I'm out - the cancellations thread

[EspritGuy]

Really sorry to read this Mike. And sadly not surprised. The lack of communication and info sharing between different teams handling the various steps of the process is causing a number of issues. It's draining all the excitement out of what should be the eager anticipation of a new car arriving.

In your case, they presumably had a ferry crossing booked for the transporter for a day or two beforehand, so must have known 24-72 hours beforehand they weren't going to delivery. PDI should have been completed and any paint issues spotted before they scheduled the delivery date.

This is perplexing. From messaging and Lotus videos this was the most accurate car ever built by them with state of the art QC inspection processes. That car should never left the factory and gone to later steps. Is training that bad, such that things slip through the cracks still? It's not like a high volume of cars is pressuring the teams.
Then, there's the comms cock-up. Have they not learned anything thus far about customer satisfaction?
Exactly what were their New Year Resolutions?

 

[Pugwash]

I am aware that for all manufacturers cars “falling off the transporter” is a thing. I have bought two brand new cars in the past (VW and Mazda) which had minor paint blemishes on them which were unlikely to have been there when they left the factory. In both cases the dealers had a local paint blemish repair man that sorted things invisibly. So it may be this car has something similar, but with “deliver to home” it has to be fixed at the PDI end.
This was one of the reasons I opted for factory collection but it turns out that the car still goes from Hethel to Oxford for PDI and is then shipped back to Hethel for factory collection.

 

[Leonard]

This is perplexing. From messaging and Lotus videos this was the most accurate car ever built by them with state of the art QC inspection processes. That car should never left the factory and gone to later steps. Is training that bad, such that things slip through the cracks still? It's not like a high volume of cars is pressuring the teams.
Then, there's the comms cock-up. Have they not learned anything thus far about customer satisfaction?
Exactly what were their New Year Resolutions?

They have hardly been producing any cars considering the daily capacity of the new plant.

To think that they are only having to QC 15 cars a day and that is proving too much for them to pick up on easily noticeable production/paint issues spottable with the naked eye is just bizarre.

 

[TomE]

Sorry, but everyone needs to report all actual facts on this site before you all again go off at tangents! As for moderators you need to establish facts before siding one way or the other.
I don't believe for one moment that an agreed delivery date, car paid for before delivery full check out and no one bothered to called from either the delivery company or Lotus to say there is a delay.
Owner of this car prove on this site I am wrong

If we attempted to fact-check every post we would need dozens of moderators and most content would never get published as it's simply too hard to verify most of it independently.

Like every other forum and social media channel, we each have to form a view based on the poster's track record and considering if what they post fits with what other people have posted. In some circumstances the moderator team will get involved if there is something off - like the person last year who pretended to be representing a Lotus dealer and deliberately posted inaccurate information.

In this case I have no reason to doubt Mike's information. I'm aware of other customer cars where the transport company has delayed delivery. I'm also aware of other cars that have left the factory and passed PDI and been delivered to UK dealers with paint quality issues that have meant the dealers refusing to hand them over to customers until it is rectified.

Of course you're entitled to ask him for further info. I'm not sure how he can prove to you that Lotus and BCA didn't call him.

 

[TomE]

I am aware that for all manufacturers cars “falling off the transporter” is a thing. I have bought two brand new cars in the past (VW and Mazda) which had minor paint blemishes on them which were unlikely to have been there when they left the factory. In both cases the dealers had a local paint blemish repair man that sorted things invisibly. So it may be this car has something similar, but with “deliver to home” it has to be fixed at the PDI end.
This was one of the reasons I opted for factory collection but it turns out that the car still goes from Hethel to Oxford for PDI and is then shipped back to Hethel for factory collection.

With Hethel collection there is a further stage of inspection and preparation at the factory post-PDI before customer collection.

In theory the cars should arrive at dealers having completed PDI and be handover-ready, but many dealers are doing their own PDI, prep and rectification. I know a few owners have had their dealer collection date pushed back at short notice, while dealers sort out cars they don't feel are ready.

 

[CDM1855]

With Hethel collection there is a further stage of inspection and preparation at the factory post-PDI before customer collection.

