Northern Ireland...Lotus Ownership?

[Andyoz]

Hi,

Just checking if there are any active Northern Ireland Lotus owners.

Had a go in mates Exige S2 and going down the rabbit hole of the later Exige V6 Sport 350.

Currently in a Cayman 987S which I bought as a stepping stone back into sports cars after 20 years of family duties.

One thing I really like about the Cayman is the easy availablity of parts to DIY the basics yourself.... brakes, suspension, water pump, etc. Is Lotus anything like that or do you dare not service yourself for fear of the dreaded resale? This is a car I want to put miles on so expect depreciation.

We have some wonderful roads here in Ireland but not necessarily great support for these 'rarer' cars

Edited by Andyoz on Wednesday 3rd June 00:53

[Odhran]

Andy Cooper the owner of the RMS motoring forum has an Exige 350 v6 I believe. Worth heading over there and getting a chat with him.

[Andyoz]

Odhran said:

Andy Cooper the owner of the RMS motoring forum has an Exige 350 v6 I believe. Worth heading over there and getting a chat with him.

Interesting. Why haven't I stumbled on that forum yet. Thanks for that

[AndyCooper]

Thanks for the mentions - Andy I will drop a PM, thread on my car: https://rmsmotoring.com/forum/threads/lotus-exige-...

[Andyoz]

AndyCooper said:

Thanks for the mentions - Andy I will drop a PM, thread on my car: https://rmsmotoring.com/forum/threads/lotus-exige-...

I am just reading that thread...this certainly hits you between the eyes!

[mike150]

Yes, I'm in N.Ireland and bought my first Lotus Elise just last year..........should have done it years earlier.

https://rmsmotoring.com/forum/threads/2019-lotus-e...

Edited by mike150 on Saturday 6th June 17:48

[Andyoz]

Hi Mike,

I'll check out the thread now.

Hope you got out for few spins this year.

[Darryl247W]

111S here, bought 5 years ago, the one that Mike150 mentioned having viewed years ago

I spent last winter doing a full suspension rebuild. I've yet to see anything else that would tempt me to part with it.

[mike150]

Darryl247W said:

111S here, bought 5 years ago, the one that Mike150 mentioned having viewed years ago

I spent last winter doing a full suspension rebuild. I've yet to see anything else that would tempt me to part with it.

Hi there Darryl, where abouts in the country are you again?

Im always looking at other cars but I'm very happy with my Elise, not quite the fun of a Caterham or the speed but much easier to live with.

Mine has never been on a wet road and is all rust proofed as well!

Edited by mike150 on Sunday 7th June 11:22

[Andyoz]

Taking my Cayman up to McMillans in Antrim Monday week so will drop in on Ballyrobert for a nosey

[Andyoz]

Darryl247W said:

111S here, bought 5 years ago, the one that Mike150 mentioned having viewed years ago

I spent last winter doing a full suspension rebuild. I've yet to see anything else that would tempt me to part with it.

The more I research Lotus, the more I realise how unique they are. They do make alot of sense for someone like me that was toying with the idea of modifying my Cayman. It's not a clever thing to do value wise so smarter money is to invest in a street legal semi-track car to get it out of the system.

[An Marcach]

I’m south of the border, in Munster actually, and I’ve got an Elise 111R and a n/a Evora and have had absolutely no issues with doing DIY maintenance on them

You’ll be fine .....

[Andyoz]

All goods need.

I really think the Evora is the sleeper of the range. I've just noted that one for the future as one of the more recent build Evora 400's could be a good buy with 3 or 4 years on it and a bit of depreciation.

It's the Exige 350 that intrigues me ATM. It's a totally unique car and the shove out of the non charge cooled SC engine would be more than enough for me with that 1100kg weight. Just need a go in one buy no rush.

[Matchy]

I got. my first Northern Ireland Lotus, a 2001 Lotus Elise, in 2004 and have had a Lotus ever since apart from a brief spell in a Caterham R400. I had a Lotus Evora S that Ballyrobert serviced and they always did a great job. The Evora was a fantastic car and it took an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio to make me change it. I currently have a 2000 Lotus Elise S1 which is fantastic fun on the roads. I drove the Exige at the Lotus test track in Norfolk and it was incredible on the track. I hope you make the change. It would be good to see a few more Lotuses on Northern Ireland roads and you will also notice that people let you out at junctions - probably something that doesn’t happen often in the Cayman.

[Andyoz]

Yes, I just need to get a better look at them....hard here in NI as even Ballyrobert don't have a V6 Exige but lots of Elise 220's... Even Caymans are hard to come by here.

Was out in the Cayman on Saturday and it's still great really. I'm renewing the brakes next week.

[Andyoz]

I'm passing Ballyroberts tomorrow so will drop in for a look.

They only have Elise and Evora but still worth a look. Maybe I should get a spin in the Elise 220 to see what the Supercharged 4 cylinder feels like.

I've noticed they have two new ones coming into stock this last week or so and seem to keen to price. Is this a case of Lotus cars being spread around UK dealers in general or I guess the dealers pre-orders just happen to be landing at an unfortunately quiet time. They will have 4 x Elise 220 in stock and only had two a few weeks ago...

[mike150]

How did you get on with Ballyrobert Andy?

[Andyoz]

mike150 said:

How did you get on with Ballyrobert Andy?

Hi, I ran out of time on that day as the tyre fitting and wheel alignment at McMIllans Porsche ran over.

So I have still only driven a friends 2006 Exige so far.

Still trying to figure out what to do. My 2006 Cayman S is such good value for money and I'm in the process of putting new discs and pads myself (which has triggered a front caliper rebuilt etc). So with that and the new tyres I want to enjoy her this summer at least.

I'm also considering getting a separate dedicated track car (trailer job) as some really good cars out there you can really beat on in a way I just won't be able to with a £30k+ Lotus..