- Thread starter
- #21
Just super frustrated!
- Thread starter Av8tor2
- Start date
At least we figured it out!
- Thread starter
- #25
The voice in my head said the same thing. I was on the phone with Lotus roadside, talking about how late they were and they showed up at that time. So I let them start loading the car...
celsius-233
New member
- Jul 31, 2025
- 1
- 0
- My Specs:
- Emira V6
Sorry to hear about those issues. Those are bigger than the one’s I’ve had to day. At around 700 miles my O2 sensors went bad. Also, my parking sensors are driving me nuts. At stop lights they go off at passing cars. The “fixed” it, but the problem persists. I had the windshield wipers intermittently go out. They were able to find the issue which was a lose connection that they fixed. Also I have this weird popping sound every so often come from the rear speakers. The seemed to have gone out but then they came back. I’m thinking this is an intermittent issue that will be hard to get fixed.
Not too happy. My Porsche’s were the tops and if Lotus want’s to be on par at the same price point they need to do way better. I still love the car. I always wanted a Lotus and I sat in the Espirit in a showroom when I was about 13 yo. Hang in there, I hope we both fair better from here on out.
Not too happy. My Porsche’s were the tops and if Lotus want’s to be on par at the same price point they need to do way better. I still love the car. I always wanted a Lotus and I sat in the Espirit in a showroom when I was about 13 yo. Hang in there, I hope we both fair better from here on out.
This sucks. I was just catching up on @Orchardbike’s story too. There are definately some horror stories out there but the customer care elements are so contrasting/inconsistent . Having suffered 2 major faults within 30 days of owning mine, I played hard ball from the second it happened and I got taken care of pretty well. Car shipped 100+ miles (twice) at cost to lotus, extended warranty added retrospectively, money off after the deal was done. My case was no different to any one else’s. I simply bought a (used) car that developed faults soon after delivery. I (non patronisingly) encourage people to really get to know their rights and to put your foot down hard with the dealer - chatGPT will serve you well here. Be prepared to walk away and use real legal assistance to recover funds. When the dealer thinks you’re serious though, they don’t mess around too much - at least in my experience (rejected 2 other cars in the past as well and always got my money back without any hard effort - just using very specific words). Best of luck to OP (and @Orchardbike). It’s a really sad situation.
We are all thinking, I hope that doesn't happen to me. My dealer comes to my house and picks up the car for free. They have been amazing (Lotus of Philadlephia). I also had a bunch of problems but they got them all fixed during my 1K Mile service. I have a YouTube short that outlined the problems I have had.
CS hit and miss for sure. I've just picked mine up after 9 weeks at the dealers, no courtesy car, Lotus refusing to pay for aftermarket spoiler, £399 inc VAT, on new tailgate and still not had a reply on the extended warranty.
This is funny. But had me wondering...
Porsche sold 320k cars last year
Lotus sold 12k cars last year.
Even if every one of us went the Porsche route instead of Lotus, it would only represent a ~4% increase in their total sales. I suppose a claim could be made that Porsche has the potential to lose more sales if Lotus had their act together though.
My recommendation...be a bit more filosophical about life...
People nowadays expect that everything is perfect and mostly that everything is going their way. If it doesn't, they become real assholes...
Look at the world in general and what is going wrong all over the world... it's the world we live in. Its all relative, ffs...we are talking about a car here.
Car ownership can be a real treat and fantastic journey if you accept that the product is not perfect...that you need to hone it, to take the bugs out, to bond with it by driving it... just a few hiccups a the start... is that really going to mess up a life long relationship with the Emira. The opportunity to build a relationship with the dealer and the people there. If it is just people who are trying their best, why care about the shipping back and forth and who is paying for it.
It's your own mindset and brain that decides how to view things in life. Opportunistic people tend to achieve a lot more in life.
It's that simple. Ride it, break it, fix it, improve it, enjoy it, love it!
People nowadays expect that everything is perfect and mostly that everything is going their way. If it doesn't, they become real assholes...
Look at the world in general and what is going wrong all over the world... it's the world we live in. Its all relative, ffs...we are talking about a car here.
Car ownership can be a real treat and fantastic journey if you accept that the product is not perfect...that you need to hone it, to take the bugs out, to bond with it by driving it... just a few hiccups a the start... is that really going to mess up a life long relationship with the Emira. The opportunity to build a relationship with the dealer and the people there. If it is just people who are trying their best, why care about the shipping back and forth and who is paying for it.
It's your own mindset and brain that decides how to view things in life. Opportunistic people tend to achieve a lot more in life.
It's that simple. Ride it, break it, fix it, improve it, enjoy it, love it!
Orchardbike
Emira Fanatic
For some people it hasn’t been “a few hiccups at the start”
Again...it's your own mindset and brain to decide. As long as you don't die in it or get seriously injured "why care?" Life is simply too short to be upset by minor things as a car! Every day spend in agony is a lost day. A day spent dealing with a problem often leads to insights, solutions, creativity and provides a richer life in general.
Lotus will never be as refined as a Porsche. Porsche builds way more vehicles, and their is no substitute for experience.
As someone who worked in Insurance for 20 years and handled tens of thousands of claims, I can count on one hand how many times we paid for shipping. Those times were mostly due to upper management wanting to shut the customer up.
