Elise at 23?

[rfn]

Currently on my third MX-5 and considering whether I spend some money modifying it or plump for a 2002 135 Sport Elise. They seem to be around the £12k-£13k mark which is reasonable!

I'm 23 and will have 5NCB in a couple of weeks - will use the car (as my only car) but at weekends mainly to do around 15k P.A. - usually journeys of around 200 - 300 miles per weekend mostly cross-country (I avoid Motorways in the MX-5 so happy to continue with an Elise).

Am I mad to want an Elise for this sort of mileage/journey? Anyone my age with sensible insurance prices?

[kazste]

I do about 15000 miles in my elise more than capable and they are very comfy as long as you fit the seats. Got mine at 28 so a little older but same level of ncb, went with competition car insurance who gave me a quote £200 cheaper than for my old ibiza cupra.
Would think along the lines of, whips the mx5 would be nice, and with some tuning could be made better, you wouldn't get the money back. Whereas I would guess a well bought elise at that price point may even appreciate if looked after.

As always get in one and see what you think, but I can only speak good things about my 2year experience and would recommend every to get one!

[justin220]

I had my Exige at 21 and insured it through Elephant or Admiral, can't remember which but they were both very similar

[Arun_D]

justin220 said:

I had my Exige at 21 and insured it through Elephant or Admiral, can't remember which but they were both very similar

Exige at 25 here, also insuring through Admiral.

Mine is an everyday car, done around 8000 miles in the 7 months I've owned it. Seems to take this sort of usage in it's stride.

[mrluke]

Bought my elise just turned 23 you wont regret getting rid of the mx5 and going for the elise .

Mines a daily driver and i do around 10k per year .

Im actually with Bell which is part of the Admiral Group .

[keo]

i had a VX220 Turbo at 21 with 3ncb i went with admiral, but from what i have read the elise is more expensive to insure than the 220

[rfn]

Ok thanks for the input people :-)

Need to get a test drive sorted and drive another one on the roads and see what it's like.

Cheers

[Lefty]

You'll be fine

I had a VXT at 24, cost me £800pa to insure and I used it as an only car over a Scottish winter, doing about 1200 miles per month.

[Daston]

Try Adrian Flux. I had my Tuscan at 24 and paid £800

[Syd knee]

About time, try and get one with valve dust caps.

[Ikemi]

I passed my driving test at the age of 20 (A late starter!) and bought my first Elise when I turned 21 I covered almost 24,000 miles in the first year of ownership, with a similar number of miles in the second year. If you will be driving mostly on country roads, then you're definitely not mad to consider an Elise - I'd recommend it!

Insurance shouldn't be too bad either. Mine was horrific to begin with, but that was due to my lack of experience on the road. My first year in a S1 was £2,650 ... I'm now 25 years old and my S2 111S is a penny under one grand to insure