The lure of an under £60k starting price....

[Dommo]

We all know that the 'under £60k starting price' was going to be the poverty spec but I assumed (probably naively), that the First Edition might be around £70k - before the official pricing was released. And now that we know the full cost with a few extras added, plus the 'on the road prices and car tax', does anyone else feel like the cost of being one of the lucky early FE Editions depositors is actually in a different price league?

Once you add on the PCP that most people will likely use, it's a £90k car!

I've paid my 2 deposits and fully intend to take delivery but I have to admit that as time goes on I can't help but question how I went from a £60-£70k car to a £90k one!

Feel free to shoot me down if it's just me but I'm genuinely interested in others thoughts on this.,

 

[TXEMIRA]

We all know that the 'under £60k starting price' was going to be the poverty spec but I assumed (probably naively), that the First Edition might be around £70k - before the official pricing was released. And now that we know the full cost with a few extras added, plus the 'on the road prices and car tax', does anyone else feel like the cost of being one of the lucky early FE Editions depositors is actually in a different price league?

Once you add on the PCP that most people will likely use, it's a £90k car!

I've paid my 2 deposits and fully intend to take delivery but I have to admit that as time goes on I can't help but question how I went from a £60-£70k car to a £90k one!

Feel free to shoot me down if it's just me but I'm genuinely interested in others thoughts on this.,

For US Pricing the V6 FE feels “right” so far from what I can see.
Just one opinion but interested in hearing more.

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

We all know that the 'under £60k starting price' was going to be the poverty spec but I assumed (probably naively), that the First Edition might be around £70k - before the official pricing was released. And now that we know the full cost with a few extras added, plus the 'on the road prices and car tax', does anyone else feel like the cost of being one of the lucky early FE Editions depositors is actually in a different price league?

Once you add on the PCP that most people will likely use, it's a £90k car!

I've paid my 2 deposits and fully intend to take delivery but I have to admit that as time goes on I can't help but question how I went from a £60-£70k car to a £90k one!

Feel free to shoot me down if it's just me but I'm genuinely interested in others thoughts on this.,

I actually questioned this myself too,if I knew it was going to cost me 80k from day one,I'd have backed out...but yet I'm still here,here's the reasons why:

1) it's beautiful and I'm impatient
2) for years I wanted another lotus but have been spoilt by luxury in other brands(porsche/maserati/Aston),now Lotus have met that factor too
3) when you look at the options included-dare I say,it's actually a bargain.
Not that I ever envisage selling it,but all of those added options are desirable to future collectors when let's be honest,as the last petrol engine lotus,its going to be sought after in a few years.

 

[Tonyshepp]

We all know that the 'under £60k starting price' was going to be the poverty spec but I assumed (probably naively), that the First Edition might be around £70k - before the official pricing was released. And now that we know the full cost with a few extras added, plus the 'on the road prices and car tax', does anyone else feel like the cost of being one of the lucky early FE Editions depositors is actually in a different price league?

Once you add on the PCP that most people will likely use, it's a £90k car!

I've paid my 2 deposits and fully intend to take delivery but I have to admit that as time goes on I can't help but question how I went from a £60-£70k car to a £90k one!

Feel free to shoot me down if it's just me but I'm genuinely interested in others thoughts on this.,

Very early on they did say the car would be under £80k which it is. It’s not their fault that some people are looking to finance and so the cost to do this is increased due to finance costs.

I personally can’t see the 60k base car staying that price for very long due to inflation.

 

[NickR]

When I spoke to the dealer (July) he said you should expect £75k for FE. The only thing I didn't count on was the delivery and tax. So I've got to find another 5k.

 

[NickR]

Very early on they did say the car would be under £80k which it is. It’s not their fault that some people are looking to finance and so the cost to do this is increased due to finance costs.

I personally can’t see the 60k base car staying that price for very long due to inflation.

I can't see 60k either. You can already add £3k on it for tax and delivery. I bet an average spec base addition will be upwards of £70k

 

[Lots_Of_Trouble]

I can't see 60k either. You can already add £3k on it for tax and delivery. I bet an average spec base addition will be upwards of £70k

Exactly,add on a manual gearbox and a few basic extras and you're already into the 70k+ bracket-making the first edition with all bolt ons an even better bargain

 

[Tonyshepp]

Exactly,add on a manual gearbox and a few basic extras and you're already into the 70k+ bracket-making the first edition with all bolt ons an even better bargain

Then factor in price rises of 3-5 percent a year on top.

