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!

[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.

[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?

[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!

[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!