I'm out - the cancellations thread

[Lankan]

I'm sad to say that I'm out too and will be cancelling my price protected order this week, which I hope means someone else will be brought forward in the queue and be saved from the price hike.

My heart has been 'out' for some time now but the looks of the Emira have kept me hanging on by a thread.

The Lotus experience has been a rollercoaster for sure and I can honestly say that there hasn't been a day since I joined this forum that I haven't been online.

Like many others, 'The Devil makes time for idle hands' and with all of the missed promises I went tentatively looking at alternatives.

Having subsequently driven the various different Alpine A110 models, my gaze was taken from the Emira and I was lucky enough to secure a slot for an Alpine 'A110 R' back in December, which should be delivered in the next 4-6 weeks.

It's a different proposition to the Emira and ironically a far more old school Lotus ethos of 'add lightness'

In hindsight and having come on this journey I have realised that actually the Emira is not right for me anyway.. It's too GT and not raw enough for my driving requirements but it will always be the winner of the beauty contest.

Alpine have also been great. They invited me to the launch of the Alpine F1 car in London and I've also been invited to an F1 driver test day next month at Silverstone, all at no cost....

The A110 R's purposeful looks and weight reduction (over its siblings) seems like quite the recipe. Did you test drive the S and/or GT before settling on the R? Enjoy!

Good to hear that the Alpine buying experience, unlike Lotus, has been wholly positive.

Would be a no brainer for me if it had a manual gearbox, but still a compelling choice, so added to the shortlist.

 

[Dommo]

The A110 R's purposeful looks and weight reduction (over its siblings) seems like quite the recipe. Did you test drive the S and/or GT before settling on the R? Enjoy!

Good to hear that the Alpine buying experience, unlike Lotus, has been wholly positive.

Would be a no brainer for me if it had a manual gearbox, but stilla compelling choice, so added to the shortlist.

Yeah, in the end for me personally the Alpine just matched my requirements much better than the Emira

I drove the Pure, S and GT and even did a back to back drive with the Emira to be sure I was making the right choice. The R isn’t even released yet so I have to rely on the reviews that it’ll be as good as I hope but even the ‘S’ would be a better match for me vs the Emira…..purely as a driving machine!

The Alpine customer service was another key selling point and they’ve made me feel like they actually want my business….. maybe they need me more than Lotus do!

The lack of manual was a consideration for me but as I have a GR Yaris too, I feel like I’ll have the best of both worlds.

 

[Lankan]

Yeah, in the end for me personally the Alpine just matched my requirements much better than the Emira

I drove the Pure, S and GT and even did a back to back drive with the Emira to be sure I was making the right choice. The R isn’t even released yet so I have to rely on the reviews that it’ll be as good as I hope but even the ‘S’ would be a better match for me vs the Emira…..purely as a driving machine!

The Alpine customer service was another key selling point and they’ve made me feel like they actually want my business….. maybe they need me more than Lotus do!

The lack of manual was a consideration for me but as I have a GR Yaris too, I feel like I’ll have the best of both worlds.

Fantastic! I too have a GR Yaris Circuit Pack, and love it for what it is, so this makes it a very compelling proposition indeed. Thanks for your feedback.

Must admit, I have gone off Lotus (the company, not the Emira) big time, and will know this week (depending on Lotus CC's response, if I receive any at all) what my course of action will be.

 

[Dommo]

Fantastic! I too have a GR Yaris Circuit Pack, and love it for what it is, so this makes it a very compelling proposition indeed. Thanks for your feedback.

Must admit, I have gone off Lotus (the company, not the Emira) big time, and will know this week (depending on Lotus CC's response, if I receive any at all) what my course of action will be.

Ahh, what great taste in cars you have . Mine’s also the Circuit Pack and I love it!!

I hope you resolve your issue with Lotus as I’m sure the Emira will be great!

 

[Dommo]

I finally got around to making the call to Lotus CC on Friday to cancel my order and it seems that even that process has the Lotus DNA.

I checked online to find out how to cancel - 'contact CC and they will process the cancellation for you' - is the line on the Lotus website.

