Delivery....... Dealer/Home/Work

[JohnHoward]

Exactly right, the guy dropping the car off will want to leave pretty damn quick. It feels a sub standard buying experience to me, a bit like buying a TV from the internet.
Dealer or Hethel for me.

Having some dude drop it on your driveway and stand around while you inspect every fine detail looking for defects or damage doesn't sound fun to me. If you do that at the dealer/factory, and find something, it is much easier to leave it with them to be addressed. I have no idea if the process would be smooth in a home delivery situation.

You make a good point, but I would hope that Lotus will have something in place to cover this. The Lotus Exec that I spoke to at the roadshow last year said that they were looking to promote home delivery as they move away from reliance on the dealer network.

 

[TomE]

They have taken on a new UK logistics partner, so I'd hope they would have factored in some of this stuff. It needs to be part of the brand and buying experience, not like your new washing machine being delivered by DPD.

Sadly I'm not hopeful about this aspect, given all the other poor customer experience things we're seeing.

 

[Exige2000]

4. Factory
5. Other

I'm probably going to get mine delivered direct to my PPF installer rather than home/work/dealer. But if Lotus offer PPF as a factory fitted option then I'll get it delivered to the dealer. B&C have been very helpful throughout my Lotus ownership and it makes it more of a special occasion plus they get some photos for their PR. Arrive at the dealership to find the car under a cover, do the big reveal, champagne and photos etc.

What do people think about how important it is to build a working relashenship with the dealer ? i like the idear of a factory collection but i am mindful that the dealers are going to struggle in the future due to the way the sales are being processed and i think the dealers are important going forward .
I went to B&C to see the Emira and everyone was very helpful and the Lotus guys help me to understand more details about the car.
My nearest dealer is Colchester or Silverstone , i like the roads that take me to Silverstone so thats top of my list at the moment.

 

[JohnHoward]

What do people think about how important it is to build a working relashenship with the dealer ?

I think that Lotus have (by choice) broken the dealer relationship. I think that the dealer will simply become the service/repair garage which in my case always has very long waits for any work.
I asked a Lotus Exec about why they have effectively sidelined the dealers and I was told (in a nice way) that this was progress and the modern way.
I remember my father complaining that nothing was the same as it used to be and at the time I could never understand that, but I now understand completely!

 

[eclat2emira]

There have been plenty of news stories in the last couple of weeks about the reshaping of the dealer network - globally as well as UK.

As I understand it, the network needed to change for a number reasons:

1. The new lotus offering (e.g the full new model range they'll have in a few years' time) meant that not all existing dealers were right for the the new offering in terms of scale, facilities, location or regional customer base.

2. Similarly, not all existing dealers wanted to be part of the new Lotus set up and model range - and absolutely their prerogative to terminate their dealer agreement if this was the right time to do that.

3. Auto sales are changing globally and one impact of this is the drive to reduce the cost of sales by reducing the size of dealer networks - and the dealer margin.

This is not unlike the rest of retail, where online is forcing "bricks & mortar" business to reduce their cost-bases if they want to stay in the game.

Lotus are actually at the vanguard of this change - look out for similar things happening to other networks. In many cases they will end up with 20 regional "brand centres" supported by some smaller dealer sites and service centres.

The brand centres will be larger, have many more demonstrators and offer a full interactive brand experience. The more up-market the model, the more the experience will be turned up to 11.

I'm not saying I like this change but I understand the need for it. The real premium brands - those a level or two above Lotus - Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley, Lambo, Rolls, etc., will change less as they have fewer dealerships to begin with and the customer experience is a bigger part of the car purchase and buying decision.

If you are lucky enough to have a well-established, dyed in the wool, enthusiast-focused Lotus dealership near you count your blessings!

 

[ksegg]

You can get it delivered to your house?! Not sure if that's a rest-of-the-world option, but I never heard of that as an option in the States.

 

[TomE]

It’s a new thing for Lotus with the Emira and only in the UK so far. Part of the new direct retailing approach.

 

[SJR202]

If the factory collection is more than a 'collection' e.g factory tour or similar then I'd do that for something a bit more 'special'
Otherwise from B&C who have been great since I first visited them 15 years ago with an Elise, agree with above, if the car turns up on your drive with a mark/chip etc its going to be a faff to get sorted, if its at the dealer, it'll hopefully be sorted before you turn up or while you'll waste a journey it'll be a lot easier to just say, can you sort that and I'll come back when its done.
Also like the idea mentioned of continuing to build a good relationship with the dealer through the car.

 

[DrNio13]

Work..during lunch break (just kidding)

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

Let´s have a few delivered in front of Porsche, Ferrari, and Lambo´s HQ at rush hour !!!!

 

[Leonard]

You would have to be a complete narcissist to get it delivered at Work

 

[Simon82]

4. Factory
5. Other

I'm probably going to get mine delivered direct to my PPF installer rather than home/work/dealer. But if Lotus offer PPF as a factory fitted option then I'll get it delivered to the dealer. B&C have been very helpful throughout my Lotus ownership and it makes it more of a special occasion plus they get some photos for their PR. Arrive at the dealership to find the car under a cover, do the big reveal, champagne and photos etc.

I've never yet arrived at the dealer and had the big reveal/champagne experience (and that's Lotus, Audi & Porsche) . I'd love to build a good relationship with a local dealer but I've resigned myself to the fact its not going to happen, not just with lotus but in general.
Local Lotus dealer up here in Scotland is now on its 3rd owner in the past 10 years (Murray's/ Grange/ and now Parks)and staff have sadly changed on a regular basis. Bought my second V6 Exige from Carlisle but wouldn't be going back there. In Audi the salesmen/women seem to change on a daily basis and when I bought the Porsche the whole experience was dissapointing if i'm honest. I could be just very unlucky but based on these experiences i'm tempted to the home delivery option. I'd rather the dealer didn't prep the car before delivery anyway as I like to do it myself. Fully understand the concerns about how the car will turn up and if there is an issue with it but provided you inspect it prior to signing for delivery i don't see the issue. If there is damage or an issue then the car goes back on the trailer/transporter and gets taken to the dealer then to be sorted out.

 

[eclat2emira]

If the factory collection is more than a 'collection' e.g factory tour or similar then I'd do that for something a bit more 'special'
Otherwise from B&C who have been great since I first visited them 15 years ago with an Elise, agree with above, if the car turns up on your drive with a mark/chip etc its going to be a faff to get sorted, if its at the dealer, it'll hopefully be sorted before you turn up or while you'll waste a journey it'll be a lot easier to just say, can you sort that and I'll come back when its done.
Also like the idea mentioned of continuing to build a good relationship with the dealer through the car.

Totally agree, factory for me if it's more than just "Here's your keys..." There's something special about picking up your car from it's place of birth, like collecting your new-born from the maternity ward.

Guys in the group, I dare any of you to make that comparison in front of your children's mother!

 

[SJR202]

Totally agree, factory for me if it's more than just "Here's your keys..." There's something special about picking up your car from it's place of birth, like collecting your new-born from the maternity ward.

Guys in the group, I dare any of you to make that comparison in front of your children's mother!

Especially if you add "you got the babies you wanted, now its my turn"...

 

[eclat2emira]

Especially if you add "you got the babies you wanted, now its my turn"...

Braver man than I!

 

[JPS_67]

I would like the official delivery at the dealer, and get some feeling like an appreciated customer. So far I paid upfront and started #forthelongwait, hoping for some official communication and giving me some customer experience I should get.
After the delivery and the thorough check at the dealer I 'would drive it to the PPF shop.