Emiras advertised for sale on other sites

[981KMAN]

Is the general feeling that the Lotus Emira market is becoming saturated, meaning all those who wanted one have purchased, and there are more Emiras available than buyers?

If the above is happening, should prices start falling, and if you are patient, larger discounts should be available in the late fall?

What are your thoughts?

 

[idleuser]

Crazy to think delivery started late last year in 2022 and now the demand has dried up in the UK. Judging by the current car market, I don't think the demand in the US will be that low but I think the higher interest rates will ultimately leave cars sitting on dealers lot after the initial 700 FE's are delivered.

 

[FlashingBlade]

There are too many variables at play in the UK to give a hard and fast answer. The Emira is still a relatively unknown/unseen car to the masses at the moment. I've not seen another on the road yet (other than mine and demo cars at the dealer). Contrast that with the Cayman which has been on sale in different guises for over a decade and there still isnt a huge amount of awareness outside of enthusiast circles.

Add to that a very uncertain economic situation and with the cost of borrowing money more than double what it was 2 years ago. Mortgage rates going up which means disposable income for most has been dramatically reduced and peple are just extremely apprehensive about buying sports cars or having a second car when one, more sensible, will do until the situation becomes better.

There's obviously more cars available than buyers at the moment but who knows how long that will last. What will be interesting is when/if base cars become available to order. It could well be that you can get a nearly new FE for not dissimilar money to the base, at which point I'd expect the current glut of cars to start to thin. But thats dependent on people actually wanting the car over a comparable Cayman et al. Personally, I dont regret my choice at all and given I see half a dozen boxters/caymans every day...

 

[idleuser]

There are too many variables at play in the UK to give a hard and fast answer. The Emira is still a relatively unknown/unseen car to the masses at the moment. I've not seen another on the road yet (other than mine and demo cars at the dealer). Contrast that with the Cayman which has been on sale in different guises for over a decade and there still isnt a huge amount of awareness outside of enthusiast circles.

Add to that a very uncertain economic situation and with the cost of borrowing money more than double what it was 2 years ago. Mortgage rates going up which means disposable income for most has been dramatically reduced and peple are just extremely apprehensive about buying sports cars or having a second car when one, more sensible, will do until the situation becomes better.

There's obviously more cars available than buyers at the moment but who knows how long that will last. What will be interesting is when/if base cars become available to order. It could well be that you can get a nearly new FE for not dissimilar money to the base, at which point I'd expect the current glut of cars to start to thin. But thats dependent on people actually wanting the car over a comparable Cayman et al. Personally, I dont regret my choice at all and given I see half a dozen boxters/caymans every day...

Agreed! But they told us they had 2 years worth of back orders!!

 

[action_turtle]

Agreed! But they told us they had 2 years worth of back orders!!

They should probably stop making cars for the UK until the person in line hands over a proper deposit and has the financial stuff sorted. Making cars and then having the buyer pull out as the finance price is now hundreds more a month is a bad business decision, imo.

 

[FlashingBlade]

Agreed! But they told us they had 2 years worth of back orders!!

I suspect that the two years worth of orders is globally and the 45 or so cars for sale in the UK represents only a small fraction of what two years global sales would be. Didnt they say they were aiming to shift 9000 cars a year?

At the moment people can smell blood in the water in the used market. They know that unless things start to pick up soon then there is going to be some very desperate sellers about. Combined with the falling number of people who can/are willing to spend £70-£85k on a car at the moment and you end up in the situation that we have now. It isnt helped by the fact that other than colour and interior combo every emira is essentially the same due to the fully loaded nature of the FE.

IMHO, the FE should have been limited to the first 1000 or so cars in the UK and then move on to the other editions. I think my car was mid 700 if the invoice number was anything to go by.

 

[ChrisJ]

At the moment people can smell blood in the water in the used market. They know that unless things start to pick up soon then there is going to be some very desperate sellers about. Combined with the falling number of people who can/are willing to spend £70-£85k on a car at the moment and you end up in the situation that we have now. It isnt helped by the fact that other than colour and interior combo every emira is essentially the same due to the fully loaded nature of the FE.

IMHO, the FE should have been limited to the first 1000 or so cars in the UK and then move on to the other editions. I think my car was mid 700 if the invoice number was anything to go by.

100% agree. My observation is that some sports and classic car values are already slipping back to pre-covid prices. There is a strong probability of over-supply for (sadly) reducing real demand.

 

[Calran]

They should probably stop making cars for the UK until the person in line hands over a proper deposit and has the financial stuff sorted. Making cars and then having the buyer pull out as the finance price is now hundreds more a month is a bad business decision, imo.

Crazy decision.

Really don’t understand why Lotus are still using this business model tbh.

