Purchase Research - SO72PZL

[fraz]

Hello all!

I am looking at the above vehicle, and was all ready to go for it until I found out the one previous owner was a business - Which turns out to be Lotus.

The car is with an official dealer - Lotus in Hamilton/Glasgow, and they have said it was Lotus that owned it and bought in from them, but cant give any other info on what purpose Lotus had for it.

Its done just over 3000 miles so its not been sitting doing nothing. They say its definitely not been tracked and “they can tell from the ECU” its never been driven hard…

But I can’t understand why it was registered in Scotland, by Lotus, when their only dealer in Scotland is the one telling me they dont know what it was used for! Anyone got any thoughts or feedback?

I dont mind that it is an early model, in some ways I prefer it as door paint is currently being fixed and I can make sure all other known issues are checked/rectified. Plus I still get a full 12 months lotus warranty.

So its just this mysterious “lotus” use I want to understand!

Thanks!

 

[MR69ALB]

I bought my car from a dealer a 24 plate first registered to lotus in Scotland
3000 miles on the clock last year
Been a cracker without any faults so far, i have put 10,000 miles on since in less than a year
Its a car its mechanical and not a living thing, it either is working and in perfect condition or its faulty and any faults will be obvious after an inspection.
If it suits your requirements buy it and enjoy
Cheers

 

[geoffbland]

There's always the chance that the dealership is saying Lotus was the previous owner as the dealership think that sounds "better". It would be weird for Lotus to buy one of their own cars from the dealership. If you do an google image search on the registration number you may find something.
Get it in writing that they dealership have said that it has not been driven hard & make sure you get the warranty extension in writing too.

 

[Whitey]

Ask the dealer to provide you with the ecu printout which will show the revs that have been used and how long at each rev level.

 

[Beardedbradley]

SO at the start means it was first registered in Scotland. My car was owned by Lotus Technology Innovative registered LJ at the start and it was based in south london. Mine appears to have been used by a member of staff for private purposes, due to the dealer failing to erase the sat nav history.

 

[MiamiBlue]

I would simply buy on condition. The Toyota 2GR V6 is pretty much bullet proof and can be driven hard without issue. (Has there ever been even one single report of an engine failure on an Emira?)
Instead I would be looking at the common issues, electrics, paint, A/C etc

 

[BLUEMIRA]

Last car before my Emira that I bought was a Porsche and it has a similar previous internal registration. It had only 2000km on the clock and the dealership claimed it was an "Porsche executive" car.
I have had zero problems with it and I have owned it since 2021. 24,000km now.

 

[Nick Sticks]

As it's coming up for its 3rd birthday on the 23rd November 2025 the manufactures warranty will be finishing.
The 12 months warranty you would be getting must be from the dealer?
I would check exactly what that covers for peace of mind.

For the age of the car 3,000 miles is low for a normal driver. However I have talked to people who have similar aged cars with only 1,000 miles on it because they also drive other sporty cars.

Let's do some guessing using the available dates.

First registered 23/11/2022 and owned and used by Lotus by one or more employees.
Date of last V5C logbook change 14/01/2025 presumably to the Glasgow Lotus dealer.
That's just over 2 years between those dates so the yearly mileage of 1,500 is slightly higher than if it was over 3 years.
Question: has the car been sitting at the dealer doing nothing since last January?

Or maybe the car did virtually no miles up to January this year at which point the Glasgow dealer got it and put on those miles in the last 9 months?

None of the above is necessarily bad but wouldn't it be nice to know?

 

[fraz]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, much appreciated!

I will ask all the questions above and will let the condition do a lot of the talking!

 

[SimonT]

Hello all!

I am looking at the above vehicle, and was all ready to go for it until I found out the one previous owner was a business - Which turns out to be Lotus.

The car is with an official dealer - Lotus in Hamilton/Glasgow, and they have said it was Lotus that owned it and bought in from them, but cant give any other info on what purpose Lotus had for it.

Its done just over 3000 miles so its not been sitting doing nothing. They say its definitely not been tracked and “they can tell from the ECU” its never been driven hard…

But I can’t understand why it was registered in Scotland, by Lotus, when their only dealer in Scotland is the one telling me they dont know what it was used for! Anyone got any thoughts or feedback?

I dont mind that it is an early model, in some ways I prefer it as door paint is currently being fixed and I can make sure all other known issues are checked/rectified. Plus I still get a full 12 months lotus warranty.

So its just this mysterious “lotus” use I want to understand!

Thanks!

Lotus made cars available to some staff, these would at some point be handed back and offered either to Lotus dealers or other 3rd party dealers, eg Auto100.co.uk.

The warranty won't be a 'Lotus warranty' but via a 3rd party ie Car Care Plan in conjunction with Lotus. This has been offered for 6/7 months now and should be available to existing owners this month (CS confirmed this last week).

I can't find the car on Autotrader or the Lotus dealers website, has it gone or have you put a deposit down? Needs an MOT in 40 days too. Doors being done or been done? 3/4 month wait for parts then 3 weeks to paint and fit. Is yellow the colour you want?

 

[fraz]

Hi Simon, thanks for the reply.

That makes sense.

Regarding the warranty, I have asked about it and been advised it is fully comprehensive and “just the same as the manufacturers warranty” but will check if it is with a 3rd party.

The doors are being done right now, car should be back on site this week for me to see.

Yes, yellow or red for me.

 

[fraz]

And yes, I have put a deposit down to hold it until I see it.

 

[fraz]

Just had confirmation that it is a Lotus warranty and not through a 3rd party.

 

[geoffbland]

And yes, I have put a deposit down to hold it until I see it.

Cool - let us know if you buy it. Good luck!

 

[fraz]

Will do, thanks!

Looking forward to getting back in a Lotus after a long time away!

I had an S2 111S back in 2002 and loved it (until someone re-arranged the rear end at a roundabout) but as I have got older the creature comforts of the Emira are much more appealing now!

Cool - let us know if you buy it. Good luck!