise you with weight distribution.
-kARL

well put :clap: