[the1sen]

For the few of us with a Lotus that have had issues, can anyone answer?

So far, I am without mine for about 1 week for some miscellaneous Warranty work, and 3 weeks for an Electrical short. Think it is going to still be a while for it to come home.

What about you? What's the longest you've been without your car and WHY?

Also, did you 'miss' it while it was gone?

Lotus of Scottsdale has been great, but replacing the wiring harness is going to be a bitch for one person to handle... I feel so badly for my mechanic. He's a great guy and I wish I could do something to help him.

 

[Thomasio]

3 months... and they want to replace the wiring harness (on my dime). What is the nature of your "electrical short?"

 

[the1sen]

Why? Is your car heavily modified? Or is it just out of Warranty?

It's alarm related - Alarm system is insane - even after replacement... http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f101/dead-lotus-fuse-blows-upon-insertion-71809/

 

[Thomasio]

Race harnesses installed, seatbelts removed.

 

[the1sen]

Is it under Warranty?

 

[apk919]

Well, not Lotus related... but maybe something to give you a little encouragement.

Back in 2003, I took Friday delivery of a brand new 2004 Audi S4... by the end of the weekend, the car was undriveable... even with my foot to the floor, the clutch wouldn't fully disengage.

After replacing a laundry list of parts, it took almost a month for the dealer (and the Audi rep for the US west coast) to figure out what was wrong: the clutch was not mounted properly... it was slightly off-axis with the output shaft.

A month is a long time to wait for a brand-new car to be fixed... but: I haven't had a single problem with it since.

 

[the1sen]

Hey apk919,

I am expecting a similar experience - It seems that our cars really are trouble free aside from the occasional anomaly...

Thought it might be "therapeutic" to see if I am the only one that would "miss" driving a car.

Getting the Lotus was a dream come true for me. Seriously. When I first learned about Lotus as a boy in the early 80's, I was enamored with the brand and what it stood for. The Esprit was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen for the longest time... Intangible for me though after learning about the maintenance.

The mainstream car companies seemed to catch on that small and fun might work here in the states, and when the MR2 came out the attraction was instantaneous for me. Then the Miata came out... another instant attraction. I owned both of them... It was a dream come true.

A few years ago the first Elise set my Lotus fire burning... I thought Lotus was finished... I had motorcycles though, so the itch was never really there for the 1st gen. When they announced the S2 was coming to the US, I remember where I was, who I was with, and the conversation I had about how I wanted one immediately in black with red seats. I bought another bike however and the itch was yet again put on ice...

At 31, I had a BAD motorcycle wreck which prevents me from riding anymore. I bought another Miata. It was great, but the itch for a bike is unrelenting. Saw the Lotus pricing and nearly soiled myself with excitement. At age 33, I talked to the wife, made a few posts here, did a lot of reading and within 2 months I was driving a Lotus Elise: Starlight Black with a red leather interior.

The car has not disappointed in any way. I still get as giddy now when I drive it as I did the first day I drove it and jumped out and hugged the salesman (Chad)...

The first warranty trip I was expecting. It really was for little cosmetic things; I was glad to get them fixed and not drive it for a week. Andy and I planned it out and it was great.

This second trip is by no means ruining my Lotus experience... I just MISS having my Lotus... I'm sure that Andy will fix the car and all will be right with the world. It's all cool and all... I know how ultra rare something like this is, I'm just kind of bummed and I wanted to get an idea of how long it's going to be.

I'm going to leave Andy and Chad alone for as long as I can. I'm not their only customer but they treat me very well. They're a first class establishment.

 

[Thomasio]

Is it under Warranty?

The car is still in it's warranty period.

 

[the1sen]

I did a search and found your thread - I'm very sorry to hear about your car and your issues with Lotus.

On the other hand, I have had a very pleasant experience with Lotus. They have taken VERY good care of my vehicle and my best interests, mostly without mentioning anything to them. Perhaps it is time for you to go to a new dealership.

Aside from Thomasio, has anyone else had any warranty work done? How long were you without your car?

I emailed Lotus this morning and asked if they would be so gracious as to allow me a test drive in one of their used vehicles - you know, something where I can just go out for 10-15 minutes and get my Lotus fix. I hope to hear back from them.

 

[twaszak1]

with all due rerespect to all posting, Thomas was given an opportunity. Due to the "mod" he had, he was told there would be no warranty of the problem. After much deliberation on Lotus' end they decided that to be fair, they would have him pay for the repair, then Lotus would send the parts in question to England to be anylized by electrical engineers. If it was determined that the "mod" in question was the cause of the problem Thomas would not be reimbursed, if the "mod" did not cause the problem he would be fully reimbursed.

