help! clutch gone?

[Solarshaun 1]

Sad times. Good luck with it. I got a measly £500 from Lotus towards costs. Hope yours is still in warranty...

[ramjet 1,086]

Well 500GBP is better than nothing I suppose.

[a7esk 75]

Interesting read mine up to 33500 now can't wait to here what lotus have to say once they inspected failed parts .

[Bullphi 12]

Yes it's still in warrantee. I called the dealer today and they are still trying to work out whether it's the clutch or the hydraulics causing the issue.

[a7esk 75]

That's good news that the dealer on the case .

[Solarshaun 1]

Well 500GBP is better than nothing I suppose.

That's a matter of opinion

[Bibs 11,167]

Give me £500 and you'll be very welcome to my opinion

[Barrykearley 6,861]

If it was out of warranty - then a £500 contribution is very generous........ Maybe I've read the above wrong??

Take a bloody bmw or VW back just outside warranty with a problem - then see what you get. Take some KY jelly with you when they give you the bill and zero assistance......... Spoken with experience........... And just don't ask about my last Chrysler which was a total bag of shite in warranty...... And suffered with the same issues outside of warranty, which they never successfully solved. A year after I finally dumped that particular car - oh look a recall for the problem I had - did I get any joy with a refund of the invoices I had regarding it ? Did I fxxx

There's always a warranty period - and to be fair - it is what it is.........

[C8RKH 6,256]

I tend to agree with Barry that Lotus have been more than genererous, and I say this as a 2010 Evora owner who may suffer the same issue at any time.  It's a difficult one to call but a warranty is just that - it is a guarantee if you like of help and support that has a fixed start date and a fixed end date - it has to have, as otherwise when would a warranty end and the manufacturers obligation cease?

 

I think you are being a bit disrespectful to Lotus here, who again, seem to have gone some way to standing beside their product and their customer when the warranty has EXPIRED.  As Bary has said, try that with any of the big manufacturers - who have volume, scale and financial clout (Lotus have  none of these things) and you will get laughed out of the service office 9.5 times out of ten. VW, Porsche, MB, Jaguar, Ford, BMW, LR, etc. would all be the same. Yet teeny weeny tiny Lotus gives you £500 and they get slagged for it.

 

I bought my 2010 car in April of this year. I paid 50% of what it would have cost new so saved a huge wedge of cash and Lotus got or gets no benefit of me buying that car other than the addition of an enthusiast for the marque who may, or may not, in the future go on to buy another Lotus and maybe even a new one.  

 

In the first 6 months of ownership if my clutch had / does explode like yours my ire and frustration will be levelled at the dealer who sold me the car, not Lotus who made it 5 years ago. I'd expect the dealer to stand by the car they sold me. I'd expect them to negotiate with the warranty company as they provided me with (and I paid for) the warranty based on their advice to assist with issues like this. And this is why I choose to buy, from an approved dealer.

 

I don't know, maybe I am out of kilter with the rest of the world. Maybe I am too soft these days. Maybe I'm just a dickhead. But it does seem that people are never satisfied and feel that when something goes wrong someone else always need to be blamed and someone else always needs to pay for it.  Mechanical stuff breaks and with cars there is no guarantee that it hasn't been influenced by use or other factors. Shit just happens sometimes. Shit will continue to just happen and sometimes it is no-bodies fault it is just unfortunate that it has happened to you. But, in this instance, at least you were £500 better off thanks to a small niche manufacturer who tried to support and help a customer 4 years+ after a car was made and sold.

 

Just a view. Not saying I am right and you are wrong. We all can have a different perspective. 

[PaulCP 675]

I think you are being a bit disrespectful to Lotus here..........

it does seem that people are never satisfied and feel that when something goes wrong someone else always need to be blamed and someone else always needs to pay for it.

Totally agree!

It's just like the guy on Facebook who seems to be making a big issue out of just finding, after over 5 years of ownership, that his reversing light and fog light appear to be the wrong way round.

My wife showed me the post which makes incredible reading. I'm amazed how polite Lotus have been to him even though they must be wanting to tell him to "go and do one" behind the scenes

[C8RKH 6,256]

He posted his "letter" on SELOC @PaulCP and he has been well and truly destroyed on the forum there, to the extent, that he has now deleted the contents of his OP. But he is still getting battered....

 

TLF seems a much "nicer" place to frequent

[2011 Chrome Orange 137]

He also posted on Lotustalk:

 

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f3/dear-mr-jean-marc-gales-what-else-do-i-do-323201/

 

[Bullphi 12]

I got mine back and it seems to work now. They have replaced the fluid in the clutch - said it had deteriorated with heat. They charged me £92 for this even though the car is still in warrantee (only 8 months old and 5000 miles). Would you expect clutch fluid to deteriorate in ts time?

[johnpwalsh 1,332]

And you paid the £80. under protest I would to think. was it the supplying dealer who carried out the fluid change or another dealer.

[Bullphi 12]

The £92 was under protest. He asked for £110 to begin with. It was the supplying dealer. Perhaps it's right that it should not be covered but I've been left feeling bitter after it.

[DaveyT 244]

You could always contact Lotus direct and ask the question.

That way, if the dealer is not operating as the company expects, they will be able to rectify the "misunderstanding", and you may be reimbursed?

Ruining clutch fluid in ( especially the first) 5k does seen a little odd.

[superdavelotus 124]

I wouldn't have paid for fluid on such a new car and under warranty. I assume it wasn't due for a service neither?

I would expect fluid to last a bit longer than that!

 

I also saw the other guy's post on Facebook. At first I replied that he was ranting over nothing. Now I am trying to be a bit more helpful. It does seem trivial especially when other owners are faced with bigger problems.

