The Evora 400 Diaries

[scotty435]

https://www.youtube.com/user/DrPittenstein

[Nathan Pitman]

Ah, that dude - yes his videos are awesome. 

[JayEmm]

I was watching his stuff before I was a Lotus owner, some of the only factual stuff on Lotus ownership out there.

He's got a very tasty car collection

[Dan.G]

 

YouTube announcement yesterday, he has sold his Evora. Shame to hear from a lotus ambassador.

The clip will make any potential buyers think twice..

I wonder what the replacement is? Put it to a poll?

 

[Chris Onelevenr]

That's a surprise given all the nice things he's said about it. Hope he gets another Lotus.

[Bruss]

You should watch the video, he is still saying very nice things about the car, probably the best car for the money he could buy,. He's not as impressed with the factory finish of the car or the factory and dealer back up.  as a (very) long term owner of Lotus' I agree with everything he has said.

 

 

[CocoPops]

I agree that JCT600 should shoulder the blame for many of his issues.

They knowing sold an early car and told him it was a brand new stock build... rather than sat around from 2015 until he bought it in 2016.

As many have said (myself included) the mid 2016 cars took on a lot of improvement in quality etc, it was unfortunate that James wasn’t made aware of this.

[C8RKH]

On 06/10/2018 at 17:45, Steffen_Leitgeb-LSWGmbh said:

I know stories about Porsche Panamera, GT3 (RS) and the lovely McLarens which makes your Evora experience a dream. One of my customers owned a McLaren MC12 and drove it within one year maybe 3 times, a replacement given … no way.
In the beginning these cars were perfect when working but they were really not bulletproof and no one outside of the box did get the true stories - why? Because the guys didn´t want to look like fools and at the same time they didn´t want to ruin the image to keep used car prices up 🙂

Did these guys transfer to the McLaren F1 team by any chance, certainly could be a possibility looking at their performances lately!  :)

 

[SH]

As frustrating as (some of) your experiences have been Jay, I have to say that none of them are (singularly or collectively) unique to Lotus.

I note this was the first car you bought brand new - my first was a BMW Z4, and like you, I had a certain expectation of what the 'experience' should have been like.  The long and short of it is that I had as many problems with the car (and the dealer that I bought it through) as you have had.

Second new car - a Merc - similar situation.  

My expectations had dropped by the time I bought my third new car.  And I'm glad that they had as it was a case of 'same sh*t / different day(s)'.  

I've never bought new since!

I now have a 2 year old Evora 400 and I really think it's a marvellous beast.  Of course it has some niggles, but I remain seriously impressed that Lotus got that car out at that price point.

Good luck with the Porker - it should be epic!

Edited October 10, 2018 by SH

[Registered]

Sorry to see you leave the Lotus ownership fold Jayemm.

Whilst I love Lotus cars, I would never buy a new one for the reasons already mentioned.

[charliejd85]

So to keep the journey going, here's my first video on the new (for me) Lotus Evora  

 

[au-yt]

Sad you sold the car James but it’s gone to a good home.

By all accounts Lotus now under Geely  need to go through the dealers and put the broom through them based on customer feedback. Every time I get a my wife’s Volvo serviced here I get a survey from the main importers of Volvo and the dealers are monitored on the Feedback.

Selling cars is one thing, but customer service, ensures customer loyalty, and return customer.

I will put in plug for the Australian dealers Simply Sports Cars, Everyone I’ve spoken to is really impressed with their service and support. They organise a number of Lotus only track days each year, drive tours and run teams in Targa Tasmainia.

 

[Alan H]

13 hours ago, charliejd85 said:

So to keep the journey going, here's my first video on the new (for me) Lotus Evora  

 

Excellent hope you enjoy the car. Jayemms video’s were very enjoyable.

 You are going to have to steer properly to stop my inner driving instructor going mental. 😊😊😊

[CocoPops]

4 minutes ago, Alan H said:

Your going to have to steer properly to stop my inner driving instructor going mental. 😊😊😊

You’re going to have to use the correct your/you’re to stop my inner grammar meter going mental

 

[pete757]

2 hours ago, au-yt said:

Selling cars is one thing, but customer service, ensures customer loyalty, and return customer.

I will put in plug for the Australian dealers Simply Sports Cars, Everyone I’ve spoken to is really impressed with their service and support. They organise a number of Lotus only track days each year, drive tours and run teams in Targa Tasmainia.

 

If Lotus Geely can model their approach to running an dealership, sales and servicing, as well as SSC in Sydney does, then the brand would probably have a 100% satisfaction rating. Such a group of enthusiastic and dedicated guys and girls there. 👍👍👍  

[Alan H]

52 minutes ago, CocoPops said:

You’re going to have to use the correct your/you’re to stop my inner grammar meter going mental

 

All better. 🙈🙈🙈

[mik]

@Alan H yeah that had me cringing too. Sorry Charlie.  Nice car.

[Bruss]

Nice video Charlie. Good to see the car in the hands of another enthusiast. I'm looking forward to the continuing story.

 

Oh, have to agree on the hands on the steering wheel thing. You have two hands, use them, that gear lever isn't for resting your 'spare' hand on!  😉

[Nathan Pitman]

1 hour ago, Bruss said:

Oh, have to agree on the hands on the steering wheel thing. You have two hands, use them, that gear lever isn't for resting your 'spare' hand on!  😉

One of the benefits of driving an IPS, I can change gear with both hands on the steering wheel at all times.

[CocoPops]

5 minutes ago, Nathan Pitman said:

One of the benefits of driving an IPS, I can change gear with both hands on the steering wheel at all times.

And you can make a cup of tea in the time it takes to change gear too

[Bibs]

If you can make tea in 0.65 seconds you need to open a cafe!

1 hour ago, Bruss said:

that gear lever isn't for resting your 'spare' hand on!

It can damage the gearbox too if it's done too often and with too much force.

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/this-is-why-you-shouldnt-rest-your-hand-on-the-gearstick-when-driving/

[Nathan Pitman]

3 minutes ago, CocoPops said:

And you can make a cup of tea in the time it takes to change gear too

I'm afraid not - I have no cup holders.

The gearbox in the 400 Auto is pretty aggressive in sport mode and the delay between changes is definitely less than I could reliably achieve on a regular basis.

[pete757]

Have a chat with an ARDS instructor about the positioning of the hands on the steering wheel... it will 'frighten' you away from the one hand at the '12 O'clock' position that so many people are now defaulting too... 🤢

[Kevin Wheeler]

On 10/10/2018 at 09:32, Dan.G said:

YouTube announcement yesterday, he has sold his Evora. Shame to hear from a lotus ambassador.

This wasn't Jonny. He still has his. Maybe I misunderstood the post.

[SH]

5 hours ago, CocoPops said:

And you can make a cup of tea in the time it takes to change gear too

🤣

To be fair, the auto-box can still swap cogs quicker than I can in the manual car!