Lotus Elise

Do you want it for everyday use or just pure fun on a weekend ? If fun then go Elise. I had the same deliberation last year but needed it to be a daily driver too so went for the MR2 over an Elise S2. Slightly more practical and much more reliable. Not too much in it for driving enjoyment between them and the MR2 was 10k cheaper.
I wouldnt class the MGF as the same as the MR2.

James.

You know what LOTUS stands for, don't you?

LOTS OF TROUBLE USUALLY SERIOUS

Regards
Clive

A friend of mine had a Lotus (I can't even remember the model at the moment).

What I can remember is that the car had a sun-roof that was unusable because the noise and resonances were so bad when it was opened. There was an incredibly loud booming sound.

This fault would have been present on every single car of that model and, although sun-roofs are not Lotus' raison d'être, you'd think that they should be usable if provided. It seemed to me to be an example of very bad engineering.

Regards
Steve M

Chaps

I also worked with a chap last year who ran a Lotus as a second car. He would never trust it for long journeys and the annual MOT was a finger crossing time.

Stay away from the bloody thing.

Regards

Mick

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
I also worked with a chap last year who ran a Lotus as a second car. He would never trust it for long journeys and the annual MOT was a finger crossing time.

Stay away from the bloody thing.

On the other hand, Ferraris - where it's common practice for owners to have a 'proper car' to drive around in when the Ferrari's at the garage - are a different thing entirely. Perfectly acceptable.

My mate had one and had lots of small problems but loved it when it was working.. He swapped it in the end for an S2000 and hasnt looked back..

I don't know anything about sports cars really but just wanted to throw a suggestion into the mix: Vauxhall VX220

Ok, ok, get over the badge. It's based on the Elise chassis (I'm told). It's probably more reliable (at a guess) and servicing/parts are probably easier to come by. I'm currently working in Griffin House in Luton and walk past hundreds of these things every day.

Allan

I wonder if Bomb Disposal Experts get a discount if they decicde to buy & drive the New Citroen C4 ?

A workmate has an S1, de-catted and mildly tuned. He drives it to work and back every day, about 30 miles total, and canes the tits off it. He has had very few problems, and won't consider anything else til the Lotus dies.
Down the road from our house is a TVR/Lotus dealership. None of the technicians have a TVR, even secondhand, but a couple have Elises.
I'd be tempted to buy the Elise, run it for 6 months or a year, then make a decision. It won't be the end of the world, whatever happens. It's not like buying an old Jag, is it?

Tony

The Elise is a extremely entertaining drive, and mechanically it is actually fairly reliable. Watch out with early ones for those that have obviously been thrashed, but more importantly those that have been inexpertly tuned. The 1.8K can suffer from oil starvation if this is not upgraded alongside other tuning changes. Cylinder head gaskets are a weakness with the K series. Some gearboxes in early ones feel like porridge too.

Most of the snags will be with the cost of servicing and in particular any body work. I'd not want one as my only car, I'd also want a local dealership or specialist rather than travelling miles when it gets a fault.

No shortage of Elise information on the web I'mn sure. Try the owners club? I seriously looked at buying one before building my Seven.

For my 8k I'd actually buy a good MX-5. Not the fastest, but sweet to drive and utterly bombproof. One of my favourite ever cars.

Bruce

You can keep the motor, I'll have Linda Thornton anyday, innit

quote:

Originally posted by james n:
Do you want it for everyday use or just pure fun on a weekend ? If fun then go Elise. I had the same deliberation last year but needed it to be a daily driver too so went for the MR2 over an Elise S2. Slightly more practical and much more reliable. Not too much in it for driving enjoyment between them and the MR2 was 10k cheaper.
I wouldnt class the MGF as the same as the MR2.

James.

A little of both. I currently have a 1.4 2002 Golf which is (so far) practical and deathly reliable but.. well there's no fun factor.

I suspect something like an Elise is not practical enough to be an "only" car whereas perhaps an MR2 is.

