No option other than to reject the car

[Porter]

I'm not going to defend too hard (this kind of known issue probably shouldn't be rolling off the production line by now), but it was picked up by a pre-delivery inspection... which is entirely the point of a pre-delivery inspection.

PDI is supposed to be for function check and to ensure that no transport damage has occurred. It's not supposed to be QC for the factory. They're supposed to do that there.

Also, they shouldn't be scheduling pickup or delivery of a vehicle until after it has passed PDI. Or if they do, it needs a meaningful scheduling cushion for owner communications and exception handling.

Under no circumstances should a PDI be happening on the same day they are supposed to be delivering a complete, verified, and delivery-ready car. The whole idea of that is crazy.

 

[ADC]

PDI is supposed to be for function check and to ensure that no transport damage has occurred. It's not supposed to be QC for the factory. They're supposed to do that there.

Also, they shouldn't be scheduling pickup or delivery of a vehicle until after it has passed PDI. Or if they do, it needs a meaningful scheduling cushion for owner communications and exception handling.

Under no circumstances should a PDI be happening on the same day they are supposed to be delivering a complete, verified, and delivery-ready car. The whole idea of that is crazy.

I'm not going to argue, as I agree with a lot of what you're saying... the ball was dropped with regard to timing of the PDI, and subsequent comms. I'd feebly contend that we can't know whether the car passed factory QC checks fine, but failed during PDI.

That they are still installing possibly-dodgy steering pumps (or installing them in a way that causes failure) isn't great, regardless of when it was found, and how badly they cocked up rectifying it and communicating to the customer (by not doing either of those things).

 

[Cachaco131]

I understand the frustration. But think long term and I think you'll (mostly) forget about this incident and enjoy the car.

 

[kitkat]

I'm not going to argue, as I agree with a lot of what you're saying... the ball was dropped with regard to timing of the PDI, and subsequent comms. I'd feebly contend that we can't know whether the car passed factory QC checks fine, but failed during PDI.

That they are still installing possibly-dodgy steering pumps (or installing them in a way that causes failure) isn't great, regardless of when it was found, and how badly they cocked up rectifying it and communicating to the customer (by not doing either of those things).

You’d think after that many reports and even embarrassing factory delivery failures with power steering pumps they’d have rectified the issue by now. At this point they’re either incompetent or in survival mode, this is way too reminiscent of how Tesla operates.

 

[paulb]

The car was caught during PDI. This is what we WANT them to do. We want them to catch any mistakes before hitting your hands. In this case they did that. Does it lead to a bit more delay, sure. But we can't complain about issues making it to customers cars, and then on the other side complain that they will delay delivering a car until it's right.

My grievance isn't that the car had a PDI issue - it's that they told me the evening before the car was on schedule for home delivery the next day and let me wait in all day for me to call them and find out it wasn't coming. Surely they should have a set process for when delivery is impacted due to a PDI issue? Like tell the customer when the car will be fixed

 

[paulb]

I understand the frustration. But think long term and I think you'll (mostly) forget about this incident and enjoy the car.I ho[e

I hope you're right - It does assume that Lotus will make contact with me and try to resolve the issue - I've got little confidence given their performance so far. fingers crossed

 

[nelly111s]

but a car cover as compensation. A car cover but no car - ha ha

I'll have the car cover if it's going spare

 

[Wonza]

I understand the frustration. But think long term and I think you'll (mostly) forget about this incident and enjoy the car.

I thought long-term. It's not my only car, looks pretty on my driveway. If it was my only car for daily use, I'd be screwed.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

At this point they’re either incompetent or in survival mode, this is way too reminiscent of how Tesla operates.

Lotus would be thrilled to be compared with Tesla.

-- 3.6 million vehicles on the road, 20% share of worldwide EV sales
-- highest profit margin among the 10 largest car makers
-- worth more than Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, BMW, GM, Stellantis and Ford combined.

