The Gator thread

I'm interested in connecting with others who have taken delivery or have deposits with Gator Motorsport in Indianapolis. My car was in port being processed 6 weeks ago (a month before the bridge collapse, so that's not a factor), but I still can't get any real information from Gator about where it is, when I can take delivery, etc.

I chose Gator even though I live in North Carolina because of their reputation. Plus I have family in Indiana and my Dad in particular really wanted to ride in my Emira when I took delivery. Well, Dad passed away last month, so that won't happen. In fact, he was in hospice when the CARB dam broke and the first Emira were being delivered to customers.

So if you're working with Gator, please let me know what you've heard about your Emira. If you've taken delivery, please post a pic and share the date you took delivery.

This is Dad on a test drive in one of the dealer cars last year.

 

[Blackthought_]

I had a deposit at Gator as well so I can chime in here. I was one of the few where my car was sitting at lotus USA since 12/31 and had rare contact with Gator outside of their mass emails to clients. As many of you experienced, there is not too much comms coming from them. 9 out of 10 times I would need to call to see the status of anything and ironically, a few times I called they had a status update and I was able to get some additional details.
Tony originally was working with me but seems like he got super overwhelmed and I ended up starting to work with Chandler. I myself had been getting impatient with the lack of updates but last week after some back and forth, I was able to pick up from car from them. They are super nice guys and had the car in meticulous condition and I was able to drive back home several states away after they did their inspection.

Agreed with the group that communication can absolutely be better, but it seems like with Chandler and Turner are helping to move things along quicker.

 

[Porter]

We know. Do you have a deposit in with Gator?

Does it matter? I'm trying to help people achieve a good outcome here. Calling it as I see it is fair. If you don't like that, you're free to say so.

 

[ameeriklane]

I had a deposit at Gator as well so I can chime in here. I was one of the few where my car was sitting at lotus USA since 12/31 and had rare contact with Gator outside of their mass emails to clients. As many of you experienced, there is not too much comms coming from them. 9 out of 10 times I would need to call to see the status of anything and ironically, a few times I called they had a status update and I was able to get some additional details.

Thanks for the update, and I saw the photo of your car in the delivery thread -- looks great!

Since you recently took delivery at Gator, any sense of how many cars they are delivering per day or week? That at least can give some idea of "throughput" and we can estimate how long the backlog of cars that are already on US soil may take to be delivered.

 

[@Life411]

My guess - *AND IT'S ONLY A GUESS* - is that some cars have issues that requires help from Lotus of UK to fix - either in troubleshooting or replacement parts. These cars are held back for delivery. In such a case, the dealer doesn't really want to tell the buyers "Oh, your car has a problem" because the buyers would react very negatively to that news. So instead of making up a story, they just stay silent on these cars. I really can't think of another reason why a dealer as communicative as Gator would stay silent. The alternative is that the cars are delivered with issues - and we've seen other dealers do this, which I regard as a worse way of doing things. Technically, it's perfectly normal for dealers and manufacturers to fix issues on new cars prior to delivery. The Emira may just be experiencing more of a need for these fixes than other mass produced cars.

I know first hand how frustrating these last few days/weeks/months can be. I'm constantly reminding myself that I picked one of the better dealers to work with and am confident that they are doing what they can to put a good car into my garage.

Hey, I saw the VIN tracking link in your signature. Thanks for doing that! I found that my VIN hit U.S. soil December 29th! So it's been sitting around depreciating for 4 months now.

Who knows, your guess may be correct. But if little Johnny is afraid to tell mom and dad that he broke that plate...It all comes back to communication. It would be vastly better and more professional all around to share this information so we could end the speculation and have realistic expectations. I didn't sign up for a soap opera.

Met with a local friend over the weekend and we discussed several dealers who have delivered ALL their cars - including FE 1.0 and 2.0. But the common denominator seems to be that they took delivery quickly and processed those cars promptly. I think part of the problem is that Gator is just too small. These other dealers are part of larger dealership groups and probably had the space and resources to tackle this. The fact that Gator couldn't take delivery of all the cars that arrived and then process them has screwed everything up for their customers. That's my guess.

 

[@Life411]

Does it matter? I'm trying to help people achieve a good outcome here. Calling it as I see it is fair. If you don't like that, you're free to say so.

