Elise values

[acalex]

So theyre good to drive and everything but does anyone know how prices have held or not in say the last 2 years? I'm talking about say 7-9 year old cars, not something straight out of the showroom which is different. Do 111R's hold up better than S's ? Ok its not an investment but nice to know if youre hopefully not going to lose a shedload!

[jfk01]

Aluminium and desirable as a track car ....
You'll never lose long term.

[acalex]

cheers, altho point about track cars a bit worrying as pretty much everything up for sale is said to have never been tracked.....really?!

[Captain Muppet]

acalex said:

cheers, altho point about track cars a bit worrying as pretty much everything up for sale is said to have never been tracked.....really?!

I've had my Elise nearly 5 years and the only time it's been on a track was a parade lap of Snetterton at 20mph.

[acalex]

Oh ok, think we'll let you off that one! But of course theres really no way to check its just a persons word that theyve not been tracked. Usual stuff really, ie caveat emptor (buyer beware).

[otolith]

If everything is in good condition, with all consumables replenished, does it really matter that it's done a few track days?

[Mr_C]

Tracked cars are usually very well cared for, mine wants for nothing.

[pthelazyjourno]

acalex said:

Oh ok, think we'll let you off that one! But of course theres really no way to check its just a persons word that theyve not been tracked. Usual stuff really, ie caveat emptor (buyer beware).

I'd rather buy a tracked car that's been looked after by somebody who knows what they're doing, than a 100 per cent road car that's spent its life serviced by a dealer.

[Toaster]

pthelazyjourno said:

I'd rather buy a tracked car that's been looked after by somebody who knows what they're doing, than a 100 per cent road car that's spent its life serviced by a dealer.

Its a view but not sure if all would agree, are you saying a Lotus dealer does not know what they are doing, or if the car is used for road use and serviced at the factory ? who exactly is 'somebody who knows what they are doing' if it isn't a factory trained dealer !

With regards to wear and tear here is one quote of many you will find, road miles are less punishing than track hence the value of a road only car is higher for a given milage and condition.

http://www.lep.co.uk/motors/reviews/caterham/the-m...

The R500 model is a specialist beast and needs an engine refresh after 3,000 track miles or 10,000 road miles. This costs 4,000, so if you see a tempting looking R500 at about 10,000 or 20,000 miles, find out if you're about to be saddled with this bill'.

No whilst this may be an extreme case for a 7 it is no different for an elise

[kambites]

I bought my 2004 car (so at the top end of your age range) for 16k five years ago and looking at the classifieds it's worth about 14k now.

I suspect it's true that the vast majority of Elises never go on a track. Having been tracked wouldn't put me off though, a lot of tracked cars are meticulously looked after. Even a car that's only been used on the roads will probably be starting to wear its suspension components by now, so best buy on condition rather than history.

Edited by kambites on Monday 25th March 19:32

[MagicalTrevor]

I reckon my 2005 111S is worth around £14k. I think they've held their value well though.

[Kong]

I was tempted by a 111R at the back end of 2008 (got a Z4 in the end), prices have been fairly static since then. I remember you could buy a leggy one for about 15,500, a (now much older) leggy one is still 14,500 minimum. If you don't like wasting money on depreciation then you wont do much better than an Elise/Exige/Europa/340R.

[blugnu]

I dimly remember that R plates were going for about 10k at the bottom end around 2004 - when I should have bought one, instead of the Alfa. Anyway, they seem to be about 9k now, and 8 years older.

[Chromed]

I bought a 111R 4 years ago for 15k with 12000 miles, Now they still are 15k with much higher milages.
As for track days and such, Dont see it makes any difference if its been looked after.

[chris7676]

Captain Muppet said:

I've had my Elise nearly 5 years and the only time it's been on a track was a parade lap of Snetterton at 20mph.

Was it part of a muppet show or "kill speed" campaign...?

[Captain Muppet]

chris7676 said:

Captain Muppet said:

I've had my Elise nearly 5 years and the only time it's been on a track was a parade lap of Snetterton at 20mph.

Was it part of a muppet show or "kill speed" campaign...?

