I don't normally leave reviews like this for dealers, generally because I like to be a positive person and spread joy not hate 
but I feel compelled to given my recent purchasing experience.
I am a pretty serious researcher. I've called every Lotus dealer in the United States looking for orphaned cars and built a spreadsheet of every car, availability, color, options, costs, fees... I even have a notes column for how much of a dick the dealer or experience was on the phone. Here is a thumbnail (you'll have to pay for the real version!):
I first narrowed my choices down to my top options and categorized, colorized and prioritized each available car, and removed scumbag dealers who were overcharging. This left 8 cars to choose from. At the top of my list was a wee little dealer, nestled into a BMW motorcycle shop called Cape Fear. They had the perfect car, a green/diamond/yellow caliper car, with one hitch, they didn't have confirmation the car could be sold yet due to the original orderer being in-flux. I could either wait, potentially for weeks, and trust the dealer to come through with their assumption that it would become available, or hop on another car I knew was ready to go. The huge risk here was that if I waited too long, all of the other cars could vanish.
I like to think I have a pretty good BS meter, so I put trust in the two Shanes [Shane (Sales) and Shane (GM)] over there and went with my gut. I had very good initial interactions and rapport with Shane (sales) and he seemed like a straight shooter and true enthusiast - soft spoken, articulate and not pushy. If you haven't already guessed, I can be a bit neurotic when making large purchases like this, especially sight unseen, so I'm sure I bugged Shane (sales) a bit too much, but he was patient with me and answered all of my questions to my satisfaction, and then some, which really put me at ease. We even chatted cars and BMW bikes for a bit as I have owned a few of them too.
The wait was not easy.
The day he let me know the car was available, I knew I had made the right choice. They didn't up-charge or tack on exorbitant doc fees. They didn't tack on "required" stupid PPF or ceramic coating charges. They didn't make me do anything I didn't want to and even took care of my out of state reg/plate for me. MANY other dealers (inside and outside of Lotus) take advantage of folks when supply and demand is out of balance, but not here.
Shane was kind enough to walk through a checklist I sent that covered the top issues I've read across the forums and saw in videos online. I tried to not impose too heavily on him as I knew they were knee-deep in fulfilling preorders and seasonal bike sales, but being 3 hours from the nearest dealer, it really was worth it to ask for the help in checking the car out carefully as it would be much easier to fix an issue before it left than later. I'm pasting the list here, which might be useful for some:
Exterior:
There were some challenges with the transport side, but this is of no fault of Shane (sales) who had requested the correct low entry requirements. In my experience, finding a good transporter is hard, and its sort of a luck of the draw thing. The first one he reserved did not have a low enough entry approach angle for the car, so instead of risking it with stacking boards or other tom foolery, Shane opted to find another one with pics of them loading a Ferrari. More work for Shane, and more time for me to wait, but a good call and judgement. The second one showed up 3 hours late at 8pm on a Saturday and Shane (GM) left a family social event early to meet them. He didn't brag about that or drag me through the coals, he just did it; I only found out later in passing. I don't know a lot of salesmen who would have done that, much less an all-mighty GM!
The car finally arrived after a 11 hour journey taking two days, but when the door opened to the enclosed trailer, I was in horror as the car was completely covered in a dust very reminiscent in color and texture of concrete dust (the pic above is actually after I went around blowing it off the best I could). The transporter must have been moving building materials or something previously. I'm sure there was no way Shane (GM) could have seen this inside the trailer in the dark, or even if he did would have thought it would be an issue - this was a transporter issue, not a Cape Fear issue, BUT Shane & Shane, without asking, offered up the cash to have the car professionally detailed and send him the bill. My jaw dropped, mostly because I don't know any dealers that would offer hundreds of dollars AFTER a car is sold to make a customer happy. That's really unique.
I've purchased a lot of cars in my day, perhaps 35. I would put Lotus Cape Fear's honorability, attention to detail, communication and appropriateness of dealing with situations very, very near the top. For a small team, they really do work well together and excel. I do not hesitate to recommend them to others. I believe they also have a complementary sister Land Rover Cape Fear dealership which I am sure is run with the same ethos.
I felt compelled to write this because dealers like LCF are unique and should be rewarded. Perhaps this review will encourage another to place an order there. At no time did I feel like I couldn't trust them, and anyone who knows me will tell you I've had some real horror stories with dealers and my guard is WAY up when dealing with salesmen. Great job guys, I wish you continued success. Thanks so much for my new baby, I love it!
Ps - Shane (sales), thanks for the free hats for the kiddos (I had mentioned the kids were looking at them). That was a nice treat to find in the boot!
but I feel compelled to given my recent purchasing experience.I am a pretty serious researcher. I've called every Lotus dealer in the United States looking for orphaned cars and built a spreadsheet of every car, availability, color, options, costs, fees... I even have a notes column for how much of a dick the dealer or experience was on the phone. Here is a thumbnail (you'll have to pay for the real version!)