So Friday lunchtime I ring CC and am on hold for a few mins until I'm informed by the recorded message that the wait time is over 10 mins but if I press zero I'd be called back and won't lose my position in the queue (heard that somewhere before ). I press zero and wait for the callback, which after an hour seemed quite a while so called back. After 30 mins on hold I'm cut off!! I then call back and about 25 mins later I get through to someone who advises me that I can't cancel over the phone . Apparently they need it in writing, which makes sense, but at least state that on the website!!............Oh and my callback came about an hour after my 3rd phone call, so I guess the 'you'll keep your place in the queue' is a running joke for Lotus!

I didn't get a chance to send the email until today and I did it on the Lotus website via a specific 'email us' link and when I pressed 'send' , a pop up appeared asking me to rate my experience with the 'online chat service', so god knows if I've cancelled or not

 

[EM12AAM]

I finally got around to making the call to Lotus CC on Friday to cancel my order and it seems that even that process has the Lotus DNA.

I checked online to find out how to cancel - 'contact CC and they will process the cancellation for you' - is the line on the Lotus website.

So Friday lunchtime I ring CC and am on hold for a few mins until I'm informed by the recorded message that the wait time is over 10 mins but if I press zero I'd be called back and won't lose my position in the queue (heard that somewhere before ). I press zero and wait for the callback, which after an hour seemed quite a while so called back. After 30 mins on hold I'm cut off!! I then call back and about 25 mins later I get through to someone who advises me that I can't cancel over the phone . Apparently they need it in writing, which makes sense, but at least state that on the website!!............Oh and my callback came about an hour after my 3rd phone call, so I guess the 'you'll keep your place in the queue' is a running joke for Lotus!

I didn't get a chance to send the email until today and I did it on the Lotus website via a specific 'email us' link and when I pressed 'send' , a pop up appeared asking me to rate my experience with the 'online chat service', so god knows if I've cancelled or not

I've sent five e-mails over the past four weeks requesting the return of my deposits.

Nothing.

No response to the e-mails.

No return of my deposits.

I gotta say I'm getting seriously chaffed off now.

 

[BeHappy]

I've sent five e-mails over the past four weeks requesting the return of my deposits.

Nothing.

No response to the e-mails.

No return of my deposits.

I gotta say I'm getting seriously chaffed off now.

Can someone on here that has good organisation skills and a modicum of sense apply for a job in CS and get all this shit sorted out and running smoothly - I would seriously volunteer but alas not sure the salary would meet expectations unfortunately

 

[Ftype]

I've sent five e-mails over the past four weeks requesting the return of my deposits.

Nothing.

No response to the e-mails.

No return of my deposits.

I gotta say I'm getting seriously chaffed off now.

It took several emails and two forthright calls to customer service before I received my deposit back 3 weeks later. I got the impression that they have been overwhelmed by the number of cancellations since the price increase and customers reporting mechanical and paint issues. The latest is that the paint is so soft that a £2,000 PPF is now regarded as a necessity. My F Type has covered 36,000 miles and the paintwork is perfect so I can’t understand how Lotus are getting away with this.

 

[TomE]

Can someone on here that has good organisation skills and a modicum of sense apply for a job in CS and get all this shit sorted out and running smoothly - I would seriously volunteer but alas not sure the salary would meet expectations unfortunately

One of our forum members applied for the Head of CS job but was beaten to it by the current role holder.

 

[Dommo]

I've sent five e-mails over the past four weeks requesting the return of my deposits.

Nothing.

No response to the e-mails.

No return of my deposits.

I gotta say I'm getting seriously chaffed off now.

I treat every incident like this a confirmation that my decision to move on from Lotus was the right move.

The Emira and Lotus experience has been part of my life now for nearly two years, and letting go was hard for me as I really loved the Emira from the outset but at every turn Lotus seem to fail on every level and I now feel relieved to be free.

Lotus just haven't delivered (in many ways!) and although I could have had the car probably in the next week or so if I'd chosen to proceed, I have lost all faith in the Lotus brand.

I now need to figure out if I'm free or not...because I still don't know if my cancellation has gone through or not!!

 

[Hell4Leather]

I treat every incident like this a confirmation that my decision to move on from Lotus was the right move.

The Emira and Lotus experience has been part of my life now for nearly two years, and letting go was hard for me as I really loved the Emira from the outset but at every turn Lotus seem to fail on every level and I now feel relieved to be free.

Lotus just haven't delivered (in many ways!) and although I could have had the car probably in the next week or so if I'd chosen to proceed, I have lost all faith in the Lotus brand.

