USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[kertong]

Strange - just to add a data point, my car was on the 3/29 boat, and I took delivery on 4/26 from lotus los gatos. Strange it's been so piecemeal with so much time between batches.

 

[neiru37]

Are you doing finance part before it arrives or in person when it's ready?

I am bringing a pre-approval from my credit union before taking delivery.

In fact, I already applied and got approved for a loan 4 weeks ago because Lotus Boardwalk was getting their first shipment of cars that week and me being the 25th depositor made me think mine was going to arrive soon. That pre-approval expires today and now I'm going to have to re-apply and get my credit pulled again

 

[neiru37]

My car arrived on the 3/29 boat and I still haven’t gotten a call from Boardwalk about the car being on a truck.

Reckon mine’s on the same truck! 4/20 arrival at port.

And just like that -- received text from dealer that my car is on a truck inbound.

Woo truck mates! Mine arrived 4/6. Crazy how cars from different batches of boats end up in different batches of trucks.

Boardwalk mentioned that they get roughly 1-2 trucks per week, so while we might not all be truck mates, ours would probably arrive within the same week. Hopefully.

 

[swisscheese]

Hi All,

I have been stalking this forum for awhile without making an account. It has been a roller coaster of emotions for me for almost 3 years. Today I received the text that my car just arrived. It has been a long wait for me as I was a July 2021 depositor.

My specs are:

• Seneca Blue
• Tan Interior
• Black pack
• 6MT
• Touring suspension

For those who have picked up your car do you have any advice for me to look into before and during the delivery phase?

1. I was told I would be getting the vehicle at MSRP since I was one of the early depositors (Is everyone getting their vehicles at MSRP?)
2. Are there common issues owners found out after purchase that would be good to look into during the delivery
3. What are the typical fees for Galpin Lotus owners (deliver, title, dealer fees etc)

I plan on going through the pre-delivery checklist threat in this forum as well.

Thanks in advance,
SwissCheese

 

[Dragoon]

After 1,045 days of talking about Emiras here, I finally collected mine today!

It's even better and more special than I thought it would be! I can't wait to get more seat time and break-in miles on it so I can really open it up!

 

[kertong]

I was told I would be getting the vehicle at MSRP since I was one of the early depositors (Is everyone getting their vehicles at MSRP?)

1. Are there common issues owners found out after purchase that would be good to look into during the delivery
2. What are the typical fees for Galpin Lotus owners (deliver, title, dealer fees etc)

Yes, you should be paying MSRP only; I generally don't have a high opinion of dealers especially after the ADM craze during the pandemic; so I wouldn't be surprised if they try to sneak in charges or upsells, but you should hold firm and refuse to pay anything above MSRP (and just to be safe, verify they're charging the promised FE1.0 MSRP that's shown on the window sticker, there was another member here where the dealer tried to switch them to an FE2.0 MSRP price iirc).

The most common gotcha I've seen is to check the rotors - some cars that sat for a while apparently lost a chunk of the pads, and you can see it eat into the rotors in an uneven wear pattern after a short drive (i.e a stripe/line ring around the hub on the face of the rotors). Others may have more but this is the one that comes to mind for me. Check the paint of course, iirc some early on reported unusually bad swirl marks, and some bubbling (though those seem to come on later on in ownership if affected).

I didn't buy through Galpin, but the only charge on top of MSRP was for the full black pack option, and a $2350 destination/port/transportation charge. Standard doc / sales tax / reg fee on top of that. This was at luxury cars los gatos / lotus los gatos in northern california. They were honest, no BS, and very pleasant to work with.

 

[Eagle7]

Hi All,

I have been stalking this forum for awhile without making an account. It has been a roller coaster of emotions for me for almost 3 years. Today I received the text that my car just arrived. It has been a long wait for me as I was a July 2021 depositor.

My specs are:

• Seneca Blue
• Tan Interior
• Black pack
• 6MT
• Touring suspension

For those who have picked up your car do you have any advice for me to look into before and during the delivery phase?

1. I was told I would be getting the vehicle at MSRP since I was one of the early depositors (Is everyone getting their vehicles at MSRP?)
2. Are there common issues owners found out after purchase that would be good to look into during the delivery
3. What are the typical fees for Galpin Lotus owners (deliver, title, dealer fees etc)

I plan on going through the pre-delivery checklist threat in this forum as well.

Thanks in advance,
SwissCheese

Congrats and welcome to the forum!

