Can a decent S1 Elise be had for £9k?

[grenpayne]

Earlier this year I sold my wonderful R300 spec'd Caterham 7 to help finance a house move and renovation project. This was an incredibly painful decision and I bitterly miss the early morning Sunday drives I had in the car with it's delightful handling. I did manage to hold on to my lovely near mint 205 GTi 1.9 (my wife took pity on me ) and although it drives superbly and is great fun, I can't help myself looking in the classifieds at S1 Elises. Finances are tight due to the house not being finished yet so if I was to trade the Peugeot for an S1 Elise the budget would be a measly £9k.

So....can a decent Elise be had for £9k? And am I possibly making a mistake selling a well sorted and potentially appreciating 205 GTi for an Elise? Thoughts welcomed!

[moribund]

I did, but I've spent a lot since then on mechanics and the body is still as rough as when I bought it. It drives well though

http://www.pistonheads.com/Gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I think it's been true for a while that a good Elise S1 costs at least £10k, you either pay that at the start or in instalments.

I wouldn't be too scared of miles if the car is well maintened though, and take more time looking than I did...

I'd love a go in a GTi though.

[SidewaysSi]

I have a Caterham and Elise and used to own a 205 GTI. A bog standard Elise is not a replacement for a Caterham - it's too quiet, too slow, too comfortable and quite frankly, lacks the mad element of the Seven.

A bog standard car will be rather dull-I bought a S1 Sport 160 and am heavily modifying it to get it near the thrills of the Caterham. At the end I would have spent approximately £20k and that's having bought my Lotus a few years ago. The same base car has probably gone up £3-4k in that time.

If I were you, I would seriously consider an ex race Elise from a reputable dealer. That is probably the cheapest way of getting the raw thrills of the Caterham in as cheapest a package as possible. I think you may need to up your budget though.

Loved the Peugeot and often think about getting another but you don't need me to tell you they are very different cars!

[grenpayne]

Thanks for the honest answers, much appreciated. To address some specific points:

moribund said:

I think it's been true for a while that a good Elise S1 costs at least £10k, you either pay that at the start or in instalments.

I had strongly suspected this might be the case and this was pretty much why I asked the question. After stripping, upgrading and rebuilding my Caterham over a six month period, it's not something I want to have to do with an Elise as I won't have the time for at least another 18 months. And sadly the budget cannot be increased as even £9k is a stretch

SidewaysSi said:

I have a Caterham and Elise and used to own a 205 GTI. A bog standard Elise is not a replacement for a Caterham - it's too quiet, too slow, too comfortable and quite frankly, lacks the mad element of the Seven.

A bog standard car will be rather dull-I bought a S1 Sport 160 and am heavily modifying it to get it near the thrills of the Caterham. At the end I would have spent approximately £20k and that's having bought my Lotus a few years ago. The same base car has probably gone up £3-4k in that time.

That's not good news but again, I suspected that might be the case. In truth, I am looking to get back to as many qualities of the 7 as I can and it sounds like I'm not going to do that by getting a cheap Elise. I'm not saying I'm getting them in the 205 GTi either but spending an extra £4k (or more) to not get to wheer I want to be seems daft.

I'm lucky enough that in 3-4 years time (when I leave the military) I will be able to afford another 7, most likely an new R400. So it's probably better to keep the 205 GTi for now and use it as a nice deposit on the next 7!

[kambites]

The naturally aspirated VX220 is probably a better bet if you want a decent 111-based car for £9k.

[CrouchingWayne]

Have you thought about a VX220? Very similar to an Elise but a fair bit cheaper. Changing the wheels over to a staggered 16"/17" set up with geo further aligns the two cars. No K series engine though.

Prices for these are softer than Elise's despite the similarities. £9k would get you a mint NA, or a CAT registered Turbo. Heck I'd probably sell you mine and give you change for your £9k!

[SidewaysSi]

grenpayne said:

Thanks for the honest answers, much appreciated. To address some specific points:

moribund said:

I think it's been true for a while that a good Elise S1 costs at least £10k, you either pay that at the start or in instalments.

