On-the-road Costs - am i missing something?

[teamvxracing]

Well, £1000 per car OTR cost, 100 cars per week, that is £100,000 per week or well over £5 million per year. I'd hope they can do a fair bit of coping for that

it would be a viable business , even if you outsourced it , say to Lotus on Track , or got Andrew Walsh involved maybe partnership with Jonathan Palmer's Snetterton facilities current or future.

 

[Pav]

Nice problem to have!

They could offer some overtime to the trimmers reassigned to torque wrench duties (the C4 Lotus documentary) to stitch the V6 manual steering wheels

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

In terms of an update, myself and a few other members have contacted Lotus directly to enquire to the £1045 cost.

I will of course keep you posted with any feedback

 

[thenextchapter]

Can I ask anyone in the know about otr options?
Can I pick the car up from Hethel
Can I use my own detailer at Hethel pre pick up
Will these if possible, affect the otr price

Thanks

 

[TomE]

it would be a viable business , even if you outsourced it , say to Lotus on Track , or got Andrew Walsh involved maybe partnership with Jonathan Palmer's Snetterton facilities current or future.

The Lotus Driving Academy was being run as a standalone organisation based at Hethel. But I think it has now been brought in-house. That should give them the basis for creating a collection experience and scaling it up.

I'm tempted to book an LDA course in June around the time of collection anyway, as I want to do the Silver Licence before tracking my Exige.

 

[TomE]

Can I ask anyone in the know about otr options?
Can I pick the car up from Hethel
Can I use my own detailer at Hethel pre pick up
Will these if possible, affect the otr price

Thanks

From what we've seen, the OTR costs don't seem to include anything optional! It's delivery via dealer or direct to your home/work but same cost. The other parts seem to be bundled in and can't be changed, but people have asked Customer Care.

Hethel collection is being considered by Lotus and they'd like to offer it if they can.

I doubt you'll be able to use your own detailer at Hethel pre pick up, but I think they're looking into offering some options on factory-fitted PPF. You would be able to get the car delivered straight to your own detailer rather than to dealer/home, which achieves the same result.

 

[donskibeat]

... but I think they're looking into offering some options on factory-fitted PPF.

Hope that happens as would make things so much easier, especially for us 5 minutes away from Hethel hoping to collect from factory

 

[dave355]

What a shame the Otr road cost are so excessive sours the purchase a bit .I’ve never paid that high a premium on previous Range Rover/Ferrari/mini purchases .seams to be high demand and what we can get away with which is disappointing on investin in a new brand (for me).let’s hope they make it very special with factory collection/tour vip treatment ect

 

[Ubergreg]

So I spoke to them at Hethel about how they are going to make it work with the dealerships (as they don’t seem to give a damn) because they have been kept out of the loop. They told me they are changing things up. So instead of the dealer getting a slice of the cost of the car they will get a handling fee. And it would appear that it’s us that’s paying that fee. So if you do dealer pick up they get that money. If you have it delivered the delivery company gets it. And when I asked about factory pick up they said they aren’t geared up for that yet. But want to do it in the future.
When I bought a Porsche you get the dealer hand over, the free driver day at Silverstone etc etc. but it’s not “free” Porsche is expensive, their showrooms aren’t that flashy by accident. Porsche is one of the most profitable companies in the world. Lotus aren’t in that position so right now it’s more transparent.
I don’t want to pay it either. But would I rather be paying £100k for the car for free plates and some flowers? Err no.

 

[EM33RA]

We have $3000 dealer delivery fee down under.

Our taxes are compound taxes. To start with there's UK import duty (5%) + GST (like VAT) (10%) + Luxury Car Tax (33%) + Stamp Duty (7-9% depending on where you live). Then the $3K dealer delivery fee is on top - to basically get an apprentice to wash your car and affix a registration plate and pocket the difference.

Yes we get hard done by every step of the way!

Always room for negotiation on porch for the car I’m sure….

 

[bbpxbbpx]

So I spoke to them at Hethel about how they are going to make it work with the dealerships (as they don’t seem to give a damn) because they have been kept out of the loop. They told me they are changing things up. So instead of the dealer getting a slice of the cost of the car they will get a handling fee. And it would appear that it’s us that’s paying that fee. So if you do dealer pick up they get that money. If you have it delivered the delivery company gets it. And when I asked about factory pick up they said they aren’t geared up for that yet. But want to do it in the future.
When I bought a Porsche you get the dealer hand over, the free driver day at Silverstone etc etc. but it’s not “free” Porsche is expensive, their showrooms aren’t that flashy by accident. Porsche is one of the most profitable companies in the world. Lotus aren’t in that position so right now it’s more transparent.
I don’t want to pay it either. But would I rather be paying £100k for the car for free plates and some flowers? Err no.

A Boxster / Cayman isn't at £100k, but is quite comparable with the Emira V6 FE.

The OTR cost is excessive / disappointing although probably not a deal breaker for most, so they will likely get away with it. Just curious if there was any OTR cost on the other models that are now discontinued.