I ask because I started the thread to "connect with others who have taken delivery or have deposits with Gator Motorsport in Indianapolis."

 

[KAR120C]

I think you're exaggerating the reactions. I also think none of this has to do with Tony being out of pocket for a week...that is just one more thing on top of a huge pile of poor communication, delays, etc.

@Life411, I wasn't replying to you. I was taking issue with some over-the-top statements.

That said, you've made your point. You'll get some agreements and some disagreements on your posts. In either case, I hope you soon get the message that your car has arrived!

 

[Blackthought_]

Thanks for the update, and I saw the photo of your car in the delivery thread -- looks great!

Since you recently took delivery at Gator, any sense of how many cars they are delivering per day or week? That at least can give some idea of "throughput" and we can estimate how long the backlog of cars that are already on US soil may take to be delivered.

Sorry, I don’t have much sense of that. The dealer itself is not large and I saw only 3 other emiras there. By the time I left the dealer (in about an hour after I arrived) the next one was being prepared for pickup so I know they are not just sitting on them.

 

[MIGZ]

You know what would be funny is if the owner of Gator called you with a refund for you to go away. He says I can already tell you are going to be a nightmare customer.....

 

[@Life411]

@Life411, I wasn't replying to you. I was taking issue with some over-the-top statements.

That said, you've made your point. You'll get some agreements and some disagreements on your posts. In either case, I hope you soon get the message that your car has arrived!

Thanks, me too!

 

[@Life411]

Any deliveries or other updates for folks with deposits at Gator. I understand they're processing 5 or 6 cars a week, so at that pace it could take a long time to work through all the orders. Called and left a message for Tony a little while ago.

 

[ameeriklane]

I received a mass email addressed to "reservation holders & fellow Lotus enthusiasts" from Chandler at Gator today stating they have a demo car available for test drives, and a link to schedule a test drive appointment. If I lived closer, I'd certainly give that a try while I wait on any news on my car.

The email didn't provide any updates on the status of deliveries for reservation holders. If anyone hears anything, please pass it on to the rest of us.

 

[ManOfSteel]

I received word yesterday that Gator has my car, so I sent them their money! As soon as they're done with their inspection and detail I'll fly down and drive it home. It's exactly 600 miles to my house. We'll see if I can smash Googles 9 hr 5 min estimate.

 

[ameeriklane]

I received word yesterday that Gator has my car, so I sent them their money! As soon as they're done with their inspection and detail I'll fly down and drive it home. It's exactly 600 miles to my house. We'll see if I can smash Googles 9 hr 5 min estimate.

Looks great! Mine has the same exterior color though with full black pack. I'm also about 600 miles from Gator but I'm thinking of splitting the drive into two days to enjoy the ride and take the more scenic route back (less interstates, more backroads).

 

[@Life411]

Looks great! Mine has the same exterior color though with full black pack. I'm also about 600 miles from Gator but I'm thinking of splitting the drive into two days to enjoy the ride and take the more scenic route back (less interstates, more backroads).

Too bad we're all taking delivery at different times and different directions. My trip will be 650 miles to NC. Mine is same HY, no black pack...would love to see it side-by-side with yours with the black pack since I debated this for a long time.

 

[@Life411]

I have some PPF info to share this morning.

 

[brainf18]

Wonder if that includes paint correct prior to applying the Xpel PPF?

 

[GetawayDriving]

I received word yesterday that Gator has my car, so I sent them their money! As soon as they're done with their inspection and detail I'll fly down and drive it home. It's exactly 600 miles to my house. We'll see if I can smash Googles 9 hr 5 min estimate.


View attachment 42729View attachment 42730View attachment 42731

Is there a Cannonball Run for cars specifically limited to 4,000 RPM?

 

[ManOfSteel]

Is there a Cannonball Run for cars specifically limited to 4,000 RPM?

I haven't done the math, but pretty sure 4000rpm in 6th gear = jail.

 

[ameeriklane]

Thanks for the PPF information. It's about the same price as the PPF company I've used in the past in my area. Any pricing on ceramic too?

 

[Julian73]

That's a very different situation. I completely agree. Gator communicating that directly rather than have partial info slip out on the forum would be much better business practice. That is the real issue here...

Most any business keeps the whereabouts/actions of their employees confidential, be it on vacation or a business trip.