 

[AGP]

We all know that the 'under £60k starting price' was going to be the poverty spec but I assumed (probably naively), that the First Edition might be around £70k - before the official pricing was released. And now that we know the full cost with a few extras added, plus the 'on the road prices and car tax', does anyone else feel like the cost of being one of the lucky early FE Editions depositors is actually in a different price league?

Once you add on the PCP that most people will likely use, it's a £90k car!

I've paid my 2 deposits and fully intend to take delivery but I have to admit that as time goes on I can't help but question how I went from a £60-£70k car to a £90k one!

Feel free to shoot me down if it's just me but I'm genuinely interested in others thoughts on this.,

I agree. I didn't think I wanted/needed a new weekend car until I watched the live unveiling and I was suckered in by the under £60K price tag and the looks, especially as I wanted the I4 car as my first choice. It will be a weekend/summer car so I'm not too bothered about the added features/extras on the car. I mean C'mon I have had an Exige for 12 yrs, sun visors is a luxury for me.
It was clear when the V6FE pricing was released that the I4 FE would be considerably more than the £60K I ideally wanted to pay. I would like an FE car because I will get one sooner and the more I thought about the base spec car, I would probably add a few of the extras which would probably cost £5K, so the FE became more attractive (Man maths). We don't know the I4 pricing as of yet and I suspect I will be looking at around £75K with the added Black pack ,which is a lot more than I wanted to pay initially.
So, the marketing worked a treat, it suckered me in and now I'm hooked, but to be fair, when I saw the car during the live events, I did think that the car is a bargain price for what it is compared to the competition. It is a competitor in looks, to any high end supercar. I'm lucky that I don't have to factor in any APR added costs, so that doesn't increase the overall cost for me, here's hoping the I4 price isn't too high

 

[freefall_junkie]

As a bit of a finance and economics addict I've mentioned this before: CPI in the UK is currently around 5%, but more importantly producer input inflation (i.e. what manufacturers pay their suppliers) was 13.5% at the end of 2021. Given that base Emiras won't start being made until next year, this makes it highly unlikely we will ever see a sub £60k Emira. I'm just grateful that Lotus haven't so far been forced to hike the price of the V6 FE, because make no mistake, that macro economic backdrop makes Emira price rises 100% inevitable sooner or later. Honestly, the V6 FE is a bargain

 

[Duncx]

'Lure' is the correct word, and I took the 'hook line and sinker' too. I wouldn't have signed up so quickly for an £80K pricetag and I always felt my absolute cutoff point for the V6 was £75K. So it's actually £76K, hmmm, not too far away, oh and BTW there's some OTR costs (quite a bit actually!) so now it's really a tad over £79K.
I try to feel a bit better by reminding myself that even a base spec i4 with cloth seats, flat paint, crap music, chunky wheels etc will cost £62K OTR and even that may never happen. Inflation and supply/demand pressures could see 'the £60K car' quietly dissappear.

Maybe our £80K fully loaded FE V6 cars will quickly be seen as an absolute bargain

 

[AGP]

As a bit of a finance and economics addict I've mentioned this before: CPI in the UK is currently around 5%, but more importantly producer input inflation (i.e. what manufacturers pay their suppliers) was 13.5% at the end of 2021. Given that base Emiras won't start being made until next year, this makes it highly unlikely we will ever see a sub £60k Emira. I'm just grateful that Lotus haven't so far been forced to hike the price of the V6 FE, because make no mistake, that macro economic backdrop makes Emira price rises 100% inevitable sooner or later. Honestly, the V6 FE is a bargain

I agree and it's going to make the I4 FE pricing tricky, they can't make it too close to the V6 because it may mean a lot of I4 FE people will switch to the V6. The FE cars may become the bargains, due to the ever changing economic situation.

 

[Duncx]

I agree and it's going to make the I4 FE pricing tricky, they can't make it too close to the V6 because it may mean a lot of I4 FE people will switch to the V6. The FE cars may become the bargains, due to the ever changing economic situation.

