[Dean K]

First time writer.

Hello everyone. I have been reading this forum since it was part of the LotusCars USA website. Over the last two years this forum has been a great source for info and comfort through this long waiting period. Thanks to all of you! Especially Randy and Chris!

I gave my deposit to Symbolic of Bev Hills in January 2003, and told I was in the top 20.
My spec order was taken in March 2004. Eight months later and I still haven't recieved a single bit of info from my dealer. No call, no car!

Thanks for listening. As most of you know, you can only hold it in for so long, so now I'm bursting.

Looking forward to swapping stories as an active participant with you all in this forum.

Dean

 

[zvezdah1]

Dean welcome aboard,
It's a long agonizing wait, but I think you'll find it's worth it when the car finally comes your way>
Chris

 

[J-Son]

i gave my deposit Feb 24th 2004. i got a call to spec out my lotus.
i am supposedly getting it from HRM in march....we'll see

 

[CAErven]

Welcome Grasshopper.

You're preaching to the choir about not getting any info from Lotus or your dealer. I don't blame my dealer because I believe they don't know squat either.

We're all in the same boat without paddles. Welcome aboard!:clap:

 

[James A]

Welcome Dean, do you know what number deposit you were at Symbolic? You might be able to gauge where you are based on deliveries to date.

 

[Vantage]

Hi Dean,
LCU gives Symbolic new data once a week on either Monday or Tuesday. Give them a call and they should have data on your car soon. They did not have much on my car until one week, all of a sudden a VIN popped up and a shipping date. My order was submitted at the same time as yours.

 

[Dean K]

Thanks for the welcome.

My dealer tells me that I'm on his report, but nothing more. Same story for about 2 months now.
I don't fault Symbolic, it doesn't seem that they have recieved an abundance of cars lately. I just keep my fingers crossed that they're due for a big delivery.

 

[Dean K]

do you know what number deposit you were at Symbolic?

James,

I wasn't given an exact number, just told I was in the first 20.
Now that there is only one Symbolic (La Jolla)
I figure that's puts me in the top 40.

 

[Surferjer]

If it helps, I was totally in the dark until a week before I got mine back in July. Rothrock didn't have any more info than I did. It's just the process.

Maybe that will give you some hope. Your call could come anytime between now and next spring.

 

[35173]

Many of us are with you. I got on the list in January of 2003 just like you did. I am #9 at my dealership and am told by Lotus of a December delivery. That means 23 months total, if I get it in Dec. There was no contact by Lotus. The dealership is kept in the dark just like us. I had to track down the regional manager for Lotus and pretty much demand info. Lotus, the company, is awful. I do not want to work with them but it is the car that draws us back. Lotus engineering is some of the best in the world. The Elise (Esprit for that matter) is a world class car. Should we have to be treated like this? Absolutely not. Lotus is shooting themselves in the foot from a business standpoint. If they come out with an Esprit replacement that is really hot, I would probably say stuff it but still look, anyway. 50K is one thing but 150 is another. Lotus, the company, could rival Ferrari but there business sense will not let them.

 

[jml1952]

First time writer.

Hello everyone. I have been reading this forum since it was part of the LotusCars USA website. Over the last two years this forum has been a great source for info and comfort through this long waiting period. Thanks to all of you! Especially Randy and Chris!

I gave my deposit to Symbolic of Bev Hills in January 2003, and told I was in the top 20.
My spec order was taken in March 2004. Eight months later and I still haven't recieved a single bit of info from my dealer. No call, no car!

Dean

I too joined the BH list in Jan 03 and was in the top 10, then top 20, then mid-20's (all approximations since I was never issued an actual number). Hadn't heard much since I placed my order until Nick mentioned in early August that my car was in build. However, I have no VIN and no ETA and no car has arrived, so I'm pretty much in the dark as to what's actually going on.

Nick told me that they absolutely do not receive weekly updates from Lotus, so I don't know what to make of that. If my car has been built and shipped (and it certainly must have been by now unless the August build info was a crock), then it seems as if my dealer should be able to confirm that. Since they can't or won't, I continue to hold Lotus and my dealer in low regard with respect to customer service and communication.

Nick mentioned that he would call when my car hit port. However, it sounds like Modern Wedgie didn't get any warning until she got a call once her car arrived at the dealership, so that's what I'm expecting. Basically, there isn't much incentive for the dealer to call us until they actually have the car.

 

[Gromit]

Re: Re: Long time reader

I too joined the BH list in Jan 03 and was in the top 10, then top 20, then mid-20's (all approximations since I was never issued an actual number). Hadn't heard much since I placed my order until Nick mentioned in early August that my car was in build. However, I have no VIN and no ETA and no car has arrived, so I'm pretty much in the dark as to what's actually going on.

Nick told me that they absolutely do not receive weekly updates from Lotus, so I don't know what to make of that. If my car has been built and shipped (and it certainly must have been by now unless the August build info was a crock), then it seems as if my dealer should be able to confirm that. Since they can't or won't, I continue to hold Lotus and my dealer in low regard with respect to customer service and communication.

