If I'm only 22.....
Discussion
Hello mate, I'm also 22 and pay around £1700 on a 52-reg S2 Sports Tourer...sounds alot but IMO worth every penny! I've found running costs to be around the same as my Renault Megane coupe I had before it, just hope it stays that way! If I wee you I'd just go for it, you won't regret it at all! Good luck mate
I'm 24. The only thing against our age is insurance. Not too bad if you have full NCB and live in an alright area.
Running cost are fcuck all despite what some people say. Its not a car you can just put petrol in and go though. You need to treat it like a hobby. Keep an eye on everything and you should be fine.
Insurance will be typically £1200-£1800
Petrol for my 111s is £25 for a fill up - £250 miles. Result
Servicing will be £150-£500 depending on A B or C
Maintenance - Prob budget £1000 a year for suspension/ball joints/toe links etc. and brake discs/pads/
and then there's the upgrades....oh the upgrades.
Running cost are fcuck all despite what some people say. Its not a car you can just put petrol in and go though. You need to treat it like a hobby. Keep an eye on everything and you should be fine.
Insurance will be typically £1200-£1800
Petrol for my 111s is £25 for a fill up - £250 miles. Result
Servicing will be £150-£500 depending on A B or C
Maintenance - Prob budget £1000 a year for suspension/ball joints/toe links etc. and brake discs/pads/
and then there's the upgrades....oh the upgrades.
yep, im a young lad aswell.
agree with everything that has been said.
but if your going for a r-reg, beware of "earlier-car" teething problems.
its been said before, but i wouldnt go into elise-ownership without a kitty on the side for potential costs.
e.g. my window popped out its clips, which autowindscreens said they'd do for £20. after seeing the car they wouldnt touch it. the dealer said £135 plus VAT. so beware.
dont let me put you off, as there are alot of places to get help from, especially here.
try:
www.elises.co.uk
for some backround knowledge, things to look out for and common problems etc.
agree with everything that has been said.
but if your going for a r-reg, beware of "earlier-car" teething problems.
its been said before, but i wouldnt go into elise-ownership without a kitty on the side for potential costs.
e.g. my window popped out its clips, which autowindscreens said they'd do for £20. after seeing the car they wouldnt touch it. the dealer said £135 plus VAT. so beware.
dont let me put you off, as there are alot of places to get help from, especially here.
try:
www.elises.co.uk
for some backround knowledge, things to look out for and common problems etc.
Have to agree with most of whats been said. I bought a '97 Elise in February after doing plenty of research and question asking on all the usual Lotus boards. Insurance was £850 with Adrian Flux for 25 Year old with 1 years NCB in the sticks with (ahem) 6 points.
The rewards you get from the driving experience far outweigh the troubles that come with ownership, and believe me there will be troubles. I bought a car privately which saved ££££s on dealer prices and luckily it came with a warranty which proved quite valuable. It developed a leaky shock so replaced the lot with the Spax RSX kit (£400ish). Then had the fabled HGF, decided that as a C service was coming I'd have the cam belt changed at the same time to save a bit of cash(£400ish). Just had the C service done by Strattons(without cam belt change) for £275.
You shouldn't really have to expect these problems on a 25,000 mile car with FLSH but they are the sort of things that can happen. Beware if looking at a 98 car as they will be fast approaching a C service so budget £4-500 pounds.
When the problems start to appear you swear about the car but the moment you get in and drive it they are all but forgotten. It is the only car that I have felt a real sense of occasion when driven. I have more memories from the last 8 months driving the Elise than I have from the last 8 years of driving.
I figured that If I didn't do something like owning an Elise I would have kicked myself when I looked back. There may well be problems if you do it but you might get lucky, regardless you won't regret it.
<crosses fingers whilst touching wood, hoping for many cheap years of future ownership>
Karl
The rewards you get from the driving experience far outweigh the troubles that come with ownership, and believe me there will be troubles. I bought a car privately which saved ££££s on dealer prices and luckily it came with a warranty which proved quite valuable. It developed a leaky shock so replaced the lot with the Spax RSX kit (£400ish). Then had the fabled HGF, decided that as a C service was coming I'd have the cam belt changed at the same time to save a bit of cash(£400ish). Just had the C service done by Strattons(without cam belt change) for £275.
