Having dirty thoughts about getting rid of Lizzy

Del Lardo

Del Lardo

Del Lardo

Soldato
Joined
8 Aug 2003
Posts
2,542
Location
Cambridge(ish)
I absolutely love my Elise but since changing jobs last September I hardly ever seem to enjoy driving it anymore as most of my journeys are trips into Cambridge or driving to/from Heathrow for work at stupid times of the day/night. The Elise really excites me but I'm putting lots of miles on a car that just isn't designed to round up and down the M11/M25.

My Dad ran a 'N' BMW 730 for 5 years and really liked it. I've been having a look on Pistonheads for a cruiser that interests me and I really like the look of the 740 like this one. Insurance costs seem pretty similar to my modded Elise and fuel costs aren't really a concern as I have a fuel card.

I'm heading off to Belgium tomorrow so I could pop in to have a look on the way down (not even thinking about changing until after Le Mans) so what if anything should I look out for? Does this engine suffer from the VANOS problems and what sort of performance can I expect?

Also what alternatives can I look at? Budget £8-10k. Not really keen on Mercs and the A8 despite being in the same class looks too big to me (strange I know but it's all about perception).

Also what sort of running costs am I looking at for tyres/servicing and can I get the BMW warrantee?


Any comments or thoughts are really appreciated. I really don't want to sell my Elise but as a car for my requirements I'm just not sure if I can justify it anymore :(
 
Cant you just take slightly longer uyet fun trips down the back roads rather then take the motorway? :confused:

Should make things fun again :D


Edit:

DONT SELL IT!!!!


Theres far to many BMWs on here as it is :(
 
Go for a 6 cylinder 5 Series instead. Similar performance, less hassle, less headaches, better handling and just as good a cruising companion.

BMW warranty is only available if you renew a car that already has it - and it's nowhere near as good as it used to be.
 
Noooooooooo!


Do I what I do and have a cheap disposable car for daily driving, I have a M reg Diesel Golf with 212k on the clock called Geoffrey :D
 
Muncher said:
Do I what I do and have a cheap disposable car for daily driving, I have a M reg Diesel Golf with 212k on the clock called Geoffrey :D
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But then you have to drive around in a scabby old car :confused:
 
Zip said:
Cant you just take slightly longer uyet fun trips down the back roads rather then take the motorway? :confused:
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Trust me, when I crawl out of bed at 3am having got 30 minutes sleep the last thing I want to do it make my journey any longer.


[TW said:
Fox]Go for a 6 cylinder 5 Series instead. Similar performance, less hassle, less headaches, better handling and just as good a cruising companion. BMW warranty is only available if you renew a car that already has it - and it's nowhere near as good as it used to be.
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You probably are right but a 5 series just doesn't hold any interest for me. I can't put my finger on it but they just don't excite me. I also loved the warble of the V8 in my Dad's old 7-series :D

Are there any 3rd party warantees that are worth the money?


Muncher said:
Do I what I do and have a cheap disposable car for daily driving, I have a M reg Diesel Golf with 212k on the clock called Geoffrey
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I used to run a Fiesta 1.1 as a 2nd car until it blew up and if I still worked in Cambridge getting another 2nd car would be a good idea. I thought about buying a £2k Mondeo for long runs but realised that if I did that my Elise would only ever get driven into Cambridge which is a complete waste of a car and a lot of money :(
 
Del Lardo said:
You probably are right but a 5 series just doesn't hold any interest for me. I can't put my finger on it but they just don't excite me. I also loved the warble of the V8 in my Dad's old 7-series :D
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But it's a 7 with the boring stuff removed :confused:

Are there any 3rd party warantees that are worth the money?
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For a 96k mile car? No.
 
Concorde Rules said:
Problem with that is? Does it matter what the bloke next to you thinks about your car?
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No, but it matters what you think. I couldn't spend my week driving around in a horrible old car just so I could have something nice at the weekend.
 
I guess for the same reason I wouldnt spend my week living in a box under the railway arches so I could spend my weekends at a 5 star hotel.
 
[TW]Fox said:
But it's a 7 with the boring stuff removed :confused:
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Lets just say that a 5-series is twice as exciting as a 7-series to drive. From my point of view the Elise is 20 times as exciting to drive as a 5 series so from an excitment point of view it makes very little difference which one I buy as they will both be relatively boring.

