Newbie looking for an S2 111S

[ellerington]

Hi everyone, another newbie looking for a Lotus here I'm afraid! I'm ideally looking for an Elise S2 111S (although other variants considered) and have around £13-14k to spend, depending on mileage/condition. Have been scouring the usual places for a few weeks now but the market is pretty flat, so I'm assuming most owners thinking of selling are holding on to their cars until the spring. Ideally looking for something with sub 50k miles if possible.

On the off chance that anyone is thinking of selling between now and February feel free to get in touch - [e-mail]. My company car goes back early Feb so looking to get something in the garage before then.

Any advice, leads, contacts, etc would be much appreciated!

[Russell Mc]

Sent you an email

[lee111s]

I've just bought one last month but have owned before.

Don't be put off by high millage cars, providing they have a solid service history. At around 50k the car will more porbably be ready for a full suspension refresh which will cost aroun £2k if you get an local indy to do the work and will include new springs/dampers, shotblasted and coating the wishbones and uprights etc along with new bushes, ball joints, TRE etc too.

I've just bought a one with 100k on the clock but at a price that will enable me to spend a few £k getting it in a much better condition that one I would have spent that extra few grand on purchasing.

[lee111s]

I've just bought one last month but have owned before.

Don't be put off by high millage cars, providing they have a solid service history. At around 50k the car will more porbably be ready for a full suspension refresh which will cost aroun £2k if you get an local indy to do the work and will include new springs/dampers, shotblasted and coating the wishbones and uprights etc along with new bushes, ball joints, TRE etc too.

I've just bought a one with 100k on the clock but at a price that will enable me to spend a few £k getting it in a much better condition that one I would have spent that extra few grand on purchasing.

[kambites]

I'd go further and say even service history in the conventional sense doesn't really matter very much either. It's a very simple car and the engine is worth peanuts so IMO actual routine servicing is far less important than on most cars.

As long as I know when the last suspension refresh was and what it entailed, I'd happily buy a car with no other service history at all. Condition and spec is everything.

[grumpy]

As said, simple to service. Make sure you know when the timimg belts were changed, I can't remember the frequency, but as in most cars it's a must.

[ellerington]

Thanks for the advice guys, really helpful. Weighing up a £70k Elise vs a 20k mileage Elise at the moment.

The lower mileage car has done very little mileage over the last 4 years or so (few hundred a year) but has been serviced annually and is in good condition. Should I be concerned about wear and tear from lack of use? Do you think suspension refresh may be required despite the low mileage?

The low mileage appeals to me from a resale perspective (my thinking is it'd be easier to sell if the mileage isn't creeping up to £100k by the time I come to sell). However, there's obviously a big saving to be made up front on a higher mileage car.

[kambites]

grumpy said:

As said, simple to service. Make sure you know when the timimg belts were changed, I can't remember the frequency, but as in most cars it's a must.

It's every four years, although the same engine is six years in most cars and timing belt faults are not the norm.

I wouldn't be put off by either mileage but they'd cause me to check different things. The higher mileage car is likely to need to new dampers and bushes if they haven't been changed and might be getting to the point where the steering rack needs doing. The lower mileage car's dampers should be fine but the bushes might still be knackered and there's a good chance you'll have to replace the tyres almost immediately due to age (check the date code on the side-wall).

The higher mileage car is also probably more likely to have certain upgrades/fixes because some parts are more likely to have failed already if it hasn't been a garage queen; check the buyers guide stickied at the top of this forum for information on what to look for but the most obvious things are probably the heater fan resistor pack and the head gasket. Ideally both should have been replaced with upgraded components, although there's an awful lot of debate about which head gasket bits are best.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 25th November 09:13

[ellerington]

Thanks guys. Timing belt on the low mileage car was done two years ago and by the looks of it the tyres were replaced last year, so should be fine. Bushes (according to the mechanic) are in good condition, but obviously this would be inspected.

Anything else to be looking out for on a low mileage Elise?

[itcaptainslow]

In addition to suspension-rear toe links (notorious weak point) and steering racks. The rear toe links aren't too expensive to replace (ideally upgrade to an Elise Parts kit, especially if doing trackdays or running sticky tyres) but racks can get expensive if you can't DIY it.

As stated already-the Rover K Series is a cheap and easy engine to repair and there's a plentiful supply of secondhand units, even VVC engines (ZR160/MGF/TF). Suspension/chassis condition is the most expensive bit to sort, followed by bodywork and interior. Engine comes low down on the list comparatively.

Does it have to be a S2 or would you consider a S1? They're more fun, you know...

