[smoseley]

My impressions are as follows... the dealers in Miami don't give a sh*t about the people serious about buying the car for performance, because there are so many a$$holes in line just for the looks of the car that they don't need the rest of us.

Because of that, there's no pressure on them to get a tester... they had a car at the car show for a week, and they're now backed up on orders and pleased as pie.

What that means for people like me is that we'll never get to drive the thing unless we get on a plane and go try it out at some other dealership or wait 6 months for delivery and drive it for the first time after we've paid for it.

I feel like the dumbest a$$hole consumer on the planet. Anyone else want my money?

 

[Allan Gibbs]

You know, it may be worth taking a trip to another dealer. I had a test drive on a Euro version today, and came to this conclusion:

A person buying the Elise solely for looks will not last. Hell, they'll probably cut the test drive short. The Euro Elise was spartan, loud, and rough. People expecting a Porsche 996 will be disappointed.

In a sense, I don't blame your dealer for not wanting to scare away customers until it's too late. Not to mention, the Euro version is not the car that we'll be getting.

On the plus side, I can image a lot of low mileage Elises my mid-2004.

 

[Lotus Fury]

Yeah, forget them. Just buy the car and drive it. Let the posers do what they want. True passion for this car is about the driving the car, not just owning it. A great tool is meant to be used, not placed in a museum.

 

[Hollywood]

I feel like the dumbest a$$hole consumer on the planet. Anyone else want my money?

Ill take some. Can you mail it to me ASAP. I need it for my house down payment comeing up. thankz

 

[meat]

Call the guys at Hunting Ridge Motors (www.huntingridgemotors.com). Ask for Mark Starr. They are straight up guys and car nuts. Mark has an Exige (mine is better...) and is a true car guy.

Tell him I sent you.

You can get the car there and ship it home or drive it home if you want a nice road trip to break it in.

 

[CO_NYer]

Dealers

You really need to just talk to another dealer. Take it from someone that called every dealer in the US to figure out where to put down my deposit. Some dealers have pricks selling their cars and others know that you are buying a Lotus and not a Chevy. Actually most places that didn't sell Lotus exclusively (or with other exotic only), I dealt with sales manager directly (even for just questions) rather than a sales person. I guess to make sure I had a "Lotus worthy" buying experience rather than feeling like I was at the McDonald's drive thru.

From my calls this is what I would suggest for you, since you are in FL I would call Matheny Imports, Inc. and ask for Bill Paxon. He is in Jacksonville, but that is where I would most prefer to buy my car. BY FAR the best experience with a dealer in the US from my calls. Very nice, helpful, cared about what I wanted, and wanted to get me a drive in the car before I had to commit to an order. And the topper of it is that with a deposit they were not only guarnateeing MSRP but no dealer handling fees either. Just straight sticker.

I agree with the earlier post about Mark Starr. Another good contact, but he is in NY/CT. I think that is a little to far for ya, if you can help it.

 

[adamant]

I feel like the dumbest a$$hole consumer on the planet. Anyone else want my money?

I know how you feel. Our dealership here have decided they don't need a demo car either as they have more than enough orders. I guess my first drive of the Elise is going to be the one I own
It really will be a thrill getting to know the car when it arrives.

 

[smoseley]

Forget the Test Drive

I'm more concerned about getting screwed in other ways. If my dealer doesn't care about me at this stage, what will happen to me once the time comes to get the car?

I am not going to look for a new dealer at this point. I am number 5 on the list and the dealer is exactly 1 mile (5280 feet) from my house.

If things disintegrate from this point, my only option will be to buy a different car and f*ck the dealer... buy one aftermarket or sit and wait.

 

[xxxotic]

You can bring the car to the dealer in Coral Springs or West Palm for servicing if your dealer in Miami starts to screw with you.

Didnt you get a chance to sit in the car when it was at the auto show in Miami? This should give you some idea of what the US car will be like. You should have asked the dealer for test drive before they shipped it out. Thats what I did when the car was in West Palm, however the dealer warned me that the car we will be getting will have a bigger engine, differant gearbox, and differant brakes. The brakes on the test car sucked at low speed unless you really stomped on them, the accelation was OK, but I didnt want to drive like a maniac and rev the car really high, so I'm sure that it would have been more than adequate if I shifted at 7000 rpm instead of around 4000. I thought the gearbox was OK too. The steering was excellent.

Maybe it will be comparing a 73 240z with a 76 280z. The older version is OK, but the newer verision is better.

I dont know if the dealers have to pay Lotus to get a demo or how they are working it. The red car is in Jacksonville from what I have been told. I was up there on Sunday, but they were closed
so I couldnt check it out. Maybe you can call the dealer there and see where it is goign next. It has already been to West Palm, Clearwater, Jacksonville, and was in NJ about a month before that. Maybe it is going to Atlanta. I cant imagine it going up North with the snow at this time of year.

Did you ck out the eliseusa.com site. They sell converted Elises and are in Miami. Maybe they will let you take one of their cars for a ride.

BBB Motors, LLC was founded in July 2002, dedicated to find a way to make popular European sports cars US legal through importing, modifying, and testing. The company is a New Hampshire based company with an office and warehouse at 14377 SW 119th Avenue, Miami, FL.

 

[MattG]

The brakes on the test car sucked at low speed unless you really stomped on them

That's because there's no brake booster. The US model WILL have a booster, decreasing the pedal effort.

 

[smoseley]

Didnt you get a chance to sit in the car when it was at the auto show in Miami? This should give you some idea of what the US car will be like. You should have asked the dealer for test drive before they shipped it out.

I sat in it, yes.

I asked, yes, and was told I could drive it.

Then I called again the day after the show, and they said "hmm... call tomorrow"

Then I called the next day and they said "oops, it left yesterday !!"

Assholes

 

[xxxotic]

That stinks! I have posted warnings about car dealers in Miami on this forum before. I think they also try to charge a $400 dealer prep charge which is b.s. The only good thing is that you have a really low number on the list, so you will get to drive the car before a lot of other people.

I think a majority of the people with deposits may not driven the car either. Maybe this should be a poll question.