Thinking of selling the Elise - What's it worth?

[elise2000]

Hi

I'm thinking of selling my Series 1 Elise, and getting a series 2 or Exige. What does anyone think it's worth?

2001 X Reg
Azure Blue
Red leather interior
Black 12 spoke wheels
Elise S Spoiler
Series 2 Suspension
Eliseparts Exhaust
Full Service History - Main dealer/specialist. Last serviced only 1000 miles ago.
Nearly a years tax and mot

The bad bits - Front clam has many stone chips so could do with a respray. Mileage is 110,000.

Thanks!

Andrew

[TIPPER]

From that description there's not really a lot to make it stand out - Sorry.
Higher priced cars tend to have lots of goodies and recent expensive work (suspension refurb/radiator upgrade/etc, etc).
I reckon the real cost of a good Elise (after any necessary work is carried out to get it in good mechanical and cosmetic nick) is £10k and rising with very low miles (not always a good thing imo).
The miles on the engine wouldn't worry me (K engines are cheap anyway).
I'd take a look on Autotrader and here and see what you can come up with.

[kambites]

I'd say maybe seven grand. The mileage will always put people off.

[miro]

kambites said:

I'd say maybe seven grand. The mileage will always put people off.

£7400 - are s1 pedals less slippery than S2 pedals?

[boobles]

6k as mileage will put people of.

[Herman Toothrot]

elise2000 said:

Hi

I'm thinking of selling my Series 1 Elise, and getting a series 2 or Exige. What does anyone think it's worth?

2001 X Reg
Azure Blue
Red leather interior
Black 12 spoke wheels
Elise S Spoiler
Series 2 Suspension
Eliseparts Exhaust
Full Service History - Main dealer/specialist. Last serviced only 1000 miles ago.
Nearly a years tax and mot

The bad bits - Front clam has many stone chips so could do with a respray. Mileage is 110,000.

Thanks!

Andrew

I decided I wanted an Elise varient and so bought the VX220 this week. 2002 model 40,000 miles great condition, full history etc, £7600. So if i was still looking, for me to buy a S1 with a huge mileage it'd have to be around £5.5K but i'm sure you'll find someone who has to have an S1 Elise so £6.5K possibly more, they appear to be appreciating?

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Wednesday 22 July 10:45

[Mark B]

Herman Toothrot said:

I decided I wanted an Elise varient and so bought the VX220 this week. 2002 model 40,000 miles great condition, full history etc, £7600. So if i was still looking, for me to buy a S1 with a huge mileage it'd have to be around £5.5K but i'm sure you'll find someone who has to have an S1 Elise so £6.5K possibly more, they appear to be appreciating?

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Wednesday 22 July 10:45

Yes, but you bought the less desirable VX220 so to compare one with the other is impossible. The VX220 depreciates a lot worse than an Elise probably due to image or the high costs of repair should you have a problem, such as lights, clams etc etc. Aren't headlights circa £500 if you crack one?

I like the VX a lot, but you can't compare one price against another as they are different cars.

To the OP, I would suggest £7k as it sounds nice although, as others have said the mileage is against you.

[Herman Toothrot]

Mark B said:

Yes, but you bought the less desirable VX220 .

Yes its funny that, as look at an S1 and a VX220 and on merit I concluded the VX is more desirable. Lower Sills, S2 better roof, more reliable engine, more powerfull engine, younger, lower insurance.

What does the S1 offer? A Lotus badge and some cheaper parts?

I was the buyer looking for an Elise varient in the £7K to £8K range. I got a VX220, it was more desirable.

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Wednesday 22 July 12:06

[Mark B]

I didn't want to start a Lotus/VX discussion. The Lotus holds it's value as it is more desired by more people, the VX is a great car, just not sure I would want a car that will be so easily written off if crashed or cost a fortune should some smaller incidents happen.

