Discussion
this may be a stupid question but what the hell...i was wondering when the prices of elises tend to come down?! i know the new plate '53' will be out in september so does it affect car prices straight away?! i was going to buy my elise s2 in august but if it does have an effect on the prices i may as well wait a few weeks! any feedback is appreciated...cheers
Difficult to say, but I don't think the plates are as important since they changed from teh old A, B, C etc reg ones - I couldn't tell you without thinking long and hard what year a '51' plate is, for example.
I think the year of registration and the time of year play an important part now. If it's summer, expect a small premium.
I think the year of registration and the time of year play an important part now. If it's summer, expect a small premium.
If thats the case I'd wait til you have enough for an S2 or buy a really nice S1. You're going to buy the "worst" S2 around for that budget.
Perhaps nip to your local lotus dealer - tell how much you can afford a month etc and they'll do you a deal on one of the last S2's before we get electric windows.
Other option is if you are a home owner with equity its cheaper to borrow against your equity than get a loan directly.
Sorry to get all sensible!
Perhaps nip to your local lotus dealer - tell how much you can afford a month etc and they'll do you a deal on one of the last S2's before we get electric windows.
Other option is if you are a home owner with equity its cheaper to borrow against your equity than get a loan directly.
Sorry to get all sensible!
no any advice is good! not thought about going to a dealer and tellin them my budget! i've always just thought a dealer would charge way too much! i'll probably be paying it off for the next 20 years!!! not sure they will take me serious as im only 22 but worth a try i guess. i have considered a really nice S1 but i love the shape of the S2! will it really be that bad?!
Had the same problem early this year and decided to bite the bullet and go for an S2 around the 20k mark.
The theory is that the elise is about as safe a car to put money in to as any 60% plus retained value after 3 years. So all you are doing is paying the cost of finance and depriciation.
A S2 for under £18k is going to cost you more than the £2k you are saving
Personally if it really is impossible to find the cash I would go for a cheep well looked after S1 there are some good cars around the £12- £14k mark that are low milage well looked after and will make you very happy. - just make sure its a good one!
The theory is that the elise is about as safe a car to put money in to as any 60% plus retained value after 3 years. So all you are doing is paying the cost of finance and depriciation.
A S2 for under £18k is going to cost you more than the £2k you are saving
Personally if it really is impossible to find the cash I would go for a cheep well looked after S1 there are some good cars around the £12- £14k mark that are low milage well looked after and will make you very happy. - just make sure its a good one!
Not that bad but you'll be buying the earliest examples of the S2 probably with some fairly obvious options missing (whilst options don't add to the value of a car the lack of them may make a car difficult to sell so you might get discount).
Also any early car might have gremlins that Lotus have since ironed out.
Also any early car might have gremlins that Lotus have since ironed out.
Beware going to the dealer... I went to a dealer with a budget of £21000.. but fell in love with a racing green tourer pre registered at £24000 delivery milage so just had to have it... no regrets though
advice:
Go with a budget and stick to it ..
Unless you see The car.. you know it when you see it.. I did took over an hour to decide whether to go with the heart or the mind (a cheaper s2 race tech with 9000 miles ) buying an Elise is not a mind thing its in the blood, get the best you can
advice:
Go with a budget and stick to it ..
Unless you see The car.. you know it when you see it.. I did took over an hour to decide whether to go with the heart or the mind (a cheaper s2 race tech with 9000 miles ) buying an Elise is not a mind thing its in the blood, get the best you can
Don't worry about being 22 - I was (and still am) 22 when I bought my S2 111S - I went to Christopher Neil in Cheshire and found they treated me with lots of respect - gave me a test drive without me really having to ask and were generally very efficient and polite.
I think a lot of young drivers buy Elises, so don't worry about how you'll be treated by the Lotus dealer.
I think a lot of young drivers buy Elises, so don't worry about how you'll be treated by the Lotus dealer.
Aren't South west Lotus Centre now official Dealers?
They are a nice freindly bunch you could give em a try.
Or ask around on the SELOC or British-cars sites as some do come up for dsale occasionally (bad time of year now tho' you will pay a premium, now if you wait untill November you may get a bargain)
Gill
@Sinclaire
They are a nice freindly bunch you could give em a try.
Or ask around on the SELOC or British-cars sites as some do come up for dsale occasionally (bad time of year now tho' you will pay a premium, now if you wait untill November you may get a bargain)
Gill
@Sinclaire
Did you say "VX220". Arghh. I drove one on a test thinking "this'll do" and feeling generally smug, until a proper lotus pulled up next to me at the lights. Brewer's droop or what!
Buy a lotus, and be proud. I did, (a very tidy £13k S1) and think it is brill. Classic red, private plate, and even though it is a standard 118bhp five year old car it out classes the never-to-be-mentioned-again Vxxxhall every time.
Buy a lotus, and be proud. I did, (a very tidy £13k S1) and think it is brill. Classic red, private plate, and even though it is a standard 118bhp five year old car it out classes the never-to-be-mentioned-again Vxxxhall every time.
I've found a black Y-reg Elise S2 with 17,000 miles on it, silver cloth trim, sports exhaust, alarm/immobilizer, black hood, cd player, carpets for £18,995 from a dealer. is this good? I'm so close to buying it but would like some feedback if possible first! any replys much appreciated, cheers james
Gassing Station | General Lotus Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff