Filed under: Sports/GTs, Safety, Lotus
Dealership service doesn't seem so expensive anymore
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Poor guy. After wearing out the first set of Goodyear's on his beloved Elise (not hard to do. -Ed.), he figured where better to take it than a Goodyear dealer, right? Especially since his father-in-law had been the service manager there for 10+ years. What could possibly go wrong?
After reviewing the jacking procedures in the manual with the techs, they assured him the car was in good hands. He and his father-in-law left.
About an hour later, the owner got a phone call informing him that there had been an "accident" and he should come back to the store right away. The picture tells the rest.
Click the read link for the entire story in the owners words.
Thanks to Gil for the tip!
[Source: NASIOC.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Will 8:04PM (11/08/2006)
Big Friggin' Deal,
They will take care of the guy, he has an in at the service station. Hell, if it was me, I would not quit until I got a new car.
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jst000 8:07PM (11/08/2006)
The lighter they are the softer they fall!
Makes me feel sick to my stomack.
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Shoaib S 8:35PM (11/08/2006)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lotus-Elise-ROADSTER-REPAIRABLE-REBUILDABLE-SALVAGE-WRECKED-LOW-RESERVE-SAVE_W0QQitemZ260050097287QQcmdZViewItemQQssPageNameZRSS:B:SRCH:US:101
Could that be the car?
And before anyone says anything, I am not in anyway affiliated with the seller of the elise.
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gus 8:58PM (11/08/2006)
The Elise is equipped with Yokohama A048R, not Goodyear tires.
#3, it's not the same car.
original thread here -
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30674
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Phil L. 8:59PM (11/08/2006)
Shoaib S -
No; two different cars. Look at the detailed pictures in the link above vs. the auction pics; different sets of damage.
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Jeremy 8:59PM (11/08/2006)
#3: The one on eBay has most of the damage in the front, and the rear defuser is intact.
Poor Lotus, I hope the Goodyears insurance company gives him money for a new one sooner, rather than later.
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Stretch 9:02PM (11/08/2006)
3 - no thats not the same car.
I hope many people are getting fired for this. Its another reason why I won't let other people do my tires. Most of them seem to miss a day at tire school.
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James 10:20PM (11/08/2006)
Almost as bad as this person at a service station: http://www.cartv.com/content/research/channels/index.cfm/channel/YouTubeBest/Megablurb/162/youtube/AqHADb3uPvI
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Jeff 10:22PM (11/08/2006)
I wonder if they were even aware of the engine placement???
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farris 10:31PM (11/08/2006)
I dont know if anyone has clicked through to the guy's main site, but I have to say that the story of his son is really amazing. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.
Here's the link: http://www.my914-6.com/hunter/index.htm
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chuck goolsbee 10:49PM (11/08/2006)
Grown men cried.
--chuck
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Howard Kerr 10:49PM (11/08/2006)
"...and while we were at it, we thought we would do a COMPLETE undercar inpection, absolutely no charge to you sir".
I never cease to be amazed by folks who own a luxury or exotic car, and who try to save themselves a few bucks on tires.
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Jiminy Cricket 10:52PM (11/08/2006)
Back many years ago I was lifting a Volvo 262C Bertone Coupe and not paying much attention when it started to slide off the lift. One of the other mechanics saw it moving and did a Michael Jordan style jump and grabbed on to the front of the Volvo. His weight was just enough to keep it from sliding off the lift. Almost got fired for that one.
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Green Lotus Elise 11:08PM (11/08/2006)
This is the exact reason I went through the trouble of pulling the wheels off my Elise when it came time for new tires. I live 4 hours from the closest dealer (Midwestern Auto in Dublin Ohio) so dealer service wasn't really an option for me. Still, wasn't too bad. You can see what all is involved in pulling the rear wheels off an Elise @ http://www.fleur-design.net/lotus/2006/09/yokohamas-dead-in-9500-miles.html
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Chris 11:14PM (11/08/2006)
It is unbelievable how dense some of these guys can be. I took my Isuzu Rodeo to Wally-Mart because they were the only oil-change place in the neighborhood who had a Mobil 1 option. I sat in the waiting room for an hour and a half. After all that time they came back in and told me that they couldn't find the oil filter or drain. They thought that the skidplate was the bottom of the motor. They took the one bolt holding the skidplate out and expected the oil to flow forth. I was pretty bent. Luckily there was a district manager there and she gave me enough Mobil 1 to just do the job myself.
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MikeW 11:41PM (11/08/2006)
Don't they know that lotus is basically as rear heavy as a 911.
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That One Person 11:42PM (11/08/2006)
I hope people get fired for this.
I used to take my car in to get the oil changed. But after having to get four new dip sticks (assholes kept dropping them on the exhaust manifold) I just started doing oil changes myself. I have always wanted to do my own tire changes but I dont know how hard it would be. Anyone know if its difficult to do them by hand? I am talkin about taking tires off of rims and putting tires on...
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Chris 12:30AM (11/09/2006)
17. Anyone know if its difficult to do them by hand? I am talkin about taking tires off of rims and putting tires on...
It's a bitch! To put it mildly.
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Jay 12:42AM (11/09/2006)
#17 It can be difficult but it is possible. I used to do a bit of touring in Outback australia. We used a set of split rim tubeless tires. Once a large stake went through one of them. We carried spares but needed to get the tire off the rim. I remember the trouble we had changing the thing at the side of the road.
I also heard a story of a split rim blowing someones head off in a workshop when they didn't do it properly.
As for other types of tires, its still not that easy but is possible to do yourself.
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Grajeda 1:16AM (11/09/2006)
the funny part...
they keep reading the manual after the car fall...
great!!!!
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