Car Choice - Serious time now!
- Thread starter RedvGreen
- Start date
I was thinking that the 25k budget seemed very low for one. and considering he didnt want to spend 31k on one of the cars he must have got a fairly hefty discount!
A brand new Elise SC is like £32k. Obviously though it was a main dealer's stock (because a truly brand new Lotus takes 3-4 months to be built) so maybe the dealer gave him 2 or 3k off the price just to shift it?
It's certainly the right time of year to buy (but not necessarily drive a Lotus). They ride a demand crest in the spring and summer, then suffer in the autumn and winter.
PS: Hope it's got the Sports Pack as the regular alloys are just hideous IMO.
It's certainly the right time of year to buy (but not necessarily drive a Lotus). They ride a demand crest in the spring and summer, then suffer in the autumn and winter.
PS: Hope it's got the Sports Pack as the regular alloys are just hideous IMO.
It was an Esprit.
An Esprit is bigger than an Elise...
Anyway, are you going to address any of the above points/ questions?
What needs addressing? I have my car and will send pics when it arrives end of next week
I take it your planning to sell the mr2 in the near future?
So? The Esprit chassis was just some steel tubes welded together. The Elise is a full aluminium monocoque. Elise's stand up well in crashes on average.
£29k is alright. The dealer must have been having a bad month (not surprising given the weather!)
Sell the MR2 and get something with a big boot and some more seats to use as a hack. At least, that is what I would do.
Alloys are a bit marmite, that's all. The general public are too busy thinking "OMFG it's a Lotus LOOK!!" anyway.
If you like a bit of crackle and pop on the overrun and a nice note going through tunnels and under bridges get yourself a nice shiney 2bular.
Sell the MR2 and get something with a big boot and some more seats to use as a hack. At least, that is what I would do.
Alloys are a bit marmite, that's all. The general public are too busy thinking "OMFG it's a Lotus LOOK!!" anyway.
If you like a bit of crackle and pop on the overrun and a nice note going through tunnels and under bridges get yourself a nice shiney 2bular.
The Stage 1 is OK'ish (still mild-steel though, so won't last) but the Stage 2 is made of swiss cheese. Some people have had the mountings break within 1 week of ownership.
Larini are OK too if you don't mind paying for an 'off-the-shelf pre-made' exhaust for the price of a custom-made one.
Larini are OK too if you don't mind paying for an 'off-the-shelf pre-made' exhaust for the price of a custom-made one.
I read lots about Larini systems being the best to go for, but they aren't cheap (£1200 iirc). Get lots of pop's and burble with a full system.
Looking forward to hearing more details when you get it. Can I ask what helped you make the decision on an Elise SC over the other cars you had looked at?
Looking forward to hearing more details when you get it. Can I ask what helped you make the decision on an Elise SC over the other cars you had looked at?
Probably the rarity and power-to-weight. This is pretty much the sole reason Lotus keep selling even through a recession.
Well I visited the showroom and found the vehicle. It's spec/technical data really impressed me...
- Having a vehicle that CAN do 4.4sec 0-60 and 10sec 0-100MPH YET still recoup upto 44MPG is VERY rare for one vehicle to have.
- Therefore supercar performance with upto a 500mile range.
- Trackday ease of use.
- No waiting for delivery/construction.
- Ease of haggling at end of year (big savings, and no extra VAT) and with car being delivered virtually the day before, it was a rare opportunity that I couldn't pass up!