2010 Lotus Exige in Dubai, advice needed on some issues

[half-9]

Hi,

I'm looking at a 2010 Lotus Exige currently for sale in Dubai.

It shows 33k km, has sports and touring packs, methanol injection, AP racing front brakes which I assume come with the sports pack.

It has the following issues which are bothering me, any advice would be appreciated.

1. Owner said that a VIN number is not retrieved when the car is hooked up to diagnostic tools. It was like this when he bought it and is why the check engine light is on. Seems odd to me, don't know why the 2 might be linked.he mentioned it had something to do with bringing the car to GCC spec.

2. Interior looks like it's had better days, e.g. the leather on the passenger seat right at the bottom is not secured. The gear knob is worn, one vent broken, the roof lining is sagging. So to me the car looks like it's seen more kms. Assuming the odometer is km, the speedo shows km but trip meter shows miles?

3. There is a lot of play on the gear lever, so although it feels very positive when you select a gear, the lever itself can be wiggled from left to right much more than I was expecting. (sorry first time actually driving one)

4. There is a distinct rattle coming from behind me at idle, doesn't seem engine related though?

5. Exterior condition is average, some chips and scratches, rear fender has a small crack just above the wheel, i.e. untidy, but reasonable.

6. The methanol kit is an unknown for me, never heard of it before, owner is spraying distilled water into the air intake to keep the air intake temp down, as it gets very hot in Dubai, and claims injecting methanol increases bhp.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

H

[F.C.]

half-9 said:

Hi,

I'm looking at a 2010 Lotus Exige currently for sale in Dubai.

It shows 33k km, has sports and touring packs, methanol injection, AP racing front brakes which I assume come with the sports pack.

It has the following issues which are bothering me, any advice would be appreciated.

1. Owner said that a VIN number is not retrieved when the car is hooked up to diagnostic tools. It was like this when he bought it and is why the check engine light is on. Seems odd to me, don't know why the 2 might be linked.he mentioned it had something to do with bringing the car to GCC spec.

2. Interior looks like it's had better days, e.g. the leather on the passenger seat right at the bottom is not secured. The gear knob is worn, one vent broken, the roof lining is sagging. So to me the car looks like it's seen more kms. Assuming the odometer is km, the speedo shows km but trip meter shows miles?

3. There is a lot of play on the gear lever, so although it feels very positive when you select a gear, the lever itself can be wiggled from left to right much more than I was expecting. (sorry first time actually driving one)

4. There is a distinct rattle coming from behind me at idle, doesn't seem engine related though?

5. Exterior condition is average, some chips and scratches, rear fender has a small crack just above the wheel, i.e. untidy, but reasonable.

6. The methanol kit is an unknown for me, never heard of it before, owner is spraying distilled water into the air intake to keep the air intake temp down, as it gets very hot in Dubai, and claims injecting methanol increases bhp.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

H

Methanol injection will not increase bhp, it can help stop detonation.
what do the pedals look like?
If there is a lot of wear on them I suspect it may have had a "haircut" mileage wise
Does the rattle disappear when you depress the clutch?
If so its the thrust race, TADTS.
No 1. on your list sounds BS. the engine light could be anything.
Best steer clear IMO (unless you have a professional to have a look over it for you).
ETS of course if he only wants £25.00 that's a different matter

[cain-it]

Is it the white 240S advertised on Dubizzle?
If so the car originally came from Oman, I have the VIN details somewhere.
I've owned 10 Lotus' / 3 Exiges in Dubai over the years... I just sold my 'PERFECT CONDITION' 2010 Cup 260 last week, where were you?
If you want to know more give me a ring 0504506332

[over steer]

FWIW It is normal for the VINs on the ECU and the chassis not to match up, (Source: This is stated in the Reflash manual supplied by BOE). It is possible that the car was reflashed and some data erased, by a clumsy tuner.

Re: The millage I know first hand that changing the millage on an Exige is a 5 min job.

[half-9]

That's worrying.

How come it is so easy to manipulate the mileage?

Thanks
H

[over steer]

half-9 said:

That's worrying.

How come it is so easy to manipulate the mileage?

Thanks
H

Its easy enough on most cars. The Lotus is easier than most cars in that a BMW for instance stores the millage in two separate ECUs, one that feeds data to the instrument cluster, and one that stores data for diagnostics. The first is easy to change, the second one requires the calculation of a key (aprox €120 from some guys that offer the service over the internet with a 24hr turnaround). Whist you could only change the number on the dash cluster for a quick sale, taking the car to an agent would expose the actual milage the car has if both have not been changed.

Many dealer also keep rcords of the car's data every time it comes in the shop, so this is usually done on importation to a new country.

The Lotus just has the one overwritable file.

Edited by over steer on Sunday 14th December 11:17

[TobyLaRohne]

Avoid it like the plague if its the one advertised as a "ferrari killer".

Not a single thing about that advert makes me think that car would be anything other than dodgy, no propper pics of the car, just press shots, BS spouted by the person advertising and a complete fundamental lack of knowledge of their own cars abilities would have me running a mile.

The black JPS with gold stickers version that was up for sale before was the kind of example you'd want.

Wait for something better to come up.

[half-9]

Thanks!

Any views on the amount of play in the gear lever, is it a common issue? So what I mean is the travel left to right even when a gear is selected seems a bit on the high side.

H

[TobyLaRohne]

half-9 said:

Thanks!

Any views on the amount of play in the gear lever, is it a common issue? So what I mean is the travel left to right even when a gear is selected seems a bit on the high side.

H

I drove one the other day on track and I thought the same thing, the play in the gearstick was LandRover like.