Rear suspension damage on V8

[AlastairM]

chaps, just sold a Cerbera 4.5 and am looking for my next fix.
I have seen a 1998 Esprit V8 with rear suspension damage ie drive shaft have been knocked off and the rear suspension etc and asembly has ben pulled away (i understand they are bolt on jobs?) it also requires a rear bumper but apart from that it's spot on apart from 4 wheels and tyres. It has done 18k miles and the asking price is 13k. Do you think it is a good deal considering the work that would need doing, ie how much do you anticipate repairs to come to?

Thanks in advance

[NLJdH]

If this is the Quality Salvage car you are thinking of then I would urge you to be very careful and inspect it thoroughly.

There has been a lot of discussion of it on the Yahoo Esprit UK forum and I would recommend you read the threads in the archive.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/UKLotusEsprit/

(If you are not a member, there is a short free join up procedure - well worth it since the info/experience on it is invaluable)

I had considered buying it for the parts in it, and so had other members of the group as a project, we decided against it for various reasons.
It may have been discussed here too in past posts, do have a read.

Regards
Nicholas
(92K SE HW)

>> Edited by NLJdH on Thursday 27th February 13:45

[dictys]

Click my profile, then the thread V8 Salvage.

I've looked at it and the costs to repair are more than the car is worth, I decided to pass.

[superdave]

dictys said: Click my profile, then the thread V8 Salvage.

I've looked at it and the costs to repair are more than the car is worth, I decided to pass.

I agree. I too looked a while back. Not worth it at the price. It'll cost you too much to get back on the road.


Cheers,


Dave Walters

[clarky5150]

Sold the Cerby?? Alastair what were you thinking my boy?

[BlackRat]

I have inspected this car. It has taken a massive impact, primarily on rear nearside - hard enough to shatter the hub carrier and radius arm on the nearside. The offside hub carrier is also shattered. Mounting points don't look too bad. It will need new wheels, rear bumper and rear silencer. The bonnet has hyper extended splitting front slam panel. Front offside suspension / track rod looks bent. Marks inside front wheel arches indicate the front suspension has extended well beyond normal tolerances. I would say all reamining suspension needs replacing or stress tested for peace of mind. The chassis looks OK but would need to be jigged to be sure. I have serious concerns about integrity of final drive / gearbox. In short, the damage was not as bad as I was expecting, but it could be just the tip of the iceberg. This would be a big gamble and unlikely to be financially viable in the long term as it is shown HPI cat 'D'. Started first time though!