Nick mentioned that he would call when my car hit port. However, it sounds like Modern Wedgie didn't get any warning until she got a call once her car arrived at the dealership, so that's what I'm expecting. Basically, there isn't much incentive for the dealer to call us until they actually have the car.

I'd take Nick's word on the lack of information from Lotus. He's said many things that people don't like, but he's always upfront about it.

 

[mikester]

Welcome Dean ! I'm very much in the same situation chronologically as jml, I've been told that I ended up #27 on the LA list (even though there's only one dealership now, Symbolic has maintained two lists; a San Diego list and an LA list. This has been pretty much confirmed by the LCUSA dealer liaison, who told me that my car is scheduled for an early December build).

 

[etypeiii]

I believe every dealer should have this information:

1) List of orders they've transmitted to Lotus
2) build dates for any of those orders scheduled for build
3) Port arrival dates for cars built and close to shipping
4) should have VIN's for cars in 3) (though there might be some exceptions.)


I say this because every time I visited my dealer (Park Place) they had this information. Every time. Others have said the same for other dealerships. They couldn't tell me much more than this (like if it's on a truck, if's it's off the ship, etc. )

So as far as the actual arrival time, it came in without advance notice. We only had a rough idea based on the port arrival date. But the above information was always available. If a dealer claims they don't even have 1-4, then I'd be inclined to believe they are misled or not being completely forthright.




DLY

 

[Ground Loop]

Re: Re: Re: Long time reader

I'd take Nick's word on the lack of information from Lotus. He's said many things that people don't like, but he's always upfront about it.

I'd concur.

He appears to be in good company too, since more than a few dealers have basically said Lotus is full of BS with the "weekly update" line.

So you've got Clyde on one hand saying "We update every dealer weekly", then you've got (every?) west-coast dealership saying "No they don't. I have no info for you."

That pretty much sums up the last six months or so.

Here's my interpretation, and I made it up myself: I believe Lotus USA updates dealers (weekly?) regarding cars that are headed to them Right Now. As in, the dealer gets a heads-up about when the car is leaving port/prep. So when we want to know if a car is built or not, or on the water or not, or scheduled to be built before 2007, they have no idea. Worse, they can't even find out for you because Lotus uses stone-tablet filing systems and astrological allocation methodology.

When it's on a transporter and due to hit their showroom in a week, that's when the dealers start having accurate info.

I base this on the timeline we see from people here who have received cars. They get a 'surprise' call from the dealer with a pretty short timeline to delivery. Some of these dealers are so helpful and good-natured that I have to believe they do everything they can to get info and yet, they weren't able to find out more earlier.

 

[Dean K]

Symbolic

Sounds like a bunch of us are or were in Symbolics top 20. Although I agree that Nick is being straight with us, it does seem odd that more of us don't have cars by now.

JML: glad to hear that at least your car was built.

 

[Gromit]

Re: Symbolic

Sounds like a bunch of us are or were in Symbolics top 20. Although I agree that Nick is being straight with us, it does seem odd that more of us don't have cars by now.

JML: glad to hear that at least your car was built.

Nick also said that the first set of car would go to rich people.

He might not say things we like to hear, but he's honest

 

[jml1952]

Re: Symbolic

Sounds like a bunch of us are or were in Symbolics top 20. Although I agree that Nick is being straight with us, it does seem odd that more of us don't have cars by now.

JML: glad to hear that at least your car was built.

Thanks.

If Nick was accurate about the build date, the car should arrive anytime now. I sure hope so.

 

[grudkin]

Since MW placed her deposit around Jan 03 with Symbolic, and just got her car, perhaps those of you with similar deposit dates should be getting cars very soon.

I would have had my deposit in in Jan 03 as well, except that I was discouraged from doing so by both Lotus (at the Jan 03 preview night) and Symbolic (shortly thereafter). Finally put mine deposit down June 03 after all the hype on the web boards suggested that I ignore the advice I'd received -- I was told I was in the 'high 30s' on the BH list at that time.

It does seem that Symbolic is delivering MSRP cars now, and since the premium days are waning, I'd expect 'list' deliveries to pick up

Agree that Nick has been forthright in his dealings. He has always responded to my e-mails and calls promptly. Of course, I wish Symbolic was delivering all the cars as MSRP, but it's hard to blame them for collecting $ that's offered to them. And Nick did say that early cars would go to high rollers/former customers

 

[jml1952]

I first saw the Elise at the Jan 03 LA Auto Show. I was there on a Friday and called Symbolic on the following Monday. Spoke to Nick, who filled me in on the deposit procedure. Faxed my driver's license and gave him my credit card # over the phone for the $2000 deposit. He faxed back the deposit agreement with MSRP filled in for the price.

At that time, Nick mentioned that Symbolic had received half a dozen deposits over the weekend from people who had been to the auto show.

Grudkin - bad luck that you were discouraged from placing a deposit back in January. I can imagine that you are not happy about falling a bit farther down the list. Have you been asked to place your order yet?