Elise or Exige

[dank]

I am hoping(still) to get an Elise this winter, when someone buys my lovely mk1 172, and have always been tempted by the s1 Exige. I have seen that prices of these beasties are becoming similar to s2 Elises, ie. 16-17k, well at around winter they should be. In terms of running costs and general usage what are the main pitfalls of an Exige over an Elise? Comfort, harsh ride, noisey etc are not a problem, I really like the race car for the road idea. It would only be used as a weekend car, although it would be my only car so may have to do the odd trip to Tescos. I have read things about the engine being so highly tuned that they can go bang quite easily, this is a scary prospect! Is the yearly running costs going to be alot more than an s1 or s2 elise?

[bogie]

not really that much different on running costs...Yes you have the VHPD engine, but it should be pretty reliable for road use rather than being tracked every weekend.

If you are buying in winter and using it daily Id invest £170 in a day on the airfield doing driver training, to get used to the on-limit handling (Elise or Exige) particularly in the wet....the number of owners that prang them in the winter is quite high.......

[dank]

So is the s1 exige usable in the wet, slippery conditions in winter or is ot so sensitive that it spins looses control too easily, sure i heard some posts about people hitting standing water etc and then spinning off the road. Or is this down to the tyre choice?

[BigAndy69]

Cant use the car in the snow but its fine in the wet as long as you drive sensibly. Most wet crashes are caused by driver error i.e. people putting their foot down or lifting off while going round a corner or simply going too fast. Bought mine last December and there was only a few snowy days when I was on the bus.

Andy

[bogie]

its tyre choice and driver error. You dont want to run track day tyres in heavy rain...you also need to know how to drive a RWD mid engined car....he car is not edgy etc...its just down to how you drive it

[dank]

Few other things about the S1 exige

1. Can the wing mirrors be folded in, ie. to get into a garage?
2. Does the front splitter get caught on all speed bumps or only very high ones, is there a solution to this as I have some big ish ones down my road!
3. Is it true that it flames on overrun? Read it in EVO, when they did that 20k car buyers guide, I like the sound of this!!!

cheers guys

[Davey S1]

1. No, the mirrors are fixed

2. i have the S2 Exige but have not had any problems with the front splitter, just a few scrapes when coming down ramps in multi storey car parks. My front numberplate is positioned an inch or so lower than the splitter so if you do catch something the numberplate will give you a warning before you ding your nice expensive splitter.

3.A good sports exhaust and a CRP will give you some nice flames.

[moles]

dank said:

Few other things about the S1 exige 1. Can the wing mirrors be folded in, ie. to get into a garage? 2. Does the front splitter get caught on all speed bumps or only very high ones, is there a solution to this as I have some big ish ones down my road! 3. Is it true that it flames on overrun? Read it in EVO, when they did that 20k car buyers guide, I like the sound of this!!! cheers guys

I did the same as you came from a mk1 clio 172 to S1 Exige, I honestly dont think the Exige is any harder to live with day to day than the clio, I drove from Bristol to Switzerland in a day (15 hours) and didn't feel too bad when I got out. My Exige has been pretty reliable done 8000 miles in 6 months had a few small problems but nothing too much. Reg the engine mine is on 32000 now and is starting to feel a bit "loose" DVA (Dave Andrews) gave me a quote of £2200 to fully strip the engine and rebuild & install a Emerald,vernier pulleys so it isn't that bad anyway if it has got to be rebuilt. Has cost alot more to run than the clio mainly down to the tyres (AO39's only lasted 4000 miles of road use @ £450 for rears). Had much interest in the clio? I had to wait ages to sell mine Good luck anyway.

>> Edited by moles on Tuesday 26th July 15:14

[Mrs Boggy]

Me and Boggy have got an S2 Elise 111R, the practicalities of an Elise and Exige are mainly the same its just the performance aspect

After seeing Davys exige and watching the vids he has posted we are aiming for a Krypton Green Exige and trading in the Elise.... Go for the Exige!

[dank]

Regarding the clio, I have had one time waster, a lot of interest as such but no offers yet. Its a shame as its a mint mk1 in blue, with no modifications at all and only 24500miles on the clock. Out of interest Moles how much did you get for yours? Also how long did you wait, did you sell it recently?

Looks like i will be waiting a while as well, although this doesn't really bother me as I will get an Exige in winter when the prices are lower....I am hoping it will be realistic to expect to get one for around 15-16k or is this a bit tooooo cheap? Laser blue or titanium I think....As for tyres, 4000 miles!!! blimey thats not good, then again myn will only really be a weekend car as I commute to London everyday so hopefully 4000 miles would take me a while to do.

