Advice on buying an Elan M100

[pjp]

Hi All,

I'm seriously thinking of buying an Elan M100 and need some words of wisdom. Here goes:

1) Can an Elan be used as an everyday driver? I do a 6-8 mile commute in mixed traffic and park in a covered multi-storey car park.
2) How reliable are Elans? I've heard both good and bad things. I don't expect it to be as good as a new eurobox but better than my current TVR.
3) What things should I specifically look out for when looking over a perspective car? I'm lucky that I will have between £12K and £13K to spend.
4) If servicing a problem? I live in the Northwest, can anyone reccomend a good Lotus garage/indy in the area.

Thanks in advance.

Phil

[enjybenjy]

I had an SE turbo about 3 years ago (now have an Elise). They are brilliant cars. You can definately use them everyday - I used mine to do a 55 mile round commute. Izuzu engine, fairly bullet proof. Check obvious stuff - head gasket most likely to go on a high miler. Make sure cambelt's been done at 60K I think. Also check for bad suspension geometry (tyre wear), doesn't drive straight etc. They're fairly sensitive to knocks.
SE's exhaust downpipe prone to breaking, bar this stuff they are really cool cars and very easy to extract more power from. Try [url]www.lotuselancentral.com[/url]
should help you out, good site.
For your monye, you could get a very nice S2 - not noticeably slower than the SE (power slightly down because of CAT) but better interior, roofs and wheels/suspension.
Go for it.

[G_Reaper]

I have had several. They are brilliant cars, be choosey tho. Wishbones are a problem on SE's if not dinol treated from new especially rear lower wishbones they can even rot from the inside out on low mileage examples. You can call me if you want more advice
my number is in the classified sectio I am selling a 27,000 mile SE.

Regards Grim

[Blipi]

Hi

I have owned mine now for over 3.5 years and still love her to bits! She now has nearly 100k on the clock and all in has been very reliable.

You can chip them and get hardtops now helping to bring them nto a more modern state.

Lotuselancentral is your best point of call.

Good luck!