Good luck with it though, they're great cars....... just not as quick as an S1

[boobles]

Unfortunately badge snobbery does exsist & i was one of them whilst in ownership of my 2 S1's but since moving away from Lotus & owning a Z3M Roadster & a 328 ci coupe, & briefly having the privelige of driving a Z4 coupe for a while its only then that you realize that there are better cars out there, alot better! Ok the Elise will be the best around a track & if its a track car you are after, the Elise wins hands down but for an everyday car then in my opinion, the vx is better along with lots of other cars as mentioned that can give you a massive smile on your face everytime you drive them. I will always love Elises but have become to realize that there is better out there for less money depending what you want it for.

[Stu_00]

boobles said:

Unfortunately badge snobbery does exsist & i was one of them whilst in ownership of my 2 S1's but since moving away from Lotus & owning a Z3M Roadster & a 328 ci coupe, & briefly having the privelige of driving a Z4 coupe for a while its only then that you realize that there are better cars out there, alot better! Ok the Elise will be the best around a track & if its a track car you are after, the Elise wins hands down but for an everyday car then in my opinion, the vx is better along with lots of other cars as mentioned that can give you a massive smile on your face everytime you drive them. I will always love Elises but have become to realize that there is better out there for less money depending what you want it for.

Interesting, do you notice anything different in running costs ? I am thinking about getting a Z4 Coupe for the winter but then again will I sell the Elise...........

[boobles]

Trust me, if you get a z4 coupe the Elise will become redundant! They are that good.
Slightly more expensive to run obviously, but well worth it.

[miro]

Z4M coupe vs S1 elise

I would have thought that the BMW would be quite alot more to run tyres heavier car more expensive tyres fuel economy? Tax disk? Brakes? etc etc and wouldn't it also cost a bit more to buy in the first place?

[boobles]

Nobody mentioned a z4m coupe, just the coupe. Yes they are more to buy & more expensive to run but the point i was trying to make, was my z3m roadster was about the same price as my elise & fairly cheap to run yet just as much fun with massive performance & fairly good handling.

[Stu_00]

miro said:

Z4M coupe vs S1 elise

I would have thought that the BMW would be quite alot more to run tyres heavier car more expensive tyres fuel economy? Tax disk? Brakes? etc etc and wouldn't it also cost a bit more to buy in the first place?

I have a 111R and the price is not radically different. I would prefer the 111R most of the time but at the moment I am running a BMW 118D alongside the 111R. I am thinking that I would like the comfort of the Z4M and love the M engine's, also would probably mean I could run a single car.

However I would probably become a Lotus in the summer again, as still love summer Elise ownership!

Weather I sell the Elise however will be intersting as not sure I can part with it !

Edited by Stu_00 on Wednesday 22 July 15:59

[Mark B]

Stick the BM on track for a day and tell me the running costs are similar.

There are thousands of cars better than an Elise according to the usage. But for a fun petrol head car, the Elise is hard to beat for driving, cost of running and track antics.

Horses for courses I suppose.

[TIPPER]

GLOL at the comparisons being made here
For pure driving fun and the ability to carry a bit of luggage when neccessary the Elise is pretty well unbeatable. An S1 is stripped out, raw, raucous, unadulterated fun. For commuting in all weathers an old Escort van is probably better.

[S Works]

As ever, it depends on condition. Colour combo's not to everyone's taste and the high mileage means that inevitably if it's not had a new rad, suspension refresh etc. then there are potential big bills coming.

What was the last service?
What tyres has it got and what state are they in?
When were the brakes last done (pads, discs and fluid)?
When was the suspension changed? At the time were other components other than the dampers changed... e.g. track rod ends, gaiters etc.
Has it ever had new wheel bearings?
When was the exhaust changed? Is it still on the original manifold?

Etc. etc. All of the above could generate enough bills in 2 years that make it a potentially expensive car at that mileage even at sy £6k

[crackthatoff]

sorry to hijack but mine has to go soon as well, I'm absolutely gutted she is my first sports car and have had her for 3 years now but have to jump on the property ladder at some point (the girlfriend is getting pissed off living in a bedroom at my parents).
could someone give me an idea on mine please.

04 saffron yellow 135R
28000 miles
full service history
newish a048's
larini clubsport
hurricaine
full aluminium radiator
mintex 1144's
jvc dvd player

few stone chips but nothing major.

cheers chaps