Running Costs ...

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RedvGreen

RedvGreen

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An ongoing saga between myself and some mates, since i'm, as we all know, in the market for a new car this is a hot topic of mine. Running Costs.

Mitsubishi Evo Lancer X FQ-300 (owned by mate #1)
Lotus Elise SC
Porsche Cayman (owned by mate #2, who bought it new :eek:)


I reckon that the most expensive car of the list above to own and run will be the Mitsubishi Evo Lancer X. This is considering MPG, Insurance, Track Day Insurance, Servicing, Parts and Road Tax. Not to mention the greater risk of auto-theft/damage.

However, BOTH the other two believe it will be the Lotus Elise due to it attracting the highest insurance premium and being the (as they put it) 'hardest to drive well'. Despite, as I see it, it having the best MPG, Tax and Servicing costs.

Please tell me that I am right so this may be settled once and for all!
 
I would expect depreciation costs to account for the biggest element of the running costs of any of those. That would be my first port of call for investigation, i.e. to see how much each are selling on autotrader after saying 3 or 5 years.
 
I think the Evo would cost the most, certainly if bought new.

I can't see the Elise SC being THAT expensive to insure.
 
From what I could tell the Lotus Elise is one of the cheapest true sports cars to run.

I wouldn't write off the Porsche costing a lot to run, they seem to add stupid tax to everything and charge crazy rates for stuff.
 
I wouldn't say the lotus is the car to worry about challenging the Evo cost wise, I've seen some of my mates bill's for his Boxter :eek: ouch.
 
Superewza said:
The Elise is the hardest to drive? You kidding me? The car with arguably the best handling in the world is hard to drive.
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:confused:

A Formula 1 car is arguably the best handling racing car in the world. Good luck hopping in one without any experience and not binning it spectacularly.

Best doesn't not equal the easiest.
 
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cayman has 20k service intervals, evo has 4-6k?
Cayman holds value very well.

My money at a guess would be the evo costing more.
 
I'd love to know how "being the hardest to drive well" has an effect on the running cost :D

Ignoring depreciation (as that is hard to judge without knowing the exact age and purchase costs) I would be amazed if the Lotus wasn't the cheapest to run. A friend went from a VX-Turbo to a Cayman 18 months ago and is still amazed how much more it costs to run.

As you pointed out it is relatively economical, lower tax and servicing shouldn't be more expensive. I find it hard to believe that insurance would be a huge amount more for an Elise if it would be any more expensive, they are expensive to fix but are generally a pretty low theft risk especially compared to an Evo.

My mate recently spent ~£800 on a set of tyres for his Cayman, he didn't laugh when I pointed out that a set of tyres for my Elise was £250 (though I must point out that I have an S1 and the S2 are more expensive though I don't think much more than £400).
 
[TW]Fox;15611873 said:
Cayman will cost more every time it goes into the garage. Evo will visit garage more, but each trip will cost less.
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Exactly, the evo might go in 3 times to every 1 for the cayman, but they won't cost as much. Remember some of the Evos servicing isn't really that expensive, aren't some of them around the 100/120 mark for a fluid change and that's all that's needed? You're not giving it a full service every time :)

OPC servicing is going to be pretty pricey, still remember a guy I worked with being hit for a 2k service bill on his Boxster. That was for a service and front discs and pads though.

I'd expect the porsche and Evo to come out around the same I think.
 
Superewza said:
The Elise is the hardest to drive? You kidding me? The car with arguably the best handling in the world is hard to drive.
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He said 'drive well' which to be fair, is rather accurate I'd say. Very stiff chassis means when you push it too far, it's incredibly difficult to correct.

Of the 3 I'd say the Evo will cost the most on a day to day basis. Porsche will cost you a few quid down the line, but then again who wants to own a Cayman?! Vile creature of a car, looks like a squatting dog!

Lotus all day long, every time you go past 7,000 rpm you'll smileeeeee
 
Rhyzz said:
Very stiff chassis means when you push it too far, it's incredibly difficult to correct.
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erm, pretty sure it has a lot more to do with being a mid engined RWD car with a short wheel base and without 27 computers on board to keep it on the road when the driver gets it wrong. No doubt someone with a far better understanding of pivot points can explain it properly but basically having the majority of the weight (driver and engine) concentrated in the middle of the car means that once it has gone beyond its limits it is harder to correct than a car with the weight distributed over a greater area, e.g. engine at front, driver in the middle.
 
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