Possible buyer- not yet convinced
Discussion
Help required on a small matter.
I have wanted an Evora S practically since they came out and I am now in the position to buy one. The only problem is that I live in the darkest depths of Cumbria and my nearest Lotus dealer is in Cheshire (an hour and a half away). What happens with servicing and breakdowns, will my local garage be able to help or should they be avoided? What happens when I sell it on (unfortunately the wife mentioned the 'B' word last week for the first time), would I have to take the part ex hit? I used to own an Elise when I lived in Edinburgh and had to visit Murray Lotus a number of times and I'm therefore a little wary that problems may arise from time to time.
Please stop me from buying an RS3 or a Cayman!!
I have wanted an Evora S practically since they came out and I am now in the position to buy one. The only problem is that I live in the darkest depths of Cumbria and my nearest Lotus dealer is in Cheshire (an hour and a half away). What happens with servicing and breakdowns, will my local garage be able to help or should they be avoided? What happens when I sell it on (unfortunately the wife mentioned the 'B' word last week for the first time), would I have to take the part ex hit? I used to own an Elise when I lived in Edinburgh and had to visit Murray Lotus a number of times and I'm therefore a little wary that problems may arise from time to time.
Please stop me from buying an RS3 or a Cayman!!
If the well known "niggles" have been fixed, depending on what age of car you are buying, I wouldn't worry too much about reliability.
My N/A has had a few niggles in the 2 years I have had it, but never caused any particular inconvenience (cruise control failing, boot leak - now sorted).
Otherwise seems bulletproof and cheap to run - only thing that really ever concerns me re "breakdowns" is a flat battery, and that is only because the battery is small/not great at holding charge, and the emergency boot release to get at it for a jumpstart is a PITA to use.
If you want something a bit special to drive and look at it's tremendous value - I was no Lotus fanboy at all before I bought mine, but the car (and excellent service from Murray Lotus) has convinced me that bypassing the usual German suspects was definitely the right decision.
My N/A has had a few niggles in the 2 years I have had it, but never caused any particular inconvenience (cruise control failing, boot leak - now sorted).
Otherwise seems bulletproof and cheap to run - only thing that really ever concerns me re "breakdowns" is a flat battery, and that is only because the battery is small/not great at holding charge, and the emergency boot release to get at it for a jumpstart is a PITA to use.
If you want something a bit special to drive and look at it's tremendous value - I was no Lotus fanboy at all before I bought mine, but the car (and excellent service from Murray Lotus) has convinced me that bypassing the usual German suspects was definitely the right decision.
I've had an Evora for a couple of years, I've had the occasional niggle but nothing that's stopped me from enjoying or using the car. I live about 50 mins from my dealer and they pick the car up for issues and servicing, all gratis too. Can't complain about the dealership, absolutely top notch.
Edited by naboo on Friday 19th December 14:41
Might be an early IPS issue, I've had mine for almost 3 years never missed a beat. Lotus seem to update the software on a fairly regular basis which is a good sign of it being an ongoing system. I never thought I'd like the fully auto mode but it's responsive enough to have fun, plus you can always override it with the paddles. Above all it makes the car very usable in town, rush hour on the motorways, exactly the sort of journeys I thought I'd avoid in the Evora!
Edited by naboo on Sunday 21st December 21:44
I'm an hour and a half from my nearest dealer and have had the car a few months but its not caused me an issue that would make me worry about that. The dealers also sell their cars with breakdown cover included so if you are on your drive and it conks, you can call up the recovery team and have it taken for you to the dealership. It's standard on all used dealer cars now.
I'm with Lotus Silverstone and if your nearest dealer is anything like them, you will have no problems at all. They bend over backwards to make it easy.
The sell on is an issue I think. I found a perfect E90 M3 last week and decided to see if a swap would be an option but the dealer said most a Lotus dealer would give him was 9k less than I paid for it! And I did not pay that much! So just be aware your only real options in the future are private sale or sale or return through a dealer which will cost you the thick end of £2k.
I would avoid getting it serviced by a non Lotus dealer or specialist if you can. Will drive the value down on resale.
I also echo the recent post about the IPS - I have one, it's brilliant. Yes we all love a manual for the driver experience. But if your driver experience is (8 times out of 10) crawling on the M25 then the auto makes it better not worse. And of course you have a more accessible and bigger sport button which is nice....
It's a lot of dough to drop on a car - no doubt. But it's epic fun and manageable as a daily driver and you go out on to your driveway everyday and smile. Worth every penny.
I'm with Lotus Silverstone and if your nearest dealer is anything like them, you will have no problems at all. They bend over backwards to make it easy.
The sell on is an issue I think. I found a perfect E90 M3 last week and decided to see if a swap would be an option but the dealer said most a Lotus dealer would give him was 9k less than I paid for it! And I did not pay that much! So just be aware your only real options in the future are private sale or sale or return through a dealer which will cost you the thick end of £2k.
I would avoid getting it serviced by a non Lotus dealer or specialist if you can. Will drive the value down on resale.
I also echo the recent post about the IPS - I have one, it's brilliant. Yes we all love a manual for the driver experience. But if your driver experience is (8 times out of 10) crawling on the M25 then the auto makes it better not worse. And of course you have a more accessible and bigger sport button which is nice....
It's a lot of dough to drop on a car - no doubt. But it's epic fun and manageable as a daily driver and you go out on to your driveway everyday and smile. Worth every penny.
Used my IPS as a daily driver for 3-4 years - never any major issues apart from an annoying lambra sensor issue, but never made it non-usable.
I got an IPS as I hated the manual gearbox on them.
I would advise put a little aside for tidying up the interior. They are a little dull, but nothing that a bit of retrimming can't fix.
Best driving car I've ever had.
I got an IPS as I hated the manual gearbox on them.
I would advise put a little aside for tidying up the interior. They are a little dull, but nothing that a bit of retrimming can't fix.
Best driving car I've ever had.
Lazydonkey said:
6k? I put winters on after 5k on my pzero rears and they still had at least 3k left on them i'd say.
Have you checked your geo? Are you doing trackdays?
No track days, geo is bob on, done by Lotus Silverstone. This milage from the Pirelli's is pretty typical if you look at te various Lotus forumsHave you checked your geo? Are you doing trackdays?
Lazydonkey said:
Yeah i'd read the horror stories but that's why i'm so surprised at the mileage i'm getting from mine.
Thats interesting. Which size wheel are you running? I am assuming that you have the MO1 compound on the rear?At leat 50% of my milage is motorway and I tend to be light on brakes, so maybe the momentum that I carry into bends on A and B roads is causing more tyre wear? The rears wear very evenly across the whole tyre.
I do make sure that I get maximum enjoyment from the car..........
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