In theory the cars should arrive at dealers having completed PDI and be handover-ready, but many dealers are doing their own PDI, prep and rectification. I know a few owners have had their dealer collection date pushed back at short notice, while dealers sort out cars they don't feel are ready.

One would expect the cars collected at Hethel directly to be those most free of defects. Rather embarrassing for Lotus if someone goes there and starts pointing out glaring defects in front of them at the time of collection and refuses the car

 

[Leonard]

With Hethel collection there is a further stage of inspection and preparation at the factory post-PDI before customer collection.

In theory the cars should arrive at dealers having completed PDI and be handover-ready, but many dealers are doing their own PDI, prep and rectification. I know a few owners have had their dealer collection date pushed back at short notice, while dealers sort out cars they don't feel are ready.

I have heard about and seen some of the issues dealers are having to fix after Hethel inspection and BCA PDI.
Again just blows my tiny little mind considering the current production levels.

 

[TomE]

This is perplexing. From messaging and Lotus videos this was the most accurate car ever built by them with state of the art QC inspection processes. That car should never left the factory and gone to later steps. Is training that bad, such that things slip through the cracks still? It's not like a high volume of cars is pressuring the teams.
Then, there's the comms cock-up. Have they not learned anything thus far about customer satisfaction?
Exactly what were their New Year Resolutions?

Some cars are reaching dealers that should not have left Hethel and should not have passed PDI. It's difficult to quantify what proportion are affected, as dealers are fixing a lot of things and we have limited feedback from the direct-to-customer deliveries (which don't have a dealer or Hethel to check them after PDI). We also have many owners who are very happy with what's been delivered.

 

[Magicman]

If you're concerned about quality and thinking about porsche just had this txt from my mate that picked up his new gt4 before Xmas:-

Hmmm. The pads got stuck on the discs on all 4 wheels and then separated and snapped. GT4 undriveable. A known issue apparently .

 

[CDM1855]

Point is no one had the courtesy to call Mike and tell him he wouldn’t be getting the car as promised. pretty basic customer respect to call and tell you there’s a problem.

 

[TomE]

For some of the first home deliveries we'd heard how the BCA team had sent the customer pictures of the car being loaded on the transporter the day before. And sent them an expected ETA and a link to an online tracker early morning on delivery day.

Can anyone who has had a home delivery in Dec or in the last week confirm if they've had that too and it's standard procedure rather than just being done for the first few in Nov?

 

[Tonyshepp]

I think if you are having a car delivered soon hot foot it down to hethel , see your car being produced and write on the chassis in several places VIP - I believe this is the workflow process for a quality Emira leaving the production line.

 

[Leonard]

I think if you are having a car delivered soon hot foot it down to hethel , see your car being produced and write on the chassis in several places VIP - I believe this is the workflow process for a quality Emira leaving the production line.

You can't fault Harry's car thats for sure

 

[Tonyshepp]

You can't fault Harry's car thats for sure

Or Schmees his had 30 miles on it before delivery as they made sure it was perfect for his pickup.

 

[Hobiedick]

For some of the first home deliveries we'd heard how the BCA team had sent the customer pictures of the car being loaded on the transporter the day before. And sent them an expected ETA and a link to an online tracker early morning on delivery day.

Can anyone who has had a home delivery in Dec or in the last week confirm if they've had that too and it's standard procedure rather than just being done for the first few in Nov?

My car has been at PDI now for 6 weeks, CS do not know why have no answers. I think Lotus have made a big mistake with not involving their agents (dealers) with the delivery process including PDI. If the dealers received the car damaged/faulty at least the end customer could be advised that it needs work which will completed at the dealer facilities and then delivered to the customer. Lotus CS have always been very poor even before Geely so nothing has improved from manufacturing right through to cumstomer liason.

 

[Magma]

If you're concerned about quality and thinking about porsche just had this txt from my mate that picked up his new gt4 before Xmas:-

Hmmm. The pads got stuck on the discs on all 4 wheels and then separated and snapped. GT4 undriveable. A known issue apparently .

