Elise / Exige Questions?

+1 great post, ive track a few S2 elises, turbo elise, S1 exige sport, opel speedster etc.... your description is spot on.

 

I bust balls. It's my job. Keep me posted on the search for Heidi Klum with a phd next door in lingerie and who wants you and hates foreplay. I mean KG Elise in perfect shape cheap and east coast and your purchase of this unicorn

 

This car is not for everyone.

I've seen a ton of people buy them thinking "cool", and then want to sell them within 6 months.

I wouldn't use it as a daily driver. It's hot. It's cold. It's cramped. The suspension will knock your fillings out. The radio is just dead weight. Everything rattles, buzzes, vibrates and sounds like it's going to come apart. The small storage in the trunk will melt stuff you put in there. The clams (front and rear) are VERY expensive to fix and are VERY fragile. You will scrape the nose on the slightest incline. A small fender bender front and rear can cause your insurance company to write off the car. The soft-top leaks. The shift linkage is weak. And (I'm 6'2'') if you're tall, getting in and out of North Korea is easier than getting in and out of this car.

With all that being said though - if you are a driving enthusiast... If you love a car that feels like the steering is wired into your brain and gives you more feedback than any other car on the road... the Elise & Exige are it.

I have both... and they are the best *drivers* cars I've ever owned. Period.

 

do you regret selling the green Esprit over the summer? the time spent looking for an Elise could have been spent bringing that thing back to life

 

Might as well chime in here.......

I bought a 2005 Graphite Grey from MidRivers in STL (may they rest in peace) and drove it back home on I-70. I never got so many thumbs up from any other car I have owned. Kept the car for a little over a year when I got my Z06. Car was perfect when I sold it except for some windshield chips. These cars collect windshield chips like crazy since every stone on a highway has a great chance of hitting its low profile windshield.

Flash G pretty much summed it up - its like a cranky wife who is a great cook and fun in bed. When its fun, its really fun but when its not, I would much prefer another car. Going right into a Z06, I can truthfully say that the Elise was more fun but just not practical enough.

I have casually looked for another Elise recently and have had the same experience Reaper is having - these cars have been modded or crunched and the good ones have kept their value.

Good luck with the search.

 

Pick one up yet?
I'm picking up my 3rd Lotus...just found a track prepped Elise which I'm gonna race in LotusCup next year.
Once you go Lotus, you always go back!

 

My sense is the OP has been careful and unemotional enough to get smokin' deals on the buy side and able to sell at a good enough price so his cars don't cost much and the new tax laws put an automatic 7% risk into every purchase.

I paid full retail for My Lotus and it's probably worth maybe $15-20K less, not even counting cost of ownership. But over 8 years, $15-20K does not seem too bad for the experience. I think you could do much better buying used and holding. I don't see any Elise going under $20K and well cared for more like $25K minimum, so if you paid $35K for one and held it, not so bad.

But if you need to flip the car right away, yeah, a Lotus stands to cost you a few thousand to own for 6 months, what with sales tax and the fact that they can be as hard to sell as buy, esp. if you want top dollar.

You need to want it more irrationally than I think the OP wants one. Smart guy.

 

Now there is a worthwhile challenge... and one that will make finding an Elise easy



(found one some years ago while working on a remote desert site - amazing really - still have her too )

 

... and rub and rub and rub!

 

I did get very lucky

Always helps

 

Nothing much to add that hasn't been said but I wanted to relay my own experience. I had an autumn gold 06 Elise which I put 35k on as my daily driver -- I even put on snow tires for winter. It suffered an unfortunate demise after I replaced the motor due to a second faulty oil cooler line. I missed it dearly. I never tracked it and treated it like the Toyota corolla it is. Last year I found its replacement--an exige s which, other than not having a functional rear window, is way easier to drive. The Elise you had to ring it's neck to go fast (second cam and all) the exige with the blower you can cruise in 6th and accelerate quickly enough. I am not DDing the exige, but even at 6'2" 240lbs it is tolerable as a DD.

 

I had an '07 Exige S that I ended up trading for my current 355. Many things about the Lotus I still miss and I would be lying if I said I don't sometimes think on going back...

The steering is like nothing else.

Despite any on-line chatter, the driveline is very robust, and compared to the Ferrari world, cheap. A gearbox is like $1800 new.

I used it as a daily driver. I bought an Elise soft top and used that most of the time. I loved that you could park it outside without worry of the sun beating up the interior - there is nothing to beat up! It is tough to get out of with the top on, but it's simply more incentive to stay in shape.

I replaced the mirrors with small carbon convex mirrors and had no issues with the rear view.

The supercharged motor sounds better than the NA, because you hear the whine which ads some depth and complexity.

The torque of the SC cars is also much better (they come on cam sooner too) and is really nice on the road.

I had not more trouble with tires than any other sports car.

There are lots of fun little mods - like stiffening the shifter mount - that make it even better for almost zero money.

It's an easy easy DIY car, as you can get the full shop manuals that tell you everything you'd ever want to know, right down to track set up. Getting it on a lift is a pain because you have to take most of the rear undertray off before you can get to the lift points.

All in all just a great great car. One of my favorites, and it would be my hands down pick as a dual duty track/street car. Only negative is that dealer network is spotty, but if you aren't afraid to work on it by yourself, it really won't matter.

 

I still have my Exige S and don't think I could ever bring myself to sell it. There is no other car like it and likely never will be for street use. J. Salmon mentioned a problem with left points that can be remedied with after market parts that allow you to lift the car with no problems.

Can't recommend the car highly enough: Very inexpensive, extremely reliable and a real blast to drive.

 

buy a damn car already!

 

He's waiting for you to buy the damn Ferrari.

 

oh man this thread will have 1mm views by then