I now need to figure out if I'm free or not...because I still don't know if my cancellation has gone through or not!!

This is pretty much par for Lotus. They fumble the launch each time. They had a decade to fix the Evora fiasco and even got a not so subtle reminder from Elon Musk. Alas, too many leaders have changed since. I knew what I was getting into going in. I placed my deposit in Q4 of 2022 knowing full well that my car would arrive just before my 50th birthday in June 2025. I never believed for a second that things were coming any sooner. In fact, I needed Lotus to delay as they have.

 

[Concept24]

Same here. I am hoping that by first quarter of 2025:
a) Most bugs are exterminated
b) Interest rates will be down from present
c) My SSI will be higher, since I am gaining 7.5% per year by waiting to collect.

 

[Concept24]

Retire? At my rate of expenditure they’ll have to use dynamite to get me outa work. Got 5 kids ranging from 36 to 14. I’m pissing everything away and to be honest, kinda don’t care. (Yea I know the math on the older one, there’s a back story there)

And here I thought you must be in your 60s.....
I didn't get my first new car until I was 43. $53K in 2001 was alot of money.

 

[DJS]

I’ve now cancelled my Eletre and I must say Lotus were excellent, I had my deposit back in my account within 4 days .

I will give credit when credit is due

 

[Drlonline]

Same here. I am hoping that by first quarter of 2025:
a) Most bugs are exterminated
b) Interest rates will be down from present
c) My SSI will be higher, since I am gaining 7.5% per year by waiting to collect.

Ditto though I start collecting SSI this year. What dealership have you ordered from and where are you on their waitlist?

 

[Hell4Leather]

I’ve now cancelled my Eletre and I must say Lotus were excellent, I had my deposit back in my account within 4 days .

I will give credit when credit is due

I spec’d one for my wife but I don’t think she appreciated it. Truth be told, I may not have either. I’d need to spend a moment at an on-site event.

 

[Concept24]

Ditto though I start collecting SSI this year. What dealership have you ordered from and where are you on their waitlist?

Congrats! The dealership I chose is the closest one, Orange County Lotus. I was not given a waitlist number, just an estimated time frame of availability of 18-24 months from December of 2022. With current delays, 2025 is likely.
How about your dealership and waitlist number, if you have one?

 

[Drlonline]

Congrats! The dealership I chose is the closest one, Orange County Lotus. I was not given a waitlist number, just an estimated time frame of availability of 18-24 months from December of 2022. With current delays, 2025 is likely.
How about your dealership and waitlist number, if you have one?

I went with Boardwalk in Redwood City. I live in L.A. but had heard the waitlists at both Eurocar (Orange County) and Galpin were extremely long. I'm around 40 on their i4 AMG waitlist. Their V6 waitlist is significantly longer, but I'm fine with the i4. Their estimated wait is about the same as yours, but from March '23, so probably mid 2025. Of course, as we all know, that's really more of a WAG than an actual estimate.

 

[2BIG2FAIL]

I went with Boardwalk in Redwood City. I live in L.A. but had heard the waitlists at both Eurocar (Orange County) and Galpin were extremely long. I'm around 40 on their i4 AMG waitlist. Their V6 waitlist is significantly longer, but I'm fine with the i4. Their estimated wait is about the same as yours, but from March '23, so probably mid 2025. Of course, as we all know, that's really more of a WAG than an actual estimate.

I was told I am ~60 on the list for i4's at Galpin, having placed an order in early December 22. I am hoping that because it seems to be a decently sized dealer, the wait list will clear faster than some of the other options around SoCal. That being said, they haven't given me any timing estimates. Am hoping for Q1 2025.

 

[Cachaco131]

I went with Boardwalk in Redwood City. I live in L.A. but had heard the waitlists at both Eurocar (Orange County) and Galpin were extremely long. I'm around 40 on their i4 AMG waitlist. Their V6 waitlist is significantly longer, but I'm fine with the i4. Their estimated wait is about the same as yours, but from March '23, so probably mid 2025. Of course, as we all know, that's really more of a WAG than an actual estimate.

I'm like 100 in the Boardwalk V6 list. Let's say 10pct cancellations so 90 by now. I'm estimating late 2024 or early 2025. Hopefully by then we will know about more hardcore versions.