GT3 - Everyday car ?

[pdavison]

I'm looking for a new car and having dismissed a Cerbera due to fear of sky high running costs I am looking at the possibility of an Esprit GT3.

It is currently a choice between a Porsche 964 & the GT3. I would use the car everyday for a 50 mile round commute and for weekend blasts as well.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to whether this would be possible / sensible ?

Is the GT3 reliable enough to use everyday (motorway & traffic)?

What are the running costs like (I know it's a performance car so I'm not expecting it to be dirt cheap!)?

Any ideas and advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Paul

[dictys]

I've driven all three and would put them is this order for a every day drive.

1. Porsche

Good Points are they are reliable, relatively practical and not too expensive to run. Bad points everyone's got a porsche.

3. Esprit

Great handling & performance, not so practical as the porsche but a lot more exclusive. Running costs on par with Porsche.

4. TVR Cerbie

One of the fastest things on the planet if you can find a good one. reliability, what reliability? I driven two indentical Cerbie's same year, engine etc. One was fast as hell the other my Figaro could beat. There is just no consistancy with these cars.

[adrianmugridge]

Paul

I've had my GT3 for 5 years and until 6 months ago it was my only car. I used to drive 50 miles to work and back, maybe 45 of that was motorway miles. You can reckon on £3k a year to run it.

Have a look at my site, www.adrianmugridge.co.uk under Esprit - GT3 - Running costs. All the costs are itemised so this should give you a very good idea of what to expect.

Adrian
[e-mail]
www.adrianmugridge.co.uk

[pdavison]

Thanks Adrian.

Would you recommend using one everyday and do you think the costs could be reduced if I used a specialist rather than a main dealer?

Also, does anyone know if there any Lotus specialists in the South East (Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire borders)?

Any more view points gratefully received !

[adrianmugridge]

Paul

Mine was used everyday for 5 years and an Esprit has been my only car for 12 years ( until now that is ). I large part of the costs are in labour ofcause. I pay £45/hour at a main dealer ( which is good, as a bet ford or someone would chrage more ). Larger dealerships down south charge £60 - £100 / hour but some specialists like SJ Sportscars in Devon charge £28/hour, so this would keep the costs down.

I think you'd be fine using it every day, as long as it's properly serviced and stuff.

Adrian

[dictys]

There a Lotus specialist just outside Windsor

Steve Williams
The Workshop
Common Farm
Eton Wick Road
Eton Wick
Windsor SL4 6PG

Tel: [phone]
email:[e-mail]

For other information and Lotus specialists check out kato's site
www.lotusespritworld.com

[rob.ellis]

I ran mine every day for 12 months as my only car, total 12k miles. No real problems to speak of. My commute is 100 miles per day, but luckily i don't have to do it every day. The clutch is a bit heavy in stop-start traffic (compared to my v8 anyway) but you get used to it.



A porsche would be a good choice too. Not much to choose really. Drive both and make your choice
I chose the esprit as its british, colin chapman designed, mid engined, exclusive etc. etc.

>> Edited by rob.ellis on Thursday 13th March 21:00

[pdavison]

Thanks for all the info.

Do you think the GT3 is the best option or would the S4s or V8s be a better choice for everyday use ?

[rob.ellis]

I'd say probably GT3. Things like gearbox etc are the same for all three cars, so the GT3 with the lowest power output should be putting the least strain on things, hence probably the most reliable.

Fuel economy is not an issue. I found very similar figures on my gt3 vs the v8 - both are about 22mpg or so on my commute.

[doct93]

I use my GT3 every day... I've had to use the garage's loan car some times- but mostly that's been for service's. It has always started (in 18 mths), always run, always got me to work...always been the best car in e car park, always been the most impractical..
I love it.
Tim B (97 GT3)