from 911 to Elise Mk1?

[RGubbioli]

Dear All,

I have a 1993 Porsche 911 (964 C2 for you Porsche nuts) which I use strictly as a second car. I love it to bits and know its an amazing car, however, I am often weary of owning it because of fear of understeer / vandalism / something expensive breaking (clutch @ £1k for ex).

Thus, I have been considering getting an Elise instead. It would definitely be an S1 and an early one at that (97 to 99), mainly because they are cheaper than the Porsche so would leave some money for a sensible car (Merc 300 estate).

I have a few questions which you guys could help me with:
- being 6"6' will I fit in OK? (I don't in the 911)
- how much is the Lotus warranty and is it worth it?
- I have seen 97 R reg cars with 10k miles for about £13k, is this a good price (or even suspiciously cheap?)
- is there any boot at all? could I even contemplate a weekend away with girlfriend? (ie: loads of clothes)
- can I take my golf clubs around in it?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Riccardo

[gargamel]

golf clubs - yes - but only in the passenger seat - absolutely no chance in the boot.

Yes you can still go for weekends - but think gym bag size not suitcase. ( I went camping with a mate in france for a week and took everything but i had a boot rack and we were both blokes if you get my drift)

Some very choice cars at 13k - you want less than 20k miles - Full lotus service history - and clean clams - ie no chippings as a minimum for that.

Don't worry if its been tracked - they nearly all have - anyone who says they haven't probably didn't care about the car enough to look after it.

if you can I would get either a 135 or a 111s - as slight more power and better cabins generally

hard top is useful but non essential. Radically different to a porchse - I would get to a dealer and drive a couple of good tight s1 to get a feel.

hth

[DanH]

You are probably too big. You may fit in but you'll need a snap off steering wheel and probably a shorter quick shift stick to stop your leg fouling on it in 5th.

There is a boot, but its smallish. Golf clubs would have to go on the passenger seat.

Go try one, but I suspect it doesn't meet your needs

[Bonce]

- being 6"6' will I fit in OK? (I don't in the 911)
You should be OK, but try it out. You may have trouble fitting in with a helmet on. Getting in and out might put you off, although it does get easier with practice, trust me!

- how much is the Lotus warranty and is it worth it?
For a used car, the dealer would provide the warranty, and I would say personally that no it's not worth it. You're unlikely to get the cost of the warranty back in repairs as the elise is not that unreliable (unless you're unlucky!) and what does break/wear out is usually not covered by warranties.

- I have seen 97 R reg cars with 10k miles for about £13k, is this a good price (or even suspiciously cheap?)
Sounds about right. Shop around though, and get an expert to check before you buy used. The chassis is vulnerable to damage.

- is there any boot at all? could I even contemplate a weekend away with girlfriend? (ie: loads of clothes)
I have gone away for the weekend with the following crammed into the car:

- A girl
- Tent
- Double Air Matrress
- Pump for matress
- King size duvet
- two feather pillows
- sheets/towels
- clothes and coats
- Food and drink (beer )
And the roof was off and stowed behind the seats.
Pack carefully and you'll be suprised, I was amazed at how much I packed. So were the other campers!

- can I take my golf clubs around in it?
Not in the boot, no. If you don't have a passenger, you can sling them in the passenger footwell no problem I should think.

Good luck with finding one that suits you!

See:
www.pistonheads.com/reviews/products.asp?c=48
www.elises.co.uk
www.elise-faq.info

[domster]

I think an Elise is a better handling car, and has its merits. But it isn't as well built as a 964, although I'd trust an Elise more than Esprit after having looked around the factory. The K-series isn't bombproof either. Make sure you change to the Elsie because you want to, not just to save a few quid as 964s aren't overly expensive to run if you know the right people. Remember that the C2 was a 50k car when new, and the Elise was a 25k car when new. You sometimes pay for what you get in terms of robustness, component quality etc.

[DanH]

The k-series is pretty bloody robust, more importantly, its cheap as hell to repair I agree with Dom's other points though.

[fergusd]

Don't let horror stories about the K put you off . . . ou can get a brand new one in a crate for less than the clutch on your 911 . . . ;-) . . . and remember that the engine is a very common unit in many production rovers.

I'd agree with other posters, however, be very sure this is a car you want before you buy it . . .

