Hi, I am looking to add a Lotus to my small collection and had a few questions. The car is a 1997 Lostus Espirit. It has about 20k miles. It has had only 1 owner, and has all the service records. What should I look for problem wise? The seller is very motivated, so what is it worth? I couldnt find anything on Lotus values. If anybody has one. How reliable are they around town? Any updates, or recalls that I should check for? If anyone wants to know it is the car currently listed on ebay 97 white espirit in Marion, Illinois. Thanks for all the help, Sid Chandra
97 is the first year of the V8 and along with that comes some teething issues. The interior is dated looking it came from the earlier 4 cylinder cars.(98+ was revised). I'd say that car would be worth 35-45k depending on condition. I've read that the later models v8's are suprisingly reliable. Things to look for are clutch/tranny/any leaks(obviously)/electrical gremlins. Make sure the timing belt has been changed at routine intervals. Overall it is alot of car for the money! More good info here http://www.espritv8.com/index.php?module=pagesetter&tid=5
I know nothing about Lotus. However, my neighbor just purchased a 97 with 5k miles for 40k. He seemed to think that was an average price for a car in mint condition. It is a nice looking car, good luck with your search.
Thanks to everyone for the helpful links. I am reading them all, and there is a lot of helpful information. thanks, Sid
I had searched for an Esprit a while back, ok a long time ago. At the time a lot of the issues with them steered me away. I will be posting an 05 Elise for sale in the FerrariAds in a couple of days. It's not the Esprit, but it would be more reliable.
