Muncher said:No, it's just the price you pay for that kind of car and it's worth every penny
rubbish. i cannot think of a single car, this side of a 355, that is worth having if you have to pay 75% of the value of the car just to keep it running
The real cost of running an Elise
- Thread starter Del Lardo
- Start date
rubbish. i cannot think of a single car, this side of a 355, that is worth having if you have to pay 75% of the value of the car just to keep it running
Lopéz said:
Agreed.
Lopéz said:
As you say, the Elise isn't exactly quantum technology. Apart from it's somewhat novel chassis design, the running gear is all very conventional, and it's not that difficult to work on.
I fully accept that many people either don't want to, or don't have the facilities to work on their own car, but those prices are taking the pee on a large scale IMO.
NathanE said:There seems to be shocking amount of Rover-related fixes in there
Hope my 111R doesn't suffer from some of those "basic" faults
Also "new windscreen"? If it got smashed you can pay most insurers a small sum to have it replaced...
If it makes you feel any better, my Elise has cost pennies to run. The only real money I've spent is on the retrim and that was just cos I fancied some posh seats, wasn't exactly vital to do.
Soldato
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- Back with a Vengeance.
a long pause was the reply.Dogbreath said:I suspect no good answer was forthcoming
my friend, a nightclub doorman and 25 stone to boot, told him to go shove it...politely of course.
a local autoelectrician replaced the diode pack for just less than 90 quid.
this issue is becoming more and more common.
take the example i gave. Lucas (i think, but not sure) made the whole batch of alternators required by Toyota, then sold all of them to said jap manufacturer.
this leaves A) nowhere else to go and B) Toyota free to charge what they like due to A).
a nasty little business technique IMHO.
My real cost of running my elise for the last 21 months and 18,000 miles
R plate Elise
3 Wheel bearings - £8 each
Halfords clearance items listed for an MGF, had same timkin part no as original bearings. Removed old ones myself using the bead of weld on the race and knocking it out then put bearings in the freezer and hub in the oven for an hour.
3 Ball Joints - £9 each
QH Parts from my local factor. Home made press using a couple of plates of 1cm steel with holes drilled and 2 bits of threaded bar
Rose joint toe link setup - £150
Brand new from ebay. Fairly easy to fit
2xTrack rod ends - £8 each
Local factor. Very easy to fit
4 New tyres - £200 Yokohama Advan Neovo
Brand new from Seloc for sale section
New steering rack gators, plastic cups and springs plus bronze bushes - £45
Bought direct from rack titan motorsport. Total pain to do, took me 2 days
Geo and tyre fitting - £120 Plans Motorsport - Great guys ! really helpfull
Only thing I havent managed to do myself. Though I did try hence the need for 4 new tyres
Head Gasket + steel dowles + new bolts - £50
Not too bad a job, day and a half.
Good set of used Ebiach springs and Koni dampers - £50
Ebay again. Very easy job
Front anti roll bar bushes - £52 !
New from elise parts.
52mm Throttle Body - £40
Seloc for sale section
Oil change every 4k Castrol RS £12 each x2
Bargain at Macro
Castrol Edge Sport £26 x3
Oil filters £3 x 5
Bosch battery £35
NGK Platinum plugs £13
Local Factors
Magnacor leads £40
Direct from manafacture
Total £979
I've done quite a lot to it but have ended up with a nice solid car now that is free of clonks/rattles and handles superbly
Next on the list of jobs is to fit my Lotus Sport 135 head that I got of ebay for £6 (cam belt failure caused all guides to crack and break 2 valve seats) got all guides replaced, 2 valve seats replaced and a couple of digs welded up and skimmed for £200
I think I will get a set of fast road cams and fit both together.
All work done on my drive at home.
R plate Elise
3 Wheel bearings - £8 each
Halfords clearance items listed for an MGF, had same timkin part no as original bearings. Removed old ones myself using the bead of weld on the race and knocking it out then put bearings in the freezer and hub in the oven for an hour.
3 Ball Joints - £9 each
QH Parts from my local factor. Home made press using a couple of plates of 1cm steel with holes drilled and 2 bits of threaded bar
Rose joint toe link setup - £150
Brand new from ebay. Fairly easy to fit
2xTrack rod ends - £8 each
Local factor. Very easy to fit
4 New tyres - £200 Yokohama Advan Neovo
Brand new from Seloc for sale section
New steering rack gators, plastic cups and springs plus bronze bushes - £45
Bought direct from rack titan motorsport. Total pain to do, took me 2 days
Geo and tyre fitting - £120 Plans Motorsport - Great guys ! really helpfull
Only thing I havent managed to do myself. Though I did try hence the need for 4 new tyres
Head Gasket + steel dowles + new bolts - £50
Not too bad a job, day and a half.
Good set of used Ebiach springs and Koni dampers - £50
Ebay again. Very easy job
Front anti roll bar bushes - £52 !
New from elise parts.
52mm Throttle Body - £40
Seloc for sale section
Oil change every 4k Castrol RS £12 each x2
Bargain at Macro
Castrol Edge Sport £26 x3
Oil filters £3 x 5
Bosch battery £35
NGK Platinum plugs £13
Local Factors
Magnacor leads £40
Direct from manafacture
Total £979
I've done quite a lot to it but have ended up with a nice solid car now that is free of clonks/rattles and handles superbly
Next on the list of jobs is to fit my Lotus Sport 135 head that I got of ebay for £6 (cam belt failure caused all guides to crack and break 2 valve seats) got all guides replaced, 2 valve seats replaced and a couple of digs welded up and skimmed for £200
I think I will get a set of fast road cams and fit both together.