Fd

[RGubbioli]

Guys, thanks for the useful and quick replies and links, they are really useful insights.

There are a few arguments I have in favour of the Elise:
- I do like the styling and some of the touches (like bare metal interior, that sweet exhaust, the small size)
- as its a second car I think it fits the being raw factor more than my 964, which is (relatively speaking) almost a grand tourer by comparison
- I don't fit in the 964 with a helmet; part of the reason I wanted a sports car was to do track days, which I am am not able to do at the moment
- it will be a newer car (20k miles vs 62k in the Porsche, and 4 years younger) thus less likely to have age related problems such as failing heater servos (£50 a pop x 4) and failed alternators (£450 + fitting!!)

On the 'against' side:
- as mentioned below, it not a Porsche in build quality (mine is 10 yrs old this year and still looks stunning)
- I am very much into the Porsche scene, and I'd find it hard to bring myself to sell it
- the Elise is very much a toy, which might mean I'd only be able to drive it 'for fun', which is about once a month

Thanks again!

[twit]

get an expert to check before you buy used

I too am probably going to go for a S1, assuming it is a private buy where would be a good place to take it or contact for inspection? I'm in Thames Valley. I never really trust Aa or RAC for anything other than 'standard' run of the mill cars.

[Stevef]

I'm 6'4", my biggest concern is the location of the roll bar in relation to your head. Its hurts when your skull dents it in an accident. I put some foam padding on its replacement.
Its not such a problem in an S2 though as the roll bar is slimmer allowing me to get under it.
At 6'6" I would expect the roll bar to give you no protection at all.

[DanH]

- I am very much into the Porsche scene, and I'd find it hard to bring myself to sell it

There's a very big Elise scene too. Not sure whether its similar to the Porsche one though. Lots of track days/runs/euro runs etc.

[alunr]

twit said: get an expert to check before you buy used

I too am probably going to go for a S1, assuming it is a private buy where would be a good place to take it or contact for inspection? I'm in Thames Valley. I never really trust Aa or RAC for anything other than 'standard' run of the mill cars.

SGT (www.sgt.co.uk/lotus/index.html) for Lotus Dealer, SWLotus (www.swlotus.co.uk) for independent.

If you need any help locally drop me a mail.

>> Edited by alunr on Thursday 6th March 09:20

[RGubbioli]

Guys,

Thanks once again for the great advice. More and more I see the Elise as possibly being a good choice for what I want. Basically, a fun car which I can use both in more 'mundane' situations as well as for track days and the odd trip. Mostly I'd be using it for group drives, visit friends dotted around the country, etc.

Reading back on my original post, I see it probably seemed like the whole decision was just cause of money. It isn't, but its just that I would like to know that an Elise won't cost me as much to run as the 911, otherwise I might as well stick to the 911. At the moment I spend about £2.5k a year just in maintenace (no upgrades at all) but that can easily escalate to about £4k is anything goes wrong.

At the same time I also would like a 'raw' car which the 911 isn't as much exactly due to it being an expensive car to start off with. Put it this way, if I had the money I'd buy a 964 RS immediately.

Finally, two questions:
- is this the main site for the Elise, or are there other Lotus only web boards?
- are there any sites with service costs etc?

Best regards,
Riccardo

[Bonce]

Two other very useful resources on top of the ones I have already mentioned are:

Excellent club site: www.seloc.org

General forums: www.british-cars.co.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=lotusbbs&access=&mode=tlist&subject=2001

Technical forums: www.british-cars.co.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=lotusbbs&access=&mode=tlist&subject=2050

[Roy W. Olivier]

Some comments. I own 2 Porsches and an Exige. I used to own an Elise Sport 190. The Lotus is a much better car for track use imo. Fun and cheap to track compaired to the Porsche.

Frankly, I don't think you will fit. I'm 6" and my helmet hits the roof. If you don't fit in the Porsche, I dont' think you have any chance of fitting in an S1.

Roy
www.lotussource.com

[twit]

Thanks Alun! When I finally get sorted I'll drop you a line, any local advice would be appreciated and I'm always up for meeting!

[alunr]

Perhaps you could make it to - www.pistonheads.com/members/calendar/displayEvent.asp?id=2827 ?

Always willing to help out a PH'er

[twit]

Alun - I may well be able to get to that so may see you there!

Twit