I have to admit I've seen a few MR2s lately and thought they look quite smart, they remind me of a Boxter in a lot of respects.

And there's the MX5, looks nice but not sure, always has a bit of the "hairdressers car" image to it in my book.

Honda S2000 of course but they still seem to cost a lot of money even for the earliest ones.

Paul

Paul,

If you need a balance of talents, I’ll second Bruce on the MX-5 1.8. Not the most powerful, but the Fun Factor is there in spades. A fantastic chuckable chassis with just enough horsepower not to make things too silly. I’ve used mine for everything from roof-down & loaded-up trips back from Ikea, a thrash to Italy last year (did the Stelvio Pass twice, plus numerous others), a daily commute, and regular 400+ mile journeys. Oh and you can just fit two Naim cardboard boxes in the boot. The bloody thing seems unbreakable, and is as cheap as a supermini to run. The only problem I am aware of is a clutch issue with early 6-speed models (mine’s a 5-speed).

A colleague runs a 2001 S2 Elise. Dynamically it is superb, and he’s had no serious bother with it so far, but a few niggles. But even he admits it’s a hell of a sharp-edged instrument for daily use. I have been seriously tempted by the Elise or VX220 route myself, but life with the MX is just such a problem-free existence.

On the ‘hairdressers’ car’ issue, only on one occasion have a couple of wee neds shouted “Poof!” at me. The best response I could muster was to blow them a big girly kiss, they didn’t know quite how to respond. You soon forget this stigma once you’re on a twisty road.

Oh and you can smile smugly to yourself every time you see an MGF too.

Good luck

Kev.

quote:

Originally posted by james n:
Not too much in it for driving enjoyment between them and the MR2 was 10k cheaper.
I wouldnt class the MGF as the same as the MR2.

James.

I made exactly the same decision last year. The Elise was fun, but the '2 seemed to me to be 90% of the fun, more practical and reliable.

The MG wasn't in either car's class IMHO.

The Mazda is also fun to drive - but it felt more like a 'normal' car to me.

Maybe I'm just used to mid-engined cars (I previously had a Fiat X1/9)

Regards

Stephen

Buy a Ford Puma. They're great fun to drive, reliable and relatively cheap.
Rich.

With petrol becoming hideously expensive and pollution becoming a responsibility that everyone should take on-board, the petrol-head should be far more aware and grown-up. For that reason, ( ) did you know that the Elise S2 111S not only goes from 0-60 in 5.4 secs, but extra-urban use will get you 52 mpg, and a combined mpg of about 46-47?
Sounds like justification enough to me.

quote:

Buy a Ford Puma. They're great fun to drive, reliable and relatively cheap.

And very small. I know the Elise is too but you can eventually get the roof off.It will also out handle most other cars including some so-called supercars.

Howard

Rasher,
What was that car you were thinking of importing about a month ago
oldie

Ahemm... That was the new Mustang. A friend went out to Las Vegas earlier this month and he rented one for the weekend, and he said it is um..well...agricultural, I think was his description. What with the import duty, I was put off. Petrol now doing what it is, I'm glad I didn't bother looking further into it.

I have had both an MGF VVC. I took on the occasional Elise on the M3 in the VVC and came out better - same K series engine, different application. BUT the VVC had to go for two reasons: 1. The roads over here are cruel and the ride with the hydrostatic suspension was horrendous. 2. The head gasket blew. The problem is the K series engine in the F is predominantly air cooled and only has a small amount of coolant in the system. In my case a seal went along with the coolant followed by the head gasket. I don't think the Elise has the same problem.

In addition the build quality of the MGF was very poor - tinny and illfitted panels and carpet cut too small. MG Rover had the chance to make a brilliant roadster and failed. Maybe the MGFTF is better, but I doubt it.

Old Clarkson rated the MX5, so maybe that is a car you can look at. The reason the MR2 was not sold as such in France was due to the pronunciation - something like "merde" I believe.

