Lotus Elise

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Puppetmaster

Puppetmaster

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Joined
17 Jun 2005
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Near Brighton
Few questions about an elise.

How old do you have to be to sensibly be able to insure one?

how much are good examples of them? what sort of budget do you need?
 
a bought a vx220 2.2 at 21. insurance was £1000. For some reason it was cheaper then an elise (cheapest i could find was 1500).

Price ranges for the car..
elises s1 range from 6-9k
elise s2 from 9k+
vx220 range from 6-10k
vx220 turbo 9k+ ..

Average service costs tbh, and fuel economy is fairly decent, 30-40mpg.
 
Was 22 when I had my Sport160. Managed to get fully comp for about £1400. I was quoted £1200 on a basic Elise. So to answer your question, I'd say about 21 with some NCB behind you.

VX220's are cheaper, I guess its due to the fact they don't have as much bad "history".
 
end of may i turn 21 and will have 4 years ncd tho i havnt saved up a lot of money as of yet so its a way off atm.

Any models of elise s1 / s2 that are good to get? any to avoid?

do they suffer from any problems or are they fairly reliable as cars go?

Are the average service costs @ mail dealers or independents?
 
Avoid main dealers, loads of great specialists about, ask on SELOC. Costs are fairly low, about £120 for a minor service A service, £200 for B service and about £400 for a C service (belts). Not much to go wrong so reliable, just don't damage the clams, very expensive to replace.

For a daily drivers, aim for an S2, and preferably the 111S. Don't be put off by the 120bhp base models - it may not sound like much, but they're still very quick.

Don't listen to anyone who warns you off the K-series due to HGF, they're usually the misinformed. HGF is an issue, but its fairly rare. Just keep an eye on your coolant levels and temps, and watch for mayo on the oil. If there's any sign, get its sorted immediately, and it wont cost much to fix.
 
Personally I would wait a couple of years, going to be cheaper to insure.

But most importantly If I had got an Elise when I was 21, I would have probably written it off pretty soon and / or done myself some real damage.
Rear wheel dive short wheel base mid engine cars need to be treated with respect in adverse weather conditions... all too often do I see posts on SELOC of younger Elise drivers writing their cars off.

Maybe you are a very mature driver at 20 years old in which case maybe this doesn't apply to you, but all I know is that when I was 20years old I didn't exactly drive with much consideration or forethought.

Also bear in mind that a front end prang (say 10mph for example) is going to mean the whole front end (clam) needs to be replaced, which will cost in excess of £4k and will definitely make your insurance premium sky rocket.
 
JonnyGeee said:
a bought a vx220 2.2 at 21. insurance was £1000. For some reason it was cheaper then an elise (cheapest i could find was 1500).

Price ranges for the car..
elises s1 range from 6-9k
elise s2 from 9k+
vx220 range from 6-10k
vx220 turbo 9k+ ..

Average service costs tbh, and fuel economy is fairly decent, 30-40mpg.
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Just out of curiosuty, how much NCB and driving experience did you have when you did that?

I'm got a quote for a VX220 2.2 for after September when i'll be 21 (but only with 1 years NCB) and the lowest was £3000
 
Get an S1 111S or Sport 160 as these don't actually depreciate anymore, especially the latter.

So then you can spend like £1500 or even £2000 on insurance and still not actually lose as much cash as you would if you bought a "normal" £10k car!

Do the math...

PS: Just drive it like a normal car with no monkey business when the weather is bad and you'll be fine.
 
Can't recommend an S160 as an everyday - I used one every day of the week for two years, and I wouldn't do so again. Ride height is an issue, but more so the engine, which kangeroo's at anything below 2k rpm, making town driving a chore. All the power is top-end too, so it really needs to wind up.

It can be fixed with the Lotus Drivability Upgrade, or the DVAPower upgrade. Suspension can be sorted with a variety of aftermarket kits, but its more things to consider.

111S is a much better choice. More torque, better ride height, smoother delivery with the VVC. Doesn't look quite as good as the S160 though ;)
 
Ill never understand using an Elise as an everyday car... Id love one, but it would be a toy.

Then again, I drive 35 miles of A and B road to and from work each day, so ive got a somewhat scewed view...
 
Skeeter said:
Ill never understand using an Elise as an everyday car... Id love one, but it would be a toy.

Then again, I drive 35 miles of A and B road to and from work each day, so ive got a somewhat scewed view...
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I drive 100 miles per weekday to and from work, A + B roads. I do it in an mx5 mk1, with the roof down most days. I know the elise is rawer still, but I'd be totally fine with it!. It'd just be all the mileage I'd worry about (for the cars sake).
 
im 21 and insure a vx220 turbo and pay about a grand :)

Good car but make sure you think about it properly before you comit ....
 
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