[mact3333]

ie-if the dealer faxed in a spec'd car elise order today, how long til they start to build it???...I believe once they start it takes between 7-10 days til completion...once complete it takes about 2 months to get to dealer right?...1 month to port and another month to dealer.???


also, remember that great post about the guy who went to hethel and wrote about 10 pages on the experience...where part of ET was it located anyway?

 

[Patricko]

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6684&highlight=hethel

I think that is the one you want.:clap:

 

[JonOrangeElise]

answer: forever. look at my sig. now understand that i probaby won't have my car until feb or march... or april or may.

 

[mact3333]

answer: forever. look at my sig. now understand that i probaby won't have my car until feb or march... or april or may.

if they are not going to start building for 3-4 months after receiving order, why do they even bother asking you for the spec's that early I wonder???...thought someone said that once you give your spec's, should take 2-3 months?...maybe this wasnt the case initially cause they probably asked for everyones all at once(first 20 orders from all dealers) but perhaps it is different now since they are running full steam now...so you dont even have a VIN yet??

 

[mact3333]

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6684&highlight=hethel

I think that is the one you want.:clap:

thanks...still a great read after all this time...kinda gets ya excited for the car all over again.

 

[Patricko]

thanks...still a great read after all this time...kinda gets ya excited for the car all over again.

Bill is a very gifted writer:bow:

 

[Evl]

answer: forever. look at my sig. now understand that i probaby won't have my car until feb or march... or april or may.

I can beat that. I placed my order March of 04, was supposed to be built last month, but I have no evidence that it was yet. So 9 months and counting.

 

[Sownman]

if they are not going to start building for 3-4 months after receiving order, why do they even bother asking you for the spec's that early I wonder???...thought someone said that once you give your spec's, should take 2-3 months?...maybe this wasnt the case initially cause they probably asked for everyones all at once(first 20 orders from all dealers) but perhaps it is different now since they are running full steam now...so you dont even have a VIN yet??

I speced my car March 3 2004. I have no build date yet. Someone here posted and correctly so that those first two groups of orders were not really orders. They were a survey. I am certain it will be at least 12 months between actual order and delivery of that March 3 car. At Steve Harris they are saying that the balance of their cars 1-20 will be built in December for delivery in Jan. Of course anyone reading this board knows that can't happen. Build in Dec means delivery in Feb. My car is car #25 with no build date yet scheduled. Absurd

Steve

 

[adamant]

ROFLMAO. Ok I'k now back in mt chair after recovering from the subject line.
There are several queues here.
1. Orders at the dealership
2. Orders at LCUSA
3.Orders at Hethel

How each of these queues feed each other is one of the wonders of marketing, that is no-one has a clue.
Depending on which dealership you choose will depend on how quickly you will get on to the LCUSA's queue. A bad choice will put you 2 or 3 years out, a good choice and it could be 6 months or less. Maybe they'll have you car already sitting, waiting for you @ LOA

 

[JonOrangeElise]

..maybe this wasnt the case initially cause they probably asked for everyones all at once(first 20 orders from all dealers) but perhaps it is different now since they are running full steam now...

I have been reluctant to post this, because it is a disturbing comment, and it's also possible that communication from Lotus to my dealer turned into miscommunication. But I called recently to ask if any progress whatsoever had been made with my car, and was told, no, there's no VIN for it yet. I then asked about the impact of the extra assembly line shift on production, and was told that the factory workers balked at this, and that no extra shift (night time shift?) is happening now. Whether it was ever in effect is unclear. But my dealer contact definitely said there was some type of worker decision to protest increased production.

So, assuming this is correct info, I don't quite know how to interpret it. Either: (A) the factory is at the same production levels as during the "trickle-in" period; there has been no increase, or (B) the factory is up to "full-speed" as per we were told it would be following the 2-week shutdown, but production has not increased BEYOND that original plan, as per my impression during the last few months.

Ai-yai-yai. I've stopped caring. The rain and the holidays and work angst has put Elise concerns on the back burner for me.

 

[Randy Chase]

The number of cars being built per week is certainly higher than it was in the early summer of 2004.

 

[LarryB]

Jon- Think Lotus has bumped production from the first 3-4 months (they hired more contract workers). Wouldn't worry about not having a VIN at this point, that only happens around the time it's being built. For example put my "order" in March, July was given a Sept build date. So for SVAG would guess you should have a Feb build date... as to when you take delivery?

 

[Evl]

ROFLMAO. Ok I'k now back in mt chair after recovering from the subject line.
There are several queues here.
1. Orders at the dealership
2. Orders at LCUSA
3.Orders at Hethel

How each of these queues feed each other is one of the wonders of marketing, that is no-one has a clue.
Depending on which dealership you choose will depend on how quickly you will get on to the LCUSA's queue. A bad choice will put you 2 or 3 years out, a good choice and it could be 6 months or less. Maybe they'll have you car already sitting, waiting for you @ LOA

What really irks me is that when you get to stage 2, your deposit is non refundable, so you are plunking down ~$1k to let LCU do market research.

Edit: This also makes LCU look two-faced when they say they don't endorse waiting lists, but clearly they want the "order survey" to reflect actual customer desires, not the dealer's esitmates.

 

[grudkin]

FWIW, some states prohibit 'non-refundable' deposits (CA, for example). Could be true in MD, too. What the dealer tells you RE a deposit is not necessarily valid

 

[fitfan]

Lotus USA got my order from the dealer end of sept. '04 - no build date yet!

same boat as "jonm3"

 

[mact3333]

hmm...I getting abit concerned now...I never paid attention to these type of posts/threads before because I was either looking for a short list or was looking for an actual car but since Ive officially ordered now, Im with you guys...I had no idea many of you guys ordered 8 months ago and you still dont have VIN's or build dates...

I am hoping my order doesnt follow usual chain of command(sorry guys just being selfish here...) cause I was told I should have my car by late Feb/early March...but granted, Im kinda in a diiferent situation cause a dealership just opened up in my hometown as of last week and I was already on their list from long ago and they took me back very high on their list...they havent even announced they are official dealer yet Lotus told them to fax them their initial 4 orders last week and I was one of them...guess they have signed letter of intent but no actual contract yet but they still wanted initial orders...perhaos as a marketing ploy to build up excitement in town???...I think perhaps my car will be one of "saved ones for future dealers???"

But who knows, I'll prob get my car in 06' sometime...to think i turned down a loaded car last week from MI at 500.00 over!

 

[Vantage]

If your car is coming in late February, then it must be going into production VERY soon, or a few cars will arrive at your dealer with a pre-determined specification and your ordered car will come later. The former situation being iff Lotus is able to insert newly optioned vehicles into held spots in the queue or between existing ones, and the latter if the extra dealer cars you refer to are already in the pipeline. This seems like a realistic way to look at it. Like you said, it's hard to predict because this is a unique situation. Even though you've ordered, you still have the power to look for another car, don't you? The winter months work to your advantage.

For those still waiting, I would not worry about the VIN too much. I did not get mine until the boat was half way to California. Build date was not revealed much earlier than that...

 

[andykeck]

If your car is coming in late February, then it must be going into production VERY soon...

Yeah, my car will be here in February but was built in November...