Hmmmm...interesting issue in a brand spanking new car. What is causing this supposed issue? Especially one that has never been tracked?

 

[Mike]

Really sorry to read this Mike. And sadly not surprised. The lack of communication and info sharing between different teams handling the various steps of the process is causing a number of issues. It's draining all the excitement out of what should be the eager anticipation of a new car arriving.

In your case, they presumably had a ferry crossing booked for the transporter for a day or two beforehand, so must have known 24-72 hours beforehand they weren't going to deliver. PDI should have been completed and any paint issues spotted before they scheduled the delivery date.

Thanks Tom. I appreciate all the work you have put into running this forum.

I doubt they had a ferry booked and I doubt very much that a paint issue was suddenly found on my car Fter PDI.
My build was apparently complete in November and I paid for the car in full in December.

I'm afraid I simply don't believe anything Lotus say any more. I have run mynown business for many years and this is not the type of company I want to do business with.

If I was a betting man, I would say Geely are watching what is happening and I don't give Matt much longer at the helm if he can't get processes under control. No-one at these levels tolerates such a high level of failure for long.

 

[emiraspain]

My car has been at PDI now for 6 weeks, CS do not know why have no answers. I think Lotus have made a big mistake with not involving their agents (dealers) with the delivery process including PDI. If the dealers received the car damaged/faulty at least the end customer could be advised that it needs work which will completed at the dealer facilities and then delivered to the customer. Lotus CS have always been very poor even before Geely so nothing has improved from manufacturing right through to cumstomer liason.

while I certainly believe this is what they are telling you, I simply dont believe its actually true.
PDI will not correct any faults, just find them, so unless its actually unmovable, it makes no sense for it to be there. I'd have to imagine it had an/some issues at PDI and was sent back and is now awaiting rectification at hethel.... but to be even more honest, I think its probably not even left hethel and hasn't been finished in the first place... my point being, you cant after 2 3 4 5 6 weeks trust what CS tell you. Your car could be upside down on the track and they would not know it.
If I were you I would be livid and would be writing an email to someone way above CS..... 6 weeks... come on.... you can figure out the email easy enough. Its not your fault obviously, but I dont know how you can take it laying down....I'd have told them where to shove it after week 4.
Email an exec... get them on it....

 

[emiraspain]

Thanks Tom. I appreciate all the work you have put into running this forum.

I doubt they had a ferry booked and I doubt very much that a paint issue was suddenly found on my car Fter PDI.
My build was apparently complete in November and I paid for the car in full in December.

I'm afraid I simply don't believe anything Lotus say any more. I have run mynown business for many years and this is not the type of company I want to do business with.

If I was a betting man, I would say Geely are watching what is happening and I don't give Matt much longer at the helm if he can't get processes under control. No-one at these levels tolerates such a high level of failure for long.

I echo those sentiments, I doubt the same management will be in place in 12 months. Ive nothing against the boss, but he does not come across as a boss or someone who can control / fix / trouble shoot / get things right.... I dont know him, just reading and jumping to big conclusions based on interviews and appearances.

Now I think someone wants to see your incoming phone records....... hard to show whats not there though .
Let us know how you get on with your refund..... quite shocking what they have done to you.... Things like this put even more doubts in others minds!

 

[DJS]

Thanks Tom. I appreciate all the work you have put into running this forum.

I doubt they had a ferry booked and I doubt very much that a paint issue was suddenly found on my car Fter PDI.
My build was apparently complete in November and I paid for the car in full in December.

I'm afraid I simply don't believe anything Lotus say any more. I have run mynown business for many years and this is not the type of company I want to do business with.

If I was a betting man, I would say Geely are watching what is happening and I don't give Matt much longer at the helm if he can't get processes under control. No-one at these levels tolerates such a high level of failure for long.

I agree Matt is in big trouble, if I were Lotus I would be all over you on Monday morning trying to appease this situation ensuring you are given Lotus undivided attention your also an Eletre depositor for god sake.

Mike just stop for a second don't jump the gun and let Lotus try and resolve this issue for you early next week, if you are ignored then I agree just walk. Please keep us updated.