The Un-Official Silicon Valley Auto Group Thread

I put my deposit down in early Oct 2003 with a saleman who will remain anonymous.

When I put my deposit down, I asked for my list position, and was told essentially, "You're somewhere in the 40s... we haven't coalatted the list positions yet, because we have different saleman taking orders, so it's rather difficult, and I can't tell you your exact number unless I coalate now, which I can't do... But we will be taking orders in the exact sequence of deposit dates, so sit tight, we won't skip you. The first orders will go to the people who put deposits in before the buzz began. After their orders are taken, we'll get the list straightened out, and this will all happen way before anyone in the 40s ever needs to order."

So that was enough to placate me. I have since called two more times (the second time this morning, actually), and talked to my salesman, and he pretty much told me the same story. Today he even said he'd check my position, and then came back, and repeated, "Yeah, you're in the 40s."

Am I happy about the vagueness? No. But I don't have enough money to buy the car for $5000 over MSRP, so I'm caught between a rock and hard place. And, for what it's worth, my saleman's story has been consistent each time, and people on this board have already placed orders with SVAG for MSRP. And it seems that their very early list positions have indeed been honored.

But what does bug me is the hint of chicanery going on at SVAG. Consider: I put in the deposit the first week of Oct and was told I'm in the 40s; no specific list position though. A guy screen-named Drifter, meanwhile, also deposited in Oct, and was told a specific, *lower* position of #34... Odd, unless deposits were streaming in a few each day, and Drifter beat me by a few days. I ordered on Oct 8.

If Drifter placed his deposit any day past Oct 8 of Oct 2003, then I'll be P.O.ed. I mean, I don't mind waiting for my turn, I just don't like the idea that poor book-keeping might rob me of a proper delivery. Nor am I heartened by the fact that some salesman will give specific list positions, and others don't. (But, of course, if positions ultimately turn out to be meaningless, it doesn't really matter.)

Meanwhile, there's this SVAG story from another thread on this board: "I am trying to figure out when I will be able to order mine. I thought I was in 40ish but somehow 2 days ago when I called they told me I am on #76."

The "40ish to #76" guy later posted: "I put deposit on 11/08 so in a month period they got 30+ orders."

Sounds reasonable enough -- 30 deposits during the month after the R&T artcile hit -- but why in the world was he led to believe he was in the 40s? I put down my deposit a full month earlier and was told *I'm* in the 40s. The sheer amount of discrepancy between various stories and experiences is disheartening.

Some other SVAG thoughts:

- Today, my salesman said they are getting very few dropouts, and that when people do dropout, everyone moves forward; they don't buy the car for themselves to sell at a markup. Well, here's hoping that he's telling the truth. Drifter's salesman (apparently) said he would sell "drop-out cars" for a big mark-up.

- My salesman has repeatedly cautioned me that they have no idea when the first cars are arriving; that he personally thinks it won't be until June, and that all he can promise me is MSRP, and that deposit-holders will be called for orders according to the dates of their deposits. So, he is either being a very upfront guy in his general "gloomy pragmatism," or he is setting me up mentally for a later delivery date so that the dealership can finagle list positions at will, i.e., "promise low and no matter what happens, you'll either appear to be a perfectly honest guy who delivered late or a hero who delivered earlier than expected."

- I was told that SVAG knows nothing of sports exhaust options, headlight options, stone guard options, nothing. That was a bit disconcerting... I mean, I know about the plans for these options, and I'm just a random schmuck. Or does SVAG know something that we don't know?

more svag feedback

My experiences almost exactly mirror Jon's with the exception I ordered towards the end of October and was told I was in the 50's. I did try to get a specific number and told I there were probably 50 or 51 people with deposits ahead of me, but they did not want to give out specific numbers as this was difficult to calculate at the moment of deposit and presumably was always moving forward (albeit slowly), post deposit as people dropped out for various reasons.
I was assured that they would be contacting the folks on the list in the order of their deposits such that individuals could choose their specific configuration. I never got specifics as to whether this meant your car was built to order or shipped when Lotus decided to build a batch matching your desired specs.
I was referred to SVAG by an individual at Symbolic of La Jolla, for what that's worth.
I was also told their would be a demo car (or cars) arriving at the lot at some point early in 2004 (presumably before orders were taken), such that people could confirm this was the vehicle they wanted and get more info on options available.
I have subsequently called twice. And the folks their have consistently repeated the message that they are honoring their deposits in the order they were received. They did seem fairly stressed though and I had the impression they were probably under much fire from people seeking more info, trying to get earlier deliveries, etc.
They have still not had any additional info on when a demo car will be there, though this is not suprising given where production stands and the desire for the LA auto show cars to circulate across the US.
I am really sorry that Drifter had such an unfortunate experience. And I would really encourage him to find another dealer which will treat him more appropriately/fairly, as this sounds like it is strictly an issue with the sales folks at SVAG and not with anyone working specifically for Lotus.
I am like Jon in that I believe SVAG is my best option for the quickest delivery of an Elise at this point. I have also not been treated unfairly or heard anything myself that differs from what Jon said, or from most of what Drifter said.
Since for me a month forward or backward is not as consequential at a probable 6 months backwards, I am going to sit tight and assume that this was an isolated incident and in general their behavior will be consistent with the basic message (delivery date based on deposit order date) they keep repeating.

I ordered on 11/25, was given an approximate position of "in the 70s" and an approx. delivery date of 12/04 to 1/05. The salesperson mentioned that he thought (at that time) that he would be getting on the order of 100-120 cars per year. Now I realize that they had probably told him 10/month, but that the first cars would take a couple months.

If they really are getting or ordering 10/month, then the 70's should order in July, and get their cars some time later, hopefully by the end of the year.

I haven't spoken to anyone there since placing my initial deposit. I plan on calling back once the demo cars arrive and the 2nd or 3rd batch of orders has been placed to re-confirm their allocation and where I stand in position.

I too would really like to have a definitate position in the list, but frankly, I suspect many dealers (including SVAG) are giving priority to high-profile clientele. In other words, if Larry Ellison (or any other person who's bought one or more Ferrari, Lambo, Bentley, etc from SVAG) wants one, then he's gonna get one before us. I'm comfortable about that, and I'm grateful that SVAG is treating us all very well, considering that all their other cars cost 5-10 times what the Elise does. I'm sure this problem is much much worse down in southern california, and peoples experiences with Symbolic BH seem to mirror that.

Steve

Apart from the vague order positions I haven't had any problems with SVAG. Overall I've been pleased with the way I've been treated. T-shirts and jeans feel out of place when you are surrounded by Ferraris.

I put my deposit down late Jan/early Feb 2003 (its so long ago I can't quite remember when, but I could look up the credit card receipt if anybody really wants to know). The deposit was $2000 and I was quoted a price of around $39,000. I asked how long the list was and was told "you'll be near the top". All this was over the phone.

When the silver Euro demo car arrived they phoned me up and I went over to give it a spin. The guy who came with me wasn't my salesman. When we got back to the dealership I asked what my position was on the list. He went into a back room, came out again a few minutes and said "you are in the top 15".

Then, during the LA show when the dealers got the brochures, I dropped over again to have a look at it. I was told the firm MSRP price (+the delivery fee, options, tax and title). I asked again where I was on the list. My salesman asked me when I put down my deposit and then told me I should be in the second batch, maybe even the first.

A few days later I got "the phone call". My salesman said the GM (I think) had told him that my name had come up so it was time to place the order (in the first batch). I dropped another $2000 on the credit card and now I can't sleep at night with the anticipation. He said they might start getting first deliveries in March, but I didn't really believe him