To me this seems like a very fair resolution.

 

[mjf]

To me this seems like a very fair resolution.

Dunno about "very" fair. It seems equitable, without necessarily being the friendliest customer service, but anyway, there's another thread for that story.

My experience was better than his, my car was in and out of the dealership for warranty work relating to "grinds when going into 3rd gear" in the end they replaced the shifter, shifter cables (twice) and eventually the whole transmission, all under warranty. It took quite some time for the part to be shipped over, so the dealership gave me my car back to drive while we waited, all in all, my car was in the shop for not much time at all. They denied my request, however, to change to a different transmission oil.

 

[MattG]

I had to wait a couple months for a replacement window moulding piece (the one from the factory had a crease in it, it wasn't keeping water out of the door). Really wasn't a big deal though as the car was very usable during the wait.

 

[the1sen]

Yeah, it seems that very few of us have had issues that require more than a week... I guess I'm just lucky that way.

And wouldn't you know it, I just love driving mine every day, so it's that much more of a bummer.

 

[Sh4rkattk]

Just got my car back from silver star. Took 3 1/2 weeks to replace a pressure plate and clutch. One of the three clips on the pressure plate broke and the clutch wouldn't fully disengage.

To be fair the reason it took longer then expected was because i opted to upgrade the clutch and pressure plate to the Lotus motor sport offering. Which i must say it makes the car feel more like a sports/race car.

Hell yea I missed the car, when the weekend came or the night out. I would walk into the garage and look to see my lotus is missing and I had to take the DD. Every week the car was missing I visited the dealership and talked to the tech. Rich at Silver Star top notch guy, great to work with, knows the car inside and out. Thanks again Rich.

 

[RoadDad]

Like apk919, not the Lotus and not even my car ha ha. And not even warranty work but here goes anyway...

The boss had a used 1995 Volvo 850 Wagon back when we only had few enough kids to fit in it. CEL came on. Took it to the dealer for the work. 2 weeks later we got a call that it was ready for pick up. $3200 bill for the work. I paid it very un-cheerfully. Started the car put it in drive and CEL came back on. Walked back in, handed the keys to the service manager, made him void the charge and waited another 2 weeks. Got another call that it truly was fixed. Picked it up without further incident. Total repair bill climbed to well over $6000 for what turned out to be a $27 relay :wallbang:. Nice little note to the owner of the dealership explaining the situation and she took care of it. Went from over $6000 to $27 and not having the car for a bit over a month.

EDIT: It was a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon to be exact .

 

[apk919]

Like apk919, not the Lotus and not even my car ha ha. And not even warranty work but here goes anyway...

The boss had a used 1995 Volvo 850 Wagon back when we only had few enough kids to fit in it. CEL came on. Took it to the dealer for the work. 2 weeks later we got a call that it was ready for pick up. $3200 bill for the work. I paid it very un-cheerfully. Started the car put it in drive and CEL came back on. Walked back in, handed the keys to the service manager, made him void the charge and waited another 2 weeks. Got another call that it truly was fixed. Picked it up without further incident. Total repair bill climbed to well over $6000 for what turned out to be a $27 relay :wallbang:. Nice little note to the owner of the dealership explaining the situation and she took care of it. Went from over $6000 to $27 and not having the car for a bit over a month.

EDIT: It was a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon to be exact .

:wallbang:

Yeah, about 180 degrees from my experience with the Audi, I also had a 2004 BMW 330i ZHP... I received a recall notice for the ignition coils, and at about the same time one of the cylinders started to miss and I got a CEL. Long story short, they claimed I didn't have the recalled ignition coils, but the car kept on shutting off cylinders and throwing a CEL until they finally decided to replace the ignition coils... Idiots...

 

[the1sen]

Nice little note to the owner of the dealership explaining the situation and she took care of it. Went from over $6000 to $27 and not having the car for a bit over a month.

EDIT: It was a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon to be exact .

Now those are some serious writing skills. :huh: Care to share some of that power? :bow:

I don't think Lotus will charge me :shrug: I sincerely didn't do anything wrong. I replaced the F11 fuse a couple of times, but it just kept blowing over and over again. Realizing it was a short, I contacted them almost immediately.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who would "miss" the driving experience of a vehicle. I'll appreciate it that much more when I get it back.