[moles]

dank said:

Regarding the clio, I have had one time waster, a lot of interest as such but no offers yet. Its a shame as its a mint mk1 in blue, with no modifications at all and only 24500miles on the clock. Out of interest Moles how much did you get for yours? Also how long did you wait, did you sell it recently? Looks like i will be waiting a while as well, although this doesn't really bother me as I will get an Exige in winter when the prices are lower....I am hoping it will be realistic to expect to get one for around 15-16k or is this a bit tooooo cheap? Laser blue or titanium I think....As for tyres, 4000 miles!!! blimey thats not good, then again myn will only really be a weekend car as I commute to London everyday so hopefully 4000 miles would take me a while to do.

Took me about 3 months to sell it there are always loads for sale so just got to hang in there. I sold mine last april(04) was a X reg for £8000 with 34000 on . Dont think they will go as low as that too be honest, I dont think that the price drops that much in the winter, there's normally more for sale this time of the year than in the winter. Prices have not gone down atall recently maybe because there pretty rare and not many good one's about. I'd go for a cheaper one and get it checked over by a specialist but keep the extra money for a engine rebuild. Other than oil and tyres not alot really wears out have to keep an eye on the oil though, I have to put in about 1.5l every 1000 miles.
I wanted laser blue as my first choice but one didn't come up and I couldn't be arsed to wait for one. So went for my second choice Gunmetal.(see profile)

>> Edited by moles on Tuesday 26th July 16:28

[Davey S1]

My car is on just over 3,500 miles now. I have a jaunt to Cornwall on the weekend then a trackday at Donnington after which my rear AO48's will need to be replaced.

I have already done a VMAX day at Bruntingthorpe which is a tyre killer but 1,000 miles were gently running in ones so they do not last long.

[dank]

I thought that may have been wishful thinking with regards to price, what do you think would be a reasonable cost for a nice Exige, by nice i dont mean mint (obviously) but a decent car that wont require me to spend thousands on engine rebuilds etc. My budget wouldn't stretch to 17-19k + engine rebuild!!!. If I am looking at big money like that then I may have to go for an s2 Elise in Laser blue, seems like there are a good few around, one with hardtop would make my day as it would look a little like an s2 Exige!!!! There is a gunmetal Exige in the classifieds at the mo for 16.5k, why is this one so cheap? I do also remember drooling over a laser blue one for about 16/17k early this year!! Think it had quite high miles on it though, maybe this would cause expensive problems!?

Its a shame that it does come down to money at the end of the day, the S1 Exige is the most stunning car in the metal, so is the Elise, but the Exige has those mini GT racer looks!!! I want one!!!

[moles]

dank said:

I thought that may have been wishful thinking with regards to price, what do you think would be a reasonable cost for a nice Exige, by nice i dont mean mint (obviously) but a decent car that wont require me to spend thousands on engine rebuilds etc. My budget wouldn't stretch to 17-19k + engine rebuild!!!. If I am looking at big money like that then I may have to go for an s2 Elise in Laser blue, seems like there are a good few around, one with hardtop would make my day as it would look a little like an s2 Exige!!!! There is a gunmetal Exige in the classifieds at the mo for 16.5k, why is this one so cheap? I do also remember drooling over a laser blue one for about 16/17k early this year!! Think it had quite high miles on it though, maybe this would cause expensive problems!? Its a shame that it does come down to money at the end of the day, the S1 Exige is the most stunning car in the metal, so is the Elise, but the Exige has those mini GT racer looks!!! I want one!!!

The Gunmetal one is owned by the owner of Exiges.com he bought it for converting with a Honda engine but found an elise with motorsport bodywork for cheaper. Reason its cheap is down to the milage probably(getting near rebuild time). Pop over to the site www.exiges.com and ask him about it.
What about this www.pistonheads.com/sales/46927.htm has the looks but a standard engine in.

Regarding the engine its a total lottery they seem to blow whenever they like not at a certain point, I went for one with a higher mileage as I thought its probably better if its been used often. Some people are up into 40-50000 miles so far and the highest i've seen for sale had 55000 miles on it.

[dank]

Well I think I may have to buy a high mileage one anyway as I am sure they will be cheaper in the first place, saw your car on your profile and it does look fantastic in gunmetal!