I'm "this close" to buying this elise, BUT...

[chieflief]

even though I'm glad that someone else has taken most of the depreciation, what's your opinion on the ability to re-sell it with those particular options (and that colour)?

Oh, and yes, am a complete Lotus virgin - is this the model & spec that I should start with, or should I wait for something else to come available? It won't see any track days... although you never know!!! Have coveted one since moving to England (and since been dragged back) in 2000. It'll be a "40th b-day mid-life crisis" prezzie to me... I figure I should get one now while I can still get in and out of one easily - I'm 5'6", 11st (at least for now).

http://www.weissach.com/auto-details.asp?autoID=88...

I've been in contact with these guys and they will be forwarding the inspection report when it's completed. The catch is, I may be in England unable to test drive the car before someone else snaps it up. Should I potentially put down a deposit NEVER having seen it - or driven it?

I feel I know a lot of you posters and that you will be completely honest with me should I be being stupid... Damn that head vs. heart decision!!!!!

Yep, I'm waaay over here in Canada. Lovely it is, too!!!

[Stu_00]

Hi there, looks like a good example of a 111R and with the exchange rate looks like a reasonable price (without knowledge of canadian second hand market!)

I fairly rare colour, but looks good and seems to suit it, hard top is a bonus!

I would test the water, can you put a deposit on the condition of a test drive ??

[Scuffers]

somewhat risky at that distance...

you need to get somebody you trust local to it to inspect/test drive it for you, and they you will have to trust their judgement.

I personally would not do it blind, it's not like they are hard to find etc, so it's a question of f they will play ball with you, or find another one.

[Gooby]

Buying and owning a Lotus is rarely ever going to make sence. I can justify it it many ways - all of these are delusional. You buy and coninue to own an Elise despite the impracticalities and costs because you love it. You love the way it looks, you love the way it drives, you love the way it makes you feel behind the wheel.

If you dont feel great while driving and the car is tiresome when you cant get the shopping in or the 3rd friend then walk away.

If you can afford it and you love it (even if you cant afford it.... go buy it.

[stringthing]

^^^^^^^^^ Well said that man.

[Stu_00]

+ 1

[TIPPER]

I've bought a couple of cars unseen and in each case have put down a deposit returnable if the car does not match the sellers desription or in the event of an inspection finding a fault not mentioned by the seller.
In both cases the sellers (bone fida dealers) where happy to oblige and understood my concerns. In both cases the cars were as described.
I'd give them a call, see how comfortable you feel with the vendors, check their reputation and see if the vendor is prepared to proceed on the basis I've suggested.
Wih regards the car itself: there's often no real logic in buying a car like the Elise. If you like the colour and spec then take it: that's all that matters. Remember if you're buying used then someone else had similar tastes otherwise the car wouldn't have been specced as it is. Chances are you'll find someone who'll also like it when you sell (if you ever can!).

[chieflief]

Thanks for the wisdom. Great idea about the deposit. I'll give it a go.

One more question. I know for sure that I'll like it, but having never actually driven an Elise, how on earth am I going to know what to look or listen for on a test drive? I'll be blinded by lust!!! How long should a test drive be? What kind of questions do I ask? Damn. I'll have some answers from the inspection report, obviously, but what WON'T the report cover that I should know?

My father-in-law might be able to view the car within the next couple days. I won't be able to get to do the same thing for another month.

Keep shoveling ANY little bits of knowledge my way - I REALLY appreciate it!

[Gooby]

Have a quick read of the buyers guide at the top of the page that would answer most questions but what I would start asking is...
1) Has the car been crashed in any way. Damage to the bodywork and even the crash structure can be repaired easily, any shunts to the chassis means walk away.
2) ECU (Engine management) printout. Ask for a print out from the ECU, this will tell you durations at certain rev ranges, how many racing starts and crucially if the engine has been buzzed. This is the BIG weak point for the toyota engine.
3) After that it is common sense stuff like the log book and a critical visual inspection.
4) THEN DRIVE IT

[tstendall]

chieflief said:

Thanks for the wisdom. Great idea about the deposit. I'll give it a go.

One more question. I know for sure that I'll like it, but having never actually driven an Elise, how on earth am I going to know what to look or listen for on a test drive? I'll be blinded by lust!!! How long should a test drive be? What kind of questions do I ask? Damn. I'll have some answers from the inspection report, obviously, but what WON'T the report cover that I should know?

My father-in-law might be able to view the car within the next couple days. I won't be able to get to do the same thing for another month.

Keep shoveling ANY little bits of knowledge my way - I REALLY appreciate it!

Hi Chieflief,

I bought a 111R in early March. I'd been looking for one since about October the year before. I bought mine privately so had to be more cautious than one would be with a main/reputable/specialist dealer. I asked loads of written questions of the seller and asked him to provide written replies so I could fall back on this if anything went wrong - I think this is good practice and you get to know more about the car anyway.

I also got a dealer local to the car to inspect it and take it out for a drive for about £100 ($200?). Well worthwhile getting this done. What I would say is that you NEED to get a specialist to do your inspection report. The elise has a flat floor and I doubt if most inspections bother to take it off and have a real look + they need to have driven lots of them and know what they feel like to have a good idea if anything is wrong. Getting a main dealer to do the report might be the best option - that's what I did.

If you've never test driven one before, I would try to drive as many (of the same engine model) as you can before you take the test drive of the one you want to buy - that way you will start to know what they should feel like. To prevent lust taking precedent over head on the test drive, you might want to make a list of things to look at before you go and think about these as you are driving along.

It's a good choice of model though - the toyota engine has almost no known faults (I think the only one is something to do with oil not being able to work when you are cornering at high G - though I would imagine this is only really a problem for heavy track users) and the re are clever things like the fact that lotus put an ECU in the car which limits revs until the engine has warmed through.

In my opinion the 111R is perfectly livable everyday - I use it as my main and only car, for commuting and everything. For me, it's the perfect balance between a proper sport car and something you can stand to live with everyday.

Get it, Get it, Get it - they are awesome cars.

Kind Regards

Tom.