Buying an elise with no service history?? Advice Please
Discussion
Hi Guys,
A fried of mine is currently looking to buy a Series 2 elise and has found what looks like it could be a bargain. However the car has no service history as it has been maintained by it's previous owners.
Is there anything obvious / in particular to look for on the series 2 elise that may indicate if it has indeed been well cared for??
The car is a 2001 elise 135R John Player Special edition, 54,000 miles, No service history! Currently advertised for £9,995 however we think there must be room to negotiate...
What do you think, too risky??
Thanks in advance
A fried of mine is currently looking to buy a Series 2 elise and has found what looks like it could be a bargain. However the car has no service history as it has been maintained by it's previous owners.
Is there anything obvious / in particular to look for on the series 2 elise that may indicate if it has indeed been well cared for??
The car is a 2001 elise 135R John Player Special edition, 54,000 miles, No service history! Currently advertised for £9,995 however we think there must be room to negotiate...
What do you think, too risky??
Thanks in advance
As long as it's tidy and works what does it matter about having a bit of paper to say it might have been serviced??
They are not complex cars. If worried get someone to do a full independent check on it. And make sure it's ok. And maybe budget to go and have it serviced once purchased.
They are not complex cars. If worried get someone to do a full independent check on it. And make sure it's ok. And maybe budget to go and have it serviced once purchased.
Theres plenty Lotus for sale, in my experience if your doubting the car before you have even bought it walk away and find yourself a car with full sh and keep your mind at rest. For all they are simple cars its hardly worthwhile buying something that could end up costing you more money than neccesary.
Buying a car without a FSH would not put me off, providing the owner could back up the services with bills for the work, if it was carried out by local garages, or parts if done by themselves. I have worked on Elises and the A and B services are hardly taxing or time consuming.
Large work, such as HG changes or cam belts I would prefer to see bills and reciepts as these are not your average fix.
Speak to the owner and gauge them on how they come across.
Large work, such as HG changes or cam belts I would prefer to see bills and reciepts as these are not your average fix.
Speak to the owner and gauge them on how they come across.
Not necessarily. The Sport 135 kit was available as an optional fit, either from the factory, or as an upgrade from Lotus. No service history at all will make it hard to sell in future, but the only thing other than that I'd say is "caveat emptor". Probably best to have it checked over by a good independent - the £150 or so you'll pay could be a very worthwhile investment in time and money, just to make sure you know what you're getting for your money.
S Works said:
Not necessarily. The Sport 135 kit was available as an optional fit, either from the factory, or as an upgrade from Lotus. No service history at all will make it hard to sell in future, but the only thing other than that I'd say is "caveat emptor". Probably best to have it checked over by a good independent - the £150 or so you'll pay could be a very worthwhile investment in time and money, just to make sure you know what you're getting for your money.
in all fairness he did claim it was advertised as a 135R not sport though, which sounds a little fishy!This is the link to car if anybody can help identify what it actually is?
http://www.evanshalshaw.com/v2/used_car_details.ht...
It is advertised as a 135 not 135R as stated above, my mistake!
Not seen the car in the flesh as yet but I reckon it must be worth a look!
http://www.evanshalshaw.com/v2/used_car_details.ht...
It is advertised as a 135 not 135R as stated above, my mistake!
Not seen the car in the flesh as yet but I reckon it must be worth a look!
Edited by coltonbob on Tuesday 7th October 01:14
The ad does state Sport 135, so this might well be true!
Also, this is a large and well known dealer network, not some spiv down a back alley. If they are selling a car that isn't what they say it is you can have them prosecuted (or at least investigated) under the Trades Descriptions Act..?
JJ
Also, this is a large and well known dealer network, not some spiv down a back alley. If they are selling a car that isn't what they say it is you can have them prosecuted (or at least investigated) under the Trades Descriptions Act..?
JJ
Edited by jazzyjeff on Tuesday 7th October 09:32
coltonbob said:
This is the link to car if anybody can help identify what it actually is?
http://www.evanshalshaw.com/v2/used_car_details.ht...
It is advertised as a 135 not 135R as stated above, my mistake!
Not seen the car in the flesh as yet but I reckon it must be worth a look!
terribly bad photos.. from a main dealer? jeez..http://www.evanshalshaw.com/v2/used_car_details.ht...
It is advertised as a 135 not 135R as stated above, my mistake!
Not seen the car in the flesh as yet but I reckon it must be worth a look!
Edited by coltonbob on Tuesday 7th October 01:14
I would say get an independent check or.. (risking it) would it not come with a decent 12 month warranty from evans halshaw? that way you can check it out at your leisure..
10k for an S2 with the 135 upgrade is a bargain IMHO
minimax said:
10k for an S2 with the 135 upgrade is a bargain IMHO
Agree!!No service history certainly wouldnt bother me, in the end the engines are simple, the gearboxes are rubbish but thats design! A truly horrible gearbox will be so easy to identify that my gran could do it! Bodywork needs a good check over as do brakes but thats not hard. The one area that could benefit from a specialist check is suspension. Crap suspension will be easy to identify (as long as you have driven a 'good' elise to compare against) but fixing it is worth getting advice.
In short go for it and if its OK buy it!!! As the cars get older service histories become less of an issue as they fall into the hands of people capable of doing their own servicing. Thats no problem and a well looked after car with no history is miles better than a knackered car with a history!
Am I the only one seeing a dark blue car?
Given who's selling it there will probably be some sort of warranty. Why not get a specialist local to the car to check it over and use his findings as bargaining tools? Could be a bargain. Servicing? I'm surprised there aren't dealer stamps for the first couple of years of the car's life (warranty and all that), after that how many owners? Certainly the last owner will be on the V5 so you might be able to contact him and have a chat about the car and servicing.
When I bought my car there was one service stamp missing for an A service but the file contained a note from the previous owner recording what he had done. I accepted that and the car has been as good as gold to me.
Given who's selling it there will probably be some sort of warranty. Why not get a specialist local to the car to check it over and use his findings as bargaining tools? Could be a bargain. Servicing? I'm surprised there aren't dealer stamps for the first couple of years of the car's life (warranty and all that), after that how many owners? Certainly the last owner will be on the V5 so you might be able to contact him and have a chat about the car and servicing.
When I bought my car there was one service stamp missing for an A service but the file contained a note from the previous owner recording what he had done. I accepted that and the car has been as good as gold to me.
Thanks again for the replies. We went to look at the car this evening, the salesman advised it's a type 72 special edition however it was very very shabby! Looked like it had not been cared for since the day it left the factory!
All the JPS livery was peeling off and had been touched up with a gold pen in places! The interior was badly stained and the alacantara was also heavily worn in places. It also had some nice halfords-special front fog lights fitted too! Was also slightly alarmed when the salesman refused to start it before the mechanics had "checked it out"!!
Such a shame as it could be such a nice car! It really was the tattiest elise i've seen, I'm sure it could be sorted if you were prepared to put some money into it but for nearly £10K I don't think it's worth it...
The search continues...
All the JPS livery was peeling off and had been touched up with a gold pen in places! The interior was badly stained and the alacantara was also heavily worn in places. It also had some nice halfords-special front fog lights fitted too! Was also slightly alarmed when the salesman refused to start it before the mechanics had "checked it out"!!
Such a shame as it could be such a nice car! It really was the tattiest elise i've seen, I'm sure it could be sorted if you were prepared to put some money into it but for nearly £10K I don't think it's worth it...
The search continues...
Edited by coltonbob on Tuesday 7th October 21:35
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