What no Bilstein dampers in stock at Lotus!!
Discussion
Can't believe this,Lotus have no Bilstein S2 rear dampers in stock and have'nt been able to honour any customer orders since March!
I require a set along with a set of Eibach springs and started phoning up today with what I thought would be simple order.But was informed that Lotus has'nt been able to deliver the dampers to any dealer since March this year.I find this amazing,the damper has got to be one of the most important parts of the car,it wears out therefore it's one of those parts that needs to be always in stock,does'nt it?
Apparently Bilstein have got loads in stock so wtf is Lotus playing at?What makes it more amazing is that Lotus are being bailed out finacally every year,surely if they got their act together with certain stock the debt would be less.Is it any wonder then that Lotus are in trouble,it's not as if I require some obscure part,as I have said this is an important part of the car that does wear.
Just as well the new F1 Lotus team are'nt requiring the suspension services of Bilstein next year or they'd be stuffed.I am totally pissed off,I can't imagine BMW or Audi having this problem can you?
I require a set along with a set of Eibach springs and started phoning up today with what I thought would be simple order.But was informed that Lotus has'nt been able to deliver the dampers to any dealer since March this year.I find this amazing,the damper has got to be one of the most important parts of the car,it wears out therefore it's one of those parts that needs to be always in stock,does'nt it?
Apparently Bilstein have got loads in stock so wtf is Lotus playing at?What makes it more amazing is that Lotus are being bailed out finacally every year,surely if they got their act together with certain stock the debt would be less.Is it any wonder then that Lotus are in trouble,it's not as if I require some obscure part,as I have said this is an important part of the car that does wear.
Just as well the new F1 Lotus team are'nt requiring the suspension services of Bilstein next year or they'd be stuffed.I am totally pissed off,I can't imagine BMW or Audi having this problem can you?
Tends to be a fairly normal sort of thing for Lotus. Having money tied up in stock costs money - much better for them (financially) to wait until they have a good back order.
Their customers have traditionally suffered it but with their ambitions it may be time for them to rethink this. Unfortunately its very difficult for a company the size of Lotus to match the after sales experience of customers of the volume manufacturers.
I do have to wonder if this particular instance might have something to do with the B&C group buy thing though
(Not sure I'm allowed to say that!).
Their customers have traditionally suffered it but with their ambitions it may be time for them to rethink this. Unfortunately its very difficult for a company the size of Lotus to match the after sales experience of customers of the volume manufacturers.
I do have to wonder if this particular instance might have something to do with the B&C group buy thing though
(Not sure I'm allowed to say that!).I appreciate that Lotus are a small company who have to watch the pennies,and if I was in charge of their empire I too would ensure that they did'nt keep too much uneccessary stock on the shelves.But suspension dampers and other parts that are always going to be in demand because of wear and tear require being always available in my opinion.People have only got so much sympathy with their situation.
I'm pretty certain that a few over on SELOC have been able to get Billies since March from Bell and Colville.
Did you try them?
Reason I ask is that B&C have a group buy thing going on with SELOC. Maybe they've had the lion's share of stock in the last year and other dealers will be aware of B&C's pricing on these items so may have let their stocks dwindle. The demand created by the B&C thing may also have skewed projected demand figures and Lotus may feel that they could be left with 'dead' stock until the situation settles down.
Not sure I'm explaining this very well but I think you'll get the idea.
Glad you got some from Geary anyway - fortunately there's an excellent network of Lotus specialists to call on as well as the main dealer network.
Did you try them?
Reason I ask is that B&C have a group buy thing going on with SELOC. Maybe they've had the lion's share of stock in the last year and other dealers will be aware of B&C's pricing on these items so may have let their stocks dwindle. The demand created by the B&C thing may also have skewed projected demand figures and Lotus may feel that they could be left with 'dead' stock until the situation settles down.
Not sure I'm explaining this very well but I think you'll get the idea.
Glad you got some from Geary anyway - fortunately there's an excellent network of Lotus specialists to call on as well as the main dealer network.
It is all down to price; as mentioned above B & C have been doing them at a very good price. Just couldn't last.
francelise
francelise
MadProf said:
Thanks all,gave Eliseparts.com my business today,not only did they promise next day delivery,they also built them for me(put the springs on the dampers).They were great,very helpfull,knowledgeable and they sounded as though they wanted the business,can't rate them highly enough.
MadProf said:
Thanks all,gave Eliseparts.com my business today,not only did they promise next day delivery,they also built them for me(put the springs on the dampers).They were great,very helpfull,knowledgeable and they sounded as though they wanted the business,can't rate them highly enough.
They are always very helpful.
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