USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[benjh1028]

Mine is not for sale....



View attachment 27513

... yet!

Well played!

 

[981KMAN]

So as we are having fun discussing "Matt Windle's high heels" and other items to blow off our frustration while waiting..... What is the latest thoughts on Quality and reliability of current build Emiras? Is Lotus sorting out the issues? or are there still things we need to look out for IF cars come to NA in the late fall?

 

[Hell4Leather]

So as we are having fun discussing "Matt Windle's high heels" and other items to blow off our frustration while waiting..... What is the latest thoughts on Quality and reliability of current build Emiras? Is Lotus sorting out the issues? or are there still things we need to look out for IF cars come to NA in the late fall?

Honestly, I still very much want the Emira, but I am finding McLaren 570s and GT’s in the $120’s - $140’s with less than 25k and are CPO (1+1 yr) with optional 3 additional years warranty. Hell, my Lotus dealer has 2 Ferrari’s and a Vanquish in those ranges on the lot today. Makes the wait harder.

 

[EspritGuy]

Mine is not for sale....



View attachment 27513

... yet!

That trim accent is sharp! Sets off the sculped lines.

 

[EspritGuy]

I suspect you didn't notice the car behind Matt is not an Emira, lol

Actually, I was riveted on the front aero vents.

 

[Concept24]

Honestly, I still very much want the Emira, but I am finding McLaren 570s and GT’s in the $120’s - $140’s with less than 25k and are CPO (1+1 yr) with optional 3 additional years warranty. Hell, my Lotus dealer has 2 Ferrari’s and a Vanquish in those ranges on the lot today. Makes the wait harder.

There's a guy on youtube who has lots of sportscars that he rents. He will no longer carry and McLarens, based upon all the trouble he's had with them. He's currently having trouble with a Corvette C8 Z06 that just dies. I love the 570 GT McLaren but would be wary of having one outside of the warranty.

 

[2BIG2FAIL]

I find it very annoying how poor my lotus dealership is at notifying me of anything. I've been trying to see an Emira in person, maybe even drive one (ambitious, I know) but absolutely never get notified when one is around.

Today, I noticed on instagram a car club in LA (where I live) had a Lotus event with an Emira, provided by Galpin Lotus (the dealership of my deposit). Of course, no word from Lotus this was happening, and unfortunately found out about it via the car club that hosted too late to check it out.

My dealership has had Emira's before too, and still I've never gotten a call or an email. When the 2.0 was announced, no word from Lotus. Even when I call them, I often get no response back until I call them about 3-5 times. Really poor customer service. Seems like many other Lotus dealerships have similar problems.

Would be nice to be treated like a customer instead of finding everything out through the grapevine. At least I have my forum pals!

I have been dealing with Galpin also. It's not very surprising, but they were super responsive when I called initially to place a deposit. Very happy to take my money! After depositing, I have asked the following questions two times to the guy who helped me out:

1. What is my position in the list? How does this translate into an expected delivery date (emphasizing that I am still very much committed to getting the car, that I understand that any estimate is only preliminary, etc.)?

2. When do you expect a car to be in the dealership that I could at least see (if not drive)?

Granted I have asked over text/email, but I have gotten no response on either question, which is a bit frustrating. To be frank, for the first few months of deposit, I wasn't even sure that they had me on a list. All I have is a sort of flimsy receipt from them. Subsequently, I received two emails that were sent out to their broader Emira depositor list, so I am at least now confident that I am actually on the list. I have also taken extreme care to not be pushy and demanding. I have understood from the beginning that road to getting a car would be a marathon, not a sprint. I am pretty deep down the list, so the concerns of when the Emira first hits the US have been more or less irrelevant to me. That being said, it would at least be nice to hear something like, "You are number X on the list. We expect to start getting cars in this month at a rate of Y cars/month, but of course, this timeline is tentative."

I think Galpin realizes that more or less, they have the LA market on lock and that they will sell whatever they will get, so there isn't a huge incentive to expend additional resources placating an anxious list.

 

[EspritGuy]

I have been dealing with Galpin also. It's not very surprising, but they were super responsive when I called initially to place a deposit. Very happy to take my money! After depositing, I have asked the following questions two times to the guy who helped me out:

1. What is my position in the list? How does this translate into an expected delivery date (emphasizing that I am still very much committed to getting the car, that I understand that any estimate is only preliminary, etc.)?