All work done on my drive at home.
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Associate
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- 14 Jul 2004
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- 963
Good man ^
Hi there
Completely different car I know but ownership of the Mustang has actually made me money.
If we forgot that small factor the actual cost of running has just been oil, filters, grease and two new rear tyres. Fantastic reliability in the 14,000 miles I have covered in the car.
I've spent circa £200 in oil because I choose to change my oil every 3000 miles with good quality product. Filters have set me back £30 as cheap from the US or from Ford they are just a Mondeo filter. Obviously no labour charges as I do it myself.
Tyres I get trade, so what would normally cost £350 per tyre I get for £200 a tyre, so £400 total spent on the rears.
Thats all it has cost to run a car with over 500 horsepower as a daily driver driven in all conditions.
Completely different car I know but ownership of the Mustang has actually made me money.
If we forgot that small factor
the actual cost of running has just been oil, filters, grease and two new rear tyres. Fantastic reliability in the 14,000 miles I have covered in the car. I've spent circa £200 in oil because I choose to change my oil every 3000 miles with good quality product. Filters have set me back £30 as cheap from the US or from Ford they are just a Mondeo filter. Obviously no labour charges as I do it myself.
Tyres I get trade, so what would normally cost £350 per tyre I get for £200 a tyre, so £400 total spent on the rears.
Thats all it has cost to run a car with over 500 horsepower as a daily driver driven in all conditions.
Gibbo said:Hi there
Completely different car I know but ownership of the Mustang has actually made me money.
If we forgot that small factor
I've spent circa £200 in oil because I choose to change my oil every 3000 miles with good quality product. Filters have set me back £30 as cheap from the US or from Ford they are just a Mondeo filter. Obviously no labour charges as I do it myself.
Tyres I get trade, so what would normally cost £350 per tyre I get for £200 a tyre, so £400 total spent on the rears.
Thats all it has cost to run a car with over 500 horsepower as a daily driver driven in all conditions.
Isn't your car only about 2yr old though? Del Lardo's Elise is almost 8yr old so it's hardly a fair comparison. I'd like to see your fuel bill compared to his
Lopéz said:
I mean £9k a year is not a shocking figure for all costs considered, including fuel, insurance and depreciation. Buying a new Astra will probably see you exceed that figure when you take into account fuel, insurance, tax and depreciation.
My servicing/repairs figure is only £1,522 over 30 months and over £700 of that came from when i clipped a kerb!
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Plus the original clutch is showing signs of needing replacement soon. Not bad though 104k on a clutch!And likewise our 111R's are only 2004 cars - so not really old enough for serious things to start breaking, and all the important bits are Japanese which helps...eidolon said:Isn't your car only about 2yr old though? Del Lardo's Elise is almost 8yr old so it's hardly a fair comparison. I'd like to see your fuel bill compared to his
eidolon said:Isn't your car only about 2yr old though? Del Lardo's Elise is almost 8yr old so it's hardly a fair comparison. I'd like to see your fuel bill compared to his
Hi there
True my car is not so old, but with the design being basic even in a few years time when wear and tear things did go they are easily sorted yourself. What makes many cars expensive to owner is car dealerships that charge a fortune.
My fuel bill will be hugely more expensive yes, but at the same time my engine produces several times more horsepower and torque.
Gibbo said:Hi there
True my car is not so old, but with the design being basic even in a few years time when wear and tear things did go they are easily sorted yourself. What makes many cars expensive to owner is car dealerships that charge a fortune.
My fuel bill will be hugely more expensive yes, but at the same time my engine produces several times more horsepower and torque.
The same applies to the Elise though, it's a very basic car and cheap to maintain as JamesRJ has shown however Del Lardo chose to use a dealership which is why a lot of his costs appear high. I'd imagine that if you did the same upgrades and had your car serviced at a dealership your costs would be a lot higher than an Elise.
The true benefit of the Elise and I'm guessing Gibbo's Mustang is that they are relatively simple cars to work on. By that I mean few expensive tools are required to do the job, you don't need to be an electronics expert to do any work on it etc.
There are many performance cars where even if you wanted to work on themselves it would be extremely difficult to do so as they are just too complex. I've stripped my VX down to not a lot at the moment, and if I had the parts out at the moment, that I have removed before it would be pretty much a bare chassis with nothing at all on it. Try doing that with a new 911, a new M3, a new RS4, there are just too many pieces of trim and electronic systems to be able to have a crack at it.
There's no satisfaction in taking a car to a dealership and opening your chequebook.
There are many performance cars where even if you wanted to work on themselves it would be extremely difficult to do so as they are just too complex. I've stripped my VX down to not a lot at the moment, and if I had the parts out at the moment, that I have removed before it would be pretty much a bare chassis with nothing at all on it. Try doing that with a new 911, a new M3, a new RS4, there are just too many pieces of trim and electronic systems to be able to have a crack at it.
There's no satisfaction in taking a car to a dealership and opening your chequebook.