If that's failure, then I'll have what she's having.

 

[Porter]

Lotus would be thrilled to be compared with Tesla.

-- 3.6 million vehicles on the road, 20% share of worldwide EV sales
-- highest profit margin among the 10 largest car makers
-- worth more than Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, BMW, GM, Stellantis and Ford combined.

If that's failure, then I'll have what she's having.

They're also now a toxic brand led by a toxic owner, with new sales in free fall. Like Twitter, just wait and see how long the party lasts.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

They're also now a toxic brand led by a toxic owner, with new sales in free fall. Like Twitter, just wait and see how long the party lasts.

Seems to be market-specific. Tesla's China sales are falling fast because BYD is a much better value. But in the US Tesla sales still seem very strong.

"Tesla delivered a record number of vehicles in the second quarter, as its strategy to cut prices drove a sharp increase in sales of its most popular electric vehicles.

The carmaker delivered 466,000 vehicles in the three months to the end of June.

The company, which beat an average analyst forecast of 455,000 deliveries, delivered 10% more vehicles than in the first quarter and 83% more than the same period last year."

 

[dgrace]

“Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.”

 

[Cachaco131]

Seems to be market-specific. Tesla's China sales are falling fast because BYD is a much better value. But in the US Tesla sales still seem very strong.

"Tesla delivered a record number of vehicles in the second quarter, as its strategy to cut prices drove a sharp increase in sales of its most popular electric vehicles.

The carmaker delivered 466,000 vehicles in the three months to the end of June.

The company, which beat an average analyst forecast of 455,000 deliveries, delivered 10% more vehicles than in the first quarter and 83% more than the same period last year."

But coming down. While still dominant, I think I read that US EV market share went from 70s to 50s in the last 12m. Other manufacturers are picking up pace.

 

[paulb]

Pitiful CS but to reject the car seems excessive to me. I would give it a day or two to decide.

several days have now passed and there has been zero contact from Lotus - thinking i made the right decision

 

[Ftype]

I understand the frustration. But think long term and I think you'll (mostly) forget about this incident and enjoy the car.

Until the next thing goes wrong and it is too late to reject the car.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Until the next thing goes wrong and it is too late to reject the car.

I remember when you canceled your Emira order months ago. You should look back through your posts since then . . . most of them are negative trolling comments. Why do you bother, why not just move on?

No debate that Lotus' customer service in the UK is woeful and it's infuriating that they don't seem able to improve it. But the car itself is absolutely fantastic. A faulty pump provided by a third-party supplier is easily fixed and doesn't in any way mean that this particular car is some kind of "lemon".

 

[paulb]

Finally some good news (I hope). Lotus have found me another car v similar spec and it's coming next week. It's been difficult to make progress with them but finally found someone in Lotus who helped and responds to my messages. The only slight concern is this car hasn't been PDI'd yet.

 

[EyeFour Eemeerah!]

Finally some good news (I hope). Lotus have found me another car v similar spec and it's coming next week. It's been difficult to make progress with them but finally found someone in Lotus who helped and responds to my messages. The only slight concern is this car hasn't been PDI'd yet.

Strange. I have the sudden urge to rent Groundhog Day today.

 

[paulb]

Latest Update - The "replacement" car was PDI'd and it PASSED! It's here and I love it. The home delivery from BCA was really slick, really good communications from them. Got a couple of extra options thrown in as well, homelink and a full black pack. I'd not test driven a car so was really blown away by how good the touring suspension is on the rough roads.

 

[nelly111s]

Latest Update - The "replacement" car was PDI'd and it PASSED! It's here and I love it. The home delivery from BCA was really slick, really good communications from them. Got a couple of extra options thrown in as well, homelink and a full black pack. I'd not test driven a car so was really blown away by how good the touring suspension is on the rough roads.

Look forward to seeing you around Preston, Paul. Remind me, what colour is your replacement one?