I had strongly suspected this might be the case and this was pretty much why I asked the question. After stripping, upgrading and rebuilding my Caterham over a six month period, it's not something I want to have to do with an Elise as I won't have the time for at least another 18 months. And sadly the budget cannot be increased as even £9k is a stretch

SidewaysSi said:

I have a Caterham and Elise and used to own a 205 GTI. A bog standard Elise is not a replacement for a Caterham - it's too quiet, too slow, too comfortable and quite frankly, lacks the mad element of the Seven.

A bog standard car will be rather dull-I bought a S1 Sport 160 and am heavily modifying it to get it near the thrills of the Caterham. At the end I would have spent approximately £20k and that's having bought my Lotus a few years ago. The same base car has probably gone up £3-4k in that time.

That's not good news but again, I suspected that might be the case. In truth, I am looking to get back to as many qualities of the 7 as I can and it sounds like I'm not going to do that by getting a cheap Elise. I'm not saying I'm getting them in the 205 GTi either but spending an extra £4k (or more) to not get to wheer I want to be seems daft.

I'm lucky enough that in 3-4 years time (when I leave the military) I will be able to afford another 7, most likely an new R400. So it's probably better to keep the 205 GTi for now and use it as a nice deposit on the next 7!

I went exactly this a few years ago when I bought the Lotus. I did not use the Caterham in the winter and was getting withdrawal symptoms. Wanted effectively a Caterham with a roof and ended up with the Elise. I'm afraid that there is no car out there that can match the thrills of the Seven and a standard Elise or VX220 is no different.

I picked the Lotus in the end as it was just the best of what I drove (E46 M3, aircooled 911s and 968 etc) but I could see that it needed cash being thrown at it to fully satisfy.

I genuinely think an exciting car is available for £9k but you will have to go for something modified. For instance, I recently bought a very lovely BMW E36 328i coupe for a few grand. Chuck £4-5K at it and it will be an interesting sideways GT car. No Caterham bit with an appeAl of its own. Many people turn them into fully on track cars too...Likewise, a modified Porsche 944 may be worth a shout but will be a fair bit more expensive.

Other options are a Honda Integra R (I had one and loved it). Similar to the 205 but more racecar in feel. I seem to have also developed an unhealthy interest in the Lancer Evo VI/VII RS

[SidewaysSi]

grenpayne said:

Thanks for the honest answers, much appreciated. To address some specific points:

moribund said:

I think it's been true for a while that a good Elise S1 costs at least £10k, you either pay that at the start or in instalments.

I had strongly suspected this might be the case and this was pretty much why I asked the question. After stripping, upgrading and rebuilding my Caterham over a six month period, it's not something I want to have to do with an Elise as I won't have the time for at least another 18 months. And sadly the budget cannot be increased as even £9k is a stretch

SidewaysSi said:

I have a Caterham and Elise and used to own a 205 GTI. A bog standard Elise is not a replacement for a Caterham - it's too quiet, too slow, too comfortable and quite frankly, lacks the mad element of the Seven.

A bog standard car will be rather dull-I bought a S1 Sport 160 and am heavily modifying it to get it near the thrills of the Caterham. At the end I would have spent approximately £20k and that's having bought my Lotus a few years ago. The same base car has probably gone up £3-4k in that time.

That's not good news but again, I suspected that might be the case. In truth, I am looking to get back to as many qualities of the 7 as I can and it sounds like I'm not going to do that by getting a cheap Elise. I'm not saying I'm getting them in the 205 GTi either but spending an extra £4k (or more) to not get to wheer I want to be seems daft.

I'm lucky enough that in 3-4 years time (when I leave the military) I will be able to afford another 7, most likely an new R400. So it's probably better to keep the 205 GTi for now and use it as a nice deposit on the next 7!

I went exactly this a few years ago when I bought the Lotus. I did not use the Caterham in the winter and was getting withdrawal symptoms. Wanted effectively a Caterham with a roof and ended up with the Elise. I'm afraid that there is no car out there that can match the thrills of the Seven and a standard Elise or VX220 is no different.

