What are people out there paying for the 7500 mile service?
I stopped in at FVMC the other day to schedule an appointment:

"That'll be $550. We change the oil and check everything- that includes oil filter and air filter replacement".

It must take some practice to say that with a straight face.

Is this service required for warrenty coverage? Yikes!!! I have just over 6,000 miles on mine. I'd better start a savings plan or something. Thanks for the warning! you are all going to learn about them in the coming months. Anyone know what the 7500 mi. service charge is for Palm Beach Motorcars?

I'm due.

Mike I paid about $350 @ Star Motors in Houston. The brake fluid is supposed to be changed every year or two, that might (should?) be included and would explain much of the cost.

All services are required for warranty coverage, but you may do some or all of it yourself. For my 7.5k service, I did everything myself except the brake fluid change, that's one job I've never enjoyed doing. Anyone know what the 7500 mi. service charge is for Palm Beach Motorcars?

I'm due.

Mike

306.00 Cost
44.95 Oil
1.64 Oil filter Drain Plug Gasket
25.90 Oil Filter
18.36 Waste Disposal Fee
25.79 Sales Tax
----------------------
422.64 Total


My 1000 mile service totalled $300.64

They charged my friend about $600 for the 15,000 mile service since it was about another $200 for an air filter to be changed and installed!!

Its bad enough they charge 25.90 for an oil filter and 8.95 a quart for oil, but the waste disposal fee is something that dealers seem to be charging based on the cost of the service, its just an additional rip off. Give the the oil back and I'll dump it at Moroso or a local gas station for free.

Granted they do good work and have replaced my speakers twice so far
under warranty, but I feel their charges are excessive.

The Collection just charged my co-worker $300 for everything, so I might go there in the future if I have a day to waste. But I think she knows someone that works there so I dont know if she is getting a break on the price.

Someone posted a few months ago that they got an oil change next to Wire Wheels in Vero Beach for under $100. They work on old Series 1 and pre 2005 Elises that are for racing use only. Granted I dont think they check everything like the Lotus dealer would, but if you just need an oil change it's worth saving $200.

I cant see how dealers can charge so much just because they have to remove a couple screws to take off the diffuser panel. I know Lotus uses more expensive oil, but it shouldnt come to about $200 more worth of labor for a few minutes extra work. I'll have to check with some friends who have Vipers and Ferraris to see what they are paying.

I am always getting coupons from the dealer were I bought my other car saying they are having $20 or $30 oil change specials, would be nice if the Lotus dealers started something similar. I had my annual service done not too long ago. I need to look at my record but it does not stick in my mind as that much, it was around 200ish IIRC. That did include flushing the brake fluid etc. If you like I can pull my log and look it up. This was at MidRivers in St Louis BTW. I would like to see this service detailed line by line.

The main reason I'm even considering bringing the Elise back for it's 1k service is the ECU dump but other than that there's nothing that I've seen that one cannot do.

$550 and nothing significant other than oil change and brake fluid bleeding? Is there more? Torque checks? So far I'm thinking I can do this at home on my own when time comes. I would like to see this service detailed line by line.

The main reason I'm even considering bringing the Elise back for it's 1k service is the ECU dump but other than that there's nothing that I've seen that one cannot do.

$550 and nothing significant other than oil change and brake fluid bleeding? Is there more? Torque checks? So far I'm thinking I can do this at home on my own when time comes.
That depends very much on the dealer and the Lotus Tech. I can certainly tell you that Don, at Newport European, does not charge hundreds of $$$ for an oil change. A small percentage of his time is spent changing the oil and filter. He checks a ton of stuff that a knowledgeable owner could likely do, if he/she knew what to do. But then again, from reading about experiences here, it seems not all Lotus techs know what to do. And, Don is happy to show you everything he does, explain what he's doing, why he's doing it and how you can do it in the future, if you want. I've never felt I overpaid for my service there.

And for those who complain about $300 oil changes, read up on some of the threads, like the rear toe link failures, and understand that this is not a "normal" car. In many ways it really is a streetable race car and needs to be maintained like one. If you are a DIY'r and know how to do all this stuff, great. If you think just changing the oil is all that needs to be done, you really should go to a good tech and observe what really happens during those services. If you do watch him and all you get is an oil change and a wash...don't EVER go back there. Find a good tech who knows what he is doing. I would like to see this service detailed line by line.

