Non Franchise Servicing, your thoughts?

[Kimbers 1,662]

My Local Garage is a small village one run by 2 proper mechanics. One of them used to be at Lotus (Before the Evora era) and they have a lot of Classics go through their shop. They have said they will do the servicing for me on my Evora as it''s due an oil change service (Had the major one done when I bought it). Using them can save me a fortune as they won't charge any more than they would any other car.

So my question is, Considering my Evora is 8 years old, is there a stigma if it has had a service that wasn't by a Lotus Garage or Lotus Specialist? Do you think it would make it worth less or would it be acceptable to you as a buyer that it was done properly, using genuine oils and filter but by Tim and Richard in a tiny village Garage?

[Bibs 10,703]

Would you prefer a car with dealer stamps in the book or not?

I don't think it's a big deal personally but considering what I paid for my car I'd rather maximise the return when I sold it and I think having franchise stamps would make that easier to realise than not from the next owner. 

[Kimbers 1,662]

No service book anyway so that argument doesn't really count. Andy lost it in his move before he sold the car!

[LotusLeftLotusRight 1,095]

I think you should just use your local garage for an 8 year old car. Servicing at Franchise dealers seems to get exponentially more expensive every year in my experience. A regular oil change service is now nearly twice the price I pay VW for my Passat, which only needs servicing every two years. I am sure a Toyota service manager would fall off his chair if he knew what we were paying for regular services. I’m booked in for the 4 year big one this autumn, but will consider my options in 2020.

 

[21gg 389]

8 year old car, get a copy of the service shedule to make sure everything thats meant to be done, is done. Sorted. 

 

[Bravo73 1,236]

Have you had a word with ES Motorsports yet?

They are local to you, know their way around an Evora (including all its particular quirks) and I wouldn’t be surprised if they charged you about the same as your local mob. 

[Cdm2018 118]

I am taking my car for it’s MOT next week to a local guy who was one of the main mechanics for Storm Lotus 

from what feedback I got of MLOC members he is sound guy and good knowledge of lotus mechanical in and outs 

I would guess where he might lack is the state of art diagnostic equipment to plug into the car ? Otherwise I guess all the mechanical bits are regular to a decent garage?

what I like is that he 15min away and he will sit down and discuss with me my service requirements and possible upgrades of brakes etc 

also in comparison to the dealership he will be 20% cheaper or more ?   

[mayevora 1,097]

I think it’s personal choice. Mine is booked in next week for a service. I could have gone local but I wanted a South West Lotus Centre stamp in the service book. Mine will have its 5th Birthday soon and is a very low mileage unmarked car so want to retain its highest value. A standard Evora service looks a snip compared to Esprit servicing as I remember it.

[jep 742]

Luckily, I live near Bell and Colvill, who discount labour rates by 40% for cars over 6 years old. They know the quirks of each Lotus, so I use them, even for the 25 year old M100. And they get the 340R through the MOT each year. 

It helps that I like the staff, as that tends to be critical for me when having a car serviced. 

I also do prefer to use mechanics who really know the cars. I find generic mechanics can spend more time trying to solve a problem that a more experienced chap or chapesse could have fixed quickly. 

For basic servicing, that may not be relevant but I feel happier that my car is looked at by experienced eyes. 

As for how it affects the value of your car, I think it marginal. The ideal is full main dealer or specialist mechanic history but most important is the car is serviced at the correct intervals, using the correct oil, plugs and parts.

Justin 

[MattyB 24]

If this was a BMW, or Porsche where you were selling to a normal, "non-car" person then I'd say main dealer stamps were pretty much necessary.

In Lotus circles, the majority are proper car nuts who understand (and even value) good specialists. I'd be really surprised if anyone was put off by non-dealer stamps. I will clarify though, I would be concerned if a car was serviced by Kwik Fit, or some other generic back street garage....but at £50/hour at a specialist rather than £100/hour at a main dealer, that's serious savings.

[Escape 743]

I don't understand why most buyers are so upset with dealer service history. I'e seen my share of cars that had all the stamps, but showed clear signs of poor servicing (not Lotus, but not the most generic brands either). I'm sure the owners did pay a premium though.

I do everything myself, but if I needed to go to a garage, I would look at a local independent. One that gets good feedback and knows what he's doing. A 5 min talk is usually enough to detemine the latter. So if you know your local garage, they should be your first choice for servicing.

Filip

[Barrykearley 6,445]

No dealers anywhere near me @Kimbers - Paul Matty isn’t too far away - but he’s more elan than Evora. I’ll be oil and filter changing mine personally

[EGTE 142]

Hell no.

