Trading up from a Smart...no really..Some Q's

[NWTony]

OK, I'm no pistonhead but this site was recommended to me and has been very useful.

I'm looking into spending between 10 and 15K on an Elise (Therefore a series 1 probably) and have a few questions....

I've been reading round and the best series one seems to be the 111. Firstly, to avoid sounding like an idiot and lining myself up to be ripped off and sniggered at , is that said "One-one-one" "One-eleven", "Triple one"? Or another variant?

Also are there two types of 111? An S and an R type? If there are which is better and how can you tell them apart? Don't laugh at me if they come with a S or an R on the back.....

All Elise seem to have resonably low mileage compared to most cars but what constitutes high mileage for an Elise? I've seen some lovely looking cars with around 50k on the clock. The car will be used everyday but I only do about 6-8K a year so the year/mileage ratio will be reduced.

I've run out of specific questions (for the time-being!) so please tell me everything I need to know about buying and owning an Elise!!!


Muchos gracias.

[theRossatron]

The code used by Lotus at the factory for the Elise is 111. or One-eleven (is how I think its said). The S1 elise your thinking of is the 111s which is the VVC K series engined Elise. It's more powerful than the standard model i think its 143bhp over 118bhp for standard K.

One thing to consider is the 111s will be slightly more to run especially when it comes to C service, cambelt change time.

The 111R is the new S2 model with the Toyota 189bhp engine and is still very pricey even 2nd hand.

Mileage isn't a huge factor if the car has been maintained properly and has a FSH. Though most cars seem to do about 6k a year. The Rover engines are pretty tough apart from the famous head gasket failures, and are pulling less weight than they were originally designed to do. (Though probably driven more enthusiastically than grannys Rover 400).

good luck in your search!

>> Edited by theRossatron on Sunday 3rd April 13:42

[jfrf]

this site covers alot of the basics
i found it useful when purchasing

www.elises.co.uk/models/index.html