Does LOTUS really stand for lots of trouble, usually serious?
Discussion
ked on rainy days" Mine has been the most reliable car I've ever owned, mechanically. 
Older ones were certainly tempramental but since Lotus have been using off-the-shelf mainstream engines, especially since they started using exclusively Toyota engines, they're very good in terms of the major mechanical components. Even the Rover K-series only has one common failure and that's pretty cheap to fix.
Build quality is still dubious, however, so they they develop more than their fair share of rattles and squeeks and minor Lotus-specific components are sometimes not the most reliable.
Not really a brand worth buying into if you're just after a flashy looking car to impress people; and not a good car to buy if you're a perfectionist because you'll be forever fixing niggles. If you're willing to put up with the odd rattle and paint bubble and just want to drive though, they're hard to beat for what they offer.
Older ones were certainly tempramental but since Lotus have been using off-the-shelf mainstream engines, especially since they started using exclusively Toyota engines, they're very good in terms of the major mechanical components. Even the Rover K-series only has one common failure and that's pretty cheap to fix.
Build quality is still dubious, however, so they they develop more than their fair share of rattles and squeeks and minor Lotus-specific components are sometimes not the most reliable.
Not really a brand worth buying into if you're just after a flashy looking car to impress people; and not a good car to buy if you're a perfectionist because you'll be forever fixing niggles. If you're willing to put up with the odd rattle and paint bubble and just want to drive though, they're hard to beat for what they offer.
Edited by kambites on Sunday 28th December 14:28
There is no reason to believe any Lotus built since the mid-1980s is less reliable than other car.
Where people go wrong is skimping on routine maintenance or buying a cheaper, older Lotus thinking it will be cheap to run.
I'd buy a Lotus at the drop of a hat - if they actually got around to building a stylish 2-seater road car which was bigger than the 20-year old Elise/Exige family. As I always say, Lotus doesn't need a crowd of fans on a motoring forum, it needs paying customers in the showrooms - and that means some presentable product to draw them in.
Where people go wrong is skimping on routine maintenance or buying a cheaper, older Lotus thinking it will be cheap to run.
I'd buy a Lotus at the drop of a hat - if they actually got around to building a stylish 2-seater road car which was bigger than the 20-year old Elise/Exige family. As I always say, Lotus doesn't need a crowd of fans on a motoring forum, it needs paying customers in the showrooms - and that means some presentable product to draw them in.
Not sure the OP is being serious and anyway, you don't sound like a Lotus type of person So I wouldn't bother and save your time.
My Elise S1 totally reliable and I would happily drive it anywhere. Don't expect it to have no interior creaks like a German but it is far more fun/interesting IMO. Besides at 720 ish KG it is closer to a Caterham than a Boxster. And Caterhams make all sorts of noises that would drive even the average Elise driver mad.
My Elise S1 totally reliable and I would happily drive it anywhere. Don't expect it to have no interior creaks like a German but it is far more fun/interesting IMO. Besides at 720 ish KG it is closer to a Caterham than a Boxster. And Caterhams make all sorts of noises that would drive even the average Elise driver mad.
i loved my elise, owned it from new, if anything it was over serviced, was certainly never neglected, it was my first car and i thought it was great
admittedly the roof leaked so much if i left it in the rain i came back to an inch of water, lotus denied there was a problem and tried to use the excuse that the car didn't have a roof, just a soft top cover so it was normal, took much complaining from me and the dealer until they fitted the later hood design (apparently it wasn;t changed because of leaking, it was just changed) and changed the interior due to water damage
the cam belt snapped after lotus decided to change the service interval for replacing the cam belt (not because they snapped, they just thought it would be safer) and figured there was no need to let the owners know of the change, it was the only time the car really let me down, the dealer got involved, auto express got involved, lotus still refused to help, in the end the courts got involved and lotus was forced to help
I hit a fox at speed some year later, split the front clam, bought a new one from lotus, got it fixed and sprayed, then discovered it hadn't been made properly and should never have passed quality control, lotus denied it was a problem and was just one of those things, trading standards got involved and lotus admitted maybe it was faulty..
finally when refreshing all suspension discovered my chassis had dissolved, i researched it, discovered to my horror they have never dealt with the electrolytic problems of using aluminium properly well not beyond it getting wet and driving it on the road for the first time, lotus blew 30k in legal costs to make sure it never came to court, guess they didn't want it out there
they are amazing designs and great to drive, but the quality is that of cars built in the 80s and certainly with the elise, they followed the old uk car logic of getting the owners to do the R&D for them, i should have been someone who would keep coming back and even though i eventually got mine repaired, i gave it to a friend, saw it recently, it was like seeing an old flame, it pulled at my heart strings but the moment he let me take it for a drive i realised the why i got rid of it
i now wouldn't touch them, hell even if i was sponsored by them, i would drive something else
oh almost forgot about the floor dissolving and despite being described as being a structural element in the original sale bumf, when they had to repair them stopped being structural so gluing a bit of ali over the top would be fine
admittedly the roof leaked so much if i left it in the rain i came back to an inch of water, lotus denied there was a problem and tried to use the excuse that the car didn't have a roof, just a soft top cover so it was normal, took much complaining from me and the dealer until they fitted the later hood design (apparently it wasn;t changed because of leaking, it was just changed) and changed the interior due to water damage
the cam belt snapped after lotus decided to change the service interval for replacing the cam belt (not because they snapped, they just thought it would be safer) and figured there was no need to let the owners know of the change, it was the only time the car really let me down, the dealer got involved, auto express got involved, lotus still refused to help, in the end the courts got involved and lotus was forced to help
I hit a fox at speed some year later, split the front clam, bought a new one from lotus, got it fixed and sprayed, then discovered it hadn't been made properly and should never have passed quality control, lotus denied it was a problem and was just one of those things, trading standards got involved and lotus admitted maybe it was faulty..
finally when refreshing all suspension discovered my chassis had dissolved, i researched it, discovered to my horror they have never dealt with the electrolytic problems of using aluminium properly well not beyond it getting wet and driving it on the road for the first time, lotus blew 30k in legal costs to make sure it never came to court, guess they didn't want it out there
they are amazing designs and great to drive, but the quality is that of cars built in the 80s and certainly with the elise, they followed the old uk car logic of getting the owners to do the R&D for them, i should have been someone who would keep coming back and even though i eventually got mine repaired, i gave it to a friend, saw it recently, it was like seeing an old flame, it pulled at my heart strings but the moment he let me take it for a drive i realised the why i got rid of it
i now wouldn't touch them, hell even if i was sponsored by them, i would drive something else
oh almost forgot about the floor dissolving and despite being described as being a structural element in the original sale bumf, when they had to repair them stopped being structural so gluing a bit of ali over the top would be fine
saaby93 said:
baccalad said:
Impasse said:
Ahh bless. Was it in a Best Book of Tired Clichés from 1974?
I don't think so, it was on the telly last night, some geezer was banging on about it.Porsche, on the other hand...
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