308 vs. Lotus Esprit

Well, a 308 will be 20+ years old. Yes, they can be driven every day.
My brothers Esprit (granted, a 78 S1) is very unreliable. I belong to a local Lotus club, Lots of wreching at any given meeting or track event... unless you had an unusual Lotus without any problems, I think you will find that a well cared for 308 can be driven regularly. Keeping her maintained can be expensive.

 

I would suggest an Esprit after 1998. A lot of upgrades were made and the Esprit is very reliable after that point. In addition, it is a lot more car. It is difficult to beat it when comparing cost to abilities. A 98 Esprit would probably run around 45K U.S. and would cost very little to maintain. Good luck.

 

I have been looking at the Esprits myself and have found that their reputation of being unreliable is that they are no more unreliable than a 308 and the cost to keep them going is less than the 308's with more performance. But that is just my .02

 

You'll be sorely disaapointed in the performance difference b/w a '85 308QV and an S4. Both the Esprit's you owned will get to 60-about 1.5-2 seconds faster, will go through the 1/4 better and handle better than the 308.

I have a '77 GTB and love it. But I got it b/c I always wanted a Ferrari. Performance wise it just doesn't measure up to current or even late '80's sports cars. The 328 is better, but the Esprit will still out perform it.

The question you should ask yourself is "Do I want a Ferrari, or Do I want a high performace car?" because for 308 money, the 308 is not going to top any performance car list.

 

Yeah, but you just can't beat the curves on a 308!

 

And the V8 Esprits are wickedly fast... no comparison to the 308/328.
Two completely different animals.

 

Esprit. End of story.

 

i second that!

 

a good friend of mine has an 89 tirbo Esprit with the intercooler. i am on my second carb 308 in 6 months and i still LOVE his Esprit. the newer Lotus models are most likely even better. i will add one to my garage, the 308 will go when the money is right. the funny footwell and the shifter were the only things about the Lotus i had to get used to. i fit in the car really well, but i am a skinny guy so i can fit anywhere . ( thats why i work on aircraft .... roll eyes !)

 

To compare the two cars is very difficult. I own both. My 89 SE is wonderfully reliable, Just rolled 40,000 Miles this weekend. No Problems ever. The real beauty is the fact that all of the Fuel injection parts are GM Qaud 4. ECU, Injectors, everything. The Timing belt is the same as a nissan maxima, The Brakes are all Toyota, I know it sounds like a kit car but the car is fast as Hell & Drives perfect. However, compared to my prior Ferrari's 2 Testarossa's and my current 308, the build quality on the Ferrari's is much better. The Ferrari's I treat with respect(a nice girl), the Lotus run the hell out of it and party all night long(Bar Slut).

 

Your Azure blue S4 would blow the doors off of any 308. Depending on what you are looking for, I can't see you being very happy with a 308. The S4 is more on par with a 348/355 in the performance area. I would recommend the NSX, but they are extremely expensive in Australia.

 

Beautiful, is it yours now?

 

that is funny!
You are a lucky man, if you can pull both off! (cars and girls!)

 

If you check the rear tail lights it say Toyota on it same as the one's on a 90-91 Supra.

 

Sorry Scott that you miss out on buying the 308. Both are great cars.

One main important thing about the Lotus Esprit that not many of Ferrari lovers or others understand is that Lotus cars were never built to be a garage queen, NEVER. You stucked the Lotus in the garage for more than a month, that Lotus is as good as dead. It will no longer be reliable, problems will show up one after another. You end up hate the car and sell... Sure, you can park the Ferrari, Porsche, without starting engine for longer period without problems. Lotus NO. You buy Lotus YOU Have to Drive It. At least once a week start the engine, once every three weeks take it out for a spin, once every three monthes take it for a fast run. If you can keep all these activities for the Esprit, It will be remain a great supercar for you...

 

I think this applies to any car. When I was looking for a Testarossa. I looked at many that had under 10,000 miles. All of them had leaks, did not run very well ect. The cars I had were 30,000 - 40,000 mile examples and both drove perfect. My 308 was a car that sat a lot. I have wasted more time sorting this car than any other car I have owned. I will never buy a car again that has sat. My Esprit does not get driven as much as I would like but it is used at least once a month. I try to drive all of my cars once a month at the very least. Moral of the story. Stay away from garage queens if you want somthing to drive.

 

That lotus looks terrific.

Is that the one on drive.com at the moment for $80k ish?

Im thinkinf of a similar era Esprit myself,

would you mind sending me a PM with the specifics of your purchase?

Cheers

 

i would listen to this guy folks!




( my 308 on the lift at "JOE'S GARAGE" .......... and a *few* of his toys! )