Lotus trouble in Australia
Discussion
I noticed LCA in another thread, so since I have his attention here I might get off my chest the CRAP that I have been put through by the official Lotus dealer here in Perth.
I bought my first Esprit in '99 from the then official Lotus dealer here, Westpoint Star. Their after sale service was pathetic! They even refused to fix some things that were wrong with the car while still under warranty! I had never encountered such horendous customer service. I get better service at my local Ford dealership!
Anyway, that wasn't as bad as what I have to put up with now! I bought an S4s in December from the current Lotus dealer here, Barbagallo's. I had some work done on the car recently, which cost about $4,000. Francois that is the head of service in the Ferarri/Lotus/Lamborghini shop is fantastic. But I can't say the same about his higher ups!
After all this work that the car had done on it there, it needed to have the ECU adjusted, as the idle keeps going up and down. Yet Barbagallo's doesn't have a Tech1 to do it with. And now, SIX WEEKS LATER, I have the car in there almost EVERY DAY while poor Francois tries to get the idle right by doing everything he can think of, only because Barbagallos refuses to get the Tech1 in!!! With the Tech1 it would be a 10min job!
I mean, I buy a Lotus off the official Lotus dealer who later can't fix a simple matter on the car because it doesn't have the tools necessary and it also REFUSES to get them in!!! Now, 6 weeks of getting screwed around, the car is still not fixed!
And listen to what they just told me - if I pay for a Tech1, they would be happy to get one in!!! WTF??? I am supposed to pay for a tool that the OFFICIAL Lotus dealer should have, in order to get my car fixed???
They said to me that if I would take the car to the 'local corner mechanic', he would have to get the tool in as well. Why the hell should I take my car to the local corner mechanic when there is an official Lotus service center in town?? Oh, I forgot, the official Lotus service centre is refusing to purchase the tools it requires to fix the cars!
Now that is my story. And yes I am pissed off! No wonder that Ferarri and Maserati outsell Lotus in this country, when Lotus owners have to put up with garbage like this!
I bought my first Esprit in '99 from the then official Lotus dealer here, Westpoint Star. Their after sale service was pathetic! They even refused to fix some things that were wrong with the car while still under warranty! I had never encountered such horendous customer service. I get better service at my local Ford dealership!
Anyway, that wasn't as bad as what I have to put up with now! I bought an S4s in December from the current Lotus dealer here, Barbagallo's. I had some work done on the car recently, which cost about $4,000. Francois that is the head of service in the Ferarri/Lotus/Lamborghini shop is fantastic. But I can't say the same about his higher ups!
After all this work that the car had done on it there, it needed to have the ECU adjusted, as the idle keeps going up and down. Yet Barbagallo's doesn't have a Tech1 to do it with. And now, SIX WEEKS LATER, I have the car in there almost EVERY DAY while poor Francois tries to get the idle right by doing everything he can think of, only because Barbagallos refuses to get the Tech1 in!!! With the Tech1 it would be a 10min job!
I mean, I buy a Lotus off the official Lotus dealer who later can't fix a simple matter on the car because it doesn't have the tools necessary and it also REFUSES to get them in!!! Now, 6 weeks of getting screwed around, the car is still not fixed!
And listen to what they just told me - if I pay for a Tech1, they would be happy to get one in!!! WTF??? I am supposed to pay for a tool that the OFFICIAL Lotus dealer should have, in order to get my car fixed???
They said to me that if I would take the car to the 'local corner mechanic', he would have to get the tool in as well. Why the hell should I take my car to the local corner mechanic when there is an official Lotus service center in town?? Oh, I forgot, the official Lotus service centre is refusing to purchase the tools it requires to fix the cars!
Now that is my story. And yes I am pissed off! No wonder that Ferarri and Maserati outsell Lotus in this country, when Lotus owners have to put up with garbage like this!
Sorry to hear about your repair nightmares.
From everything I have heard, this is the
exception. It couldn't hurt to call the REAL
Lotus headquarters and maybe they could
step in. I do not know the phone number
where you live, but America's number is
1-800-24-LOTUS.
I had two similar idle problems. One was they
had to reprogram the ECU. The other, much
harder to diagnose one, was the valve that keeps
the fuel line full of fuel was malfunctioning.
Good luck.
From everything I have heard, this is the
exception. It couldn't hurt to call the REAL
Lotus headquarters and maybe they could
step in. I do not know the phone number
where you live, but America's number is
1-800-24-LOTUS.
I had two similar idle problems. One was they
had to reprogram the ECU. The other, much
harder to diagnose one, was the valve that keeps
the fuel line full of fuel was malfunctioning.
Good luck.
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