Look it over for body panel alignments, any scratches etc, and also on anything in the interior. Check the brake rotors to make sure they're clean (no rust), check tire pressures (should be 29 front 32 rear). If you pick it up at the dealer, they should go over how to pair your phone, set things up on the infotainment screen with all it's preferences, etc. I'd recommend choosing the "Reset Audio" button on the screen when checking the audio preferences which seems to improve the sound system performance.

For the Homelink system, if you have a garage with an automatic door opener, when you're at your garage, hold the remote opener next to the inside rear view mirror, then press and hold at the same time both the open button on the remote and one of the 3 buttons on the mirror. You should see the light on the door opener in the garage flash twice, and that's it. Your Homelink is paired.

When setting the mirrors, their position is linked to the seat memory buttons. To set all of them together, press the M button on the door panel once, then make all your adjustments. Once you're done, then press and hold either button 1 or 2 on the door panel and you'll hear a beep. That's it. Your seat and mirror settings are now memorized. If you decide later to tweak any of those settings, like maybe the seat or a side mirror, follow the same procedure above and it will update your settings. Just as a tip, choose button 1 for your driving settings, and then move the seat all the way back and set that as memory setting 2. That makes it easier to get in and out of the car. After the settings are done, press and hold button 2 until the seat moves all the way back to get out of the car. When you get back in, press and hold button 1 until the seat stops moving forward and you're back at your driving settings.

I'm trying to think of anything the dealer might not tell you, or hasn't been generally posted in the forum, but that's about it. It's a wonderful little car; fun to be in and drive. The brakes are VERY touchy at first, whereas the clutch has a fairly long throw.

Have fun and let us know how your experience goes!

 

[robrmon]

My car has the ppf finished. Picking it up tomorrow hopefully!

 

[KAR120C]

FWIW. The home link programming procedure requires the use of the #1 position button to enter program mode. If you daily the car the button tends to wear out and eventually fail. Then attempting to program #2 or 3 for your garage is an experience to say the least. Short version, program your most used button in the #2 position.

Source Jaguar and Land Rover. Not once but twice until I learned my lesson.

That is incorrect for the Emira and every other car that I’ve owned with Homelink.

Each button is individual and if one fails you can just program with another button.

The only time a button #1 failure would be a problem is if you want to clear all the codes.

 

[Balboa]

Mine was on the same boat, and I'm IN the same boat.... all puns fully intended.

Its ridiculous, sad... maddening. I can't yell at my dealer, they have zero say in it... its Lotus being a totally incompetent company with zero idea of how to run logistics. For years they were delivering a few hundred cars a year in NA, so the Emira is already 3, maybe 4 years worth of cars being sent over in a few months? They had an extra 18 months, almost 2 years to figure out logistics once the cars got here... nothing was done on that front clearly.

The message continues to be "Just a little longer... its worth the wait... you'll forget all about these issues once you have the car"... and I'm sure that is true to some extent.

In my particular case, this whole experience for a second time (1st was the Evora 400 that I dropped out of for an Aston after similar f*ckery around delivery time frames) ensures that this will be my last Lotus. I'm not opposed to a future fast EV saloon or SUV, or maybe even small sports car (I have a Taycan CT currently), but it won't be from Lotus. They have managed to sour me enough on the brand, that I'm not a "Lotus" fan... I'm an Emira fan... one and done.

Exactly how I felt - wait until you walk into the dealership to see her for the first time. Butterflies...

 

[UCLAFC]

I am bringing a pre-approval from my credit union before taking delivery.

In fact, I already applied and got approved for a loan 4 weeks ago because Lotus Boardwalk was getting their first shipment of cars that week and me being the 25th depositor made me think mine was going to arrive soon. That pre-approval expires today and now I'm going to have to re-apply and get my credit pulled again

Something similar happened to me with financing. I deposited very late with Eurocar (Lotus OC)expecting base allocation. They called me a little over 3 weeks ago with a list of orphaned Emiras going for MSRP, one at FE1 pricing that was very close to my desired spec. Given the pricing I was more than willing to go for it despite a few options not matching exactly what I wanted. Car was supposed to arrive 2 weeks later so I got on financing immediately. Today I got the dreaded call that the orphaned Emira was no longer available (original depositor regretted canceling and will be taking delivery of the car) back to waiting and loan approval will expire early next week.

 

[Dragoon]

Congrats and welcome to the forum!

Look it over for body panel alignments, any scratches etc, and also on anything in the interior. Check the brake rotors to make sure they're clean (no rust), check tire pressures (should be 29 front 32 rear). If you pick it up at the dealer, they should go over how to pair your phone, set things up on the infotainment screen with all it's preferences, etc. I'd recommend choosing the "Reset Audio" button on the screen when checking the audio preferences which seems to improve the sound system performance.

