What's the longest you've heard someone wait for a new car?

[TheMotizzle]

Lotus or any other car. How long? Was it worth it?

 

[GetawayDriving]

OK confession time. When Tesla announced the Model 3 I went to my local Tesla store at 3am on launch day. I was first in-line in that location to place an order at 10am. Took 2 years exactly to the day to receive the car. I loved it. It wasn't perfect. A misaligned fender, an ill-fitting taillight, a rear door handle that would stick and a suspension that sounded like a squeaky mattress. Tesla remedied all problems swiftly and without cost. Kept it for a year and swapped it for a Performance model.

I placed a deposit on a Rivian a year ago, and have heard nothing since.
I reserved a Cybertruck over 3 years ago. Nothing.

Honestly I think the best strategy is just forgetting about it. I look at it like this: Why not have sports car experiences in the meantime? I sink some of the money not currently being spent into renting something fun (on street or on track), or a driving trip. The Emira will arrive when it arrives.

 

[Captain.Kirk]

Lotus or any other car. How long? Was it worth it?

Rip Van Winkle. 20 years later his car arrived but unfortunately the auto world had changed dramatically.

That’s the way I feel in this case with the Emira. I’ve been waiting almost 2 years but I’m sure others have waited even longer. With all of the delays, issues, lack of communication from Lotus and pending price increases I’ve lost interest in what I’ve always thought was an amazing looking car. At some point you need to give up and move on.

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Tesla started taking pre-orders for the Roadster in 2017 with a US$50,000 deposit . . . still hasn't delivered a single car.

Aston Martin Valkyrie and the Mercedes AMG One were sold out in 2017, with many still not delivered. In fact, AMG only delivered the first car to a customer last month.

 

[FlyNavy01]

I was also a day one Model 3 reservation holder as a young 25 year old flight student. March 31st 2016 --> July 31st 2018 delivery was 28 long months, but worth it to get the first Performance model in Florida. 51k miles, 12 track days, and a cross country road trip later, it's been nearly flawless. Desperately hoping the Emira is similar experience. Lotus is really beginning to test my patience with the increasingly piss poor customer treatment lately however.

I seriously feel for the Roadster and Cybertruck folks... If you invested $50k into TSLA instead at the time, it would've been worth over $1 million less than 4 years later. Ouch!

 

[Mark Anderson]

I waited 2 years for my Lotus m250 just to be told they have decided not to make it. By the time my Emira is ready that'll be another 2 years. With the price increase and me moving to Bulgaria recently where the roads are full of potholes I dont think its feasible for me to keep it. 4 years lotus will have been using my money without me ever getting a car

 

[JasonR]

Ask anyone with a TVR deposit

 

[Lotustoronto]

Look at what you guys are comparing to the Emira in terms of wait times;

Valkyrie - basically an F1 car for the road - massive engineering involved
Amg One - same as above
Tesla/Rivian - First of its kind electric trucks built from brand new factories and brand new technology.

Meanwhile Emira is using pretty much technology from 10-20 years ago depending on the parts and tech. With manufacturing techniques that are ancient. There is no reasonable reason for it to be this delayed…. Unless they released it very early in development and basically used depositors as financing. This to me is the most likely scenario. Besides that I agree with @GetawayDriving , it’s best just to wait and see…. That’s what I am doing… it’s too damn good looking, I’m a sucker for the looks

 

[MickOpalak]

Lotus or any other car. How long? Was it worth it?

When Lotus announced they were bringing the Elise to the US I went down to my dealer and put down my deposit. 2 years later I picked it up from the dealer. Well worth the wait. ( I totaled it 4 months later )

 

[Nick in Sydney]

There is no reasonable reason for it to be this delayed….

How quickly we forget! Lotus UK was hit by a perfect storm of reasons for a delay:

COVID, then Brexit, then the global labour shortage, then the Ukraine war. And just when things were improving, China went into a massive lockdown hitting the supply chain.

With hindsight, could Lotus have done things to manage the crisis better? Of course. But let's not get amnesia and forget what happened. They were building a new factory and launching their first new car in over a decade. I remember my local Porsche dealer telling me that the delivery time for a new 911 was 12-18 months (and that's a car that has been in production for years).