 

 

Regards,

 

 

 

David Walters

[C8RKH 6,256]

@Bullphi I think your supplying dealer has been a tad shortsighted. I'd have probably made a scene in his showroom and made it clear I wouldn't be buying another car from them. But then I do like to play the drama queen.

[johnpwalsh 1,332]

I would have been playing more than the drama queen, What a position to put a customer in, he spends ex thousand pounds on a new car then get's fleeced within 5 months for a drop of fluid. What happened to customer satisfaction. Does this dealer think the customer is ever going to come back again. I for one would rather pay for the extra fuel and lose the time by going to another dealer than have some smug bestrad laughing saying I knew you would be back.

[Bullphi 12]

That's pretty much how I feel at the moment. i doubt my next car will come from the same place.

[sellman 38]

That's shocking.. I run a garden machinery centre and wouldn't dream of charging for a hydraulic oil change if it required a change of fluids to correct a fault within the warranty period.... For the cost of the fluid and a member of staff's time it isn't worth losing a customer.

It really shocks and amazes me how some dealers and retailers treat there customers after all without them they wouldn't exist!

[Bibs 11,167]

I'm pretty sure the brake and clutch fluid are shared and its not unusual to boil brake fluid, perhaps on track, so I'd imagine its considered a consumable.

[C8RKH 6,256]

I agree Sellman. Sometimes I think the dealers just need to take a step back, a deep breath, and then do the right thing. The real cost to the dealer (minus vat) was probably around £30 for the fluid and £20 for the effort, so a £50 hit for someone who lashed what, £50k?, £55k? On a new car from you a few months ago. Yup, that'll get them right back through your door when it comes to them changing their car, and you just may miss out on the £400 - £600 annual service too etc. Gotta love long term customer centric thinking.

[Barrykearley 6,861]

Completely agree andy. Dealer is now up a tiny amount of cash and has hacked off a recent buyer.

That's just simply short sighted and foolish.

I would however understand them refusing to do it foc a second time due to misuse etc..... But I doubt that is the issue here. Gentle customer handling pays dividends in the longer term.

Important to note here - this is not lotus but the dealerships actions. I find it very sad the bashing a small British manufacturer like lotus is getting on interweb sites. It's unfair and unjust. Still if they carry on doing so - that evora 400's gonna be a bargain in 25 years time!!!

[Solarshaun 1]

Perhaps a bit of clarification is in order:

 

A warranty is a legally binding obligation by the manufacturer. It provides peace of mind to the customer to buy the product, knowing that if something goes wrong, it will be sorted without quibble. It also works as a marketing tool (just ask Kia how successful it can be).

 

Just because this period expires, doesn't mean it's fair to assume that any and all mechanical or manufacturing failures are no longer the responsibility of the manufacturer -indeed, there's another legally binding protection here for that exact reason (Sale of Goods Act).

 

The bottom line is, do you feel it's reasonable to be left with a £3000 bill for a clutch assembly which disintegrated (not worn out) in a modern car within 30000 miles or 4 years? The nonsense about other manufacturers not looking after their customers out of warranty doesn't wash either. 

 

And no one's "slagging" anyone. For the same reason that you think the dealer is shortsighted in your follow up post, I feel Lotus would be smart to engage with the very group that is most likely to buy its cars. Paying for parts would have cost them nothing, and a small contribution to labour costs would have left me with a much more reasonable bill. 

 

As a disclaimer, I adore my car, love the Lotus philosophy, and have been treated courteously by the service dept at Hethel and my local dealer. I just tend to be more objective about the real world, and less "cultish" about a car brand. 

 

I tend to agree with Barry that Lotus have been more than genererous, and I say this as a 2010 Evora owner who may suffer the same issue at any time.  It's a difficult one to call but a warranty is just that - it is a guarantee if you like of help and support that has a fixed start date and a fixed end date - it has to have, as otherwise when would a warranty end and the manufacturers obligation cease?

 

I think you are being a bit disrespectful to Lotus here, who again, seem to have gone some way to standing beside their product and their customer when the warranty has EXPIRED.  As Bary has said, try that with any of the big manufacturers - who have volume, scale and financial clout (Lotus have  none of these things) and you will get laughed out of the service office 9.5 times out of ten. VW, Porsche, MB, Jaguar, Ford, BMW, LR, etc. would all be the same. Yet teeny weeny tiny Lotus gives you £500 and they get slagged for it.

 

I bought my 2010 car in April of this year. I paid 50% of what it would have cost new so saved a huge wedge of cash and Lotus got or gets no benefit of me buying that car other than the addition of an enthusiast for the marque who may, or may not, in the future go on to buy another Lotus and maybe even a new one.  

 

In the first 6 months of ownership if my clutch had / does explode like yours my ire and frustration will be levelled at the dealer who sold me the car, not Lotus who made it 5 years ago. I'd expect the dealer to stand by the car they sold me. I'd expect them to negotiate with the warranty company as they provided me with (and I paid for) the warranty based on their advice to assist with issues like this. And this is why I choose to buy, from an approved dealer.

 

I don't know, maybe I am out of kilter with the rest of the world. Maybe I am too soft these days. Maybe I'm just a dickhead. But it does seem that people are never satisfied and feel that when something goes wrong someone else always need to be blamed and someone else always needs to pay for it.  Mechanical stuff breaks and with cars there is no guarantee that it hasn't been influenced by use or other factors. Shit just happens sometimes. Shit will continue to just happen and sometimes it is no-bodies fault it is just unfortunate that it has happened to you. But, in this instance, at least you were £500 better off thanks to a small niche manufacturer who tried to support and help a customer 4 years+ after a car was made and sold.

 

Just a view. Not saying I am right and you are wrong. We all can have a different perspective. 

Edited August 29, 2015 by Solarshaun