2. When do you expect a car to be in the dealership that I could at least see (if not drive)?

Granted I have asked over text/email, but I have gotten no response on either question, which is a bit frustrating. To be frank, for the first few months of deposit, I wasn't even sure that they had me on a list. All I have is a sort of flimsy receipt from them. Subsequently, I received two emails that were sent out to their broader Emira depositor list, so I am at least now confident that I am actually on the list. I have also taken extreme care to not be pushy and demanding. I have understood from the beginning that road to getting a car would be a marathon, not a sprint. I am pretty deep down the list, so the concerns of when the Emira first hits the US have been more or less irrelevant to me. That being said, it would at least be nice to hear something like, "You are number X on the list. We expect to start getting cars in this month at a rate of Y cars/month, but of course, this timeline is tentative."

I think Galpin realizes that more or less, they have the LA market on lock and that they will sell whatever they will get, so there isn't a huge incentive to expend additional resources placating an anxious list.

... becasue car sales associates and dealerships are so extraordinary busy these days?

 

[Concept24]

I have been dealing with Galpin also. It's not very surprising, but they were super responsive when I called initially to place a deposit. Very happy to take my money! After depositing, I have asked the following questions two times to the guy who helped me out:

1. What is my position in the list? How does this translate into an expected delivery date (emphasizing that I am still very much committed to getting the car, that I understand that any estimate is only preliminary, etc.)?

2. When do you expect a car to be in the dealership that I could at least see (if not drive)?

Granted I have asked over text/email, but I have gotten no response on either question, which is a bit frustrating. To be frank, for the first few months of deposit, I wasn't even sure that they had me on a list. All I have is a sort of flimsy receipt from them. Subsequently, I received two emails that were sent out to their broader Emira depositor list, so I am at least now confident that I am actually on the list. I have also taken extreme care to not be pushy and demanding. I have understood from the beginning that road to getting a car would be a marathon, not a sprint. I am pretty deep down the list, so the concerns of when the Emira first hits the US have been more or less irrelevant to me. That being said, it would at least be nice to hear something like, "You are number X on the list. We expect to start getting cars in this month at a rate of Y cars/month, but of course, this timeline is tentative."

I think Galpin realizes that more or less, they have the LA market on lock and that they will sell whatever they will get, so there isn't a huge incentive to expend additional resources placating an anxious list.

Orange County Lotus is closer to me, (80 miles away from San Diego) so that's where my deposit is. However, like you, I have no idea where I am in line.

 

[EspritGuy]

Orange County Lotus is closer to me, (80 miles away from San Diego) so that's where my deposit is. However, like you, I have no idea where I am in line.

These stories are distressing merely because of laziness. All dealers have a place-in-line list based on deposit date. It is sometimes kept within the accounting department (because of the money involved.) If the sales associate isn't responding to calls, escalate to the next management level. Still not happy? Go the the General Manager. This is the least they can do.
Feel free to mention taking your dealership issue to Lotus Cars USA and see if that gets their attention.
Phone calls work better than texts or emails. Once you have them on the phone request a follow-up email.
I suspect much of the time with this behavior its trying to avoid accountability.
We all deserve better and shouldn't tolerate less.
Good luck.

 

[kin]

I have been dealing with Galpin also. It's not very surprising, but they were super responsive when I called initially to place a deposit. Very happy to take my money! After depositing, I have asked the following questions two times to the guy who helped me out:

1. What is my position in the list? How does this translate into an expected delivery date (emphasizing that I am still very much committed to getting the car, that I understand that any estimate is only preliminary, etc.)?

2. When do you expect a car to be in the dealership that I could at least see (if not drive)?

Granted I have asked over text/email, but I have gotten no response on either question, which is a bit frustrating. To be frank, for the first few months of deposit, I wasn't even sure that they had me on a list. All I have is a sort of flimsy receipt from them. Subsequently, I received two emails that were sent out to their broader Emira depositor list, so I am at least now confident that I am actually on the list. I have also taken extreme care to not be pushy and demanding. I have understood from the beginning that road to getting a car would be a marathon, not a sprint. I am pretty deep down the list, so the concerns of when the Emira first hits the US have been more or less irrelevant to me. That being said, it would at least be nice to hear something like, "You are number X on the list. We expect to start getting cars in this month at a rate of Y cars/month, but of course, this timeline is tentative."

I think Galpin realizes that more or less, they have the LA market on lock and that they will sell whatever they will get, so there isn't a huge incentive to expend additional resources placating an anxious list.

Galpin is legitimately the worst - they were charging 20k ADM and wanted 5k upfront and 5k once build date happens, I have the text receipts if anybody doubts.

Worst experience with a car dealer ever - was enough to make me go all the way to Boardwalk where the reps there have been excellent - it's an extra 5 hours away, but worth it for the fact that they are responsive, didn't charge ADM, and also asked for 2.5 as the deposit.

