Our Services
Sale or return or “SOR”
We normally buy our own vehicle stock outright but in some situations it can be beneficial to take customers cars on SOR. Our SOR service is comprehensive including the preparation, sale, payment processing and settlement with no hidden fees. For a valuation to buy outright or SOR please use the “sell my car” tab at the top of the screen. Our SOR service is regarded as one of the best within the Lotus arena with low fees and your car advertised with one of the leading independent Lotus retailers in Europe. All of our stock is stored inside (we are the only Lotus dealer to exclusively have inside only storage) in professional premises. We are fully transparent and don’t have up front preparation fees unless specifically requested. Once a car is sold payment is made same day immediately to the owner.
Hybrid SOR
A new service we are able to offer is a hybrid SOR service we believe we invented it but quite sure it will be copied! Hybrid SOR model means that we advertise your car we do not require the car to be on site but it will be subject to a full cosmetic and mechanical inspection. We secure a buyer for the car then we collect your car and pay for it in full at that point having received either a deposit or full payment from the new owner. This removes any element of risk for the owner if that was a concern. It is certainly not something that has ever been an issue with us but some unscrupulous dealers can take payment for cars and have to be chased up for payment! There is a small initial fee for this service and an agreed post sale fee.
Parts sourcing and distribution
We have a long established website www.lotushardtops.com through which we supply very high quality clamshells, hardtops and other parts around the world.
We can organise the distribution of OEM or pattern parts through our international delivery network literally anywhere in the world. From a light unit to a full chassis size and distance is no problem.
Accident repair and management – restoration – repainting
Due to our unique quick access to parts we are often asked to take on repair work on Lotus and VX220 cars. Using a decade old network we have built we have access to the areas best fiberglass proficient bodyshops and are able to take on a limited amount of such work. We typically have 2 -3 customer cars undergoing some degree of repairs or restoration. We can work directly with owners or via insurance companies where required.
Manufacturing and special projects
In addition to our involvement with Lotus and VX220 sales and parts did you know we also have a separate composite manufacturing facility? We have skilled craftsmen able to work with any GRP composites. We are able to manufacture new tooling for anything from spoilers to aircraft components.
Information on distance sales & Warranty
For customers not attending site to buy a car your purchase may fall within the “distance selling” rules
You are therefore legally entitled to a 14 day cooling off period whereby the car can be returned for a credit on an alternative car or a full refund. This request must be made in writing via email to info@lotushardtops.com or by post to Jon Seal Sportscars Ltd – Unit 2 Heritage Acres – Wakefield Road – Fitzwilliam – WF9 5BX – Returns are subject to a £2.00+VAT per driven mile fair usage charge plus the cost delivery both ways. Delivery is charged at £2 per mile+VAT both ways regardless of initial agreed delivery charge.
Returned vehicles must be returned in the same condition as bought any damage to the vehicle will result in the right to cancel been lost. If any “extras” such as additional paint/parts or service actions have been taken these will render the order taylor made/personalised and therefore beyond the scope of the regulations and cannot be refunded in any circumstances if work has been completed.
After 14 days and up to 30 days from purchase there will be a £750+VAT restocking fee in addition to the fair useage charge above and also the cost of delivery to and from the customer.
3 Month Warranty
We have the best warranty in the Lotus world far surpassing the aftermarket warranties that even main dealers offer. Our warranty is in house underwritten by us. These are the shortest Ts & Cs you’ll ever read for a warranty!
There are almost no exclusions but the ones we do have we feel are very sensible. Most of the cars we sell are quite old now and we always do our best to ensure there are no problems and having the confidence to underwrite our own warranty demonstrates this.
We are unable to cover the following items:
Track use (we appreciate that Lotus cars like to be on track but track use can cause damage which is out of the scope of what we can offer to cover on a warranty) –
Air conditioning (we will always advise if there is an existing issue with AC systems) The AC systems are poorly designed from the factory and were problematic when the cars were new! –
Fair wear and tear on clutches/gearboxes again any issues will be highlighted at the time of sale. In the unlikely event of an issue with a clutch whilst the car is in warranty with us we will still offer a contribution towards costs.
In most cases we can resolve issues locally to you but in the case of larger works (clam off jobs like resistor packs etc) we would require the car to be returned into us. We cannot cover the costs of this but in the rare circumstances it happens we normally return the car at our cost.
We are unable to warranty any car that is exported outside of the UK
Business to business sales or where a car is to be used for hire or reward
Any consequential losses
We can supply an aftermarket warranty for up to 2 years as part of sale but we will only advise this if we feel that the cover levels are adequate for the particular car/age of car.