Southern California?

[Balboa]

Hi! Anyone here from Southern California? If so please message me - would love to compare notes.

Thx

 

[Hodl]

Would also like to compare notes with others in the SoCal area.
My deposit was placed early within the first few days of Aug and I'm supposedly number 90 at my dealer

 

[Drlonline]

Just came across this thread. I'm SoCal based (near Pasadena). Chose to place a deposit with Boardwalk Lotus in Redwood City because I had heard the wait lists for the SoCal dealers (Galpin and Eurocar) were very long and they were potentially putting a ADM on top of MSRP.

 

[T6061]

I live in San Clemente (work in Newport Beach) and placed a deposit at Eurocar July 15, 2022. Being so late to the party I fully expected a long wait. So I was surprised to learn during the test drive/reception event (November 2nd) held at the dealer that I was among the first half of deposits (I believe they were approaching 100 deposits at that point). They mentioned the YouTube first drive coverage had really increased interest in the car during the late summer so I guess I got in just ahead of that wave of depositors. I checked in three weeks ago and understand I am 19th on the list after the initial allocation of 12 FE cars were ordered. I'm guessing given the delays they may have had some dropouts which may have moved me up a bit. Not sure if they will receive enough FE 2.0 allocations to be included in the next round but I'm cool either way. I've not discussed pricing with them in the absence of an allocation so I have nothing to add regarding ADM. Happy to pay MSRP (even at the $105k mark). Also willing to source PPF through them if that helps them pad their profits.

 

[Drlonline]

I was much later to the party, having not discovered the car until February of this year. Wasn't in the market for a new car as I am in a lease with a BMW until December '24. However, once I started looking into the Emira, I fell in love with it. Last time I was this excited about a car was back in 2014 when the BMW i8 came out. After some checking around I was hearing that the SoCal dealers were up to ~ 200 on their waitlists. At Boardwalk, I'm ~ 50 on the i4 AMG waitlist, which I understand will go into production for the U.S. in early 2024. At this point, I'm expecting to take delivery in early 2025 based on all of the delays, so may have to extend my lease or rent another car until the Emira arrives. Had to wait quite a while for my i8, but it was worth it, so am hoping it will be the same for the Emira.

 

[Concept24]

I live in San Clemente (work in Newport Beach) and placed a deposit at Eurocar July 15, 2022. Being so late to the party I fully expected a long wait. So I was surprised to learn during the test drive/reception event (November 2nd) held at the dealer that I was among the first half of deposits (I believe they were approaching 100 deposits at that point). They mentioned the YouTube first drive coverage had really increased interest in the car during the late summer so I guess I got in just ahead of that wave of depositors. I checked in three weeks ago and understand I am 19th on the list after the initial allocation of 12 FE cars were ordered. I'm guessing given the delays they may have had some dropouts which may have moved me up a bit. Not sure if they will receive enough FE 2.0 allocations to be included in the next round but I'm cool either way. I've not discussed pricing with them in the absence of an allocation so I have nothing to add regarding ADM. Happy to pay MSRP (even at the $105k mark). Also willing to source PPF through them if that helps them pad their profits.

Orange County Lotus (Eurocar) here since December of 2022. After seeing chat about reservation numbers, I emailed the sales manager (for my number in line) there, last week but have not received a response. Thus, at this time, I have no idea where I stand. (V6 manual). When I placed my reservation, I was told that the dealership was hoping to have a demo car at around this time, but the certification delay may have pushed that time frame out.
I was also told to expect an 18-20 month wait time.

 

[2BIG2FAIL]

I4 deposit at Galpin here in December 22. No ADM on to of MSRP. Was told I am ~60 on the list for I4. At the time of reservation, they had over 300 on the list for the 6.... Hoping that I can get by Q1 2025.