The main reason I'm even considering bringing the Elise back for it's 1k service is the ECU dump but other than that there's nothing that I've seen that one cannot do.

$550 and nothing significant other than oil change and brake fluid bleeding? Is there more? Torque checks? So far I'm thinking I can do this at home on my own when time comes.

I'm with you. I only do it because of the ECU dump. I got 26 qts. of Mobil 1 5w40 in my garage and couple of oil filter and air filter ready to do my 7500 and more. I think all the dealer do is check and check and check, and very little of change. They charge so much because it's a luxury item. Just like when you take a boat in for service. You have to pay about 3x more than normal. I would like to see this service detailed line by line.
The Golden Gate Lotus Club has an excellent PDF overview of it, you can find this maintenance schedule here.


$550 and nothing significant other than oil change and brake fluid bleeding?
It's not brake fluid BLEEDING, but rather, you need to FLUSH the entire system - replace all the old fluid with new fluid. The procedure is more or less identical to bleeding, it's just more of it. According to the maintenance schedule, this should be done every one year, it is not mileage dependent. Most cars I've seen recommend every two years for this fluid flush, so it's not all that different. They charged my friend about $600 for the 15,000 mile service since it was about another $200 for an air filter to be changed and installed!!
$200 seems a bit steep for an air filter, but $100-150 would not surprise me. It's no simple task, I've done it before! I just had my 15k service done on the ferrari and the costs were as follows:
Quart of oil $27.00
Filters , gear oil blah,blah=$2,550.00
Spark plugs are $65.00 a piece.
Thats why I bought the lotus to track. Low costs in comparison. Enjoy you're cars!!! I just had my 15k service done on the ferrari and the costs were as follows:
Quart of oil $27.00
Filters , gear oil blah,blah=$2,550.00
Spark plugs are $65.00 a piece.
Thats why I bought the lotus to track. Low costs in comparison. Enjoy you're cars!!!
The space shuttle service intervals must run in the tens of millions.
That, however, doesn't render a Ferrari oil change at $2550 or a Lotus oil change at $550 a bargain.
Not all things are relative.
The Ferrari dealer's per quart oil cost is the same as the Lotus dealer's cost, which is the same as anyone else's- which is to say less than $1. They buy it in 50(?) gallon drums to minimize their own cost.

This really is little more that out right greed/opportunism/theft.

I just looked over the 7500 mile service point list. The only substative items are the oil and brake fluid change. Everything else is pretty much visual and would seem to require less than 30 minutes to perform. Note that air filter replacement isn't called for- just another "inspection point". $309.00 at Lotus of Jacksonville. Not there yet. About to do the 1000 mile. i forgot what fvmc charged me last year for my 7500 service. i THINK it was 470, but not sure.
but i can tell u they didnt flush the brakes. they would have charged me for brake fluid then which they didnt.
i had told them the front end seemed "loose" and to check it out. they said all was fine, changed my oil and filter and gave me a bill.
2 weeks later i was back in cause the steering rack was bad. a buddy of mine had to tell me that. i dont know what fvmc "checks" for the 7500 mile service. i think they just kinda change the oil and make sure the underpanels are tight. Just had my 7,500 done at Ferrari of Denver. Great service, great price. ~$150 for the 7,500 mile (sans oil change - I had done that my self at about 5,800). I threw in balance for the front wheels and the total was less than $200. Plus, they gave me a ride to work when I dropped it off, they fixed some anciallary issues (tighetened bolts on undertray, fixed rattle on window; reglued some carpet, did service updates, etc.). I had my 1,000 done there as well, but didn't really pay attention to it. Now, I highly recommend them and will go back for other services and problems. you guys are nuts. Filter and top knotch racing oil-$50. K & N air filter-$50. Labor-1 hour (free). check everything else-another 30 minutes maybe. DIY!! you guys are nuts. Filter and top knotch racing oil-$50. K & N air filter-$50. Labor-1 hour (free). check everything else-another 30 minutes maybe. DIY!!
I agree. Do it yourself, add the transmission oil change to Redline MT-90 (makes a HUGE difference in the way the car shifts). Great bonding experience with your car, and you can make sure everything is done properly. I had the dealer do the ECU reflash at 1000 miles (free) and took the car home and did the service. I enjoyed every minute.