S1 buying guide?

[dick dastardly]

After about 5 years of threatening to do it I've finally made the decision to get an Elise.

I'm only going to have about £9K maximum to spend so will probably be looking for a car around P reg with 50,000+ miles.

Having had my fingers burnt on a few cars now I am going to go into buying this with my eyes wide open and use my head not my heart. Are there any definitive guides (on PH or elsewhere) of what to look out for on such a car? Has there been an Evo buying guide?

Thanks, DD

p.s. I can't fuckin wait!

[StuartB]

For starters:
www.elise-faq.info/content/buying/index.php
www.lotus-elise.nl/Buyers_Guide/buyers_guide.html

[Esprit]

Echo stuart's links... I was in your situation a few weeks bac... got my Lizzy now and she's everything I've dreamed of... they're a little more pricey over here than in the UK because of their rarity (less than 20 S1s in the country!) and also because in NZ warm-dry conditions they keep looking good for longer.

I got a mid-'98 example with only 15,800 miles... apart from stonechips on the front clam she's practically new... after a couple of weeks ownership and giving her some thorough check-overs, the only faults I can find are minor, easily fixed niggles.... it's a GREAT car and you'll love every minute of ownership.... well, ALMOST every minute Good luck!

[Mr_C]

Look in the classifieds section on here mate, generally people who come on here appreciate their cars and as such are A1!

buy the best you can afford, not the 1st one you see - thats the advice i was given when i was looking and it seemed to pay off. i was looking at S/T reg's with 30 - 40k miles and ended up with my 97 P reg with 18k on it for a touch over £10k, which was absolutely mint.

don't buy one just cos your won over by the colour... although i was lucky in finding a calypso red one like i wanted!

happy hunting

Paul

[Andrew101]

I assume you have test driven a few?

A mechanical test is to drive slowly over a badly kept road, the koni's will cause knocking but you should not get any knocking/loose feedback through the wheel. Choose the one that does this the least.

Dead steering area should be minimal and buy the one which has the least/no dead area.

Not a mechanic but I was given such advice from a Lotus garage prior to buying. They all squeak and rattle to some degree but as the engine is right behind your ears I doubt you'll notice after a while.

[dick dastardly]

I haven't driven any yet but plan to change that ASAP. I've been the passenger in a few so have a little idea of what to expect.

Thanks for all the tips so far, I'll be printing them off and making a little file to take with me to viewings.

[Mr_C]

there is a very good buying guide in Practical Performance Car this month by the way.

covers most aspects of the car and what to look for

[Davey S1]

Good job Dick.

I thought you had been spending a lot more time in here recently.

Loads around at the moment so take your time and go and see a few.

[Andrew101]

Must be tested on bad roads though (not too difficult in this country).

Not sure what you expect, but punch it above 80 in high revs and see if it is for you. Not alot of power for quite alot of noise. Also, slow over rough roads is a good 'will this annoy me after a while' test. Don't bother taking it onto the B roads and twistys as you'll only end up forcing the cash into the sellers hand and buying the first one you see.

[dick dastardly]

Mr_C said:

there is a very good buying guide in Practical Performance Car this month by the way. covers most aspects of the car and what to look for

Do you know which issue this is or what's on the cover? I just picked up the one in WHS and there was no mention of the Elise?

[Mr_C]

yeah there is a frogeye sprite and an MG on the cover with K series conversions and a little pic of a calypso red S1 in the top right corner.

i got it last week from WHSmiths.

[S Works]

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=15&t=157996
Lotus tech subjects

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=15&t=158457
general advice

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=15&t=158098
General advice + insurance numbers + the most comprehensive links list ever from Henry!

Main thing is buy carefully and get it checked out by a specialist before you complete the deal - this could save you a fortune and you will be going in with your eyes open. DO NOT use AA or RAC checks, waste of money and cost more than a specialist checkup generally.

Best of luck, get a good one and you'll be utterly delighted

[dick dastardly]

Thanks all and to the guy who emailed me, I tried to reply to say thanks but it wouldn't let me.

Does anyone know this car? www.revspeed.co.uk/

[S Works]

Nope but seems a keen price. Will need to get new tyres though, it appears to be running on P0's which are cack, cack, cack.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - get any car you're considering buying checked by a Lotus specialist.

[steff]

Excellent choice Dick.

Get Andy Stanford who does a lot of servicing/re-builds for the S.Wales Club Lotus guys to take a look at any prospective purchase as he knows his onions.If you want his number give me a shout.

aaand there's a Club Lotus Track day at Castle Combe on Saturday you may find some cars for sale there.

good luck.

[dick dastardly]

steff said:

Excellent choice Dick. Get Andy Stanford who does a lot of servicing/re-builds for the S.Wales Club Lotus guys to take a look at any prospective purchase as he knows his onions.If you want his number give me a shout. aaand there's a Club Lotus Track day at Castle Combe on Saturday you may find some cars for sale there. good luck.

Thanks mate, if you could email me his number when you have a chance I'd really appreciate it & I'll be at Combe tomorrow afternoon with BadApple.