You shouldn't really have to expect these problems on a 25,000 mile car with FLSH but they are the sort of things that can happen. Beware if looking at a 98 car as they will be fast approaching a C service so budget £4-500 pounds.
When the problems start to appear you swear about the car but the moment you get in and drive it they are all but forgotten. It is the only car that I have felt a real sense of occasion when driven. I have more memories from the last 8 months driving the Elise than I have from the last 8 years of driving.
I figured that If I didn't do something like owning an Elise I would have kicked myself when I looked back. There may well be problems if you do it but you might get lucky, regardless you won't regret it.
<crosses fingers whilst touching wood, hoping for many cheap years of future ownership>
Karl
Thanks a lot for your help and useful comments, I've seen a cracker of a 'X' plate for £16,995, with only 11,000 on the clock and FSH ect....
I just wondered if anybody knew the type of things that could go wrong with the car and the things to look out for, and once again thanks for taking the trouble to reply.
I just wondered if anybody knew the type of things that could go wrong with the car and the things to look out for, and once again thanks for taking the trouble to reply.
Awright mate I'm in exacty the same boat I'm 22 and looking to buy an Elise but need to sell my 2 tone VTS first !!!My budgets quiet a bit less than yours right enough looking to spend between 11k and 13.5k max.
For insurance try Tesco.net, for me 22yrs old, 4yrs NCB, decent area been quoted 1000 quid with 200xs which is only 100 quid dearer then my VTS.
For insurance try Tesco.net, for me 22yrs old, 4yrs NCB, decent area been quoted 1000 quid with 200xs which is only 100 quid dearer then my VTS.
£1000, with four years no claims? That is a good one , I'm going to ring them and Adrian Flux that another guy mentioned. I reckon now's the best time to get one because too soon you've mortgatges and the like and there's no room for even a little Elise.
My mate at work who has an Alfa said to get an 'AA 'carcheck before buying an Elise, as they tell you what the needs doing and wotnot. Purely for the fact you buy an Elise for one thing and sometimes the little things aren't so little 6 months or so down the line.
Best of luck guys and the dream is getting closer by the day.
I just hope the girlfriend doesn't pass her test.
My mate at work who has an Alfa said to get an 'AA 'carcheck before buying an Elise, as they tell you what the needs doing and wotnot. Purely for the fact you buy an Elise for one thing and sometimes the little things aren't so little 6 months or so down the line.
Best of luck guys and the dream is getting closer by the day.
I just hope the girlfriend doesn't pass her test.
Whatever you do I'd definatly make sure you don't overstretch yourself financially when you buy. I've had my s1 elise 4 months and so far I've had to replace, the radiator (though that was under warranty), the hand brake cable and all four brakes (pads and discs) about £1500 in total.....oops....fortunatly I had kept some funds aside or I'd now have no social life for a few months.
Don't let me put you off though...It's a wicked car and well worth the expense, just remember when things go wrong it's going to cost you more than a more run of the mill car
Don't let me put you off though...It's a wicked car and well worth the expense, just remember when things go wrong it's going to cost you more than a more run of the mill car
Im currently thinking of an early S1 Elise for my 21st next year. The best insurance quote ive had so far is £2k. Ive also been looking at servicing costs A service at my local offical lotus dealer is £290, B service is £420 and C service is £760.
I dont do huge mileage each year, only about 5000 miles, so hopefully running it wont cost me too much. im going to try and shop around a little on the servicing though, just to see how prices compare. We have a local dealer who specialise in tuning the K series engines, so i will probably try them and see what they say.
Servicing is one of the only things putting me off at the moment. I know there will be a few modifications i will need to get fitted to fix known issues with the car, although i would hope to get a car with these modifications already fitted.
The thing that attracts me to the elise is that fact of its pocket rockets nature and its handling, its something i would be happy to have fun and drive.
