A son ordered an Emira.

It took some18+ months to arrive.

Hassle on buying from appointed dealer. The car is sold by Lotus and picked up at the dealer. The dealer had stock but could only release a car when authorised by Lotus - so even when the car was there, correct colour/edition etc etc it took 2+ weeks after being told it was available.

Picked up the car eventually. I saw it 30 minutes later in my driveway. Looked great.

A catalogue of issues followed - wrong/faulty wiper motor (single speed only - months to get a replacement), electrical issues. Paintwork was scratched - had sat outside for weeks in dry weather and the dealer's car prep just washed the car without first getting rid of the sand - did not notice at showroom it had rained shortly before he arrived.

Only 1 dealer, in Glasgow, so anything needing looked at was a pain as he lives 140 miles away. Trip to get diagnosis and then wait on parts + suitable appointment date to fit.

He loved the car but sold it at just over a year - took a bath on the depreciation.

He had been warned by his brothers & I that the Lotus was not the car to buy.

Not saying I wouldn't buy a Lotus if I had the means, but one of the most fundamental prerequisites in the case of a new or nearly new one would be a dealer in relatively close proximity. And not just "a" dealer, a good one!.

For a Lotus outwith the warranty period, that would change to a well regarded specialist within a relatively close proximity.

If your son absolutely had to have a Lotus, a more sensible choice would have been a well looked after Evora. Not only do they share the same engine* and gearbox, but they also use essentially the same structure. But the Evora came out in 2009 and ran to 2021, so that is 12 years worth of tinkering by the factory to iron out niggles and problems. It may be telling that on Autotrader right now there are 5 Evora's (out of 22) are listed above £60k, but there are 13 Emira's (out of 46) at less that £60K!.

*1st Evora's used a n/a version of the 3.5 V6 Toyota lump with 280bhp, a chunk down on the Emira's 400bhp (courtesy of a supercharger). But the first "blown" Evora arrived in 2010, bringing 345bhp and much and such the same performance figures as the Emira. And there were more powerful versions of the Evora with 400, 410 and 430bhp respectively (only one of the latter on Autotrader at an eye watering £96k).