First Elise for everyday use.
Discussion
I've always wanted an Elise and am now starting to seriously look for one. My last cars were a 07 Z4 and 56 350z GT, the 350 went when I got my first house over a year ago now and I went back to using my mk1 Mr2 which I've had since 2005.
I don't really want a standard 120 or 135 elise so I've been looking at the 111s and 111r. On paper the s seems the best deal, its cheaper to buy, 40mpg and £170 road tax, where as the r is more low 30's mpg, £270 road tax and a little more expensive to insure. The r looks like its easier to live with though everyday and i plan to commute the couple miles to work everyday in it. Is it worth making sure it has a hardtop also?
What are owners views on what to get, I have a budget of £15-16k.
I don't really want a standard 120 or 135 elise so I've been looking at the 111s and 111r. On paper the s seems the best deal, its cheaper to buy, 40mpg and £170 road tax, where as the r is more low 30's mpg, £270 road tax and a little more expensive to insure. The r looks like its easier to live with though everyday and i plan to commute the couple miles to work everyday in it. Is it worth making sure it has a hardtop also?
What are owners views on what to get, I have a budget of £15-16k.
There is little difference between the 111S and the 111R, in terms of easy of use. I suppose some might consider ABS a "must have" in a daily driver, but that's about it. Personally, I don't see the point in the hard top. I have one, used it for one winter, then gave up because I couldn't really tell the difference from inside the car. It's been sitting in the garage ever since.
The 111R will probably cost slightly more to run, but really the 111S/111R thing mostly just comes down to which engine you prefer and whether you like servo assisted brakes. The K-series feels more flexible (mostly because it's lighter), which is probably a good thing on a 2-mile commute where the engine will never get warm enough to use the revs.
The 111R will probably cost slightly more to run, but really the 111S/111R thing mostly just comes down to which engine you prefer and whether you like servo assisted brakes. The K-series feels more flexible (mostly because it's lighter), which is probably a good thing on a 2-mile commute where the engine will never get warm enough to use the revs.
Edited by kambites on Monday 20th August 14:42
Usual advice is 'try both'. Have a drive in a 111S and a 111R and see which you prefer. I went for a 111S and for your budget you'll easily get a late (i.e. 2005) one with hardtop and aircon.
Have a look at Will Blackham's (willb) adverts in the classifieds, he's got a great reputation and he'll keep an eye out for you.
Have a look at Will Blackham's (willb) adverts in the classifieds, he's got a great reputation and he'll keep an eye out for you.
Decent warranty, understandable. However, premium of £2500 no doubt for the pleasure of it which would fix a lot of bills. A well researched private sale saves £££££££ Once you establish a service history thats credible, no major accident damage, and a good feeling with the seller a private sale seems far more sensible if the seller has a 'realistic' price. Just have to avoid the numpties that put their cars up for sale at the same prices as a dealer car. Enjoy your search, thats part of the fun.
There's not much that can go wrong with an Elise that will cost anywhere near the "dealer premium" to fix. You should be able to get a good 111R for your budget, so unless running costs are that much of a concern, drive both and buy the one you prefer. Personally, I simply thought the 111S was a better car, but that's only personal preference.
Has anyone got any experience of Albico, they have a couple late 2005 111S's which look good, Hilton and Moss also have a couple. Christoper Neil, Silverstone and Pure Lotus also have some 111R's within budget. My local dealer is Stratstone Leicester but they dont tend to get much in and when they do its priced pretty high. They have a nice red Elise S on a 56 plate at the moment but its £15k+
kambites said:
There's not much that can go wrong with an Elise that will cost anywhere near the "dealer premium" to fix. You should be able to get a good 111R for your budget, so unless running costs are that much of a concern, drive both and buy the one you prefer. Personally, I simply thought the 111S was a better car, but that's only personal preference.
To an extent - yes - any of the issues can be solved for under £800, but if you buy a dog you could easily end up with £3k+ of bills, specifically if somebody else is doing the work and you're paying labour.
New dampers, new ball joints, new wheel bearings and you can easily be up past £1,500, even using cheaper parts.
Add a knackered radiator and the resulting blown HG, for instance and you could be looking at the thick end of £3,500. Or a new set of tyres at £500.
For what it is, it's incredibly cheap, and parts are affordable. It is still easy to end up spending a fortune on an Elise though, so it's worth setting some money aside.
Edit: In retrospect, it cost a **lot** more than dealer premium when my mate's Toyota powered Elise blew up. Radiator had a leak, continued driving, engine overheated, ended up with a bill of over £5k. That's obviously rare though - haven't heard of any others in a similar situation.
Edited by pthelazyjourno on Tuesday 28th August 13:50
willld said:
40 mpg 
Over the last 4,000 or so miles I've averaged about 28 mpg, with everything set up correctly engine-wise.
Also depends how you drive it. Over the last 4,000 or so miles I've averaged about 28 mpg, with everything set up correctly engine-wise.
If it's for everyday use, then you're probably driving it with the handbrake on!
If it's a weekend car, only taken out for a thrash, then a lower MPG is more reasonable.
I know loads of people who regularly get 300 miles or more from a tank, which is definitely a lot more than 28mpg.
Not that it really matters with a car like this.
otolith said:
My 111R averages 30mpg. A 111S should be considerably better.
I average mid 30s from my 111S but most of my driving is my 4-5 mile commute. Once up to temperature, you've got to try quite hard to get under 35mpg. 40 is a reasonable number to expect to average if you don't do lots of really short trips and 45 is easily possible on gentle runs if you can be bothered. Highest I've seen on a tank was about 50. pthelazyjourno said:
Edit: In retrospect, it cost a **lot** more than dealer premium when my mate's Toyota powered Elise blew up. Radiator had a leak, continued driving, engine overheated, ended up with a bill of over £5k. That's obviously rare though - haven't heard of any others in a similar situation.
To be fair, if it was a typical radiator end-cap failure, if anyone is stupid enough to keep driving when their radiator has just dumped its contents all over the windscreen, they deserve whatever they have comin to them. 
Of course you can contrive a situation where a private car will cost more, but it really is pretty contrived.
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