Literally zero commitment from the customer until 30 days before delivery at which point the car is already spec’d and build (other than a fully refundable deposit)

Think lots of customers are never really customers and just leaving their deposit in because they can/slight indecision to see what happens with the used market etc and maybe even as a f*^k you to Lotus, leaving them with a car they can’t then shift on.

This then flooding the market with unwanted specs, hurting sales and also residuals, madness!

Only Lotus

 

[GregD]

I had a call from Lotus today - bearing in mind my car is confirmed in the production schedule for this month, they gave me the opportunity to have an almost identical vehicle (being a cancelled order that's already been produced). Seems a bit desperate on their behalf as the timing is so close to mine being produced to my exact spec.

 

[mike 207]

This is another example of how Lotus are just awful. There are 1000's of us waiting for cars that we have put down deposits on 1 -2 years ago and it is so frustrating to see built cars with now no customer to take them being offered onto the market. As a previous poster said there should be much more commitment from customers before cars are actually built . At least then we can see those build slots not being wasted . Will we ever get any good news or impressive actions from Lotus ?

 

[981KMAN]

Didn't Lotus in the UK go to a "Direct to Customer" sales model? This cut out the local "Dealer" that would normally hold and sell this excess inventory. If this is correct, the local dealer has no skin in the game to move (sell) the inventory.

Maybe Lotus was not really setup or experienced enough to execute the "Direct to Customer" sales model??

 

[FlashingBlade]

The mistake was continuing to build a car even after the customer has cancelled rather than bumping up the next customer build in the queue. This is why we have some people waiting stupid times for cars whilst new cars are held in stock or dumped in the dealer network. It's crazy.

If the car gets cancelled, cancel the build, and move on to the next customer. The Emira FEs are so standardised that it shouldn't have resulted in a glut of spares that were originally intended for the now cancelled order.

I think they just presumed that 'someone' would pick up that car 'at some point' but its just resulted in large stock of essentially new cars having to be sold as used and customers preferring to wait for their own build slot than buy one of the now 'used' cars at used car APR.

 

[AGP]

It does smack of desperation, I've had Emails and a phone call.
It shouldn't come as a surprise though, after keeping us waiting over 2yrs and putting the price up twice, even after promising not to.
I definitely was a keen depositor and not a prospective depositer, I can't be alone in having second thoughts and looking at other options. The excitement for the car has been sucked out of me over the last 8 months.

The amount of cars on the second hand market isn't a good sign for Lotus, I do wonder how many real outstanding orders they have.
I agree with with Flashing Blade, they should have limited the number of FE's.

I've recently sold my R8 because I wouldn't use it during winter (I've still got the Exige to look at thankfully) and the market is getting harder to sell weekend toys.
With so many Emira's on the 2nd hand market, I'm starting to think I might be better off waiting to see how 2nd hand prices go during winter/spring24 or take some brave pills and get a 2nd hand 720S

 

[BeHappy]

Wow at least £8k loss in 3 months of ownership and 700 miles ouch. Good buy for someone

 

[RafP]

I suspect top bids on this will be at less than £70k including fees based on current trade bids now

2023 LOTUS EMIRA 'FIRST EDITION' - MANUAL - 600 MILES for sale by auction in Haslemere, Surrey, United Kingdom

collectingcars.com

 

[RafP]

Wow at least £8k loss in 3 months of ownership and 700 miles ouch. Good buy for someone

No sure it’s a good buy at rate of decline I’d hold off (I am).

I can see them starting with a 6 within 4-6 months so would be another quick £4-5k hit for next owner.

Motorway now bidding £68k so down £1500 in a month.

I’ve got cash waiting to snap one up over winter so been watching market and they just aren’t shifting. If they don’t shift in next 6-8 weeks even less chance of buyer as winter starts to loom. Bottom end of market slowly nudging into lower half 70s already.

I think real prospect of £12-16k hit first year which is more than I expected.

 

[New to Lotus]

Wbac price now 58k. 65k private soon no doubt.

 

[RafP]

That’s a crazy WBAC price… would be good as my bite point is £68k.

So so glad I bailed on mine delivery earlier this year. Could end up saving me ~£15k and someone else ironing out bugs.

 

[meccanisti]

Let's just be thankful we're not at an 80k drop on something like a Masser MC20... (via @harrym_vids)

I think once the initial UK backlog of deliveries are out the way and all those who are going to cancel have cancelled, things will settle down. 12 month old cars with under 5k miles will prob settle at high 60s/low 70s come spring 24....

Not too bad if you bought one at pre-July prices. Let's just try to enjoy them, it's the only new car I'll ever be buying!

 

[New to Lotus]

I agree as long as you can afford it enjoy it, also at 65k which I think they will be at by the end of the year they will probably not move much from there over the next few years.