[ellerington]

itcaptainslow said:

In addition to suspension-rear toe links (notorious weak point) and steering racks. The rear toe links aren't too expensive to replace (ideally upgrade to an Elise Parts kit, especially if doing trackdays or running sticky tyres) but racks can get expensive if you can't DIY it.

As stated already-the Rover K Series is a cheap and easy engine to repair and there's a plentiful supply of secondhand units, even VVC engines (ZR160/MGF/TF). Suspension/chassis condition is the most expensive bit to sort, followed by bodywork and interior. Engine comes low down on the list comparatively.

Does it have to be a S2 or would you consider a S1? They're more fun, you know...

Thanks for the advice - really helpful. Prefer the styling of the S2 to be honest, call me shallow!

[grumpy]

Check the heater blower works on all three speeds, the resistor pack will fail, an up-grade is available but it's a clam off job to replace it. (As are aircon problems).
Check the central locking is working the CDL unit is prone to failure.
Check all the lights are working, what looks like a lamp out could be the lighting module, crap idea, all the lighting relays on one circuit board.
The 111S comes with a hardtop as standard, check it's still with the car.

[un1eash]

Hardtop was only standard on later 111S, as was electric windows.

[itcaptainslow]

ellerington said:

Thanks for the advice - really helpful. Prefer the styling of the S2 to be honest, call me shallow!

Not at all-you have to look at it every time you get in it, so buy what you really want

May be worth dropping WillB a PM on SELOC-he's got a good reputation and he seems to usually be able to source you a car if you're looking seriously. I can also recommend Jamie @ Bell & Colvill-he was absolutely superb when I bought my S1 from them, top notch buying experience. Not the cheapest car around, but the service and backup given was worth it and took all the stress out of buying a potentially fragile 13 year old (at the time) British sports car.

[kambites]

I would highly recommend getting a car with air conditioning if you intend to keep it outdoors. It's almost impossible to keep the cabin from misting (and in the winter icing) up without it. However, the AC stuff is pretty heavy so if you have a garage get one without.

[walm]

grumpy said:

Check the heater blower works on all three speeds, the resistor pack will fail, an up-grade is available but it's a clam off job to replace it. (As are aircon problems).
Check the central locking is working the CDL unit is prone to failure.
Check all the lights are working, what looks like a lamp out could be the lighting module, crap idea, all the lighting relays on one circuit board.
The 111S comes with a hardtop as standard, check it's still with the car.

This is all very good stuff.

One point on the versions - the MY04 (IIRC) was an upgrade which I think make it far easier to sell on.
The easy spot on whether you have MY04 or the earlier version is the electric windows.

Also may be worth checking on HGF history.
My understanding is that a good fix on the HGF can last for a while but it is something you just have to expect will happen to you eventually...

Kambites is right on AC but this too can be a nightmare since when it breaks it is clam off to fix.
My solution was to try not to breathe when I got in and to drive with open windows for the first 5 miles or so.

[ellerington]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Have put a deposit down on an early S2 111S today - decided to get a pre-purchase inspection done by a local specialist garage who confirmed that the car is in excellent condition for the year. None of the issues mentioned here were evident - a couple of minor issues to address, but nothing important - they said I'd be hard pressed to find another 111S this good/genuine with such low miles for the price I'm paying.

Can't wait to get my hands on it now. Got a 4-5 hour drive home to do, think I might find some good roads and make it more like 6-7 hours

Will post pictures once I get chance and will no doubt be asking plenty more questions on here during ownership. Thanks again!

[kambites]

I had a similar length drive home when I bought mine... it absolutely pissed it down.

[andy_s]

ellerington said:

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Have put a deposit down on an early S2 111S today - decided to get a pre-purchase inspection done by a local specialist garage who confirmed that the car is in excellent condition for the year. None of the issues mentioned here were evident - a couple of minor issues to address, but nothing important - they said I'd be hard pressed to find another 111S this good/genuine with such low miles for the price I'm paying.

Can't wait to get my hands on it now. Got a 4-5 hour drive home to do, think I might find some good roads and make it more like 6-7 hours

Will post pictures once I get chance and will no doubt be asking plenty more questions on here during ownership. Thanks again!

Good on you - sounds like a good one, hope you enjoy it.

I've just had the call that mine (MY02 111S) is a write-off after a chassis bending off-road excursion, a real shame as I think they are classics in the making - the last totally analogue sports car perhaps?

Still, plan is to take a year off, pot the money away and start to look for a V6 Exige next year...

[kambites]

It's not totally analogue - it's got EFI.