My US Lotus service and parts experience

[Houdini]

I'd like to share my experiences good and bad with service and parts suppliers here in the US. I've owned 3 Lotus's over the last 23 years. A '66 S2 Elan RHD and 2 M100's. The first M100 (red) I bought in '93 and drove it over 120,000 miles over 7 years without any modifications. It only required regular service and replacement of shift cables and one window regulator assembly. The car was last known to be in Utah and I have lost track of it. As a matter of a fact I don't have the VIN# anymore. My latest M100 is the "Green Monster". Anyway without further explanation here goes.

Lotus dealers I have found to quite easy to deal with in Southern California. Good service, good parts when needed and as reasonable as can be expected for service when forced to use them. (B)

Dave Bean Engineering I have dealt with since they were in Santa Barbara and they have always been a pleasure to work with and extremely knowledgeable. (A+)

JAE I have dealt with several times but will not anymore. They have shown poor delivery, high prices, and poor customer relations unless they need something from you. I'm not the only one who shares this opinion. My best friend who owns a '65 seven will verify this. (D)

Viking Motorsports I have used once with excellent results on the work they did. One problem I had is they broke my expansion tank and didn't tell me resulting in coolant spraying everywhere in the engine compartment when I drove home. They promised to make good on the replacement of the tank but never did. (B ranking because of the tank)

Kampena Motors very unresponsive 5 years ago when inquiring about work and parts. I had heard good things, but seemed like they were being bothered by my inquires instead of welcoming the work. (C)

RD Enterprises was used 4-5 times for parts and they were very responsive, fair prices, and knowledgeable (A)

Lotus by Cladius was helpful, knowledgeable, proud of there business and I let them do some minor work with very good results. They were very expensive however. I plan on approaching them again for some possible interior work (A- to B+)

Sports Car World has been pretty good in a pinch. Prices are out of line on used parts, often much more expensive than new parts. They are however responsive. (B)

Hope this helps US Elan owners in their endeavors. These are my experiences only and