Which are the good UK dealers?

[freefall_junkie]

It is a miracle Lotus have any dealers left in the UK. First of all Lotus tried to cut them out of the sales process entirely with the ‘agency model’. When that proved to be an epic failure, alienating both customers and dealers, they then coerced them into stocking piles of surplus cars, many of which had suffered from prolonged storage outdoors. It is a damning indictment of what Lotus has become that their oldest dealer, B&C, respected by everyone in the Lotus community, will no longer sell new Lotus cars. Same goes for Central in Nottingham.

That is before we get to the poor dealers having to deal with a useless and bureaucratic warranty department and all the shit from the hundreds of cars with paint bubbling, not to mention lengthy delays for parts. Speak to a dealer service manager and you can sense their frustration, even if they are too professional to say it.

Now new sales have slowed to a trickle you really wonder why all the dealers haven’t bailed. Can you imagine being a sales guy having to pretend that an Eletre R makes any sense whatsoever at £120k+?

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

I've used Lotus Colchester for the last two years.
Service work has always been good, but when it has come to warranty work, they like many of us, have fallen foul due to the epic incompetence of the Lotus customer service and warranty teams.
My only complaint is they persist in advertising themselves in all correspondence, phone calls etc as a Hyundai dealer which really annoys me.

I bought my 2nd Emira from Colchester,3 hours drive away.

They advertised it at 3500 miles got there and it was 6800!

Granted i got a small amount off,but p1ssed that I had my heart on the car and missold the mileage by double.

Yes I could have walked away,but after 3 hrs driving I wanted the damn thing.

 

[MiamiBlue]

It is a miracle Lotus have any dealers left in the UK. First of all Lotus tried to cut them out of the sales process entirely with the ‘agency model’. When that proved to be an epic failure, alienating both customers and dealers, they then coerced them into stocking piles of surplus cars, many of which had suffered from prolonged storage outdoors. It is a damning indictment of what Lotus has become that their oldest dealer, B&C, respected by everyone in the Lotus community, will no longer sell new Lotus cars. Same goes for Central in Nottingham.

That is before we get to the poor dealers having to deal with a useless and bureaucratic warranty department and all the shit from the hundreds of cars with paint bubbling, not to mention lengthy delays for parts. Speak to a dealer service manager and you can sense their frustration, even if they are too professional to say it.

I can't remember where I've heard it, but Lotus have been said to "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory". It's so true. They seem to get the hard stuff right (engineer and design a stunning sports car) but then mess everything up with some really stupid management level decisions.

 

[MiamiBlue]

I bought my 2nd Emira from Colchester,3 hours drive away.

They advertised it at 3500 miles got there and it was 6800!

Granted i got a small amount off,but p1ssed that I had my heart on the car and missold the mileage by double.

Yes I could have walked away,but after 3 hrs driving I wanted the damn thing.

Do you think it was purposely misled to get a sale? Or a genuine mistake?

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

Do you think it was purposely misled to get a sale? Or a genuine mistake?

Personally, I think it was intentional misleading to gain interest...