Why not a BMX Z3 - prices should be competitive by now and you could get a 2.8 lump to play with

For fun try a Caterham.

Just remember, in a rag top, never look up when wearing a baseball cap if the top is down.

Brad

Think I may check out some dealers, I'm lucky enough to work at MIRA and having spoken to an employee known as "Mr Lotus" I've been pointed in the right direction so far as a friendly/knowledgable independant dealer who would be a good place to turn up and say "I'm contemplating a s/h elise" without being looked up as a timewaster or a walking pound sign etc.

I will also be stopping at the local Toyota dealer just didn't have time today.

Joking asides other than total lack of storage space I was quite surprised at the potential fuel economy.

Insurance was also interesting. I pay £400 on the Golf and a quick trip to Direct Line (couldn't be bothered phoning around) came up with £680 assuming a tracker and CAT1 alarm.

cheers,
Paul

Was that a quote with limited miles? Specialists almost certainly cheaper I'd think, especially if they offer a milage limit. I'll pass on details of the company that does my Caterham if you want (£250 approx, full comp but 5000 miles max). They do not insist on any alarm/tracker either. Perhaps reflects lower repair costs than the Elise though.

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Woodhouse:
Was that a quote with limited miles?

That was going off 12,000 per annum and inputting a reg number off a vehicle I'd seen on a dealers site.

I'm sure I could get cheaper from a specialist, this was really to get an idea if the jump from Group 4 to Group 17 would be as hideous as I thought it might be - sort of rules out looking if it was going to be £2k or something silly

I only know one person with a Lotus Elise and he did suffer a number of problems although it is undoubtedly a great drivers car albeit at the expense of practicality.

I run a TVR Griffith 4 litre, it's massively powerful and staggeringly beautiful to look at plus has a Land Rover V8 under the bonnet which is at least a well proven motor. It does cost around £400 to service every 6000 miles and you will find running costs around £1000 a year but insurance is cheap (£350 limited mileage) and the secondhand value is appreciating due to its assured classic status. I personally wouldn't buy any TVR with their own engine though.

Prior to that I had a Toyota MR2 T-Bar and it is the most reliable car I have ever owned and is extremely pretty and comfortable. The downside is that unlike the TVr and the Elise it feels a bit anodyne compared to a TVR or Lotus. I sold it because driving it didn't feel special enough and so went back to TVR whose driving experience and soundtrack is like nothing else.

Hope this helps. Incidentally I also owned a TVR S3 which is very pretty and has the Ford Scorpio 2.9 V6 engine. Cheapest car I ever owned, did 17000 miles in it, 30mpg, very reliable and sold it for £700 more than I paid for it so also the cheapest car I ever ran!

Best wishes whatever you decide.

Jonathan

Have looked at both the Elise and VX220.

The seats are as comfortable as a !!!!!!!

My poor posterior became numb and very uncomfortable very quickly.

Also looking carefully at the quality of construction led to disappointment with paint and minor trim issues.

For similar money what about the Renault Spider. It went one better than the Lotus:

NO WINDSCREEN

The Brit pussies got a windscreen as an extra though.

I looked at Lotus Elan 130 +2 . Described as previously owned by a Lotus employee.

Well if true knocking engine crappy paint mouldy interior general poor order and only 48k in 30 years.

so LOTS OF TROUBLE USUALLY SERIOUS is the byword.

If fun and low cost are what you are looking for then what about a ::::


Renault Clio 182 Cup with the Recaro seat interior . Standard seats are dire.

Light weight ,excellent safety. Great chassis , economical and shopping trolley servicing costs.

Friends have the previous 172 Cup and love them.

I will stick with my old donk of a Sierra XR4x4 2.9I £1k 2 years ago and still hanging its arse out on roundabouts.

Only needless expense is tyres. Roundabouts and 4x4 equals tyre wear.

Still £48.00 a corner is not too stiff.

regards David