Buying A New Exige

[mattyp]

Hi All,

 

This is my first post, so excuse any stupid newbie questions!

 

I am hoping to order a new Exige in the very near future. At the moment I have only spoken to Peter Smith's as they are closest to me in Derby, but they seem to get panned by a lot of Lotus owners.

 

I would very grateful for any advice - if you lived in Derby, where would you order a new Exige from?

 

Also, any Exige owners, would you recommend the touring pack or the performance pack? It will be a weekend/occasional track day car.

 

Thanks alot in advance for any help.

 

Matt

[malbon]

Peter Smiths hasnt got the best rep for customer service but you can't count it out on other peoples experiences as its close and convenient.

 

Thier service dept. is very good but sales can be a bit snotty as they sell more expensive cars and sometimes dont't give you the time of day.

 

Don't know much about packs but the Exige seems great in any guise.

 

Just do it.

 

Welcome on board.

[Scott_Mac]

General advice is steer clear of Peter Smiths, pop down to Brum and see Nick Whale, much nicer folks

 

For what you are suggesting the Performance Pack is what you need... no need for electric windows etc, you'll do much better with better seats, harnesses, oil cooler etc.

 

Oh and buy it in Orange

[mattyp]

They have been okay on the phone so far, but I'll have to see how they treat me on Saturday when I go down for a test drive.

 

My day to day car is a Focus RS, and the nearest place I can get proper service is in Leicester, and before that I had a Racing Puma which I had to get serviced in Brum, so a local dealer would make a nice change!

[Zebedee79]

I live in Derbyshire and I bought my 111R at Nick Whale...

 

PS were one of the first Lotus dealers I ever visited a copule of years ago but weren't very interested when I only wanted a S/H S1. hence they've lost a repeat customer.

 

Also don't bother with electric windows, design wise very poor IMHO.

 

John

[halfpenny]

Hey Matt - Welcome.

 

I have purchased both my ex-S2 Elise and my Exige from PSSC.

 

From a sales perspective, I have dealt with Gerald and always found him very helpful and gets me the best deal.

For service, they are F expensive. Best to use either Nick Whale, Horizon Motorsport or one Exige owner who bought his Exige from PSSC uses the factory.

 

I have the touring pack on my car (or lazy fat bastard pack as I lovingly call it) as I do quite a bit of long distance driving (It's my everyday car).

I think if you only want to use it for weekends / trackdays - go for the performance pack. You won't miss the electric windows, DAB stereo, carpets etc. Just make sure you get air con, as even in the winter it gets very warm.

 

There is a focus RS just down the road from me - thats not you is it ?

 

Steven

[mattyp]

Hey Matt - Welcome.

 

From a sales perspective, I have dealt with Gerald and always found him very helpful and gets me the best deal.

 

There is a focus RS just down the road from me - thats not you is it ?

 

Steven

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thanks for the welcomes!

 

Gerald is the guy I'm supposed to be seeing on Saturday morning, so I will give him a chance.

 

I might be the RS down the road - not easy to tell if I don't know where you are! I live right in the centre of Derby, Five Lamps area.

 

Looks like I'm going to be going for an Exige in black (so mean looking), with aircon and performance pack. Am I going to be able to haggle them down from list price do you think? It will be a cash buy, no car to trade or anything.

[mustard]

Hey Matt - Welcome.  

 

From a sales perspective, I have dealt with Gerald and always found him very helpful and gets me the best deal.

 

There is a focus RS just down the road from me - thats not you is it ?

 

Steven

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thanks for the welcomes!

 

Gerald is the guy I'm supposed to be seeing on Saturday morning, so I will give him a chance.

 

I might be the RS down the road - not easy to tell if I don't know where you are! I live right in the centre of Derby, Five Lamps area.

 

Looks like I'm going to be going for an Exige in black (so mean looking), with aircon and performance pack. Am I going to be able to haggle them down from list price do you think? It will be a cash buy, no car to trade or anything.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Come and talk to us!

[halfpenny]

I might be the RS down the road - not easy to tell if I don't know where you are!    I live right in the centre of Derby, Five Lamps area.

 

Looks like I'm going to be going for an Exige in black (so mean looking), with aircon and performance pack. Am I going to be able to haggle them down from list price do you think? It will be a cash buy, no car to trade or anything.

 

Nope - not you. I live just outside Derby not far from PSSC infact.

 

A cash purchase should get the price down a little, but not by much I wouldn't have thought. Exiges seem to be holding their value pretty well right now, although I noticed that Nick Whale has a really nice Silver one with 1k miles on for £29k !!

[Elaine]

We ordered our S2 Exige from Peter Smiths. Gerald was also the chappy who sorted us out, he came across as very approachable from the word go, and wasn't the slightest bit snotty (and this was before he knew that we were paying cash).

 

I have to add that Nick Whale's bloke on their stand at Donington completely ignored us, even though we repeatedly returned to look at their Exige! Yet he almost broke his neck to get to a middle aged bloke who he obviously thought 'looked like he could afford one'!

It was at this point we decided that Nick Whale didn't deserve our hard earned cash.

As for discounts for paying cash, we got just over a grand off, can't remember exactly how much (we've been to sleep since then)!

Elaine.

[mattyp]

Thanks for the help everyone. I will give Gerald at Peter Smith a chance on Saturday. I will let you all know how it goes, don't be surprised if I've ordered one!

[Steve J]

Welcome Matty,

 

What a choice to have.

 

I'm sure if you visited both NW and PS you could drive a hard bargain. Go for whoever gets you the best deal.

 

Different story when it comes to servicing though.

 

Good luck, and enjoy the negotiation.

[PPPMAT]

Gerald sold me my car. Top bloke as far as I'm concerned

[JohnnyM]

Matty, i know this is the wrong forum for this, but what do you make of the RS? I had a sport 160 elise before and now have an RS until spring when i hope to get an S2 Exige as well. I also had a Racing puma before.... number 58... nice grip, shame about the engine....

 

Johnny M

[Jonathan E]

Cash deal, no trade-in...lucky you.

I'd spec the car and email "all" Lotus dealers and see what they come up with,you can always get it serviced wherever you like.You will be surprised at the saving you could make just by travelling a little to pick up your new beast

Best of luck and don't let them have your custom too easily,afterall how many folks are going to walk in off the street with that kind of offer.

hth

Regards

Jon