I actually got more driving pleasure from my 1994 Fiesta 1.1 that I did from the Boxster-S that I drove back in January as I was actually involved in the driving process. If I was uninspired by a car as good as a Boxster-S then the difference between a 5 and 7 series will be minimal. This is of course all speculation as I've not driven the relative models back to back but this doesn't fix the underlying problem..... I see a 5-series and think "that's a 5 series". I see a 7-series and think "mmm, nice car".
 
[TW]Fox said:
But then you have to drive around in a scabby old car :confused:
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Sure, but sometimes you WANT a scabby old car to drive around in. I can drive it to football matches and to training, filled with balls, kitbags, corner flags, the lot and not care about what I put in it and where I leave it.

It's also used to do a LOT of journeys to the tip, carry rubble and buckets of dirt. I'm not sure what it is about it, but it's quite good fun as well. :o
 
Del, I know what you mean about other cars blurring into one when you drive them, if you don't expect them to be anywhere near as good as the Elise it doesn't reall make any difference, they're just slight variations in boringness....
 
Muncher said:
I'm not sure what it is about it, but it's quite good fun as well. :o
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I can answer this :D

The fact if you scratch it, Dent it, Kill it it will cost bugga all and not even matter. You could just pick up a new one for nothing to replace it :D
You can thrash it bash it smash it until its dead and not need to worry. Launch it from jumps, Drive it in the redline, belt down dirt roads, se it to remove tree branchs in your path :p

You can have all sorts of fun with an old car and thats why i have Krusty still :p
 
[TW]Fox said:
I guess for the same reason I wouldnt spend my week living in a box under the railway arches so I could spend my weekends at a 5 star hotel.
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Apart from the cost of two lots of tax, MOT and insurance, having an old banger to drive to work/supermarket etc. makes great sense to me. Firstly, you can drive it anywhere without agonising over whether it's going to get a scratch or dent, or get nicked etc. Running costs are generally low (unless you choose a total shed on it's last legs), and you are preserving the value of your nice car by keeping mileage down and reducing the chances of damage.

The best bit though, is when you step back inside your nice car, it feels really special again. If you drive it everyday, that feeling wears off pretty quickly (at least for me), but spend some time in something far less capable, and it's almost like getting a new car each weekend.
 
You know the thing about old cars is that often they scrub up really well if you want them to. I would despise driving a scabby dog with knackered mchanicals and a dirty, smelly, broken cabin but it doesn't have to be this way. One could easily spend £500 on a 2nd car as a runabout that would be comfortable, presentable and in every way quite bearable to run around in. I love my Honda because it's got a great interior, nice engine, looks OK if somewhat dated and only cost me £800. This is an estate with full leather, cruise, heated mirrors, aircon, sunroof.. I can park it anywhere and not worry about it, fill it with loads to take to the tip yet clean her up and enjoy long motorway journies in comfort. I then also have the MX5 as a weekend car which can be trashed about. Why blow ** car budget on one single object which you lavish all ** money, love and attention on when you can have 2 great cars- an totally un practical 2 seater and a workhorse. Have best of both worlds in my view.
 
Saytan said:
the OP isnt looking for a car to drive to the station/tip/football practice though. he wants one for long m-way runs
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You can't possibly tell me that you can't buy a car for £1000 or less that is a great motorway cruiser?
 
Dogbreath said:
Apart from the cost of two lots of tax, MOT and insurance, having an old banger to drive to work/supermarket etc. makes great sense to me. Firstly, you can drive it anywhere without agonising over whether it's going to get a scratch or dent, or get nicked etc. Running costs are generally low (unless you choose a total shed on it's last legs), and you are preserving the value of your nice car by keeping mileage down and reducing the chances of damage.

The best bit though, is when you step back inside your nice car, it feels really special again. If you drive it everyday, that feeling wears off pretty quickly (at least for me), but spend some time in something far less capable, and it's almost like getting a new car each weekend.
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Thing is with insurance you can often get it much cheaper if you have a classic/enthusiast/limited policy for your looney car. If he didn't use the Elise for work I bet with careful phoneing around he could get a much cheaper policy for it. The workhorse could surely then be insured on a 3rd party policy blah blah blah
 
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