[OneFastLotus]

Ah yes..the fun begins.

Wonder how this will work? Will I have to drive it to Atlanta for the 500mile oil change? Will they accept my reciepts for oils and filters should a warranty question ever arise and they want to check and see if I've been maintaining it?

This should be interesting.


Any ideas?

 

[xfactor]

Don't worry

I'll keep the car for you in Atlanta for the first 500 miles... free of charge!

 

[smura]

A car company cannot deny you warranty service if you choose to have your oil changed by jiffy lube. It's against the law. What lotus means by this is that warranty work can only be done by an authorized dealer. Just like Honda makes you go to a honda dealership for warranty service. The same rules apply.

Now, if you need warranty work, you may have to drive 500 miles, but driving won't be necessary for tune-up's, oil changes, tire rotations, etc.

 

[Sownman]

Now, if you need warranty work, you may have to drive 500 miles, but driving won't be necessary for tune-up's, oil changes, tire rotations, etc.

I think the tune up is where you will need to go back to Lotus, not the oil change though, and I wouldn't reccomend a tire rotation ever (different f/r sizes).

Steve

 

[OneFastLotus]

A car company cannot deny you warranty service if you choose to have your oil changed by jiffy lube. It's against the law. What lotus means by this is that warranty work can only be done by an authorized dealer. Just like Honda makes you go to a honda dealership for warranty service. The same rules apply.

Now, if you need warranty work, you may have to drive 500 miles, but driving won't be necessary for tune-up's, oil changes, tire rotations, etc.

Well, Im worried about satisfying lotus. I DONT go to Jiffy lube. We change the oil on our 8 cars here at the house. How to I prove when and if I did my changes? When serious warranty work comes into play they want to know these things.


Also, what If Ive had the car a week and Im driving down the road and I throw a check engine light? What then? Do I drive it all the way to Georgia with a check engine light thrown? Do I have it roll backed all the way to Georgia to have it put on a machine to tell me its a vacuum leak, 02 sensor, air mass meter etc? Thats could get old...especially if its small problems.

 

[ulmpharmd]

I am in the same quandry, the closest dealer to me is in dallas, tx, and thats over 2hrs. Will the warranty allow lotus to send out or get a towing co. to pick the car up and bring it to them if it breaks down? This is my 1 major concern! How reliable do you guys think this new car with the toyota motor will be?

 

[OneFastLotus]

Im 9 hours from my dealer.

I think its your responsibility to get it there....not sure.

I have triple A Gold but they only go 100 miles

 

[ulmpharmd]

That sucks. So everytime something goes wrong with the car, i have to pay to have it towed to the dealer even when its under warranty without reimbursement?

 

[CAErven]

Remember that ANY Lotus dealer can service your car. You don't have to take it back to where you bought it. Service departments are iseparate from the sales floor and are a separate profit center for the dealership. ANY service department would LOVE to take your money or bill Lotus with no arguments. Buy it where you're lowest on the list and service it closest.

 

[ulmpharmd]

I agree with that, but what if your closest dealer is hours away? Won't lotus help out?

 

[CAErven]

I'm with everybody completely. I'm 2 hours from my dealer in Columbus, OH area and have the same concerns.

But I never thought that owning this car would be convenient. I just hope it won't be a complete pain in the ass either. There has to be some sensible middle ground.

Just my opinion - I could be wrong LOL.

 

[OneFastLotus]

The closest Lotus dealer is 5 hours away.


Im number #5 and #12 with LOA and I wont be giving up my spots there.

 

[CAErven]

OneFastMiata,

I'm in N. KY just outside of Cincinnati, less than 2 hours from Midwestern Auto Group (MAG) in Dublin (Columbus), OH and you're 1-1/2 hours from me (I'll bet a LOT less for you LOL), so MAG might be only 3-1/2 hours or so. Still not "convenient" but closer. Who knows? No good sounding solutions at this time.

I should have bought a Chevy - got a dealer very close by LMFAO!

Cheers

 

[smoseley]

The number of authorized service centers should increase significantly as more and more of these cars come to america.

 

[xxxotic]

I'm about five miles away so I guess I am lucky. I can drop the car off and walk home (My bicycle wont fit in the trunk!) or maybe the dealer could give me a ride back home.

Remember the Saturn commercial when the guy flies in with a seat part to a customer in Alaska. Wonder if this is going to happen since one buyer is from Alaska. But there are dealers in Canada should be able to do warantee work

I would asssume the car has to be flatbedded too.

My main fear is having a sidewall puncture and getting stranded in the 90 degree heat far away from home. I was thinking about getting another set of rims just in case. Will the wheels from Euro s2 fit or do they have differant bolt patterns and offsets. I saw some for sale on one of the UK websites and they were only a couple hundred bucks since the car was being parted out.

 

[MattG]

Well, Im worried about satisfying lotus. I DONT go to Jiffy lube. We change the oil on our 8 cars here at the house. How to I prove when and if I did my changes?

We bought a new car last summer and I asked that same question of several people at the dealership, and received the same answer - save your receipts, that's all (NOTE - this was a VW, not Lotus, so YMMV!).

Also, what If Ive had the car a week and Im driving down the road and I throw a check engine light? What then?

If you're far from a dealer, then I'd recommend purchasing an OBD-II code scanner. Using that, you could quickly diagnose the check engine light yourself and then discuss the situation with your dealer over the phone to decide how to handle it.

 

[CAErven]

Originally posted by MattG "If you're far from a dealer, then I'd recommend purchasing an OBD-II code scanner."


Great idea - have some questions since I am not a car nut, just a nut.

Is this a universal scanner or are there ones for specific cars and what do they cost? Do I need anything particular to download to, like a computer program? Or does this just display some message codes that we can get from Lotus?

 

[Ridgemanron]

Do it yourself maintenance is O.K. !

just save your receipts for oil and filter purchases and keep a date log, noting the mileage at the time of each 'change'
and you will have no problem concerning
proper maintenance warranty. a friend has been doing this for years with regard to his Ferrari and had no problem with his getting 'free' warranty service when a
noise developed in his engine.

 

[LotusLust]

for those of you who do not want to do your own oil changes and other simple stuff it might be worth considering having those things done at a toyota dealer. something tells me they will know how to do that stuff on one of their engines. and do keep mileage records of everything you do or have done to help in the case that issues arise.

 

[James A]

The OBDII scanners are universal, all cars must have the same basic set of codes. Some makes go beyond the basic code structure mandated by EPA and CARB, you need their specific codes and those are available on the internet. If Lotus has any specific codes beyond Toyota I suspect they will be available soon after the car comes out.
Scanners are available for as little as $135, I recommend the Auto X-ray as it can display real time data rather than just scanned data. The Auto X-ray unit is about $240, or as an alternative find someone who alrady has one. Or a local shop who will scan the car for you for not much money. My scanner has paid for itself many times over with the Caterham.