Couple of quick questions

[bananamana]

Hi Guys,
Had my Elise now for about 4 months now. Awesome! No major problems yet, not that im expecting any. Just a few questions

My car has done 31k miles and is a 02 Elise S2. Last service was a B service at 26k miles. Whats the deal with delaying the C service? It takes 3 hours to get to my nearest Lotus Dealer. The oil and all the standard service stuff that you would look at on a normal car is fine. The oil is crystal clear and plenty of it.

My soft top is leaking at the front corners on both sides (passenger side is the worst), ill get an image of this if needed. I prefer the soft top as its black and looks well with my black wheels. Any ideas on how to fix this? Its not the version with the tail like soft top. Its the good one apparently

Thanks

[Paul RN]

Has the cambelt been done at 4 years? Orginally it would be changed at the C service but Lotus reduce the interval to 4 years.

Theres a list on one of the links on the buyers guide on all of the other things checked at the C service might be worth having a look at that.

3 hours isn't that bad, book it in.

[TIPPER]

As above. Cam belts on K engined cars need changing every 4 years regardless of mileage. That's regardless of wether the car is due an A, B or C service.
When was the last service done? Service intervals are 9k or 12 months whichever is earlier or more frequently if you are tracking the car (rule of thumb -1 track miles = 10 road miles).
With regards doing a 6 hour round trip to Lotus dealer to get the work done - I wouldn't bother. There must be a specialist somewhere nearer. They often do a better job and are cheaper.
Failing that then a well trusted local garage to do the cambelt and basic servicing. At the end of the day its just a glorified Metro engine!!
The only area that I might have concerns with are the safety checks on the suspension. Find a place that understands the importance of having your suspension set up properly and the sensitivity of the Elise to wear and tear issues which go unnoticed in Euroboxes.
For your roof. Make sure you are stretching the front across the header bar properly and get some fabsil (waterproofer) and put plenty over the roof paying particular attention to the corners. Should sort the problem.

[bananamana]

Thank for the replies. I obviously need a C service. Will I notice a difference while driving after it? (What problems can it cause if delayed?)

I will try this waterproofer and hopefully it will fix my problem.

[dgr]

You'll notice a difference if the cam belt breaks before the service!

When mine have been serviced, they felt better afterwards, which could be my mind justifying the bill!

If the dealer is 3 hours away, is there a Lotus specialist closer? This could be cheaper and more convenient.