 

[Drlonline]

I 'm in L.A. and had heard similar stories about Galpin before I placed a deposit in March of this year. I also knew that Orange County's EuroCar had a long list of deposits, so I ended up going with Boardwalk Lotus in Redwood City. They mentioned they have a number of deposits from SoCal people. They confirmed I am #43 on the AMG i4 list, so at least I know where I stand. With all the delays, I suspect I'm looking at late '24 or early '25 for delivery. I'm planning on taking a nice leisurely drive down the coast highway after I pick it up.

 

[Pegasi]

So as we are having fun discussing "Matt Windle's high heels" and other items to blow off our frustration while waiting..... What is the latest thoughts on Quality and reliability of current build Emiras? Is Lotus sorting out the issues? or are there still things we need to look out for IF cars come to NA in the late fall?

I think it will take Lotus a year or so to iron out the electrical issues. I have seen this before with smaller brands launching their first "electrical" vehicle. Software, electrical components, etc. will eventually get smoothed out.

 

[Concept24]

These stories are distressing merely because of laziness. All dealers have a place-in-line list based on deposit date. It is sometimes kept within the accounting department (because of the money involved.) If the sales associate isn't responding to calls, escalate to the next management level. Still not happy? Go the the General Manager. This is the least they can do.
Feel free to mention taking your dealership issue to Lotus Cars USA and see if that gets their attention.
Phone calls work better than texts or emails. Once you have them on the phone request a follow-up email.
I suspect much of the time with this behavior its trying to avoid accountability.
We all deserve better and shouldn't tolerate less.
Good luck.

Thanks. I think it's time for me to pay them a call. There was a sales manager with whom I initially communicated, but she no longer works there. She had given me an estimated timeline, rather than a place number.

 

[Nova]

Sorry to hear about all the issues you guys are having with your dealers. This all just makes the wait that much worse.

 

[Hell4Leather]

There's a guy on youtube who has lots of sportscars that he rents. He will no longer carry and McLarens, based upon all the trouble he's had with them. He's currently having trouble with a Corvette C8 Z06 that just dies. I love the 570 GT McLaren but would be wary of having one outside of the warranty.

The McLaren dealership offers an annual service, inspection, and 1yr warranty extension for $5k. But yea, I’m concerned about that too. Lotus isn’t exactly giving me the warm fuzzies either.

 

[morphious]

I have an order with Galpin and never really had any communication issues via email. I placed my $5k deposit in 2021, order for a 1.0 in 2022 and was not asked for anymore money. They told me that they take $5k upfront to not have to collect anymore at order time to not delay the process. Granted it maybe the fact that if you back out after the order is placed you don't get the car and they get to keep your deposit. I don't really know but I am not backing out so it's not an issue for me. They usually reach out to me more than I do them, but I get most of the information I need here anyways.

 

[squish]

I have an order with Galpin and never really had any communication issues via email. I placed my $5k deposit in 2021, order for a 1.0 in 2022 and was not asked for anymore money. They told me that they take $5k upfront to not have to collect anymore at order time to not delay the process. Granted it maybe the fact that if you back out after the order is placed you don't get the car and they get to keep your deposit. I don't really know but I am not backing out so it's not an issue for me. They usually reach out to me more than I do them, but I get most of the information I need here anyways.

Galpin took a $2500 refundable deposit from me in Nov ‘21 and I have hardly heard a peep from them since. I have received 3 generic updates that really didn’t say anything and an invite to test drive the demo they briefly had (which I attended). They haven’t asked me for any additional money or order information. I don’t know where I am in their order queue or what to expect. I’m somewhat resigned to never getting the car at this point.

 

[Ro_Ja Boy]

It's pretty mindblowing how things are (or better yet aren't) going. If I didn't communicate with my customers, I'd be fired. The culture of this company is that it's okay not to communicate.

 

[adefeatedman]

Just a counterpoint here, but there really isn't much to update at this point. When I went on my drive in April, I spoke with the owner of the dealership in Summit, NJ and he basically told me to be patient and not expect to hear anything until my order is ready to be placed. Since placing my deposit last fall, I haven't heard anything except the invite for the test drive event and I don't really know what else they could have told me that would have been meaningful and worthy of the effort to reach out to all reservation holders.

I'm eager and excited too. It's my first "nice" car that I'm buying for myself. But my dealership letting me know that things are taking a longer time than expected isn't helping get the car in my garage any sooner. I'm just checking this thread every two weeks or so to see what the rumors are but other than that, I'm just thankful to be able to be in a position where I'll eventually be getting my hands on one.