Yearly maintainence costs for early Esprit's

[kunstenaar]

Was wondering if anyone here had an estimate on yearly maintainence costs for an S1 Esprit.
Let's say its a clean and well running 8 out of 10 to start with.

I'm a long time Lotus fanatic who has never been able to purchase my prized mark because of potential ownership costs. At this time I might be able to purchase my beloved S1 Esprit, but I'd like to get a better estimate on yearly running costs to see if I can truly afford to.

Any guesses?

[ErnestM]

How much did you make last year?

Just kidding. I firmly believe that running costs are directly related to the care taken of the vehicle regardless of the year. Actually finding some rare parts for an earlier model was a problem, but it is getting better as third parties are fabricating replacements...

Buy one, you know you want to...

ErnestM

[andersb]

purchasing a good condition s1 might seem cheap but the costs will b higher? the earlier models were more prone to going wrong than the latter so it could be expensive. you would b better off going for an s3

[727driver]

Buy as new as you can afford. I believe that maintenance costs are directly proportionate to the model year of your car. It also helps to do some of the work on your own. I am only somewhat mechanically inclined and I was able to do most maintenance on my 93 Esprit(replace shifter cable, oil change, window up/down switch) myself. Ok my buddy Mark helped out alot. If you buy one you'll find lots of support from the Lotus community. Good luck.

[lciiiboy]

I'm in the same place you are - on the verge of ownership of the long coveted dream. I painfully watched a local S1 sell for $10000 CDN not too long ago, and believe me I was tempted. What prevented me from buying it (in addition to my wife, of course) was exactly your question - how much more will I be paying after I buy it. I found good advice about DIY maintenance on the internet, and parts, while rare, can be found. 10K I can swallow, but how much more? Quite a connundrum.

[car-tony]

I have an 83 Turbo. This car was purchased Nov 01 and I've put 5000 miles on it and have had NO! problems. This was a car that had sat in storage most its life and was rarely driven. I must agree with most owners that a driver will last longer than a garage queen. I recently had the timing belt done because of its age and it set me back 380$ plus the price of the belt. Thats it...less than 400 bucks in 7mos. Good luck? I think if you get your car and listen to what it tells you it needs, stay on top of the little items, your Lotus will give you LOTS of rewards!! Take care.

[RyanSheldon]

I just bought a '90 SE. I anticipate the first year of ownership will be much more expensive the the comming years because I am updating many parts to new condition. I have never worked on any car before in my life. I live in a place where people think my Lotus is a Ferrari or Lambo, so getting local service is impossible to say the least. The Esprit is very easy to work on yourself, think of it as a very fast go-cart with a really cool body. Just make sure the engine and transmission is strong, you can probably handle the rest yourself and it will save you bucks. If you are do not plan to work on the car yourself, then buy the Lotus repair manual and reconsider.

[tribeco]

I have had an S1 for almost a year now. It's condition when purchased was probably 7 out of 10. So far I'm up to $4,000.00!!! Car was running fairly well when I bought it but things have broken as time went on. (Apparently, the previous owner let the car sit for a year before I bought it. When you see people here write that you must drive your car often, believe them!) New clutch lines and cylinders, new input shaft, new rear bearing, new water pump, a couple of new electronic parts, re-seat the tranny mounts (tranny mounts are just rubber, the engine had slid forward enough during a braking maneuver that the timing belt was rubbing on the firewall!). While the mechanic had the engine out, I replaced the timing belt even though the previous owner claimed it was changed 2000 miles previously (can't be too careful!)
And with all that (and many other little things as well) my mechanic offered to change my Zenith Stromberg carburetor to the Dellorto setup that I had on the shelf (came with the car) for free! (sure is a rich deep bellow with those Dellortos, it really turns the heads when I drive by!) Now I am considering a frame-off restoration within the next six months. That should cost a pretty penny! My mechanic just completed a similar restoration for an S1 Esprit. It cost the owner 50K! Now he will be able to sell it for as much as 10K! You have to really love these cars to get that kind of return!