emiraspain
Emira Addict
Well, Ive been quiet for a while.... after a moderator recommendation and my dad being at deaths door, take your pick which, but as my current UK Emira is now sold (info posted in the advertisement post.. I wont link it as I dont get paid for views), it would seem logical to post here.
So yes, Im Out - but not as we know it.
Now, the first thing to say (indicating that it could be a long post...dont read it if you dont want to, dont complain about it, just dont read the damn thing, you know who you are
.....) is that I am impossible to please, I am a perfectionist, which does not mean I am perfect, far from it, but I do LIKE perfect things and of course nothing is, but some details can be. So some points below are peculiar to me and a few others perhaps, but wont tally with what you want or feel, but as this is explaining why I am out and not why you are in, I will go ahead.
SO in no particular order here is some of MY reasoning to sell the UK car (I still have a spanish car due in weeks that I am deciding on)
1. The car is simply not what I felt it would be and indeed what was indicated by Lotus and Jenson chocolate Buttons.
Its not a bad car at all, but its not what you would expect from Lotus after their previous history. It is less visceral than the Evora, less powerful, less loud, less dramatic (more classy), less lightweight (more comfy)... its just less Lotus! I DO understand why and I am okay with why, but it doesn't change the facts, and I dont believe the i4 will be any less, less Lotus for saving 50 kilos and 2 cylinders. Those hoping the i4 is going to appease I feel will be disappointed, at least in the short term, as its illogical to have a cheaper car out performing the more expensive one.... cayman/911 and not even the Gt4 RS cayman outperforms the top 911 and yes there is a track test out there to prove it. Mods and later versions may alter this, but not for 18 - 24 months will Lotus upset the apple car....t. U will miss all these details soon....
2. In the UK at least, I feel this car, the FE, is going to depreciate a great deal, way more than a Cayman GTS and I dont like that as I dont have a good history of keeping cars for years.
I did my best and did very well in reducing and avoiding depreciation way before COVID times and I dont want to now go 100% in the opposite direction. A UK car with a LONG waiting list should be fetching way more than 5k over invoice price and the cars should be snapped up, but as I posted elsewhere, they are not being even slurped up and they are being reduced to sell. There are reasons for this, but IMO if I wanted a UK car, I would be better off avoiding the bad weather and buying one in 3 4 5 months when there are around 30/40 for sale and people will be quite desperate to sell and I could take my 86k received and maybe buy one for lets say 76k (max). Hence saving my 10k and effectively buying the car for net 70k, which leads me to my next point.
3. I feel at 80k or 82 with black pack, this that and the other, on the road costs, the car is over priced!
Yes, headline figures suggest a starting price at 60k, but it will never be 60k with on the road and a potential price increase coming? The interior is good for a Lotus, but come on, the Evora interior is pretty much on and off, 15 years old. The Emira has the very good fortune that Porsche did NOT update the 718 interior, which is also around 8 years old and so their direct competitor is way behind where it should be and that means Lotus can get away with what is for 80k, a quite poor interior in my opinion. For a 60k car its okay, its good in fact, but NOT for 80k! Its perhaps as good as a 718, but as I said, thats 8 years old!
I dont like an ipad sticking out of the dash, never have; its the easy design solution, not the correct design solution. The seats are not bad, but not 80k good, I said this on my track day and its been repeated by many, even those in favour of the car, Harry and Schmiii. Dont even start me off on the kef stereo and all the crap about running it in and their home speakers are top and this that the other. Its proved to be a let down for many people including chee...eee...eee....eeee....eeeerrr..eeerrrr..sssss shmmiiiii.
4. The whole excitement factor of buying a new 80k car was ruined by Lotus and their unprofessional management and I dont see that changing any time soon. If I have more honest and frequent contact from Caterham than lotus, this tells you something, when they have the same issues, except no one is perhaps bankrolling them and they could really have to lay people off if they didnt get cars out the doors, instead of China paying salaries for nothing.