I'm not sure many would swap between the two engines based on price, I believe that the price difference between them (for same spec) is only about £6K anyway? I reckon (based on no evidence whatsoever lol) that most people have made their choice based on the engine/gearbox combo that they actually prefer.

 

[KJD]

I assumed (probably naively)

I think that’s your issue.
We were told fairly early on that the V6 FE would be “around £75k”
Road tax is a known at £1910.
The OTR charge of £1045 is a bit much really but not completely unexpected.
Add in a few, personal preference, extras.

I was always thinking I’d be in for £80k-ish.
My spec comes in at £81,074 drive-away, so not far off.

 

[scoates]

I was definitely enticed by the £60k price tag initially but very quickly became aware of "around £75k" for the V6 FE and had assumed and budgeted for around £80k all in so I'm not too surprised by these figures. Definitely had to look more carefully for the fact that the delivery, road tax etc had to be added as seems like most other manufacturers quote the On The Road price right from the start! Slightly disappointed by the finance options though, was hoping they'd be a bit more enticing.

From the looks of the car and the supposed quality we'll be getting from the reports of the factory visit I think it will end up being quite a competitive price compared to the competition.

 

[AGP]

I'm not sure many would swap between the two engines based on price, I believe that the price difference between them (for same spec) is only about £6K anyway? I reckon (based on no evidence whatsoever lol) that most people have made their choice based on the engine/gearbox combo that they actually prefer.

I agree but my point was referring to the difficulty in keeping the I4 pricing to something similar to £6K based on the ever increasing supplier/manufacturing costs. Some people have definitely made the decision based on the price difference, what that % would be , I don't know.
Here's hoping that the difference is still going to show a clear difference

 

[Dommo]

I agree. I didn't think I wanted/needed a new weekend car until I watched the live unveiling and I was suckered in by the under £60K price tag and the looks, especially as I wanted the I4 car as my first choice. It will be a weekend/summer car so I'm not too bothered about the added features/extras on the car. I mean C'mon I have had an Exige for 12 yrs, sun visors is a luxury for me.
It was clear when the V6FE pricing was released that the I4 FE would be considerably more than the £60K I ideally wanted to pay. I would like an FE car because I will get one sooner and the more I thought about the base spec car, I would probably add a few of the extras which would probably cost £5K, so the FE became more attractive (Man maths). We don't know the I4 pricing as of yet and I suspect I will be looking at around £75K with the added Black pack ,which is a lot more than I wanted to pay initially.
So, the marketing worked a treat, it suckered me in and now I'm hooked, but to be fair, when I saw the car during the live events, I did think that the car is a bargain price for what it is compared to the competition. It is a competitor in looks, to any high end supercar. I'm lucky that I don't have to factor in any APR added costs, so that doesn't increase the overall cost for me, here's hoping the I4 price isn't too high

Yep, I’m hooked and the marketing campaign at £60k +++ worked its magic!

I’ll still happily pay the £80k ‘on the road’ price tag as there’s no way I could come this far in the process and not proceed!

 

[Tonyshepp]

I was definitely enticed by the £60k price tag initially but very quickly became aware of "around £75k" for the V6 FE and had assumed and budgeted for around £80k all in so I'm not too surprised by these figures. Definitely had to look more carefully for the fact that the delivery, road tax etc had to be added as seems like most other manufacturers quote the On The Road price right from the start! Slightly disappointed by the finance options though, was hoping they'd be a bit more enticing.

From the looks of the car and the supposed quality we'll be getting from the reports of the factory visit I think it will end up being quite a competitive price compared to the competition.

I factored in around £80k as Lotus did say very early on before the FE pricing was announced that the car would be under £80k for the first editions - give or take adding the optional black pack it is.

 

[Dommo]

I think that’s your issue.
We were told fairly early on that the V6 FE would be “around £75k”
Road tax is a known at £1910.
The OTR charge of £1045 is a bit much really but not completely unexpected.
Add in a few, personal preference, extras.

I was always thinking I’d be in for £80k-ish.
My spec comes in at £81,074 drive-away, so not far off.

Fair point! And I should know better after years of buying cars but I generally buy used and completely forgot to account for the high first year’s tax and delivery and prep.

Either way, I’ll still be eagerly awaiting mine!

 

[jamesbxxx]

I think people are getting mixed up with a Base Spec i4 and FE i4 price.