:I first narrowed my choices down to my top options and categorized, colorized and prioritized each available car, and removed scumbag dealers who were overcharging. This left 8 cars to choose from. At the top of my list was a wee little dealer, nestled into a BMW motorcycle shop called Cape Fear. They had the perfect car, a green/diamond/yellow caliper car, with one hitch, they didn't have confirmation the car could be sold yet due to the original orderer being in-flux. I could either wait, potentially for weeks, and trust the dealer to come through with their assumption that it would become available, or hop on another car I knew was ready to go. The huge risk here was that if I waited too long, all of the other cars could vanish.
I like to think I have a pretty good BS meter, so I put trust in the two Shanes [Shane (Sales) and Shane (GM)] over there and went with my gut. I had very good initial interactions and rapport with Shane (sales) and he seemed like a straight shooter and true enthusiast - soft spoken, articulate and not pushy. If you haven't already guessed, I can be a bit neurotic when making large purchases like this, especially sight unseen, so I'm sure I bugged Shane (sales) a bit too much, but he was patient with me and answered all of my questions to my satisfaction, and then some, which really put me at ease. We even chatted cars and BMW bikes for a bit as I have owned a few of them too.
The wait was not easy.
The day he let me know the car was available, I knew I had made the right choice. They didn't up-charge or tack on exorbitant doc fees. They didn't tack on "required" stupid PPF or ceramic coating charges. They didn't make me do anything I didn't want to and even took care of my out of state reg/plate for me. MANY other dealers (inside and outside of Lotus) take advantage of folks when supply and demand is out of balance, but not here.
Shane was kind enough to walk through a checklist I sent that covered the top issues I've read across the forums and saw in videos online. I tried to not impose too heavily on him as I knew they were knee-deep in fulfilling preorders and seasonal bike sales, but being 3 hours from the nearest dealer, it really was worth it to ask for the help in checking the car out carefully as it would be much easier to fix an issue before it left than later. I'm pasting the list here, which might be useful for some:
Exterior:
- Please don’t install the front plate.
- Check for bubbling paint, especially on the doors.
- General look over for scratches on paint/rims/front lip, other blemishes, etc.
- Does trunk open and close easily?
- Check for door seal noise/whistle at 60-80mph
- Any squeaks and rattles?
- With the stereo turned up, check for rattles and that all speakers work (there are no speakers in the door sails).
- Do all buttons work? A/C blows cool? Infotainment..
- Do the wipers streak? All speeds work?
- General engine running/noises
- Does the storage area between the seats close nicely?
There were some challenges with the transport side, but this is of no fault of Shane (sales) who had requested the correct low entry requirements. In my experience, finding a good transporter is hard, and its sort of a luck of the draw thing. The first one he reserved did not have a low enough entry approach angle for the car, so instead of risking it with stacking boards or other tom foolery, Shane opted to find another one with pics of them loading a Ferrari. More work for Shane, and more time for me to wait, but a good call and judgement. The second one showed up 3 hours late at 8pm on a Saturday and Shane (GM) left a family social event early to meet them. He didn't brag about that or drag me through the coals, he just did it; I only found out later in passing. I don't know a lot of salesmen who would have done that, much less an all-mighty GM!
The car finally arrived after a 11 hour journey taking two days, but when the door opened to the enclosed trailer, I was in horror as the car was completely covered in a dust very reminiscent in color and texture of concrete dust (the pic above is actually after I went around blowing it off the best I could). The transporter must have been moving building materials or something previously. I'm sure there was no way Shane (GM) could have seen this inside the trailer in the dark, or even if he did would have thought it would be an issue - this was a transporter issue, not a Cape Fear issue, BUT Shane & Shane, without asking, offered up the cash to have the car professionally detailed and send him the bill. My jaw dropped, mostly because I don't know any dealers that would offer hundreds of dollars AFTER a car is sold to make a customer happy. That's really unique.
I've purchased a lot of cars in my day, perhaps 35. I would put Lotus Cape Fear's honorability, attention to detail, communication and appropriateness of dealing with situations very, very near the top. For a small team, they really do work well together and excel. I do not hesitate to recommend them to others. I believe they also have a complementary sister Land Rover Cape Fear dealership which I am sure is run with the same ethos.
I felt compelled to write this because dealers like LCF are unique and should be rewarded. Perhaps this review will encourage another to place an order there. At no time did I feel like I couldn't trust them, and anyone who knows me will tell you I've had some real horror stories with dealers and my guard is WAY up when dealing with salesmen. Great job guys, I wish you continued success. Thanks so much for my new baby, I love it!
Ps - Shane (sales), thanks for the free hats for the kiddos (I had mentioned the kids were looking at them). That was a nice treat to find in the boot!
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agree! Hands down so far, thee BEST car buying experience I’ve ever had with Shane (sales) and even been getting follow up from their marketing person. Everyone at Cape Fear seems to share the same genuine love and passion for the brand and not once have I feel like this was just a normal car sale. 
