Esprit depreciation?

[enzomn]

Has the late 80's early 90's Esprits hit their bottom prices yet or do you guys think that they will go lower?

[danny tattersall]

I think that the prices for the earlier models have pretty much bottomed out. I certainly would not put off buying one in the hope that the price falls further. It would just be a waste because it would be time that you could have used enjoying something special.

Danny '93 SE Highwing

[rlearp]

I don't think the 89.5-95 SE/S4/S4s cars have hit their low yet. V8s are still dropping, some quite low, and regardless of which you think better I think they will continue to depress the turbo 4s. Much as I hate to say it, I own a 90SE, I think the only direction the value is going to go is down, for a little while anyway.

Ron

>> Edited by rlearp on Wednesday 20th October 19:17

[britten_mark]

[quote=rlearp] V8s are still dropping, some quite low, and regardless of which you think better I think they will continue to depress the turbo 4s.
quote]

That sounds reasonable, most used buyers will opt for the heavy hitters like the V8. Us 4 owners can bang on for as long as we like about being cheaper to run or more reliable, but unless you are an afficionado (and seek out things like S4s's and dry-sump turbos for their rarity), V8s will be the barometer.

But hey, if your not selling don't think about it, and for residuals it's got to be a better bet than most cars anyway.

[splodge s4]

The depreciation is in the running costs, ive had the S4 2 years now, no probs, spent around £2,500 on servicing & i could sell it tomorrow for what i paid. But i dont think ill sell because there will never be anymore on the road, everyday theres probley one less on the road.

[Autocross7]

I was looking through the NADA the other day and by chance I had one from two years ago... Of course being board I had to compare. I was surprized to see that my 1988 turbo had actualy gone up...

I did not give a party though. Car values...especially exotic cars... seem to bonce around in a general area. I do think that the value is in the eye of the driver however. Not long ago I saw two guys get into a bidding war over an Alfa spyder (early boat tail in top condition)... the final bid I stuck around for was just over 80,000.00USD!!!! Apparently the car was originally owned by one bidder while the other had promised the car to his wife or something???


Drive topless!!!
Cameron

[lotusguy]

Hi,

Realize That you are talking about a car here, not a convertible instrument.

It isn't about resale, it's about the drive. Think about the millions of cars produced, or the thousands of models from the past 50 years. Only a very small handful have truly appreciated, and the majority of those which have, cost more than the Esprit to get into to begin with. Notwithstanding the fact that you had to be clairvoyant to know exactly which ones would rise in value.

If you are trying to justify your expenditure, again, retaining value isn't the proper metric. Drive it because you love it, own it because you have to! Anything other, and you are probably making a mistake. Lotus do not hold their value period! You own them to drive them.

If this bothers you, fund your IRA instead to avoid eating Cat Food in your old age - of course, it'll be too late then to commiserate "I should have done it when I had the chance..."
Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE

[paul c]

Hard to work out values.

Depending on source, Depreciation can be worked to suit, as my servicing alone is manyfold more than any calculated PA loss - i don't think about it

You cannot just look at cars for sale because some are up there for ages, there are cars that were up in Feb that are still there now.
Reasonably priced cars shift so quick that if you don't check the ads at least daily then you will never see the realistic ad to compare.

When UK shopping for my SE, i checked the ads all day (you had to!), Some cars were sold in hours. However i would always have to trawl through the older more expensive Ads, and spot the ones that shift from site to site for as much as a year.

My cars Ad had been on for 2 hours when i rang. I drove 600 miles the next day to see it, and there were others waiting to buy if i had not! However,there were similar cars for about £2k more that had been for sale months....

My view of the market:

I sold my Esprit S3 for less than it was worth to me

I bought my SE for less than it is worth to me

>> Edited by paul c on Saturday 23 October 09:11

[yeti]

I think the Giugiaro shape cars can be found at rock bottom now (in the UK) and there are a lot of 'restoration' cars about which can be had incredibly cheaply. Restoration in a GRP bodied galvanised chassied car in my case meant a re-spray, and some leather to replace the cloth. I paid out for a rare dry sumper, and I know of a similar model but a wet-sumper in nice but not perfect condition for sale at 2 1/2 times what I paid. Perfect Giugiaros seem to command almost double what an early Stevens turbo can make... now that's a bargain!

V8s should fall into the teens and stop there, then the rarity value kicks in as people come to realise it's a dateless design and there aren't going to be any more.

What happens when the "new Esprit" comes out is anyones guess though.

[paul c]

Gazboy said:

(if anyone was wondering, I've been looking in the clasifieds solid for months)

I think we all do

Even when you are not buying or selling, you just can't resist a peek...
A couple of Highwings are up in the latest CL mag BTW.