Which Elise, S1 or S2 for £10k
Discussion
Good Day People,
Friend of mine is looking for a weekend car and I have convinced him that an Elise is the way to go. Looking at a 10k'ish budget and not sure if I should be looking at S1 or S2. I used to have an S1 Sport 160, but I have never owned an S2. Of course, S2's at this price are rare, but is it worth trying to get an S2?
It will be an occasional use weekend car, probably more by me than him (but he doesn't know that yet).
Thanks,
smele
Friend of mine is looking for a weekend car and I have convinced him that an Elise is the way to go. Looking at a 10k'ish budget and not sure if I should be looking at S1 or S2. I used to have an S1 Sport 160, but I have never owned an S2. Of course, S2's at this price are rare, but is it worth trying to get an S2?
It will be an occasional use weekend car, probably more by me than him (but he doesn't know that yet).
Thanks,
smele
tter for 10k in an S2 more than likely. S1 rarer and at that budget should get a very good one!Crikey, there's not much love for early S2s here, is there?
I'd say definitely take a look and test drive S1 and S2. I might be biased in owning one of the first of the 'Monzas' but I prefer the styling and it's just a bit more civilised than an S1 for my preference (it's not a track toy but a weekend runabout). The early S2s are the lightest (mine was tested at 765kg at MOT time) but benefit from Bilstein suspension and the close ratio gearbox, and you can find decent ones for a good price.
I'd say definitely take a look and test drive S1 and S2. I might be biased in owning one of the first of the 'Monzas' but I prefer the styling and it's just a bit more civilised than an S1 for my preference (it's not a track toy but a weekend runabout). The early S2s are the lightest (mine was tested at 765kg at MOT time) but benefit from Bilstein suspension and the close ratio gearbox, and you can find decent ones for a good price.
AllNines said:
Crikey, there's not much love for early S2s here, is there?
The early S2s are the lightest (mine was tested at 765kg at MOT time) but benefit from Bilstein suspension and the close ratio gearbox, and you can find decent ones for a good price.
Thanks, that was the sort of information I was after. Apparently my friend prefers the S2 style and so does the real decision maker, his wife.The early S2s are the lightest (mine was tested at 765kg at MOT time) but benefit from Bilstein suspension and the close ratio gearbox, and you can find decent ones for a good price.
The issue is what can you get for the price.
There is very little difference between a late S1 and an early S2 in terms of weight and 'rawness'.
Some people describe how the rawness of the S1 makes it better, in truth this is mainly due to the S1 being inferior in ride quality. It was originally fitted with off the shelf Koni dampers, whereas the money from S1 sales paid for the development of the Bilsteins fitted to the S2. This vastly improved ride qulaity and removed the 'crashiness' of the S1.
Most S1s will have received a suspension refresh and many will have been upgraded with the Bilsteins, and as a result there will be bu&&er all difference between the two.
The styling is down to taste, and, IMHO pointless, the Elise is about the drive not the looks (I would have bought one even if I thought it was the ugliest car in the world).
As mentioned before, the S2 had the CR box as standard (only fitted to the S1 111S).
All Elises have progressively been better built, so by that logic by a later one, however many enthusiast owned S1s will have been sorted by now.
Contrary to all of this, for all the loved cars out there will also be ropey examples of both variants being offloaded on the second hand market.
You will naturally have a greater choice of S1 for sub 10k, but could easily get an early S2 at that price, simply due to the number of cars out there.
I will give the same advice I always do, don't get hung up on S1 or S2, find cars you can afford and give them a good check over, the best thing is to drive them. You will soon see which is the best car for the money. It could be either an S1 or S2.
Regards, Neil
There is very little difference between a late S1 and an early S2 in terms of weight and 'rawness'.
Some people describe how the rawness of the S1 makes it better, in truth this is mainly due to the S1 being inferior in ride quality. It was originally fitted with off the shelf Koni dampers, whereas the money from S1 sales paid for the development of the Bilsteins fitted to the S2. This vastly improved ride qulaity and removed the 'crashiness' of the S1.
Most S1s will have received a suspension refresh and many will have been upgraded with the Bilsteins, and as a result there will be bu&&er all difference between the two.
The styling is down to taste, and, IMHO pointless, the Elise is about the drive not the looks (I would have bought one even if I thought it was the ugliest car in the world).
As mentioned before, the S2 had the CR box as standard (only fitted to the S1 111S).
All Elises have progressively been better built, so by that logic by a later one, however many enthusiast owned S1s will have been sorted by now.
Contrary to all of this, for all the loved cars out there will also be ropey examples of both variants being offloaded on the second hand market.
You will naturally have a greater choice of S1 for sub 10k, but could easily get an early S2 at that price, simply due to the number of cars out there.
I will give the same advice I always do, don't get hung up on S1 or S2, find cars you can afford and give them a good check over, the best thing is to drive them. You will soon see which is the best car for the money. It could be either an S1 or S2.
Regards, Neil
NJS25 said:
The issue is what can you get for the price.
As mentioned before, the S2 had the CR box as standard (only fitted to the S1 111S).
All Elises have progressively been better built, so by that logic by a later one, however many enthusiast owned S1s will have been sorted by now.