Nobody pays for shipping ever. The manufacturer can not control were you live. If they were to start covering shipping they would then have set precidence to cover shipping for all customers legally. Then somebody will move to Mt. Everest and sue because their vehicle wasn't flown to them with a helicopter. Yes, the helicopter is a bit of exaduration but you get the idea. The manufacturer can't control where you live. There would be no way to know how to price a product and still make a profit if they have to cover shipping to and from the nearest dealership.
Sorry to crash your dreams of free towing.
As for the car, if it continues to give problems, I would sell it while the value is still high. Had a VW Corrado G60 and I didn't sell it after problems started creeping up. Ended up paying 3x car cost in repairs. Sometimes some lemons role out of the factory.
Nobody pays for shipping ever. The manufacturer can not control were you live. If they were to start covering shipping they would then have set precidence to cover shipping for all customers legally. Then somebody will move to Mt. Everest and sue because their vehicle wasn't flown to them with a helicopter. Yes, the helicopter is a bit of exaduration but you get the idea. The manufacturer can't control where you live. There would be no way to know how to price a product and still make a profit if they have to cover shipping to and from the nearest dealership.
Sorry to crash your dreams of free towing.
As for the car, if it continues to give problems, I would sell it while the value is still high. Had a VW Corrado G60 and I didn't sell it after problems started creeping up. Ended up paying 3x car cost in repairs. Sometimes some lemons role out of the factory.
Orchardbike
Emira Fanatic
So you’ve now used the words “a few hiccups” and “minor things”.
As it stands today, I’ve owned the car for 238 days.
Of those 238, the car has been in my possession for just 43 days (only 7 without a fault)
It’s been with the dealer for the balance, I.e. 195 days.
It’s still there and I still don’t know when I’ll be getting it back. So forgive me if I think minor and hiccups aren’t applicable. Please also advise how I change my “mindset” and how I shouldn’t “care”.
There are many on here who, so far, haven't had the problems you or I have had so don't quite get it. Fingers crossed they don't but I think more will as time goes on.
I've just got mine back after 9 weeks, 3 1/2 weeks in February and nigh on 6 months in total April to December last year. I've missed out on so much I wanted to do with the car that I now just want rid. Over the next couple of weeks I hopefully will have got rid of the negative energy and be back to my normal glass half full person. 1st and last Lotus.
Orchardbike
Emira Fanatic
I feel your pain!
I’ve now got a technician from Lotus Hethel going to Colchester to check on the work that they’ve done to my car. There’s still a gearbox issue eventually though Colchester have replaced the whole clutch, the flywheel, the gearbox in entirety and the gearbox mounts. So I’ve no idea what is still causing the “gearbox issue”.
I wanted to get rid of the car, but I’ve no idea what else I’d go for. Maybe a McLaren fits the bill, but I could only afford maybe an 8+ years old car. So not the most reliable car and a lot older than my Emira…..I’m not a fan of the Caymen, so that’s out and for a good 911, I’d be back in same boat as the McLaren I.e. quite a few years older (maybe slightly more reliable?). I could buy another Emira, but it could have the same issues and I’d still have to deal with Lotus Customer Care. Also my spec’ seems few and far between on Autotrader.
When you add all this up, I think I’m just going to sit it out and wait for mine to be fixed.
- Thread starter
- #39
I understand your point of view. But the point that I am making is when you purchase a car. You should be able to use as a car. Not worry about when or if its not going be trucked back to the dealership you purchased it from when you start it. At this point it has spent more time at the dealership in the service department more that it has spent time at my house.
It is great to build a relationships with your dealership and the people that are there. When I was speaking with the dealerships manager he was saying we want to build a relationship with me and have me as a customer for life. Now the service department has been great they have answered all my questions and kept me informed of the repair status of the car. But the let down in this is the car maybe is just these two problems or it could just be built on Friday at 4:49 p.m. Or worse it could just be a lemon.
I am very thankful that I am able to have a car like this. I know it is a privilege to be able to call up a dealership and purchase cars like these.
I have not "lost it" on anyone I am just not happy with the car. But I am in love with the car, it is a beautiful car. For the few days it was home, I have caught myself just wandering out to the garage to look at and admire the beauty of it. Just think Ferris Bueller's day off garage part, when they went to get the car. OH Yeah!
I understand there are growing pains in a new car model. But it has been in production for 3 years now. The last car I purchased was a Model 3. Flew up to Chicago to pick it up, drove it home that day, 900 miles one way. Not a single issue in 2.5 years 20K miles. Also I have only spent $8.00 on windshield washing fluid for the car in those 2.5 years other than charging it. I have also owned 3 Honda 2000's, my last one I purchased new was a 2007, sold it for the Emira. In 18 years the only problem it had was minor engine problem and that was the fuel sensor. Now on the other side of the coin, I also own a Jeep Wrangler Hard Rock edition. That lives up to it moniker: Just Empty Every Pocket (JEEP). But it has been rode hard and put up wet, from mudding to rock crawling. But those problems I did those and knew what I was getting into by doing them.
Yes owning a car is a journey, but this one has started off very rocky. Heck, I haven't even had the car above 4000 Rpm. I was using every bit of will power to not push it. Because I want to follow the "rules" and treat the car properly during run in period. I can only image what one might act like petal to the metal from day one. But for something out the door costing well over 120K, with PPF etc. You think you wouldn't be having as many issues, in under 20 days.
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