Discussion
I get 25-30Mpg even with 230bhp.
Why worry about fuel economy? - the difference between 20mpg and 40mpg if you do 10K miles per year isnt even the cost of a set of tyres - if you cant afford that then its not advisable to buy an Elise !
...I guess what im saying is unless you have a 5L Griffith and currently get 10mpg, then the move to a car that does 30mpg avg isnt going to give you much more in your pocket - maybe £500-750 per year over 10K miles
the thiings you want to be looking at are insurance, consumable costs (tyres, brake discs/pads, and servicing) and depreciation...the latter usually being the largest expense of buying/running a car IMO
Why worry about fuel economy? - the difference between 20mpg and 40mpg if you do 10K miles per year isnt even the cost of a set of tyres - if you cant afford that then its not advisable to buy an Elise !
...I guess what im saying is unless you have a 5L Griffith and currently get 10mpg, then the move to a car that does 30mpg avg isnt going to give you much more in your pocket - maybe £500-750 per year over 10K miles
the thiings you want to be looking at are insurance, consumable costs (tyres, brake discs/pads, and servicing) and depreciation...the latter usually being the largest expense of buying/running a car IMO
Hi Muncher 
Hope your doing better now and hope your studies are going well (drop me a mail if you need ANY help) 
Basically,
i can drive from here (newcastle) to manchester in 15litres. This includes about 5-6 bursts to 1.2 units () for a minute or so (generally when somebody gets on my arse and wont leave...no jokes lads 
) and the uphill struggle that is the m62.
A full tank will last me a month or so (but it is not used every day)
insurance: your going to be shagged mate. my renewal was HALFED from last year but is still high at over £2k. This is with tesco (who generally wont take under 25s..beg and plead and talk to a head honcho and you should get it..but you'll need to accept a HUGE excess. Mine is around £1k)
Hope your doing better now and hope your studies are going well (drop me a mail if you need ANY help) Basically,
i can drive from here (newcastle) to manchester in 15litres. This includes about 5-6 bursts to 1.2 units (
) for a minute or so (generally when somebody gets on my arse and wont leave...no jokes lads ) and the uphill struggle that is the m62. A full tank will last me a month or so (but it is not used every day)
insurance: your going to be shagged mate. my renewal was HALFED from last year but is still high at over £2k. This is with tesco (who generally wont take under 25s..beg and plead and talk to a head honcho and you should get it..but you'll need to accept a HUGE excess. Mine is around £1k)
ps - I would think youre insurance would be about £1500-2000 depending on where you live/NCB/points etc.
Buying a cheap £10K Elise isnt as sensible as getting a well looked after £14K one - you may be crippled by the running costs with a bad one when you get £1000 bills back from a service because it needs new pads, discs, track rod ends etc
Typical servicing from a specialist is:
A service £180
B service £250
C service £450
every 9K miles in the order AABAACAABAAC
on top of that
tyres: cheap ones about £300 a set, rears every 10K, fronts every 15-20K (if you drive it as intended)
Brake discs - varies from 15K to 30K miles - £400-600 a set
Pads - varies from 10-20K miles a set, price from £120 - £200 a set
just take it all into account - theres nothing worse than having a nice car on your drive that you cant afford to use/go on events/trackdays etc
realistically if you bought a £10K car for cash Id say youd want £150 a month to insure it and minimum of £100 a month put away for servicing etc..then petrol on top of that...add the finance payments onto that if you buy i that way...you could be looking at £5-600 a month before youve gone anywhere in it
Buying a cheap £10K Elise isnt as sensible as getting a well looked after £14K one - you may be crippled by the running costs with a bad one when you get £1000 bills back from a service because it needs new pads, discs, track rod ends etc
Typical servicing from a specialist is:
A service £180
B service £250
C service £450
every 9K miles in the order AABAACAABAAC
on top of that
tyres: cheap ones about £300 a set, rears every 10K, fronts every 15-20K (if you drive it as intended)
Brake discs - varies from 15K to 30K miles - £400-600 a set
Pads - varies from 10-20K miles a set, price from £120 - £200 a set
just take it all into account - theres nothing worse than having a nice car on your drive that you cant afford to use/go on events/trackdays etc
realistically if you bought a £10K car for cash Id say youd want £150 a month to insure it and minimum of £100 a month put away for servicing etc..then petrol on top of that...add the finance payments onto that if you buy i that way...you could be looking at £5-600 a month before youve gone anywhere in it
Elephant are quoting me £1,266 
An Elise would cost more and more to run that an FTO.
BUT it'll give near twice the fuel economy and be quite a bit cheaper to insure
Drag - Everything is going fine, about a month till exams, getting through the reading now, mail me if you have any tips!
An Elise would cost more and more to run that an FTO.
