Would you buy a car with no service history?
Discussion
Would you?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Nothing to do with me, and I can't afford it anyway, but I am interested in people's views.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
Nothing to do with me, and I can't afford it anyway, but I am interested in people's views.
Normally with something so specialist, I'd say no. But I bought a 2003 111S 2 years ago with scant history. I judged it on condition and the fact the Elise is only a K-series engine with some suspension and wheels, nothing super expensive to go wrong. I bought it privately at a decent price and I'm still happy with the decision.
That ad seems a good price if the car is sound.
That ad seems a good price if the car is sound.
I agree with above posters, if you could get it down to less than £9k and you know what to look for when you go and see it, then I don't see an issue. Elise S1 prices are going up now, so if you planned to keep it several years, you could add value by working on the little jobs to make it perfect and getting it serviced annually.
My S1 was serviced by a Lotus racing team local to the seller I bought from, so no stamps in a book but a lot of receipts and other bits to prove good up-keep. The condition of the oily bits was commented on positively by Ollie at Phoenix (Lotus indy specialist) when I took it for a 'piece of mind' service just after picking the car up.
No service history would not put me off a car like an Elise, not at all, as long as preventative maintenance and work was done and documented in some form to a good standard. Lotus owners can be quite fanatical about their cars up-keep and some of their home spannering is just as good (or better) as a main dealers or specialists.
I also didn't take much notice to Autotrader and dismissed the cars advertised as most (at the time I bought mine) had 'wooly' descriptions, the likes of SELOC (or other Lotus forums) and PH ads you could tell the owners took the time to detail all the Lotus'y niggles that have been addressed, that only an enthusiast would know about.
The car advertised maybe tip-top, sub-£10k is a a good price for a S1. A post on SELOC or another local Lotus owners group may throw up the old owner or a friendly forum member who would look at the car.
No service history would not put me off a car like an Elise, not at all, as long as preventative maintenance and work was done and documented in some form to a good standard. Lotus owners can be quite fanatical about their cars up-keep and some of their home spannering is just as good (or better) as a main dealers or specialists.
I also didn't take much notice to Autotrader and dismissed the cars advertised as most (at the time I bought mine) had 'wooly' descriptions, the likes of SELOC (or other Lotus forums) and PH ads you could tell the owners took the time to detail all the Lotus'y niggles that have been addressed, that only an enthusiast would know about.
The car advertised maybe tip-top, sub-£10k is a a good price for a S1. A post on SELOC or another local Lotus owners group may throw up the old owner or a friendly forum member who would look at the car.
Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff