Right time of year to buy a Lotus?

[BigAndy69]

Hey guys I used to own a Type 25 Elise that I had to sell coz I needed the cash but have regretted it ever since. Fortunately I'm now in a postion to go shopping again and looking for a bit of advice.

I assumed winter would be a good time to buy thinking that on-one would really want to buy a 2 seater sports car in this weather but a lot of cars seem well over priced. I live in Newcastle and I think the problem is there are hardly any Lotus' for sale in the north East which is pushing prices up. Am I better off waiting til the spring or summer? Will more come on the market then aned prices come down?

I have had a look at a few places further away that seem to be a bit more reasonably priced and noticed Christopher Neils near Northwich seem to have a good stock list. Anyone had any good/bad experiences there? Dont want to do the 3-4 hour drive if I'm gonna get ripped off.

My price range is up to £20k and I want a 111R or Exige thats a few years old. Wouldnt want anything with more than 25,000 miles. I've had a look at the Buyer guides but any advice appreciated.

[Pum]

I think the only people selling such cars privately now are those that have to. I reckon most that are planning to sell, but can wait, are waiting for the spring when people typically start buying sports cars and prices firm up. So any sports cars advertised now are likely to be "motivated" sellers, that are either offering a good price or can be haggled down. The down side is that you'll tend to have a more limited choice this time of year. Come the good weather supply will increase, but so will demand, and historically I think prices have always risen a bit.

If you can find what you want at an acceptable price now then go for it.

Edited by Pum on Friday 21st January 10:35

[Woza]

Head on over to www.seloc.org

[hueandcry71]

Ive bought a few from CN and always had good service. You obviously pay a little more from a dealer and CN are no more expensive than any other dealer.

[matthewg]

BigAndy69 said:

Hey guys I used to own a Type 25 Elise that I had to sell coz I needed the cash but have regretted it ever since. Fortunately I'm now in a postion to go shopping again and looking for a bit of advice.

I assumed winter would be a good time to buy thinking that on-one would really want to buy a 2 seater sports car in this weather but a lot of cars seem well over priced. I live in Newcastle and I think the problem is there are hardly any Lotus' for sale in the north East which is pushing prices up. Am I better off waiting til the spring or summer? Will more come on the market then aned prices come down?

I have had a look at a few places further away that seem to be a bit more reasonably priced and noticed Christopher Neils near Northwich seem to have a good stock list. Anyone had any good/bad experiences there? Dont want to do the 3-4 hour drive if I'm gonna get ripped off.

My price range is up to £20k and I want a 111R or Exige thats a few years old. Wouldnt want anything with more than 25,000 miles. I've had a look at the Buyer guides but any advice appreciated.

top lurking (for the past 6months +)!!!

[hodgre]

just started using CN and was there for a second service and test drive. Happy with service, the way test drive organised, the part ex quote they gave on my car and plenty of cars on display.

ps if you are driving from n'castle there is a lotus dealer near preston but not sure what there stocklist is like

[hueandcry71]

hodgre said:

just started using CN and was there for a second service and test drive. Happy with service, the way test drive organised, the part ex quote they gave on my car and plenty of cars on display.

ps if you are driving from n'castle there is a lotus dealer near preston but not sure what there stocklist is like

Grange Lotus - not heard good things plus i found the salesman to be an arrogant t**t.

[S Works]

At the moment I doubt anyone wouldn't welcome a bona fide buyer with £20k cash burning a hole in their pocket. Go see whatever you like under £25k and wear your best haggling pants!

[BigAndy69]

Cheers guys. I've got an old Astra I need to part ex so its got to be a dealership rather than private unfortunately. Gonna have a look at a couple tomorrow and maybe see if a deal can be done.

[beak]

Pum said:

I think the only people selling such cars privately now are those that have to. I reckon most that are planning to sell, but can wait, are waiting for the spring when people typically start buying sports cars and prices firm up. So any sports cars advertised now are likely to be "motivated" sellers, that are either offering a good price or can be haggled down. The down side is that you'll tend to have a more limited choice this time of year. Come the good weather supply will increase, but so will demand, and historically I think prices have always risen a bit.

If you can find what you want at an acceptable price now then go for it.

Edited by Pum on Friday 21st January 10:35

have to disagree with that.. mine is up for sale (private, right price but wrong mileage for this buyer) at the moment, purely because its just sitting in the garage not being driven, anyway. if she doesnt sell at a price that i'm happy with then i'll try again in march/april, but there's no pressure or case of 'have to'.

[just1]

My Sports Racer will be coming up soon, looking for about £20k and has 16k miles on it, its one of the red ones! PM me if you are interested.