And so it begins.......

[Lake_M]

Just a quick hello to everyone here on the Elise / Exige forum. I've been lurking for a couple of weeks now and I like what I see - good humour and excellent knowledge from down to earth folk who clearly love their cars and are passionate about the subject. In a way, it's what has drawn me toward the Lotus community, it's almost a family atmosphere.

Anyway, enough blowing smoke up your a****. I'll soon be in the hunt for my first Lotus- having just sold my beloved RS4 avant, I needed cash for a house project and had to say goodbye a couple of weeks ago. A Qashqai (pronounced cash-cow) will do the family duties, but that will never do the business for my speed lust. As I want to try tracking (I'm willing to take lessons) after coming close to loosing my license on several occassions in the RS, it seems the sensible thing to do.

After trawling autotrader, pistonheads and just about every other on-line publication, I think I've settled on the Exige S, but I'd like to test drive both Elise and Exige for comparison. Budget is a moving target at the moment but it won't be new.

A couple of questions...

1. How easy is it to get a test drive from a dealer? Not many around and I suspect they're loath to let too many folk rag their little treasures around the countryside. Or am I wrong?

2. I like to think I could pick up a decent example of an S for under 30k with less than 10k miles. Is high milage an issue other than poor resale?

I guess that's it for now...appreciate your comments and I'll let you know how I get on in the hunt...!!

Andy.

[subaqua]

Getting a test drive from a dealer shouldn't really be a problem, though I expect it'd probably be an accompanied one if they don't know you already. Make sure you get to try a couple of the models, as while the basic recipe is the same, each car/engine combination has its own particular character. Oh and its a Lotus... so just because its got more BHP, doesn't necessarily mean its going to be more enjoyable, when I test drove an Exige S.. I thought it was a hoot, because I did blitz past anyone I wanted, retty much anywhere I waned, I did find that it was so easy to overtake people, the experience was lessened a little because the challenge was different.

Some people get hung up on mileage on Lotus' but personally I wouldn't. Some guys advertise a 12 month old 3k mile car for 5k under list and wonder why the phone doesn't ring... those cars dont get bought (you could get close to the same deal on a showroom car probably). Personally, I'd go for the reasonably priced 10k mile car that will have been driven rather than garaged and the owner will probably have got the dealer to iron out any niggles once its had its services.

The thing you wont realise yet because you haven't driven one... is that the happiest Lotus owners are the ones that get out in their cars the most. Yes, there is a little incremental depreciation on the cars that have covered a little more mileage... but the more you drive one, the more you smile... You buy one to drive it, not to leave it in the garage.

Edited by subaqua on Sunday 13th April 23:23

Edited by subaqua on Sunday 13th April 23:27

[andy_s]

[OT]Getting my posh-cow next week - any probs with yours?[/OT]

Good luck with your search - is the new elise sc not on your radar?

Edited by andy_s on Monday 14th April 12:02

[Gad-Westy]

Will be good to see another Lotus in the North East. F1 in Newcastle have a couple of Exige S's that may well be worth a look. By chance, I drove past the Leeds Lotus/Ferrari dealership yesterday and it looks like they have a few as well (a rather fetching orange one caught my eye) so might be worth a trip down there to have a look.

[Lake_M]

subaqua said:

Getting a test drive from a dealer shouldn't really be a problem, though I expect it'd probably be an accompanied one if they don't know you already. Make sure you get to try a couple of the models, as while the basic recipe is the same, each car/engine combination has its own particular character. Oh and its a Lotus... so just because its got more BHP, doesn't necessarily mean its going to be more enjoyable, when I test drove an Exige S.. I thought it was a hoot, because I did blitz past anyone I wanted, retty much anywhere I waned, I did find that it was so easy to overtake people, the experience was lessened a little because the challenge was different.

Some people get hung up on mileage on Lotus' but personally I wouldn't. Some guys advertise a 12 month old 3k mile car for 5k under list and wonder why the phone doesn't ring... those cars dont get bought (you could get close to the same deal on a showroom car probably). Personally, I'd go for the reasonably priced 10k mile car that will have been driven rather than garaged and the owner will probably have got the dealer to iron out any niggles once its had its services.

The thing you wont realise yet because you haven't driven one... is that the happiest Lotus owners are the ones that get out in their cars the most. Yes, there is a little incremental depreciation on the cars that have covered a little more mileage... but the more you drive one, the more you smile... You buy one to drive it, not to leave it in the garage.

Edited by subaqua on Sunday 13th April 23:23

Edited by subaqua on Sunday 13th April 23:27

Thanks for the reply. There's some good advise there.
The car will be driven don't worry about that! I'm not overly worried about the depreciation, it will small compared to the hit I normally take (Alfa Romeo anyone?). The RS held it's value incredible well for a car of that type which is why the time was right to get shot.

I'll be ringing round a couple of the local dealers as a start and see what they say for test drives.

Andy.

Edited by Lake_M on Monday 14th April 13:10

[Lake_M]

andy_s][OT said:

Getting my posh-cow next week - any probs with yours?[/OT]

Good luck with your search - is the new elise sc not on your radar?

Edited by andy_s on Monday 14th April 12:02

I pick it up on 29th April. Running around in a 1.2 Fiesta at the mo !!!!

The SC is a bit above my budget but we'll what happens in the next couple of months. I can't see them dropping just yet. Sounds as though there may be one or two teething problems reading threads on here.
I must say, at the moment it's the Exige S that is whetting my appetite but that may change after a test drive.

[Lake_M]

Gad-Westy said:

Will be good to see another Lotus in the North East. F1 in Newcastle have a couple of Exige S's that may well be worth a look. By chance, I drove past the Leeds Lotus/Ferrari dealership yesterday and it looks like they have a few as well (a rather fetching orange one caught my eye) so might be worth a trip down there to have a look.

You're right! Don't see that many around these parts. Once I get the garage sorted (Finished July hopefully) it's "all system go."

[Ikemi]

If the dealer wants to sell the car then they will definitely offer you a test drive ... It would be madness to expect someone to purchase a car without driving it first, no matter what the pricetag! Test as many variants as possible - As someone has already said, they all have their own unique characteristics, as well as differing in upgrades that previous owners have had installed. I'd look at the Exige S, 111R and perhaps even the 111S/135R? Supposedly the lesser powered variants are more involving, although I don't know from experience ...

Be sure that if you go for the Exige S you get one with aircon

No matter what Elise/Exige you buy, you'll absolutely love it! You'll be choosing the long route for every journey ... I've done 21,000 miles in one year on mine and I only work 13 miles from my home!

Have fun searching and let us know what you get