 

[TheMotizzle]

i4 deposit at Galpin July 2022. Was told no ADM as well. They said 95% of the orders were V6 manual. When the test drive came to town, I didn't get a notice because I was pretty far down the list. When I called, they were super cool about fitting me in. My personal guess is late '24 / early '25 but that's probably has more to do with the i4 than Galpin or SoCal.

 

[Drlonline]

i4 deposit at Galpin July 2022. Was told no ADM as well. They said 95% of the orders were V6 manual. When the test drive came to town, I didn't get a notice because I was pretty far down the list. When I called, they were super cool about fitting me in. My personal guess is late '24 / early '25 but that's probably has more to do with the i4 than Galpin or SoCal.

Do you know where you are on the i4 wait list?

 

[TheMotizzle]

I have a fuzzy memory of exactly what I was told, but when I was at the test drive I think they said there were something like 20, 40 or 60 i4 deposits? I honestly can't remember. It's probably on the lower end. I remember it was a small fraction of the V6 manual deposits. I wanna say there were like 3-5 V6 autos total. Sorry I don't have a better recollection. I think the # is small enough that once the V6 is off to the races and focus eventually turns to the i4, it won't be a super long line. Famous last words though I suppose.

 

[morphious]

Live in the OC. Deposit placed with Galpin in 2021 order placed with Lotus and accepted 5/16/22 for V6 FE. Hopeful to drive it by December. LOL

 

[Drlonline]

A question for the SoCal folks from someone who has never owned a Lotus. With all the early issues we're hearing of from the U.K. deliveries, which will hopefully be ironed out by the time our cars arrive, I'm wondering about the local dealership service practices. Anyone had any servicing from either Galpin or EuroCar, and if so what were your experiences like? Do they have loaner cars available?

 

[Concept24]

I was told by the (then) Sales Manager at Eurocar that should you not be able to drive your car there to get it serviced, they would send a car carrier to pick up your Lotus and then bring it back when it's done. However, I forgot to ask about a loaner vehicle for lengthy repairs. (I'm 80 miles away.)
I'm interested, also to see what others reveal about that topic.

 

[Drlonline]

Got feedback from another forum that Eurocar does not provide loaners, but Galpin will for warranty repairs (not for routine maintenance).

 

[Concept24]

Hopefully, there is a nearby hotel for out-of-town Eurocar customers. I hope it would not come to that, however.

 

[Finbarqs]

I had my deposit with Galpin since Oct of 21. Took my deposit away and placed it with Naples in FL. Galpin wanted 20K DMU/ADM on top of MSRP (which I thought was ironic when they said that only FE's get the "lower price") Talked to the sales, and they told me base editions will not have any ADM. However, base editions will not be ordered until all the FE/FE 2.0's are out of the way. So waiting in line for a base edition is the same as waiting in line for an i4: There is no wait list, just they'll build it based upon your deposit with lotus themselves accordingly.

Then I thought about it: Lotus of Galpin is likely holding on to over 100 deposits of 5K. That's a minimum of 500,000.00 They put that money in a bank earning themselves a sweet 4.0%+ APY and that's a free 20K for every year that Lotus doesn't deliver. (or an extra 1.7k monthly). They're the winners here. Imagine if they had 200-300 deposits... Sitting on top of that mountain of cash accumulating interests FOR THEM not us.... Hoping that Lotus will just push it back one more year... And then slapping a ADM on top of that... Just a thought...

 

[2BIG2FAIL]

I had my deposit with Galpin since Oct of 21. Took my deposit away and placed it with Naples in FL. Galpin wanted 20K DMU/ADM on top of MSRP (which I thought was ironic when they said that only FE's get the "lower price") Talked to the sales, and they told me base editions will not have any ADM. However, base editions will not be ordered until all the FE/FE 2.0's are out of the way. So waiting in line for a base edition is the same as waiting in line for an i4: There is no wait list, just they'll build it based upon your deposit with lotus themselves accordingly.