I dont do huge mileage each year, only about 5000 miles, so hopefully running it wont cost me too much. im going to try and shop around a little on the servicing though, just to see how prices compare. We have a local dealer who specialise in tuning the K series engines, so i will probably try them and see what they say.
Servicing is one of the only things putting me off at the moment. I know there will be a few modifications i will need to get fitted to fix known issues with the car, although i would hope to get a car with these modifications already fitted.
The thing that attracts me to the elise is that fact of its pocket rockets nature and its handling, its something i would be happy to have fun and drive.
Find a specialsit local to you (bear in mind the drive out there will be hoot
) - I get my servicing done by a specialist and an A service is only £97! If you go down there and have a chat they'll probably inspect it for a modest fee - you need to get this done by someone who knows these cars, the AA et al. won't look for the right things - they'll only check the bodywork for crash damage when a new clam can hide all manner of nasties on the chassis.
I assume by mods you mean recalls? Most cars with any kind of mileage will have had them done, the most notable is the 'red hose' which can be checked by looking at the hose leaving the clutch master clinder to see if it's braided - if yes , it's been done, if it's red, it hasn't. There aren't many recalls out toi be honest.
BTW where do you young (I'm only 28 ffs) guys get all your money? When I was 22 I could just afford to buy a car but nothing flash and that was with a job and having worked thru uni! Are you all internet millionaires or something
>> Edited by cuzza on Tuesday 21st October 14:03
) - I get my servicing done by a specialist and an A service is only £97! If you go down there and have a chat they'll probably inspect it for a modest fee - you need to get this done by someone who knows these cars, the AA et al. won't look for the right things - they'll only check the bodywork for crash damage when a new clam can hide all manner of nasties on the chassis. I assume by mods you mean recalls? Most cars with any kind of mileage will have had them done, the most notable is the 'red hose' which can be checked by looking at the hose leaving the clutch master clinder to see if it's braided - if yes , it's been done, if it's red, it hasn't. There aren't many recalls out toi be honest.
BTW where do you young (I'm only 28 ffs) guys get all your money? When I was 22 I could just afford to buy a car but nothing flash and that was with a job and having worked thru uni! Are you all internet millionaires or something
>> Edited by cuzza on Tuesday 21st October 14:03
QuinnThe Eskimo said:
Cuzza, I dont drink or smoke and my girlfriend works, so that saves about £10,000 straight away. My mates at work do loads on booze and fags and one day I just thought that if I saved a bit then the savings on theses things could be used elsewhere.
You don't drink, you don't smoke
, what do you do do? (name that tune) Fair do's - especially sending your girlfriend out to work to pay for your sportscar
the clutch hose was one of my main worries, same with the throttle body and shifter linkage and bits and pieces like that really, things i would really like to have done before i buy the car. Its a car ive always wanted to own and drive, a very rewarding drive from what im told, but before i buy one i will get on one of the track course at rockingham or silverstone, at least i can try one out properly and go from there really. I just have to do all the sums now and work out how much one will cost me to run, but it looks quite promising already.
Thanks for the help,
Oliver
Thanks for the help,
Oliver
Oliver,
The throttle bodies do stick very occasionaly but that's because they're plastic (mine doesn't stick). You can get an ally one fairly cheap and it's not a difficult job to fit yourself. Bear in mind that as the ally ones are bigger your insurer will class it as performance enhancing mod.
The gear change is not the smoothest you'll ever encounter and is variable - I find it very direct and again on mine it's fine.
These are not realy faults or points of concern with the car but they are areas that can be improved
Good luck with the search!
The throttle bodies do stick very occasionaly but that's because they're plastic (mine doesn't stick). You can get an ally one fairly cheap and it's not a difficult job to fit yourself. Bear in mind that as the ally ones are bigger your insurer will class it as performance enhancing mod.
The gear change is not the smoothest you'll ever encounter and is variable - I find it very direct and again on mine it's fine.
These are not realy faults or points of concern with the car but they are areas that can be improved
Good luck with the search!
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