What do you guys think of Lotus Esprit?

I think the gars look great, but wht do I see them going for so cheep? I mean, 19K for this car?
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=172801906&dealer_id=562938&car_year=1989&make=LOTUS&distance=any&max_price=20000&model=&advcd_on=n&end_year=2000&min_price=15000&certified=n&address=78749&search_type=used&advanced=n&start_year=1986&color=&cardist=1762
What a deal!!! Are they bad cars? I like the older body styles but matbe they are prone to breaking down?

 

Looks like a nice car. I have never driven one, but there has been discussion here comparing to the 308, and if my memory serves me right, they are more dependable, but parts are as expensive as Ferrari parts.

I'd be interested to hear from someone with some real life experiences.

 

I sat in one a few weeks ago when I was at the local Lotus dealer checking out an Elise. The Elise actually felt like it had more room than the Esprit.

 

One of the guys here at the Ferrari/Lotus dealership was saying it would be more realistic to find an older Lotus in the 25-30K price range unless I wanted to pay about another 10K on maintainance with a 20K Lotus. Kinda a bummer.... I see a bunch of fine looking Esprits on Ebay for arouns 10-20K. Man what a good looking car! Still very tempting.... I wonder how one of these would be for a daily driver?

 

That is a typical price for that year of a Lotus. In fact you could get a 1990-1991 for about that, so don't get too excited when you see this ad. The one you show doesn't seem to have much in the way of lower ground effects parts. I think you really wanna get that. Watch out too, the 88's and I think some 89's have slightly narrower wheels, I think in the rear, so be careful.

I "became an expert" on the Esprits when I was chosing my next car this spring. You too can be an expert by visiting http://www.espritfactfile.com/. It's the best Lotus site, and you should spend some time in the chat room to really learn about the cars.

They do seem to be slight headaches from what I gathered, but the parts and internet support is fantastic. I chose a 328 in the end because I felt I would appreciate the driver atmosphere in the 328 more than the speed of the Lotus, on a day-to-day basis. Others around me say they would not have cared to see a Lotus compared to seeing a Ferrari.

Best!
Wes

 

I love the cars. The interiors are very, how to say, claustrophobic, which may be unsettling to some drivers.

 

I enjoy smaller sports cars such as Esprit, and with the Twin Turbo V8, is a great platform to build upon.

In fact, 5th Gear just picked up a lotus V8 TT for their project car on the show and it already blew the transmission.

 

wow, good information guys. I have been searching for a Lotus board for quite a while now, so thanks F1Ace, the link was very helpful. I think I've seen a few folks here that are Esprit owners.... I wonder if anyone on here owns an 80's model? It would be nice to chat with some of you, so if you are an owner, chime in.

 

Ah yes, thank you.

 

Here's a typical interior picture of a 90's model.
"Help help, I can't breath!!!"
Just teasing, it isn't that bad I've heard.

I also posted the exterior pics of one I was dealing on, it fell through 'cause the owner was a jerk.
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I wouldn't touch one under a 1999 because the interiors were awful. The worst ergonomics I have ever seen.

 

Parts are no more expensive than Jaguar, MB, or BMW parts, the typical $250 to $1000 USD in $250 increments to fix minor to more major problems. I hear swapping the tranny and retrofitting a Porsche tranny does wonders for longevity. Here in Los Angeles, the Lotus owners are a tight knit bunch and if you live in a big city (big enough for a club), there's the potential to be in touch with a large "tinkering" population more so than you find with any other make aside from domestics.

Sunny

 

I had an 88 Esprit and currently have a 97 V8. Fun cars. That car seems to be about the right price range, but it is not an SE. The SE had a Chargecooler which boosted the HP to about 265. 89 is the year that the transmission was changed to a Renault unit which has better parts availability. The Citroen-Maserati unit in the 88 and earlier couldn't handle the higher HP output of the SE engine.

Let me know if I can answer any questions for you. The best resource is the Fact File posted before. The most active group is actually the Turbo Esprit Yahoo email group.

If you want bang for the buck fun, speed, handling, and exclusivity, go for the Lotus!

 

I agree that the V8 models had nicer interiors, especially the later ones, but none of the V8 models have any interior storage space. I mean NONE! It's like Lotus was on the warpath to systematically reduce storage space in the cars. From 1993 on it just goes down down down. I mean, where are you supposed to keep anything? Just a bit frustrating in that regard.

Wes

 

Ask me any question you want. I have had 2 of them. Black 1988 and currently an 89 SE in red. I think they are great cars. By the way don't believe what you read about parts prices. The car is total parts bin. Toyota brakes, GM Fuel injection (SE) Bosch on the (88). Everything on the car is from another manufacturer. If you can crossreference part numbers you can run these cars very inexpensively.

 

yes and i have driven and ridden in this car...... its a blast!




hey FROG, haven't seen ya around much, how is the Countach..... i am on my 2nd 308....... who knows what 2005 will bring!


edit to add pic of Joe's car. its an '89 SE !

 

I had one of the very first editions....Sold it as it was looking a bit dated.. Now I wish I had kept it as they have grown on me and look like a real classic. (and the price has gone up)!!

 

I have a 1978 Esprit S2 and had a 1984 Turbo. Both are the classic Giugiaro design which I personaly love. Both have been very reliable needing only basic maintenence. The 78 has 30K miles. The interior is cramped but I find the experience like driving a street legal go-cart !

 

From what I've heard, the pre 1995 Esprits have pretty crappy reliability issues

 

I have always liked the Esprit but never owned one

I almost bought a'01 TT but the salesman said the earlier V6 TT were faster and more fun...He said no major problems had come through at that time other than a few cars with some electrical issues.

What I have found with any exotic from Porsche to Lamborghini you never know what you are going to get...I know guys that baby their cars and are always in need of a repair...And other guys who totally neglect their cars in every way and never have an issue.

 

As with any exotic, it's all about finding the right car. My 90SE has proven to be extremely reliable.
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Same here... My 89.5 SE Esprit was amazing. Very reliable!
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My neighbor, who's English, took delivery of an Elise about 2 months ago. He didn't buy the Espirit because of mechanical issues his friend had with the car. He said don't buy the car if you're looking for dependable transportation.

 

I guess someone didn't see both Modena's break at this years Race Of Champions....

 

Actually I did. I guess it's one of the things you buy into when purchasing an exotic. There's always a risk. All you can do is the research and hope for a little luck.