97 V8's -- Issues?

[MadMaxx]

Just wondering, the 97 seems to be the stigmata of the V8 years. What all issues did it have? A pass-up car if I find one for a good (low to mid 40s?) price?

Thanks
James

[Roy W. Olivier]

I'm sure you will get some good feeback on this. FYI, when you find a car get the last few digits of the VIN and the call Lotus Cars USA. They can tell you the history of the car, who the origional dealer was, who the first owner was, and every warranty claim submitted against that car. There was a few issues with 97s, most should have been corrected in warranty.

I did a scan of the service bulletins and no big issues. The only Class 1 bulletin (recall) is for an airbag sticker. That being said, I remember there being a clutch issue with the first few cars. Lotus brought over techs from the UK and retrofitted all US cars with the "right stuff" at no cost to the owner. I'd have to ask what the exact issue was, my memory is not as good as it once was!

Roy

[cnh1990]

If memory serves me right they originally had a single valeo clutch that slipped a lot and perhaps even burned, they switched to double plated clutch and no problems after that. That and some leaky cyl. that had to do with some water sealing problems, but they took care of that too as I recall. I'd go for a nice 97. But low to mid 40's is the regular going rate at the dealer. 97's real sell price is a bit lower than that. Lowest I have heard is around 38K with 30 something K miles.
Calvin

[ErnestM]

There was also a problem with the AWI wheels but that was also corrected in all cars (they cracked).

'97 is a unique year because (1)It was the last year of the "old" interior and (2)The last year of the ambidextrous fuel fillers...

ErnestM
Edited to add:
PS:If you do get one, have the street/torque upgrade done if it has not been done already. It makes the car easier to drive in the city and gives you more power across the band

>> Edited by ErnestM on Thursday 5th December 02:26

>> Edited by ErnestM on Thursday 5th December 03:14