Discussion
I went to see a 1999 111s yesterday,1 owner from new, 51k for £9999, car looked nice and drove well but 2 things are worrying me. its for sale by a non specialist dealer and the service book is stamped by lotus up to 2003 then nothing. the dealer claimes that this is because the previvious owner has only done 2k per year over the last 5 years so is 10k since last service (ffs). the garage has serviced it themselves changed belts oil filters etc but i doubt they know anything about lotus suspension etc. the other worry is that they have given it a full respray (because of the stone chips sir)
I'm in no rush as i still need to sell the boxster so should i walk away??
the reg is V430DRS if anyone out there knows the car.oh and the front bonnet is very loose and wobbly on the hinge, my last elise wasnt, is this common?
cheers
I'm in no rush as i still need to sell the boxster so should i walk away??
the reg is V430DRS if anyone out there knows the car.oh and the front bonnet is very loose and wobbly on the hinge, my last elise wasnt, is this common?
cheers
To be honest if I was buying an Elise, anything dodgy whatsoever I would just walk away. Just looking at the classifieds on here there seem to be plenty of good examples with full service history etc for the same sort of money as you are looking at, and you could easily pick up a mint S1 for not much more so I would say its really not worth the hassle of worrying about something you are not 100% happy with.
It's a buyers market mate. Personally I wouldn't worry about the servicing issue, especially if they've given it what amounts to a 'C' service anyway. I'm sure others will disagree, but it's only a Rover engine.
Don't worry about the front bonnet. It's meant to be held in place by three screws. Mine currently hangs on with one, doesn't bother me, just a bit of jiggling around opens and closes it.
Despite the above...........If you're not happy, then walk away. There's loads of cars out there and the lack of service history would indicate that the car wasn't owned by a nutter like me who loved it and looked after it religiously. As you say, you're in no rush, so keep looking, the 'right' car may come up......
Don't worry about the front bonnet. It's meant to be held in place by three screws. Mine currently hangs on with one, doesn't bother me, just a bit of jiggling around opens and closes it.
Despite the above...........If you're not happy, then walk away. There's loads of cars out there and the lack of service history would indicate that the car wasn't owned by a nutter like me who loved it and looked after it religiously. As you say, you're in no rush, so keep looking, the 'right' car may come up......
On the wobbly hinge thing... my '98 S1 Elise wasn't that wobbly, but my '01 Exige is. Don't know whether they made a change, but my Exige one doesn't seem to be broken or anything, it's just more wobbly than the old one. Perhaps they changed the hinge to a plastic one or something in production? *shrug*
There are a lot of cars out there so if you are not 100% then walk.
Having said that the elise, from a servicing perspective, is a boggo simple car in a shell that looks sporty. The engine absolutely any idiot, even the local YTS monkey, can service. Its just a rover lump after all, get a full service in with the cost and make sure the belts are changed and you will be fine.
The gearbox will feel like a bucket of spanners but that is because the gearboxes on the rover engined cars are truly rubbish. as long as it goes into gear OK, it probably is, it may crunch going into reverse but they all do that, if it does put it into 1st first and then go to reverse - that seems to cure the crunch sometimes.
Assuming the tyres are not brand new then look at the wear as you would for any car. Suspension geometry is the one area that probably does need a specialist so you could get it checked but as long as that Ok that really is about it apart form normal body checks etc.
It is very easy to get a bit blinded by the Elise into thinking it some kind of exotic. It isnt, it just sort of looks it. Lotus's reputation was always built on lightness and simple, effective engineering.
If its being bought from a dealer, specialist or not, they have to give you a warrenty. So make sure that is rock solid and enjoy!
Having said that the elise, from a servicing perspective, is a boggo simple car in a shell that looks sporty. The engine absolutely any idiot, even the local YTS monkey, can service. Its just a rover lump after all, get a full service in with the cost and make sure the belts are changed and you will be fine.
The gearbox will feel like a bucket of spanners but that is because the gearboxes on the rover engined cars are truly rubbish. as long as it goes into gear OK, it probably is, it may crunch going into reverse but they all do that, if it does put it into 1st first and then go to reverse - that seems to cure the crunch sometimes.
Assuming the tyres are not brand new then look at the wear as you would for any car. Suspension geometry is the one area that probably does need a specialist so you could get it checked but as long as that Ok that really is about it apart form normal body checks etc.
It is very easy to get a bit blinded by the Elise into thinking it some kind of exotic. It isnt, it just sort of looks it. Lotus's reputation was always built on lightness and simple, effective engineering.
If its being bought from a dealer, specialist or not, they have to give you a warrenty. So make sure that is rock solid and enjoy!
I think it is about the price you can expect to pay for a 111S. There are plenty 111 S1 for that so it is certainly not over priced.
It is 9 years old, even a low milage one has its faults this come with the age of the car.
I would have a look at the car with all four wheels off to check for any damage to the mounting points to the wishbone etc.
As I said with the cars age, it is not surprising it has been respaired, I have seen 3 cars like that and two of them needed respraying.
If you have not seen that many or driven them, go to a couple of dealers and have a look to see what you get with a car 9 years old.
I have a S1 1997 and a 111S 1999; I have changed the suspension on both even though they only have 10 000 and 14 000 miles respectivily.
You will love the S over the standard!
francelise
It is 9 years old, even a low milage one has its faults this come with the age of the car.
I would have a look at the car with all four wheels off to check for any damage to the mounting points to the wishbone etc.
As I said with the cars age, it is not surprising it has been respaired, I have seen 3 cars like that and two of them needed respraying.
If you have not seen that many or driven them, go to a couple of dealers and have a look to see what you get with a car 9 years old.
I have a S1 1997 and a 111S 1999; I have changed the suspension on both even though they only have 10 000 and 14 000 miles respectivily.
You will love the S over the standard!
francelise
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