USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[I.am.Duke]

I think from the time the car leaves Hethel until it arrives at the dealer, Lotus has no idea what is happening. They are certainly less informed than the collective group on this forum. Which is both sad and pathetic. The dealers know even less, as most of us have had the experience of "informing the dealers" as to what is happening. For those lucky enough to have gotten cars, it worked out fine. For those of us trying to figure out where our car is and when we might receive, it's an extraordinarily frustrating process. I guess that's what we get for getting into bed with Lotus. Absolute cluster F#$k.

 

[Nova]

I think from the time the car leaves Hethel until it arrives at the dealer, Lotus has no idea what is happening. They are certainly less informed than the collective group on this forum. Which is both sad and pathetic. The dealers know even less, as most of us have had the experience of "informing the dealers" as to what is happening. For those lucky enough to have gotten cars, it worked out fine. For those of us trying to figure out where our car is and when we might receive, it's an extraordinarily frustrating process. I guess that's what we get for getting into bed with Lotus. Absolute cluster F#$k.

I actually think they know exactly what's going on. The guys at Lotus USA shows up at Baltimore to process the cars and arrange for trucking to dealers.

They know.

They just don't want to share anything, because they don't have that capability. It would cause more harm than good so they are sharing *ZERO* information. Any *specific* information that has been released in the past has been leaks such as the first Baltimore photo showing cars on the ground, or information provided by the dealers. Lotus has never communicated specific information to NA customers directly.

 

[I.am.Duke]

I hope you're right - but I am literally arguing right now, with lotus rep directly, who is insisting my vehicle is on a boat that was previously scheduled to arrive in Baltimore on 3/30. I told him that boat went to Newark. He still insists that boat has my vehicle on it and is awaiting a re-routing. I then pointed out that the next scheduled boat is due 4/7 - he had no idea what that was. And this is the Lotus Rep who feeds information to the dealer. So maybe some know what is happening, and some do not?

 

[seriously]

My sales guy is quick to tell me that he doesn’t know. So at least he’s… “responsive?” I’m guessing dealers are in the dark most of the time.

Feel like Doug DeM needs to do a video on the quirks and features of buying a lotus.

 

[kitkat]

I hope you're right - but I am literally arguing right now, with lotus rep directly, who is insisting my vehicle is on a boat that was previously scheduled to arrive in Baltimore on 3/30. I told him that boat went to Newark. He still insists that boat has my vehicle on it and is awaiting a re-routing. I then pointed out that the next scheduled boat is due 4/7 - he had no idea what that was. And this is the Lotus Rep who feeds information to the dealer. So maybe some know what is happening, and some do not?

He's got no clue and you can't blame him -- he's fed small bits of updates from Lotus USA every now and then.

 

[LuckysDad]

Feel like Doug DeM needs to do a video on the quirks and features of buying a lotus.

Quirks & Features of buying a Lotus.
You're initially told cars will be in the $80s
More like $110 plus ppf, ceramic, etc
You put a deposit down.
You'll get a car "soon"
Or not
You might get a car that works
Or not
Your friends will constantly ask where your car is.

 

[Rhinocerosity]

Quirks & Features of buying a Lotus.
You're initially told cars will be in the $80s
More like $110 plus ppf, ceramic, etc
You put a deposit down.
You'll get a car "soon"
Or not
You might get a car that works
Or not
Your friends will constantly ask where your car is.

Its become a joke amongst my family and friends at this point, I don't think they even believe this car exists.

 

[99Problems]

Its become a joke amongst my family and friends at this point, I don't think they even believe this car exists.

100% this...

 

[Six Speed Stephen]

Its become a joke amongst my family and friends at this point, I don't think they even believe this car exists.

Same. Endless jokes.

 

[seriously]

Same. Endless jokes.

Same. When > me

It will become an urban myth soon enough.

 

[showtime]

What was it about the Nano Fusion PPF that bothered you?

I saw a lot of lines and a lot of edges peeling (an this had just been done). Also, the detail prior seemed to be pretty spotty - lots of polish marks left.

 

[LuckysDad]

I saw a lot of lines and a lot of edges peeling (an this had just been done). Also, the detail prior seemed to be pretty spotty - lots of polish marks left.

Dealerships detailers have no clue

 

[RichiEmira]

If I had to guess, it will be Lotus of DC or Philly. But, if Lotus prioritizes their larger dealers, it will be NJ/NY.

Ironically enough, I ordered my car from Pittsburgh (because West Chester wasn’t a twinkle in any one’s eye in July of ‘21) and Princeton seemed to have Lotus vehicles as an afterthought. It’s funny to think that dealers that didn’t exist in CARB states will be getting cars first. What a long, strange trip it’s been.

 

[Porter]

I saw a lot of lines and a lot of edges peeling (an this had just been done). Also, the detail prior seemed to be pretty spotty - lots of polish marks left.

Dealerships detailers have no clue

Yep I would blame this one on the detail work, the Lotus PPF vendor doesn't do paint correction prior to application. So the outcome is going to depend on the condition of the car prior to being turned over to them.

 

[Nova]

Ironically enough, I ordered my car from Pittsburgh (because West Chester wasn’t a twinkle in any one’s eye in July of ‘21) and Princeton seemed to have Lotus vehicles as an afterthought. It’s funny to think that dealers that didn’t exist in CARB states will be getting cars first. What a long, strange trip it’s been.

Yep. These new dealers allowed quite a bit of practical "line jumping". I know that the reason I'm not too upset about it is because I got an allocation. I would definitely feel some type of way if I was still waiting for my build. Lotus of DC is about 30 minutes away from me but when I ordered, Lotus of NJ was the closest dealer from me with a reasonable ratio of deposits to potential allocation size.

On the other hand, I do appreciate having a local Lotus dealer.

 

[Maurice R]

To be fair, what the salesperson said can be correct in certain contexts. FE 2.0 cars are continuing to be built - some have not been built. Or, if they have been built, maybe Lotus has not supplied those to the dealers yet.

Regardless, based on the SN ranges, we see that Lotus is building cars at a fast pace. The SNs are already up to the 2500 range for NA cars. I assume they will be pushing out all FE 2.0 manual cars ASAP so that they can tick over to 2025 MY production.

I was under the impression that there were only 700 FE.1 and 600 in second batch so not sure how you get 2500 for NA
How did you get to that figure

 

[Porter]

I was under the impression that there were only 700 FE.1 and 600 in second batch so not sure how you get 2500 for NA
How did you get to that figure

He didn't say that those numbers were all for North America. He's saying that the sequential VIN ranges have gone from the 300s in November to the 2500s now, so they are pushing out quite a lot of product.

 

[kitkat]

I saw a lot of lines and a lot of edges peeling (a this had just been done). Also, the detail prior seemed to be pretty spotty - lots of polish marks left.

That’s the problem with contracting out dealership ppf, I’d much rather go out to a professional local shop with their reputation on the line.

 

[Porter]

Upcoming ships:

Atlantic Sun to Newark April 7.
Atlantic Sail to Newark April 12.

 

[falafel91]

If anyone is interested in a FE 6spd/Magma Red/black with red stiching/diamond cut/yellow calipers/black pack, I just gave up my allocation at Scottsdale Lotus in AZ.
Car was supposed to come in the fall/winter, but arrived much sooner. Normally id be thrilled about this, but I am out of state for work and will not be back until the fall so won't be able to pick up my car