I expected the excitement to build over time, but it simply hasn't. CS has been poor as we know and this does not bode well for if there are problems. Leading nicely to....
5. If there are problems....I fear the worst. Yes Lotus are sending mechanics out to see / fix /report back issues to relieved customers right now and people think they are doing this for the customer. No, lets be clear, they are doing it to stop the whole thing imploding! They need to find out these issues, which have escaped them at testing (the engine light issue was on a youtube video months ago!!) on the factory floor, supply chain, PDI etc, so that they can correct them and they dont absolutely ruin their hopes of the Emira being a success. Thats business and thats good, but its not for our friend in Germany with issues, its not for our friend from Prague (easier to spell than Cz!) and I do fear that after 6 months, this will not be the norm. I feel that later issues here and there will be left to dealers to deal with and with little support and few spare parts they have access to... BUT I HOPE I am wrong as hopefully the big brother will keep them on the right path to customer satisfaction, something they have not been great at previously where an Esprit's door hinges tended to drop after 4 or 5 closes from new and no fix, likewise Elise's boot closing etc etc.
6. ITs very good looking, but now I have seen it quite a bit, I am a bit less in love with that side..... not out of love, but less in love. But the overall good looks to me are decreased as I just get the feeling of..... hmmmm.... not german like quality. I wont say it feels cheap, but it does not feel quite as good as it looks. I could compare it to an Italian marble and a Brazilian marble... from a distance they look identical, but when you get close, and certainly upon examining in a bit more detail, you notice the difference. ok, another example...Mcvites Hobnobs... and their white label copies. I mean, they are not bad, but you just know they are not as good tasting, have cheaper ingredients and dont take as long to prepare (surely each one is hand made too.. haha).
I think thats the end of my coming out, oh wait.... no, thats not right...
I have now to decide the future of my spanish Emira and the problem there is that it costs about 15k pounds MORE than the UK one!!! Its 100% not worth 95k if its not worth 80k, but a different market and different prices for all cars! On the up side, I would be the 1st and one of the VERY few Emira owners, so when some hot chick mistakes my Emira for a Ferrari and hops in for a ride, I will then be grateful I bought it, WONT I?
So yes, Im Out - but not as we know it.
Now, the first thing to say (indicating that it could be a long post...dont read it if you dont want to, dont complain about it, just dont read the damn thing, you know who you are
.....) is that I am impossible to please, I am a perfectionist, which does not mean I am perfect, far from it, but I do LIKE perfect things and of course nothing is, but some details can be. So some points below are peculiar to me and a few others perhaps, but wont tally with what you want or feel, but as this is explaining why I am out and not why you are in, I will go ahead.SO in no particular order here is some of MY reasoning to sell the UK car (I still have a spanish car due in weeks that I am deciding on)
1. The car is simply not what I felt it would be and indeed what was indicated by Lotus and Jenson chocolate Buttons.
Its not a bad car at all, but its not what you would expect from Lotus after their previous history. It is less visceral than the Evora, less powerful, less loud, less dramatic (more classy), less lightweight (more comfy)... its just less Lotus! I DO understand why and I am okay with why, but it doesn't change the facts, and I dont believe the i4 will be any less, less Lotus for saving 50 kilos and 2 cylinders. Those hoping the i4 is going to appease I feel will be disappointed, at least in the short term, as its illogical to have a cheaper car out performing the more expensive one.... cayman/911 and not even the Gt4 RS cayman outperforms the top 911 and yes there is a track test out there to prove it. Mods and later versions may alter this, but not for 18 - 24 months will Lotus upset the apple car....t. U will miss all these details soon....
2. In the UK at least, I feel this car, the FE, is going to depreciate a great deal, way more than a Cayman GTS and I dont like that as I dont have a good history of keeping cars for years.