I picked the Lotus in the end as it was just the best of what I drove (E46 M3, aircooled 911s and 968 etc) but I could see that it needed cash being thrown at it to fully satisfy.

I genuinely think an exciting car is available for £9k but you will have to go for something modified. For instance, I recently bought a very lovely BMW E36 328i coupe for a few grand. Chuck £4-5K at it and it will be an interesting sideways GT car. No Caterham bit with an appeAl of its own. Many people turn them into fully on track cars too...Likewise, a modified Porsche 944 may be worth a shout but will be a fair bit more expensive.

Other options are a Honda Integra R (I had one and loved it). Similar to the 205 but more racecar in feel. I seem to have also developed an unhealthy interest in the Lancer Evo VI/VII RS

Edited by SidewaysSi on Wednesday 23 December 20:32

[grenpayne]

Interesting. I hadn't considered VX220s at all but I agree it's probably going to be along the same lines as the Elise The main problem is I now realise I miss the thrills of a 7 and as much as I'd love an Elise or VX220 they're not the same type of car.

I'll have a think about the other cars you mentioned, I have always fancied an Integra and my uncle has a Porsche 968 Clubsport so I'll chat to him too. I suppose I could always consider a W*stf*eld

Funny you should mention Evos; I had a Lancer Evo VI GSR and it was supremely good fun. It just cost the same as the mortgage to run the thing in the 2 years we had it!

[SidewaysSi]

grenpayne said:

Interesting. I hadn't considered VX220s at all but I agree it's probably going to be along the same lines as the Elise The main problem is I now realise I miss the thrills of a 7 and as much as I'd love an Elise or VX220 they're not the same type of car.

I'll have a think about the other cars you mentioned, I have always fancied an Integra and my uncle has a Porsche 968 Clubsport so I'll chat to him too. I suppose I could always consider a W*stf*eld

Funny you should mention Evos; I had a Lancer Evo VI GSR and it was supremely good fun. It just cost the same as the mortgage to run the thing in the 2 years we had it!

An Elise can match the thrills of a Seven, bit a £9k Elise will not I'm afraid.

I think 968s are pretty dull as standard but again, need some modifications. If you don't mind an E36, they are a good bet and should be way below budget too. Alternatively an E30 or even a 2002:

http://petrolicious.com/ever-wonder-what-a-car-des...

[chiark]

I think you can just about do it for your budget, but it'll not be as thrilling as the caterham - just more practical.
I bought mine for quite a bit under your budget 15 months ago, but was aware it needed work such as suspension refresh, and general sprucing up. I've done this work myself, and on parts alone I've probably spent around 1200 quid or so (bilstein suspension 2nd hand, new bushes, ball joints, track rod ends, drop links, blasting the wishbones and having them passivated, new toe links...). If I was paying for labour, it would have been a lot more but the positive is I feel I really know the car now. They are easy cars to work on.

it's a slippery slope though; right now there's new (well, second hand) cams going in to free up the top end a little.

[Dalto123]

Yes. You can get a decent Elise for less than £9k, but they're rare.

I bought my two owner car for £8800 in October. It's not perfect (needs a detail), but I got an extra set of wheels and the original seats/exhaust with it.

Only costs so far have been a set of new tyres and a mechanical inspection by a local specialist.

Keep searching, look at forums like SELOC (both for the advice/help they offer, and the classifieds) and you'll find one

[zebedee]

I read yesterday that there were around 3-4000 s1s made. Apparently half of these have been exported (quite a lot very recently when the exchange rate favoured countries with the Euro). Factor in those that were crashed, those that have been converted to race cars (and some of them crashed) and you are left with a genuinely rare road car in the UK. Factor in that the recent anniversary has seen lots of positive press about the s1 and the fact that they are relatively inexpensive to live with but fantastic to drive and I would say if you do find one, get it bought, because it won't be the case for long! If you really want one, it is probably even worth a small loan or a year or so of putting the essentials on a zero percent credit card, because you will be unlikely to suffer any depreciation once you are in.

[maffski]

What about something like a locost?



MK Indy Fireblade, £8,5000