Figured that I'd put a quick review of this garage here. As a somewhat new Lotus owner, I'd been searching for a place that could be trusted to maintain the Elan; I'm unlikely to do much work on it myself, and would much rather pay someone else to do it. I'm not equipped to work on cars in terms of tools, space, knowledge, time, nor inclination. SWLC was recommended to me as a decent place, and despite it being a three hour drive from where I live, I took the car to see them earlier this week.
From the very first moment I contacted them via email to ask about a basic service and getting the geometry reset, I was impressed. Immediate response, lots of info, sensible price estimates, and the sense that they would be more than happy to work on my car. Unlike my more local Lotus garage, where emails were never returned, phone calls unanswered, and phone messages left ignored, SWLC was on the ball when it came to customer service.
Dropped the car off Tuesday morning, met a few of the people who worked there (who all made sure they said hello to me and introduced themselves as they walked past - and little stuff like that matters, because it shows that they're interested in building up relationships with their customers), and was given a sturdy loaner car to get me home again. A really friendly bunch, and some of the nicest people I've ever met in a garage. No feeling whatsoever that my little Elan was an inconvenience that would stop them working on more expensive vehicles or more important projects. It was as if my Elan was as special and unique to them as some of the cars sitting around that were worth ten times as much, and that it would be treated with as much care.
Anyway, car was ready the next day, so I drove back down to pick it up. Everything that had been done was fully explained to me, and the invoice what pretty much what I'd expected to pay. No unpleasant surprises whatsoever. And the car now drives stunningly well. It was pretty good before, but the geometry work that was done by SWLC has turned it up to eleven. Quality workmanship, and in my opinion, well worth paying for.
Overall, a really pleasant experience from start to finish. Highly recommended to anybody else who doesn't particularly relish the thought of doing their own maintenance, and they'll be my garage of choice moving forward. Nice work, nice people, and somewhere I'm happy to spend my Lotus maintenance money.