I did my reservation through galpin and there’s only the 2500 deposit. Where are they changing the price of actual pricing hasn’t been announced?
Yes, and the material can become matted over time if it’s not maintained with a high level of care. I’d never option it, although it feels great when it’s new.
Hmmf... I have been planning to spec alcantara mostly because I figure it will hold me in place better vs. sliding around on leather during hard cornering. I also don't like when the leather on steering wheels hardens, gets slippery, etc. But I have never owned a car spec'ed with alcantara seats & steering wheel before, so I haven't considered too much if there are worse problems I would be getting into.
Galpin previously agreed to sell the car at whatever the sticker price (MSRP) ends up being. Now they are changing the terms to say they will not only charge you the MSRP, but will add a "market adjustment" surcharge on top of that of their choosing. How would you feel if when final pricing is out from Lotus and you spec your car to order, that Galpin tells you (as an example) that they will be adding say $15k to that price because the market is hot for the car and other people would pay that?
If true, then it means you need to wear your driving gloves every time you are in the car.
Ha, in my case I don't even wear driving gloves at the trackIf true, then it means you need to wear your driving gloves every time you are in the car.
Just like you already do, right?
It should be the same EA60 that's currently used in the Evoras. Only used with Toyota diesel vehicles outside of the US. Some of the early close-ratio gearboxes had issues where some of the gears would spin free from the shafts. Lotus improved on it in later versions.
I didn't know you could reserve directly on Lotus' website with a CC, so I'd be wary of that. Many of the Lotus dealers around the US are taking pre-order deposits; some are fully refundable, some aren't, so do your research. Boardwalk is my closest dealer, but I chose to reserve with Gator Motorsport in Indiana since they're quite active in this community, and have stated they will not add any dealer mark-ups and sell at MSRP, whatever that might end up being.
This happened with many, if not most Lotus dealers when the Elise came out. Lotus is a losing proposition for most dealers. So they are going to strike while the fire is hot and there is demand from the first adopters. After the MY 2005 model year new car sales dropped off FAST, as they had to compete with lightly used cars buyers wanted to get rid of because the car wasn't what they thought it would be. If past is prologue it will settle down within the year of the first deliveries.
They didn't ask for full order specs, but they were interested in which transmission (which also ultimately means which engine) because Lotus themselves as curious from what I was told by the Lotus rep. -- not sure how true that is.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all surprised by dealers going after pricing well above MSRP, that's been going on "forever" and I've encountered it several times before (back to the E46 M3 reveal which was one of the first "hot" brand new cars I purchased). My issue is when a dealer commits to MSRP post-car-introduction (ie, they know the excitement) and THEN later after you're well behind for other dealers' waiting lists, changes up the terms of the deal. They should have been up-front about their "market price adjustment". Then I'd have no issue with that, I could have then tried elsewhere while it was early. I'm at least thankful the change happened in a few days rather than weeks or months.
. Whatever the issues were with the 2005, does it really seem like Lotus is making the same mistakes on this car? (I don't know - you tell me) The first months of Emira production will be purely V6's. Several months later (~4?), the I4's will start to be produced. Dealers want to know the transmission in part as it directly impacts when the customer would be getting their car. Example: The first 10 customer deposits at a dealer with a big allocation turn out to all be for I4's, followed chronologically by 10 depositors who order V6's. Those first 10 orders will all get pushed to mid-to-late 2022 deliveries (US anyways) even though they are the first spots on the list. Orders 11-20 will all bump up to being the first ten orders, for Spring-Summer delivery. All depositors are going to ask the dealer when they might get a car, the transmission choice will help the dealer answer them.
I have had 2 cars with alcantara seats/interiors and steering wheels. Zero issues. I suppose if you have unusually oily hands/ sweaty hands maybe it’s an issue? I have heard this same refrain about alcantara not being durable on a different forum- Everyone that had actually had alcantara had no issue. I think it is internet bull, but I’m just one opinion.