For the Homelink system, if you have a garage with an automatic door opener, when you're at your garage, hold the remote opener next to the inside rear view mirror, then press and hold at the same time both the open button on the remote and one of the 3 buttons on the mirror. You should see the light on the door opener in the garage flash twice, and that's it. Your Homelink is paired.

When setting the mirrors, their position is linked to the seat memory buttons. To set all of them together, press the M button on the door panel once, then make all your adjustments. Once you're done, then press and hold either button 1 or 2 on the door panel and you'll hear a beep. That's it. Your seat and mirror settings are now memorized. If you decide later to tweak any of those settings, like maybe the seat or a side mirror, follow the same procedure above and it will update your settings. Just as a tip, choose button 1 for your driving settings, and then move the seat all the way back and set that as memory setting 2. That makes it easier to get in and out of the car. After the settings are done, press and hold button 2 until the seat moves all the way back to get out of the car. When you get back in, press and hold button 1 until the seat stops moving forward and you're back at your driving settings.

I'm trying to think of anything the dealer might not tell you, or hasn't been generally posted in the forum, but that's about it. It's a wonderful little car; fun to be in and drive. The brakes are VERY touchy at first, whereas the clutch has a fairly long throw.

Have fun and let us know how your experience goes!

This is very helpful, thank you!

 

[@Life411]

Emira vs Elise ground clearance?

I haven't found this by searching, so hope someone can point me to it or chime in. I'm wondering how the front ground clearance of the Emira is and how it compares to the Elise. What have been your experiences?

For context, when entering our driveway in the Elise, I always take it at a 45 degree angle and even so I will occasionally scrape...especially if there's a passenger. So I've ordered the below curb ramps out of an overabundance of caution. But there are other places I will not take my Elise and I just wonder how different it will be with the Emira. TIA

 

[Go Kart]

Emira vs Elise ground clearance?

I haven't found this by searching, so hope someone can point me to it or chime in. I'm wondering how the front ground clearance of the Emira is and how it compares to the Elise. What have been your experiences?

For context, when entering our driveway in the Elise, I always take it at a 45 degree angle and even so I will occasionally scrape...especially if there's a passenger. So I've ordered the below curb ramps out of an overabundance of caution. But there are other places I will not take my Elise and I just wonder how different it will be with the Emira. TIA

View attachment 44046

Here’s a thread on ground clearance/scraping.

Thread 'Does the car scrape easily?'
https://www.emiraforum.com/threads/does-the-car-scrape-easily.4227/

 

[@Life411]

Here’s a thread on ground clearance/scraping.

Thread 'Does the car scrape easily?'
https://www.emiraforum.com/threads/does-the-car-scrape-easily.4227/

Thanks, that was super useful! Seems the Executive Summary is that the Emira provides a decent amount of front-end clearance compared to many sports cars and definitely a ton more than my Elise!

I guess the one caution I'll add for USA/CAD owners is about concrete parking blocks. One of the local Emira owners told me he miscalculated and scraped on one of these. Evidently some are the exact perfect height to scrape the front before those alloy bumpers which are located a few inches in. Something about putting the car in neutral on approach turned off or reset the parking sensors so they didn't detect it.

 

[robrmon]

And so it begins (ps my ppf looks amazing, no strange cuts). All the best to the rest of the people waiting for their cars.

I’ll see you in the issues thread.

 

[kitkat]

And so it begins (ps my ppf looks amazing, no strange cuts). All the best to the rest of the people waiting for their cars.

I’ll see you in the issues thread.

View attachment 44077

very nice can you show how they did your side vents?

 

[robrmon]

And so it begins (ps my ppf looks amazing, no strange cuts). All the best to the rest of the people waiting for their cars.

View attachment 44077

very nice can you show how they did your side vents?

I don’t think they did the side only the rear ones, but I can ask him to do the side

 

[kitkat]

I don’t think they did the side only the rear ones, but I can ask him to do the side

i mean the paint surrounding the side vents

 

[robrmon]

i mean the paint surrounding the side vents

Oh sorry, on super close inspection I saw what appeared to be a 2 inch triangle relief cut that was filled perfectly with a small piece of PPF. I can send a picture if it helps. it looks so good and unnoticeable, entirely flat to the touch.

I had all the black trim on the outside, including the roof and pillars covered in black PPF even though the car already has a blackpack.