For those that use their own detailer, the prep and valet is not necessarily adding any value. Paying for valeting on a new car purchase doesn't sound right. Feels like buying an expensive watch but you need to pay extra for the watchmaker to polish the case.

Delivery and petrol doesn't cost £1000.

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

So I spoke to them at Hethel about how they are going to make it work with the dealerships (as they don’t seem to give a damn) because they have been kept out of the loop. They told me they are changing things up. So instead of the dealer getting a slice of the cost of the car they will get a handling fee. And it would appear that it’s us that’s paying that fee. So if you do dealer pick up they get that money. If you have it delivered the delivery company gets it. And when I asked about factory pick up they said they aren’t geared up for that yet. But want to do it in the future.
When I bought a Porsche you get the dealer hand over, the free driver day at Silverstone etc etc. but it’s not “free” Porsche is expensive, their showrooms aren’t that flashy by accident. Porsche is one of the most profitable companies in the world. Lotus aren’t in that position so right now it’s more transparent.
I don’t want to pay it either. But would I rather be paying £100k for the car for free plates and some flowers? Err no.

Angry at the fact that we have to pay the handling fee effectively but agree the price could be more steep.

Swings and roundabouts....

 

[Pav]

Here's a question for the nerd and/or OCD-types (I'm not the only one on here I bet..)

The number plate. What's it going to say along the bottom if you get delivery from the factory.

Granted it's a long time before it matters (delivery or re-sale) but having Bell & Colvill or a respected dealer name along the bottom is nice to have.

 

[TomE]

The ex-factory cars first registered by Lotus and then passed out to dealers to sell as nearly new had "Lotus Cars - Hethel" on the bottom of the plate and usually had an AU-prefix (Norwich) registration mark.

/Lotus nerd

 

[Pav]

The ex-factory cars first registered by Lotus and then passed out to dealers to sell as nearly new had "Lotus Cars - Hethel" on the bottom of the plate and usually had an AU-prefix (Norwich) registration mark.

/Lotus nerd

Thanks Tom. Just the kind of detail I hoped for!

 

[Daz]

The ex-factory cars first registered by Lotus and then passed out to dealers to sell as nearly new had "Lotus Cars - Hethel" on the bottom of the plate and usually had an AU-prefix (Norwich) registration mark.

/Lotus nerd

Isn’t AU the chemical element for gold? Surely an Oman for what is the gold standard of motor cars

 

[Leonard]

So I spoke to them at Hethel about how they are going to make it work with the dealerships (as they don’t seem to give a damn) because they have been kept out of the loop. They told me they are changing things up. So instead of the dealer getting a slice of the cost of the car they will get a handling fee. And it would appear that it’s us that’s paying that fee. So if you do dealer pick up they get that money. If you have it delivered the delivery company gets it. And when I asked about factory pick up they said they aren’t geared up for that yet. But want to do it in the future.
When I bought a Porsche you get the dealer hand over, the free driver day at Silverstone etc etc. but it’s not “free” Porsche is expensive, their showrooms aren’t that flashy by accident. Porsche is one of the most profitable companies in the world. Lotus aren’t in that position so right now it’s more transparent.
I don’t want to pay it either. But would I rather be paying £100k for the car for free plates and some flowers? Err no.

Lotus can dump the car on the road outside the factory if i save over a 1000 pounds

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

As promised, the response from Lotus,its seems pretty standard to the other users responses also:

"
We have queried the delivery charge with headquarters to gain a better understanding of this cost.



The delivery cost covers transporting the car to our delivery partners and then to your chosen agency or home address. This cost also includes a full tank of fuel, number plates and registration charges, a high level pre-delivery inspection designed for sports cars, and finally cleaning and valet of the car.



As you can imagine, with a car being transported to different locations the car is likely to get dirty on it’s journey hence why there is a cleaning and valet charge. This cost is not optional and is required for delivery of the vehicle, whether it is to a chosen agency or home address.



We are hoping to be able to offer collection from Hethel as an experience option when deliveries commence, this will be a cost option. More details on this will follow in the future. I do apologise if this was not the answer you were expecting and for any inconvenience caused."

 

[donskibeat]

"We are hoping to be able to offer collection from Hethel as an experience option when deliveries commence, this will be a cost option. More details on this will follow in the future. I do apologise if this was not the answer you were expecting and for any inconvenience caused."

Surely we are already paying this cost or at least most of it by paying for delivery costs which wouldn't be relevant if picking up from Hethel as they won't be "transporting the car to our delivery partners and then to your chosen agency or home address", they will just be driving it a few metres out of the factory or storage area....

 

[Leonard]

"We are hoping to be able to offer collection from Hethel as an experience option when deliveries commence, this will be a cost option. More details on this will follow in the future. I do apologise if this was not the answer you were expecting and for any inconvenience caused."

Surely we are already paying this cost or at least most of it by paying for delivery costs which wouldn't be relevant if picking up from Hethel as they won't be "transporting the car to our delivery partners and then to your chosen agency or home address", they will just be driving it a few metres out of the factory or storage area....

Yup. Rubbish