It was for this: www.guinnessworldrecords.com

435 other Lotuses were also going that slowly.

[neilj37]

Just part ex'd my 111r for Saj's Europa. Bought the Elise 3 years ago and i could have sold it privately for more than I paid or atleast the same price, not many cars around that you could say that about. Also when i spoke to the insurance they said that the only cars they are giving guarenteed (SP) values on are elises and caterhams.

[bebee]

Captain Muppet said:

chris7676 said:

Captain Muppet said:

I've had my Elise nearly 5 years and the only time it's been on a track was a parade lap of Snetterton at 20mph.

Was it part of a muppet show or "kill speed" campaign...?

It was for this: www.guinnessworldrecords.com

435 other Lotuses were also going that slowly.

I was there, I had only just had my JC SC, I didn't see another there, great day out and I even got a certificate from GWR.

I don't think we will see Elise values like the TVR Griffith, or the S1 Exige but I get a lot from my Elise that no other car has given me so far, and that's a value I can't price.

[pthelazyjourno]

Toaster said:

Its a view but not sure if all would agree, are you saying a Lotus dealer does not know what they are doing, or if the car is used for road use and serviced at the factory ? who exactly is 'somebody who knows what they are doing' if it isn't a factory trained dealer !

With regards to wear and tear here is one quote of many you will find, road miles are less punishing than track hence the value of a road only car is higher for a given milage and condition.

http://www.lep.co.uk/motors/reviews/caterham/the-m...

The R500 model is a specialist beast and needs an engine refresh after 3,000 track miles or 10,000 road miles. This costs 4,000, so if you see a tempting looking R500 at about 10,000 or 20,000 miles, find out if you're about to be saddled with this bill'.

No whilst this may be an extreme case for a 7 it is no different for an elise

Just pointing out that I've been to a number of dealers and come away shocked at the standard of work, no names named.

They know exactly what they're doing, but they're also all too aware of where shortcuts can be taken, and where they can get away with things. In short, a lot of dealers don't seem to give a damn.

I'd rather take the car to an enthusiastic indie every time, even if pricing was identical. And I'd rather buy a car with a history from a source I trusted, rather than the traditional "full dealer history = must be perfect" approach.

Don't get me wrong - some dealers are great, and do care about what they do, but plenty don't. Very much have to judge each car on merit, rather than just looking at stamps in a book I think.

I couldn't agree with you more about track miles - they're massively punishing on consumables and other parts (not least balljoints, bearings etc), but as above, buy on merit and you'll find plenty of track cars are kept impeccably when it comes to bits and bobs.

I can only give examples from the people I know, but one chap I know with an Exige hasn't ever been near a track, full dealer history, doesn't know his arse from his elbow when it comes to parts and the mechanical side of things. At 40-50k miles, his is going to be the car needing new dampers, new balljoints, new radiator etc etc, as a lot of that won't be picked up on until something fails.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the people I know who track them (a lot more than just one!) are all striving for the perfect car, have upgraded parts a long time before anything actually **needs** it - and when one part gets replaced they tend to change a lot more.

There's no point in upgrading the dampers and spending ££££ if there's slack in other areas of the suspension, so that will all get done at the same time etc etc.

Obviously it's not always the case - you'll get dogs on either side, and brilliant cars on both too, but I know what I'd rather go for.

It's all too easy to pick the shiny looking road car, and then find yourself saddled with some massive bills 10k down the line, because everything has been done by the book and something wasn't quite due yet..

Just my (overly long) 2p.

Edited by pthelazyjourno on Thursday 28th March 01:52

[otolith]

Toaster said:

The R500 model is a specialist beast and needs an engine refresh after 3,000 track miles or 10,000 road miles. This costs 4,000, so if you see a tempting looking R500 at about 10,000 or 20,000 miles, find out if you're about to be saddled with this bill'.

No whilst this may be an extreme case for a 7 it is no different for an elise

But if it's the difference between a Toyota engine needing a refresh at 300,000 road miles or 100,000 track miles, that's probably a different question on a 20,000 mile car that does 6000 miles a year.