As you'd expect of an engine sourced from Toyota, the 2ZZ-GE motor in the Exige is extremely reliable. Everyone we've spoken to has praised it to the hilt for the way it just keeps going and willingly revs to 8500rpm. Service intervals are every 9,000 miles or 12 months, so make sure this has been adhered to by checking the service records. Cars used mainly on track will benefit from more regular oil changes. Expect a routine service to cost around £200 and a major scheduled stop about twice that at a specialist. A Roots-type Eaton M62 supercharger is used and has proven to be fault-free.
The Toyota six-speed manual gearbox is pretty tough, but synchromesh can wear out and it's most noticeable on changing into third gear or when going from third to second. Make sure you test drive the car from cold to check for this. If it does make a crunch, it's not the end of the world as the transmission isn't likely to suffer a major failure, but it's something to be aware of and drive around with slower, more deliberate shifts before budgeting for a rebuild.
Also, still on the gearbox, Jamie Matthews at Bell and Colvill reckons the Toyota unit is good for up to 270hp, which means all of the factory models are well within limits. However, cars that have been tuned beyond that point may start to put more strain on the transmission and suffer failures as a result. The clutch doesn't suffer unduly in the Exige, again because of the car's low mass, but a new one will set you back about £300 or £400 for an uprated item to cope better with track use.
Popular upgrades to give more power are a new exhaust, such as the ones from Hangar111 that cost from £400 for a sports catalytic convertor, and uprated fuel injectors. Together, these mods can add 40hp. If you want to go further, you'll be looking at a new charge cooling system, uprated fuel pump and injectors, improved ECU and different supercharger pulley. A complete kit from Hangar111 that offers 300hp comes in at £5,000. You should also be looking at a baffled sump or Accusump oil accumulator when going to this end of the tuning spectrum.
The original radiator has plastic end caps that peel back and leak over time. Most will have been replaced with an alloy radiator that won't split and drop coolant. The easy way to check is to look through the front grille mesh to see if the radiator is all black, in which case it's the original and you should budget £250 for a replacement. A new rad is not expensive, but the front clamshell has to be removed to do the work and that racks up the labour charges.
As Exiges tend to be third cars for occasional use, the battery can go flat. A trickle charger will help here, but specialists recommend running the car up to full temperature at least once every couple of weeks to avoid electrical gremlins as a result of sitting idle.
PHer's view
"I owned the car for about two years and mainly used it for track days, although I did cover a few thousand road miles in it too. From memory the car was faultless and other than a few oil services and a pair of rear Yokohama Advan A048s it didn't need anything else."
Dan Nichols