Regards, Neil
Thanks Neil. I reckon 11K won't be a problem and I did not know about the suspension. Think I will get him to try both and then find the bast example of either. Good info. As mentioned before, the S2 had the CR box as standard (only fitted to the S1 111S).
All Elises have progressively been better built, so by that logic by a later one, however many enthusiast owned S1s will have been sorted by now.
Regards, Neil
Saying a £10k-ish budget equates to a sheddy S2 is nonsense. You just need to look and haggle a bit.
I paid just over £10k for a 02 plate Sport Tourer. 24k miles and a full Lotus main dealer service history. The car was immaculate and had obviously been very well looked after.
On a personal note having driven a S1 and S2 I much preferred the S2. I'd recommend (as others have) to try them both as you may feel differently.
I paid just over £10k for a 02 plate Sport Tourer. 24k miles and a full Lotus main dealer service history. The car was immaculate and had obviously been very well looked after.
On a personal note having driven a S1 and S2 I much preferred the S2. I'd recommend (as others have) to try them both as you may feel differently.
Tophatron said:
Saying a £10k-ish budget equates to a sheddy S2 is nonsense. You just need to look and haggle a bit.
I paid just over £10k for a 02 plate Sport Tourer. 24k miles and a full Lotus main dealer service history. The car was immaculate and had obviously been very well looked after.
On a personal note having driven a S1 and S2 I much preferred the S2. I'd recommend (as others have) to try them both as you may feel differently.
Blimey that sounds like a good deal. We are really going to have to go for a drive in an S2 and see how it is. I have seen some really good spec'd S1's but I think an S2 if possible might be worth a little extra.I paid just over £10k for a 02 plate Sport Tourer. 24k miles and a full Lotus main dealer service history. The car was immaculate and had obviously been very well looked after.
On a personal note having driven a S1 and S2 I much preferred the S2. I'd recommend (as others have) to try them both as you may feel differently.
Good input guys.
Tophatron said:
Saying a £10k-ish budget equates to a sheddy S2 is nonsense. You just need to look and haggle a bit.
I paid just over £10k for a 02 plate Sport Tourer. 24k miles and a full Lotus main dealer service history. The car was immaculate and had obviously been very well looked after.
On a personal note having driven a S1 and S2 I much preferred the S2. I'd recommend (as others have) to try them both as you may feel differently.
Supply and demand? Lots more S2s than S1s - and the S1's are getting rarer.I paid just over £10k for a 02 plate Sport Tourer. 24k miles and a full Lotus main dealer service history. The car was immaculate and had obviously been very well looked after.
On a personal note having driven a S1 and S2 I much preferred the S2. I'd recommend (as others have) to try them both as you may feel differently.
Having just been through exactly the same scenario I'd say look at what's available.
I kept an open mind and decided to look at both S1s and S2s in my price range. The S2s certainly weren't "sheds", in fact there were probably more S1s done up to look the money than S2s.
In the end I went for the best S1 I found. If I'd found a similar condition S2 for the money I would have gone for that.
I kept an open mind and decided to look at both S1s and S2s in my price range. The S2s certainly weren't "sheds", in fact there were probably more S1s done up to look the money than S2s.
In the end I went for the best S1 I found. If I'd found a similar condition S2 for the money I would have gone for that.
NDT said:
Supply and demand? Lots more S2s than S1s - and the S1's are getting rarer.
Not sure if that's entirely true, or rather a relevant comparison. IIRC there were around 12k S1s built over its 6 year lifespan, while there maybe more S2s including Toyota engined vehicles, I'm pretty sure there were significantly fewer K-series S2s than S1s as these were only produced for around 5 years and sales were not as strong during this period. I could be wrong.Regards, Neil
NJS25 said:
Not sure if that's entirely true, or rather a relevant comparison. IIRC there were around 12k S1s built over its 6 year lifespan, while there maybe more S2s including Toyota engined vehicles, I'm pretty sure there were significantly fewer K-series S2s than S1s as these were only produced for around 5 years and sales were not as strong during this period. I could be wrong.
Regards, Neil
But there are significantly more S2s than S1s, older S2s aren't going to increase in value just because it has a K - series engine and could therefore be considered rarer than that a Yota engined one (at least not for a few year yet)Regards, Neil
There used to be quite a gap between S1 and S2 prices, they now meet.
Sod future values though, buy it because you love it.
fatwomble said:
But there are significantly more S2s than S1s, older S2s aren't going to increase in value just because it has a K - series engine and could therefore be considered rarer than that a Yota engined one (at least not for a few year yet)
There used to be quite a gap between S1 and S2 prices, they now meet.
Sod future values though, buy it because you love it.
And that's my point. I don't think S1 will be worth any more than an early S2, nor vice versa. I have always expected that S1 and early S2s will converge to a minimum price and then stabilise. We appear to have pretty much reached this point now.There used to be quite a gap between S1 and S2 prices, they now meet.
Sod future values though, buy it because you love it.
I never mentioned anything about S2s increasing in value, just that the supply and demand argument S1 v S2 was misrepresentative.
Regards, Neil
Edited by NJS25 on Friday 18th February 21:13
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