It's a Toyota engine.

[Barrykearley 6,445]

10 minutes ago, EGTE said:

Hell no.

It's a Toyota engine.

But what If one of the ford locks or switches breaks 

[Ledlights 57]

Ditto.

I service it myself and keep a full record of what’s been done along with receipts for parts.  Evoras are straightforward to work on for a low volume production car.  

When I’ve been to see cars there seems to be no clear correlation between dealer servicing and car quality, so I’d rather see evidence of work along with car condition.

[C8RKH 5,810]

On 19/09/2019 at 14:16, Kimbers said:

No service book anyway so that argument doesn't really count. Andy lost it in his move before he sold the car!

But you did get all the receipts for all the services! So the history is there.

[Kier 18]

I still take my Evora to official Lotus places, which is ironic really as I've had some terrible experiences at two different Lotus dealerships. In fact I now do a 400 mile round trip to Hanger 111 because I trust them there, as opposed to Westover Lotus which is about 3 miles from where I live, or Wllliams in Bristol, both of which have been terrible in my experiences with them.  I often wonder if it's worth the extra effort V's just going somewhere smaller and local.

[Bruss 563]

It depends on age of your car at sale time and who you are going to sell to.

I'd guess a newbie would want a dealer service record especially for a car less than 4 years old.

On the other hand I know my service record is wayyyy above the standard of most dealers and the frequency of basic changes of fluids, discs and pads, as well as adjustments of non service schedule items is way above  what Lotus ask for. I would imagine that current Lotus owners would recognise this and pay me an ginormous premium to have their hands on my car. 

[au-yt 440]

I came back to LOTUS for the reason they are a "more normal" car and so far even a level 3 service wasn't to expensive. Unlike other newer exotics like Dancing Donkeys where unless the weight of the servicing paperwork matches the weight of the car people wont touch it.

I have a basic rule with car servicing in that every three years other than oil changes Fluids get changed, brake, clutch and coolant and the rest is on condition.

However there are services I plan to do my self, example spark plugs, after which I put notes in the service book covering what I do and keep the receipts and proof.

 

 

[andyj007 405]

personally im particular about having the main dealer stamps.. and have avoided certain cars that dont have them.. I  wouldnt take the  evora anywhere but a decent lotus service centre.  i like keeping the service history up to date with a fully stamped book , and would think if i ever came to sell it would be a positive..  but thats just me..

im lucky to a have  the excellent chaps at hanger 111 within 30mins , who are very reasonable..£.   i like keeping the service history up to date with a fully stamped book , and would think if i ever came to sell it would be a positive.. 

theres is not  much complicated   about  the standard servicing bar the unusual  clutch/brake combination fluid.. swap every two years..  so main dealer/ independant/self   is not going to be a extortionate money  anyway.. its if other bits pop up, where a lotus dealer will  most likely have the experience to resolve quickly, which in the long run will save over a local garage...

 

 

 

[tim_marra 451]

7 years on and I still take my car to the dealer I purchased it new from back in 2012, despite it meaning I have to drive past a franchised dealer about one quarter distance into the trip. I think it will be a good selling point when the time comes. It has visited one other dealer, but that was for the SC upgrade, and between service intervals.

If I were buying used I wouldn't be put off seeing respected independent servicing stamps either.

[Kimbers 1,662]

These guys are proper mechanics and one of them worked at Lotus for 12 years in the Service Centre so I think they are pretty good. They also service all my kids cars.

[Techyd 194]

On 22/09/2019 at 13:39, Kier said:

I still take my Evora to official Lotus places, which is ironic really as I've had some terrible experiences at two different Lotus dealerships. In fact I now do a 400 mile round trip to Hanger 111 because I trust them there, as opposed to Westover Lotus which is about 3 miles from where I live, or Wllliams in Bristol, both of which have been terrible in my experiences with them.  I often wonder if it's worth the extra effort V's just going somewhere smaller and local.

Checkout Purbeck Sports cars, they are in Holton Heath, Poole.  Jon is Lotus trained, very friendly and works on all things Lotus.  He services and MOTs my Evora.

[tim_marra 451]

3 hours ago, Kimbers said:

They also service all my kids cars.

Tri-ang or Corgi?

[F1_Chris 35]

I think it is important you take your car to someone who you trust and has a good reputation. I have had so many bad experiances with main dealers.  After much reading on the net the one place I had read very little negative feedback on and lots of positive stuff was Hanger 111 - so I too make the 2 hour trip, confident I will have the job done properly by people who know the car.