Elise S1 Possible Purchase

[o0myles0o]

I am looking to buy an Elise S1 in the near future, and have a budget of 9k to do so. I have no issues travelling the length and breadth of our sceptred isle to find the right one, but an I wasting my time at that price point? It seems to me I can get higher mileage (ie. 60k) for about 7.5-8k, and looking at 30-40k milers for 9k, but will this mileage, coupled with age cause me to be looking at throwing more money at the car?

I plan to run it as a second car, but it will probably be driven quite often!

Thanks for your time!

[400SE Dave]

In my view your budget sounds quite OK to buy something that isn't a shed. I guess the usual things apply, buy one that is well serviced by a specialist (not always a dealer!) and has a good history of supporting docs. Buy the best you can afford, low miles doesn't always mean the best.

At the end of the day an S1 will be around 10 years old so things will wear/have worn out so you should always factor in some annual expense. Head gasket is always a point to check with K series cars as it cambelt changes on schedule.

[JACK6284]

Anything in the £7k price range can be too cheap. All S1 Elise's are at least 10 years old now. So, what ever you buy will need some money spent on it. Look for a good service history from a Lotus specialist with frequent servicing too. Cambelts need changing every 4 years and possibly a HGF repair too. Try and take someone with you when you go to view. Ideal as a second car but does need to be driven as the battery will go flat quickly unless you use a Ctek/Accumate charger. When you find a suitable car post up the registration number as many are known on this and other forums. Worth joining SELOC too.

If you find one in Essex give me a shout and i may be able to come with you to view.

Great cars that just need a bit of care when driving if you are used to front wheel drive.

[Rick_1138]

I am in a similar possibility to the OP, budget of about 7-10K and looking at possible elise as second car but used most days in spring summer autumn etc.

Though in this budget there are some good early S2 cars i have seen as well.

Are the s2's equipped with the Toyota motor, or is it only the exige and S models with them, and the K-series is still used??

sorry to thread hijack, just curious

[400SE Dave]

Rick_1138 said:

I am in a similar possibility to the OP, budget of about 7-10K and looking at possible elise as second car but used most days in spring summer autumn etc.

Though in this budget there are some good early S2 cars i have seen as well.

Are the s2's equipped with the Toyota motor, or is it only the exige and S models with them, and the K-series is still used??

sorry to thread hijack, just curious

S2's still had the K series engine until mid 2004. There are still some K-series cars register as 05's though so be sure of what you are getting. 111R's are toyota engined.

[o0myles0o]

Thanks for the advice guys! With regards to the HG problems, which I am more than well acquainted with (I drive an Impreza at this time!), what is the usual price of repair? Are these S1s now finished with depreciation now do you all think?

Rick, no worries about the hijack, hopefully we can both get the info we need on this thread.

Jack, thanks for the offer, I may just take you up on that. An educated eye would be invaluable.

Edited by o0myles0o on Tuesday 31st May 15:49

[chris7676]

60k being high mileage ?
£9k should get you a good, "high" mileage one, I sold a very sorted 111S with Nitrons for a bit more that that and it had around 74k miles.

[Bursar]

o0myles0o said:

Thanks for the advice guys! With regards to the HG problems, which I am more than well acquainted with (I drive an Impreza at this time!), what is the usual price of repair?

I paid £330 to get the HG fixed on my MG TF, which is also a K series engine, so I'd budget around that kind of level for a decent indie. The local MGOC workshop wanted about £650!!

[o0myles0o]

chris7676 said:

60k being high mileage ?
£9k should get you a good, "high" mileage one, I sold a very sorted 111S with Nitrons for a bit more that that and it had around 74k miles.

The only reason I class 60k as high-er mileage is that the car is not really used as a daily driver, equating to about 12k a year. I may be wrong in that supposition, I'm more than happy to be put right. That way, I can get more car for the money!

[pthelazyjourno]

o0myles0o said:

The only reason I class 60k as high-er mileage is that the car is not really used as a daily driver, equating to about 12k a year. I may be wrong in that supposition, I'm more than happy to be put right. That way, I can get more car for the money!

Don't forget that some of them are 12 years old or more - even as a second car 60k miles isn't difficult to pass in over a decade or more.

As said, mileage isn't really a factor, it's what work has been carried out. You (or the previous owner) will spend a lot more on suspension components and other consumables than you will replacing the head gasket. It's just not worth worrying about.

Suspension components wear out quite quickly due to the nature of the car and the way they get driven - ball joints, bushes, dampers, wheel bearings and even steering racks all wear out and should have been replaced before 60k miles. I paid £8.5k for one with 70k miles, but it had most of these things changed recently, along with a new roof, exhaust, manifold, cam belt etc.

Just make sure you check the receipts - you may spot a cracking car with 60k miles and all the work done, but if everything was refreshed at 30k miles it may well be approaching the point where you'll need to throw £xxxx at it again.

Parts are cheap, and it's easy to do most of the work yourself - if you don't it will add up. It's easy to change the ball joints yourself for instance, at around £20 a joint, but I've been quoted £60+ VAT to fit them - x8 and it's suddenly quite a bill.

Try and get one with S2 Bilsteins or Nitrons, or at least with recent Konis. Mine has Gaz adjustable dampers, but although they're fine on track it just doesn't cope as well on undulating roads.

You'll be fine budget wise, I spotted quite a few nice cars with under 40k miles for £9.5k and below - I only went for the one I did because it was such a nice car and looked like relatively trouble free motoring. Worth looking for one where the radiator has been changed as well though, it's a pain in the neck changing it yourself and can be costly if you pay a garage.

Good luck!