StressCraxx wrote:My friend bought his 66 S2 direct from the factory. He drove it all over England, Scotland, through Europe to Turkey. He drove it back to England and it was shipped back to Long Beach CA where he picked it up at the docks.
He brought it to Bob Challman, Manhattan Beach Imported Cars for its first service and Challman went ballistic. Challman called Chapman and demanded his commission before he would touch my friend's Elan. From that day on, my friend's relationship with Challman was frosty at best.
Interesting, as my experience was a bit similar dealing with the Lotus dealer back in the day.
My dealer, British Motor Car(BMC) of San Francisco (owned by Kjell Qvale - an important figure in automotive history) was where I ordered my car in 1969. As noted before, the car was at the export price and to be delivered at Hethel for pickup by me. BMC really did not provide any real service other than create the initial paperwork and collect the money. In fact they were quite haughty when I tried to measure the trunk (boot) of the showroom Elan to see if my suitcase would fit. Basically, they tried to ask this 21 year old punk (me) to leave the showroom, even though I was their customer. I guess I didn't fit the elite customer profile.
Then, after my order was placed they informed me that the delivery date could not be met and the car would not be available for 6-8 weeks later than originally scheduled, screwing up my whole UK/European trip already in place. A family friend (a British automotive engineer, who worked in Lotus circles) called his management friends at the Lotus factory and they moved my production date forward to meet my original schedule. When BMC learned of this they were incensed as to why they had no "clout or priority" while an "average customer" was able to do what they could not.
When the car finally made it to California within a few weeks of being on the road the generator (dynamo) mounting lug on the timing case snapped off. The generator had vibrated loose and finally cracked the timing case mount. Thus, necessitating a new timing case. The car, IIRC, had a 6k warranty on parts. The car had just gone over 6K. BMC said they wouldn't honor the warranty. The repair was quoted as about $1200, a substantial sum since the original car cost was $3500. After much wrangling and threats, they agreed to cover 50% so I had to pay $600. BMC had stated that the timing case replacement was an "engine out" exercise and thus the high cost. I discovered some 47 years later (just now) that what they actually did was cut the sump cross member, drop the pan, and effect the replacement in situ. They then tack welded the cross-piece back in place. What I just discovered is that this weld had finally failed and the cross-piece was hanging on by a thread. (Piece is now replaced with a removable bolted member).
So, my US Lotus dealer relations were not particularly good either, at the time, and even worse, now I realize they were not trustworthy at all. Don't know if this had to do with my second-class status of being an export customer and not paying them the extra $1500 for US delivery. ($5K vs $3.5K).
BTW: The Manhattan Beach Lotus dealer, mentioned above, gave me my first Lotus Elan ride ever. An impressive drive through some nearby twisty hills, impressing me greatly with its cornering ability. I was seduced forever. I also remember him demonstrating the tractability of the car by starting it from a stand still in 4th gear - still not sure what that proved - but he was very proud of it.