Then I thought about it: Lotus of Galpin is likely holding on to over 100 deposits of 5K. That's a minimum of 500,000.00 They put that money in a bank earning themselves a sweet 4.0%+ APY and that's a free 20K for every year that Lotus doesn't deliver. (or an extra 1.7k monthly). They're the winners here. Imagine if they had 200-300 deposits... Sitting on top of that mountain of cash accumulating interests FOR THEM not us.... Hoping that Lotus will just push it back one more year... And then slapping a ADM on top of that... Just a thought...

What? Galpin has assured me there will be no ADM. Perhaps worth reaching out and asking?

 

[Finbarqs]

What? Galpin has assured me there will be no ADM. Perhaps worth reaching out and asking?

for the FE's and the FE 2.0's. I remember talking with Vincent or Ivan (can't remember now) asking them about the price increase, and they told me that only FE 1.0's are price protected. But the FE's has a 20k ADM. They called me early in 22' if I wanted to get on their FE list since they have a spot opening, and they said that it would be an extra 20K. I told them I'll happily wait for a Base. Then I contacted them about removing my deposit, and they tried their best to get me to keep it. They told me that they'll refund me 4500, and I'm still on the list for the base edition, and if I truly do not want it then, then I can get the 500.00 back and they'll just have to sell it the old fashioned way. I countered with "Put me on the FE 2.0 list without ADM and I'll leave my 5K". To which they replied "There's a demand for the FE 2.0's with the 20K ADM". A few months later, I asked for a full refund and put my deposit with Lotus in Naples, since the base edition will all be the same (and no line for them). And the best part is I can register the car out of state of my choice: Like Montana. Galpin gave me the run around with that.

 

[morphious]

What? Galpin has assured me there will be no ADM. Perhaps worth reaching out and asking?

I think ADM only applies to the V6 FE 1.0 and 2.0. I have a 1.0 on order with Galpin.

 

[vantage]

I didn't have a good experience with Galpin either. Felt like they were / are playing games to basically get out of having to sell cars to deposit holders at MSRP. Many other Lotus dealers were openly promising MSRP and would have been a better choice from both a price and timing perspective.

My Galpin history:
- I placed a deposit on July 1, 2022, before the Emira was even shown to the public. Was told it would be for MSRP. Salesperson told me I was around #4 or 5 on the list.

- When I got the call from the manager (Ivan) with some news in February 2022, I was told I didn't make the cut for FE by one spot and was actually around #25 (will have to check my notes on this, could have been as high as 40). So they claim to have gotten 24 deposits for the Emira before me and before the car was even shown to the public. Okay, let's say I believe that these 24 customers are real deposits and not fillers so that Galpin could say they have more demand . . .

- On the same February 2022 call, I was told that if they get more FE allocations, those would be sold for over MSRP and that I would not move up the list even one spot to get an FE. This jives with what people are saying having been offered an FE at $20k. When I wrote the manager an email memorializing that I was skipped over and that they were offering me the #1 non-FE, the manager refused to confirm that in writing and wanted to talk on the phone. So I finally call him and he doesn't respond for a while. Writes me back saying that he understood I wanted a non-FE / base all along, which is not what I had said.

Similar antics are being played by dealers for other marques too these days. But this left a bad taste in my mouth because it wasn't what I understood going into the deposit. At least when another dealer tells you that you aren't getting a car without $XX ADM, that is straightforward and direct, not bait and switch. And frankly, I am not sure the Lotus brand can withstand this kind of customer service when there is already other baggage involved in choosing Lotus over something else.

Ultimately, I ended up sticking with my GT4, especially given (1) hassle of dealing with Galpin and (2) now having to pay a higher price for the same car because they wouldn't sell me an FE after I passed over opportunities with other dealers, and (3) unknown release date of base model.

Anyway, my personal take is to avoid Galpin. If you are on their list, confirm every little thing in writing and get it signed by Galpin. When I had my Elise, after-sales service was not good either, especially compared to where I bought that car originally (the now defunct Symbolic Motors in La Jolla).