I did my best and did very well in reducing and avoiding depreciation way before COVID times and I dont want to now go 100% in the opposite direction. A UK car with a LONG waiting list should be fetching way more than 5k over invoice price and the cars should be snapped up, but as I posted elsewhere, they are not being even slurped up and they are being reduced to sell. There are reasons for this, but IMO if I wanted a UK car, I would be better off avoiding the bad weather and buying one in 3 4 5 months when there are around 30/40 for sale and people will be quite desperate to sell and I could take my 86k received and maybe buy one for lets say 76k (max). Hence saving my 10k and effectively buying the car for net 70k, which leads me to my next point.
3. I feel at 80k or 82 with black pack, this that and the other, on the road costs, the car is over priced!
Yes, headline figures suggest a starting price at 60k, but it will never be 60k with on the road and a potential price increase coming? The interior is good for a Lotus, but come on, the Evora interior is pretty much on and off, 15 years old. The Emira has the very good fortune that Porsche did NOT update the 718 interior, which is also around 8 years old and so their direct competitor is way behind where it should be and that means Lotus can get away with what is for 80k, a quite poor interior in my opinion. For a 60k car its okay, its good in fact, but NOT for 80k! Its perhaps as good as a 718, but as I said, thats 8 years old!
I dont like an ipad sticking out of the dash, never have; its the easy design solution, not the correct design solution. The seats are not bad, but not 80k good, I said this on my track day and its been repeated by many, even those in favour of the car, Harry and Schmiii. Dont even start me off on the kef stereo and all the crap about running it in and their home speakers are top and this that the other. Its proved to be a let down for many people including chee...eee...eee....eeee....eeeerrr..eeerrrr..sssss shmmiiiii.
4. The whole excitement factor of buying a new 80k car was ruined by Lotus and their unprofessional management and I dont see that changing any time soon. If I have more honest and frequent contact from Caterham than lotus, this tells you something, when they have the same issues, except no one is perhaps bankrolling them and they could really have to lay people off if they didnt get cars out the doors, instead of China paying salaries for nothing.
I expected the excitement to build over time, but it simply hasn't. CS has been poor as we know and this does not bode well for if there are problems. Leading nicely to....
5. If there are problems....I fear the worst. Yes Lotus are sending mechanics out to see / fix /report back issues to relieved customers right now and people think they are doing this for the customer. No, lets be clear, they are doing it to stop the whole thing imploding! They need to find out these issues, which have escaped them at testing (the engine light issue was on a youtube video months ago!!) on the factory floor, supply chain, PDI etc, so that they can correct them and they dont absolutely ruin their hopes of the Emira being a success. Thats business and thats good, but its not for our friend in Germany with issues, its not for our friend from Prague (easier to spell than Cz!) and I do fear that after 6 months, this will not be the norm. I feel that later issues here and there will be left to dealers to deal with and with little support and few spare parts they have access to... BUT I HOPE I am wrong as hopefully the big brother will keep them on the right path to customer satisfaction, something they have not been great at previously where an Esprit's door hinges tended to drop after 4 or 5 closes from new and no fix, likewise Elise's boot closing etc etc.
6. ITs very good looking, but now I have seen it quite a bit, I am a bit less in love with that side..... not out of love, but less in love. But the overall good looks to me are decreased as I just get the feeling of..... hmmmm.... not german like quality. I wont say it feels cheap, but it does not feel quite as good as it looks. I could compare it to an Italian marble and a Brazilian marble... from a distance they look identical, but when you get close, and certainly upon examining in a bit more detail, you notice the difference. ok, another example...Mcvites Hobnobs... and their white label copies. I mean, they are not bad, but you just know they are not as good tasting, have cheaper ingredients and dont take as long to prepare (surely each one is hand made too.. haha).
I think thats the end of my coming out, oh wait.... no, thats not right...
I have now to decide the future of my spanish Emira and the problem there is that it costs about 15k pounds MORE than the UK one!!! Its 100% not worth 95k if its not worth 80k, but a different market and different prices for all cars! On the up side, I would be the 1st and one of the VERY few Emira owners, so when some hot chick mistakes my Emira for a Ferrari and hops in for a ride, I will then be grateful I bought it, WONT I?
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