Best guess for when spares for Lotus will become difficult to purchase..

[Luke Seagrave]

Hi fellow enthusiasts/owners,

with Lotus announcing the end of Elise, Exige and Evora, how long do you think it will be until we take our pride and joy for servicing/repairs to be told they don’t make those parts anymore? 

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on this..

thanks,

Luke

 

[hartleyj]

Items on 'backorder' already too numerous to list, unfortunately...

[Luke Seagrave]

Hi Hartley,

                    That doesn’t sound good. Let’s hope nothing major happens to our cars then..

 

thanks,

 

Luke

[Martin 111S]

Longer if you take it to a Specialist rather than a Dealer 😎

[PJT]

Still waiting for my Soft top.  Told Adam to order one December.

[Luke Seagrave]

5 hours ago, PJT said:

Still waiting for my Soft top.  Told Adam to order one December.

Ahh, have they given any reason for why it’s taking so long? Fingers crossed it arrives soon.

 

thanks,

Luke

[MrWill]

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-britishcars/lotus-ponders-elise-sale/44131

[Phil Hutchins]

Do you know what…I’ve actually thought that could be a way forward since the new all-electric future was announced. And particularly after noticing that Caterham have new Japanese owners. 

[hartleyj]

On 10/05/2021 at 13:30, PJT said:

Still waiting for my Soft top.  Told Adam to order one December.

A better thought is, will it fit properly? 

Not happy with mine but the guys at PJS have done the best they can, and it is better than it was. But the real question is why is it not as least as good as the one on the 111R I purchased 15 years ago?

Some rascal who shall be nameless suggested it's because they are now sourced from India, and "They're all like that , Sir"

Only a Lotus after all........ 

 

[PJT]

They are from India.  Adam says they order 10 and send 8 back due to quality. 

[Luke Seagrave]

That’s really bad, you would have hoped Lotus would have kept a warehouse full of spare parts. 

[MG4Lotus]

Modern practices, just in time, etc. Warehousing costs money.

[Luke Seagrave]

5 hours ago, MG4Lotus said:

Modern practices, just in time, etc. Warehousing costs money.

I can understand that to some degree, it just feels for a company that prides itself on being British, to order parts from other countries is rather ironic. Also I think Lotus dealerships should be honest with buyers about the scarcity of parts. I asked on more than one occasion when I brought my car and they stated there was no trouble getting parts. If I didn’t love Lotus so much I would be asking for my money back 🙈

 

[hartleyj]

And don't get me started on the difficulty in getting a new front tyre after I picked up a piece of flint in the only-done-1200-miles Yokohama Advan Sport. Yokohama have 200 arriving shortly and have 211 on backorder....

Managed to get one from B&C eventually. Tyres seem to be really difficult in specific compounds, now having nightmares trying to get hold of Pirelli's for the XK. Gave up and decided to switch brands rather than wait 4 weeks for Pirelli to make and ship the next batch...

Grrr...

[Luke Seagrave]

Hartley,

             Thanks, I imagine I’ve got all these issues to look forward to, thankfully the previous owner kindly left plenty of tread on the tyres of my current car 😉