To my fellow drivers in waiting....
Today I received "the call" from Dan at Scottsdale Lotus. He informed me that my car is in Long Beach port and will be trucked down to San Diego where it will eventually be transported to Arizona. I live in San Diego so I may just sit on I-5 (I work in La Jolla) and wait to watch it come south and then back north before I fly out next week to pick it up.
I had mixed emotions after I hung up the phone with Dan. The dealership has been great for the most part. They've never been rude, or lied to me (that I know of) and have never treated me like anything less than a valued customer. The reality of the ENTIRE experience is rather unsettling however.
I placed my money down sometime ago with an approximate delivery date of about April. Those were the words from the dealership when I first went and visited and then May was considered realistic when I spoke with the team at the LA Car Show. Since then, most everything I've learned has been on forums like this. Why is it that I'm spending nearly $50K (complete out the door with tax and yada, yada, yada) on a vehicle and never really been kept in the loop of what's going on with it? Think about this for just a minute before you begin to slaughter me. My car is nearly 5 months later that "estimated." No guarantee, I understand, however, would you allow any other service provider or manufacturer that type of latitude? I work in a five diamond hospitality environment and I'll share with you that none of my customers give us that length of chain.
I looked to the forums (like this one) and attempted to better understand what others thought. Instead, the original intent of providing a forum for people to discuss the car and any item related became a bashing ground for those who decided to sell their cars. We have no relationship with the dealer or the owner yet we decide to tell (not share our opinion) those sellers that they have no right to do so. We site references like "you're not deserving" or "you simply weren't a Lotus buyer to begin with." How sad. I live in Southern California where housing prices have more than doubled in some cases in less than 5 years. We have something called Value Range which is like an auction. You give a time frame, tell potential buyers what you think the house can fetch and then you release the hounds. Do you think anyone said, "Wait a minute! I'm not going to participate in this and make an ungodly amount of money. You appear to be deserving of this home, it's yours factoring in a modest 8% growth a year." Ya think? Not on my life! And besides, the modest gains that people were hoping for, are those any different than the recent $950 "MSRP Adjustment" that has come into effect? Everyone raise their hand that has a deposit down AND received a call from someone associated with Lotus explaining this? I learned on this very forum myself.
Then, I looked for those individuals who have a passion for cars, like me, to learn about the differnces between this soon to be classic and the S2000, Boxster, etc. What did we do as a community, we once again told people that if they didn't understand the car they didn't deserve to drive it. If I had the time I would find that statement and paste it here. I'm a dad with an 04' Navigator and '04 C70 Conv. and haven't had a "toy" in sometime and was hoping to learn more from those who do. We lamb basted those people as well.
Long story long, this has been pretty unenjoyable. I will take possession of the car next week. I will drive it back and share with my family. And then I'll decide if the wait, cost and experience were/are worth with it. If not, it goes on the block because it's mine and nobody else's concern.
My goal is not to be the downer or start another bitch session. As I eluded, I have not posted often when I had concerns. Instead, I watched, learned and followed up and did not bbq anyone without having any facts.
I hope the thrill comes back when I drive it home. We'll see. The C6 is looking better and better for the price, servicing ease and financial stability of the company.
My two sense worth. Take it or leave it.
P.S. - For all of you who think you're driving purists and are attempting to regain the passion of driving cars like the MG, Triumph and Porsche Speedster, why didn't you purchase a Miata when it came out?
Today I received "the call" from Dan at Scottsdale Lotus. He informed me that my car is in Long Beach port and will be trucked down to San Diego where it will eventually be transported to Arizona. I live in San Diego so I may just sit on I-5 (I work in La Jolla) and wait to watch it come south and then back north before I fly out next week to pick it up.
I had mixed emotions after I hung up the phone with Dan. The dealership has been great for the most part. They've never been rude, or lied to me (that I know of) and have never treated me like anything less than a valued customer. The reality of the ENTIRE experience is rather unsettling however.
I placed my money down sometime ago with an approximate delivery date of about April. Those were the words from the dealership when I first went and visited and then May was considered realistic when I spoke with the team at the LA Car Show. Since then, most everything I've learned has been on forums like this. Why is it that I'm spending nearly $50K (complete out the door with tax and yada, yada, yada) on a vehicle and never really been kept in the loop of what's going on with it? Think about this for just a minute before you begin to slaughter me. My car is nearly 5 months later that "estimated." No guarantee, I understand, however, would you allow any other service provider or manufacturer that type of latitude? I work in a five diamond hospitality environment and I'll share with you that none of my customers give us that length of chain.
I looked to the forums (like this one) and attempted to better understand what others thought. Instead, the original intent of providing a forum for people to discuss the car and any item related became a bashing ground for those who decided to sell their cars. We have no relationship with the dealer or the owner yet we decide to tell (not share our opinion) those sellers that they have no right to do so. We site references like "you're not deserving" or "you simply weren't a Lotus buyer to begin with." How sad. I live in Southern California where housing prices have more than doubled in some cases in less than 5 years. We have something called Value Range which is like an auction. You give a time frame, tell potential buyers what you think the house can fetch and then you release the hounds. Do you think anyone said, "Wait a minute! I'm not going to participate in this and make an ungodly amount of money. You appear to be deserving of this home, it's yours factoring in a modest 8% growth a year." Ya think? Not on my life! And besides, the modest gains that people were hoping for, are those any different than the recent $950 "MSRP Adjustment" that has come into effect? Everyone raise their hand that has a deposit down AND received a call from someone associated with Lotus explaining this? I learned on this very forum myself.
Then, I looked for those individuals who have a passion for cars, like me, to learn about the differnces between this soon to be classic and the S2000, Boxster, etc. What did we do as a community, we once again told people that if they didn't understand the car they didn't deserve to drive it. If I had the time I would find that statement and paste it here. I'm a dad with an 04' Navigator and '04 C70 Conv. and haven't had a "toy" in sometime and was hoping to learn more from those who do. We lamb basted those people as well.
Long story long, this has been pretty unenjoyable. I will take possession of the car next week. I will drive it back and share with my family. And then I'll decide if the wait, cost and experience were/are worth with it. If not, it goes on the block because it's mine and nobody else's concern.
My goal is not to be the downer or start another bitch session. As I eluded, I have not posted often when I had concerns. Instead, I watched, learned and followed up and did not bbq anyone without having any facts.
I hope the thrill comes back when I drive it home. We'll see. The C6 is looking better and better for the price, servicing ease and financial stability of the company.
My two sense worth. Take it or leave it.
P.S. - For all of you who think you're driving purists and are attempting to regain the passion of driving cars like the MG, Triumph and Porsche Speedster, why didn't you purchase a Miata when it came out?
