cazalea
[Seiko Moderator]
20834
The 30-some Lotus Dealers don't even know what this car is
I've done all the service on my car since new except replacing the fuel tank as a safety recall. That includes new brake rotors, front drive shafts, window motors, headlight motors, shift cables, fuel injectors, ignition coils, redying seats, oil changes, two thermostats, radiator and heater hoses, heater valve, speakers, three or is it four sets of tires, EVEN the SEAT broke.
All in 45,000 miles. But they were hard miles. š
Good points
Handling-Phenomenal
Low cost convertible.
Pretty reliable overall. Isuzu drivetrain. GM parts. Mostly.
Decent interior. Unique looks.
Super easy/quick top up/down process. Top 100% hidden when down.
Weak points
Build quality variable. Brakes are crap - can't lock the tires.
Top leaks, then rips.
Some fiddly bits - shifter cables, headlight motors, window lift mechanism.
Parts are hard to find.
Almost non-existent dealer knowledge of the car
They only brought in 300-500 (numbers vary) and about 110 to California.
Lotus Dealers - somewhere between 30-40 in the North American markets
Cars sold worldwide
2020 - 1378
2021 - 1710
2022 - 576
2023 - expected 2200
Orders anticipated
2400 - 17,000 (what?)
Elise, Exige, and Evora ended production in 2021
Lotus - Alpine project - quietly dropped
2023 Lotus Evija supercar 130 units proposed (2019) - none delivered yet and not all are pre-sold at $2M
2024 Lotus Eletre Electric SUV $80k-150k estimated prices
2024 Lotus 66 Race Car 10 units proposed $1.3M
2025 Lotus Emeja Electric Sedan $120k-150k estimated prices
Average Repair Time.
Although I don't have one of the newer variants, I second all the discussion about Lotus (un)serviceability and (un)friendliness to technicians. And (un)available parts. Lotus inventory is like my garage inventory system... Most of you already know I am d...
Nice Europa you had thereā¦
Buddy of mine had one. Donāt think heās looking for another šøš®.
So, you repaired it yourself?
As hard as it is, Iām guessing that dealer service centers have everything readily available, correct?
The 30-some Lotus Dealers don't even know what this car is
I've done all the service on my car since new except replacing the fuel tank as a safety recall. That includes new brake rotors, front drive shafts, window motors, headlight motors, shift cables, fuel injectors, ignition coils, redying seats, oil changes,...
š¤Æ So essentially youāve nearly built and rebuilt the car a number of times over.
Interestingly small production numbers for Lotusā¦although with what must be a clear fan base.
Be the first one in the state and pay another $50 a year for the last 30 years
I have LOWTUS on my other Elan (they wouldn't give me LOWTUSH for some reason), and the Caterham was LOTUS but I gave that one up when I sold it ... because it was some kind of special commemorative plate and you had to have another car to put it on, and ...
Great post the Elan has always been a car I loved in my teenage mid 90's ! Remind me what is the origin of the engine, Isuzu as well ? At the time Lotus was held by Malaysians Proton if I am not wrong.
The Esprit for sale in the back of your picture is it the last series 350 equiped with the V8 or it is the good old 4 cylinders ?
Isuzu is correct however at the time my car was developed, Lotus was owned by General Motors
Lotus Group is now composed of three primary entities: Lotus Cars , a high-performance sports car company, is based in Hethel, Norfolk, UK Lotus Tech , an ā all-electric lifestyle vehicle company ā, headquartered in Wuhan, China, with other facilities in ...
The Esprit was a V8 - would you like to watch a video of my test drive? see inside
The guy laughing nervously was the dealer selling the car, my friend Steve. ...
The owner said it has been "souped up" a bit and everytime it needs testing must be detuned
that adds a few hundred dollars to each emission test and shortens the life of the engine a bit too. Apparently they don't have a real long life anyway... and yes, accessibility is a sore point. The engine - all 3.5L of it was producing about 350 hp which...
When you drive around in your Elan, with your Ochs & Junior...
You can safely assume no one else in the world is sporting that very unusual combination. Well done for your very personal tastes, which need to be clearly affirmed to support the unreliable English engineering
That's what the mechanics told me!
The mechanics told me that Lotus cars were not made with easy serviceability in mind! And that they were really tight in the engine bay and sometimes a lot of things needed to come out to get to one specific thing since tools and hands couldn't get in cer...
Best to be handy if you own a Lotus, and even my cars spend 98% of their time in the garage waiting for some attention
Something is always leaking or breaking or dripping onto the hot exhaust manifold (like this gasoline) thus everywhere I go I have to have my wife on standby or better yet, a chase car behind to take me home... Actually, this is the ONLY time I have been ...
I see a lot of new Lotus here on our roads lately !
Maybe it's time for you to consider buying the latest Eletre. Full electric lightweight, probably a tad heavier than an Elise .... gnarrrrlllll . I bet there's no oil leaking anywhere ;-)
My friend Steve owned & still owns the Previa
From new till now - despite many woes and minus catalyst converter ripoff(s)
Ugh! So many catalytic converter thefts in California!
The Toyota Prius is a popular car here in California and every Prius seems to be a target for thieves!
I'm not handy at all!
Part of the calculation as to why I don't have a Lotus in my garage!
I envie you so much !
I don't really like to work on my cars and the reason for that is our dreadful cold weather. I hate working in the cold ... . I also have a feeling that your average repair time can't be compared to the repair time of average people just owning one or may...
Donāt worry, I wonāt (didnāt) buy an Esprit V8
In a decade, only 1237 V8 Lotus Esprits were sold. Of course that's 4X more than M100 Elans sold in America, but either figure is peanuts when it comes to spare parts & prices. I located these comments from Hagerty: "Air-conditioning is essential, but exp...