BUT it'll give near twice the fuel economy and be quite a bit cheaper to insure
Drag - Everything is going fine, about a month till exams, getting through the reading now, mail me if you have any tips!
) More than an FTO - how come?
I had a Jap coupe before the Elise - 2.2VTEC Prelude. Did 85K miles in it in 2.5 years - servicing was £60 minor, £120 mid and £250 for a cambelt change (at a specialist). Tyres lasted 20-30K miles...Id expect an FTO to be similar...an Elise will double all that, and thats before other stuff wears out like shocks, track rod ends, gaitors and generally other stuff needing fixing.
Are Mitsubishi really expensive to service then?
I had a Jap coupe before the Elise - 2.2VTEC Prelude. Did 85K miles in it in 2.5 years - servicing was £60 minor, £120 mid and £250 for a cambelt change (at a specialist). Tyres lasted 20-30K miles...Id expect an FTO to be similar...an Elise will double all that, and thats before other stuff wears out like shocks, track rod ends, gaitors and generally other stuff needing fixing.
Are Mitsubishi really expensive to service then?
bogie said:
More than an FTO - how come?
Are Mitsubishi really expensive to service then?
Insurance is horific for FTOs and getting worse as it's an import and many companies are really clamping down on imports for young drivers now
I'm not sure of servicing costs, 200bhp through the front wheels will chew tyres, it's more the chance of the engine going bang or the tiptronic box failing.
As I say, it's mainly the insurance, it's hard enough getting a quote anywhere, let alone under £2k.
I had 220bhp through the front wheels too - still managed 20K miles out of them.
I know what you mean with insurance on imports though (mine was an import)
as for the V6 2L Mitsi going bang....havnt you read about the K series appetite for head gaskets ! ?
...sorry for sounding pessimistic - but when I read that the Elise is cheap to run etc I have to just put things straight - its cheap to run compared to a TVR...but a lot more expensive than a mainstream hot hatch - just want to let you know what you are letting yourself in for !
try and find an enthusiast owned one that has had all the niggles sorted and is well looked after - some good stuff on www.elises.co.uk and www.elise-faq.com
I know what you mean with insurance on imports though (mine was an import)
as for the V6 2L Mitsi going bang....havnt you read about the K series appetite for head gaskets !
? ...sorry for sounding pessimistic - but when I read that the Elise is cheap to run etc I have to just put things straight - its cheap to run compared to a TVR...but a lot more expensive than a mainstream hot hatch - just want to let you know what you are letting yourself in for !
try and find an enthusiast owned one that has had all the niggles sorted and is well looked after - some good stuff on www.elises.co.uk and www.elise-faq.com
bogie said:
as for the V6 2L Mitsi going bang....havnt you read about the K series appetite for head gaskets !
I own a ZR with a K series already, so I'm well versed in hgf
I do think the problem is not quite as common as it has been made out to be, from what I've read at mg-rover.org.[quote=Muncher]Elephant are quoting me £1,266 [quote]
Is that 12 months or a 10month "bonus accellerator"?
If the former, the true cost of you insurance is £1500+ - try sticking your mum on the policy as driver 2 if she's got a full license for many years and has no claims, points etc. Seems to bring it down a bit.
Agree with sentiments above about buying cheap. If you go from £13k upwards you'll get a WAY better car in the long run which will give you fewer headaches... and remember, all the £ comments above assume that you're just running normally and nothing comes out of the blue.
1 week after getting mine a relay went and I got fecked for £260 to fix it - just a little thing, but stuff like that can go wrong with any car, with these babies it usually costs a little more than expected.
All said though, if you can afford it, do it - best decision I ever made. If you do get one, just don't drive it like a twunt and kill it, yourself or anyone else!
[quote] Is that 12 months or a 10month "bonus accellerator"?
If the former, the true cost of you insurance is £1500+ - try sticking your mum on the policy as driver 2 if she's got a full license for many years and has no claims, points etc. Seems to bring it down a bit.
Agree with sentiments above about buying cheap. If you go from £13k upwards you'll get a WAY better car in the long run which will give you fewer headaches... and remember, all the £ comments above assume that you're just running normally and nothing comes out of the blue.
1 week after getting mine a relay went and I got fecked for £260 to fix it - just a little thing, but stuff like that can go wrong with any car, with these babies it usually costs a little more than expected.
All said though, if you can afford it, do it - best decision I ever made. If you do get one, just don't drive it like a twunt and kill it, yourself or anyone else!
Agreed ...the next thing to budget for once youve got the car is a day or 2 with Andy Walsh of www.1stlotus.com on North Weald airfield...learning how not to wrap it around a lamp post on the 1st damp roundabout you encounter !
...the next thing to budget for once youve got the car is a day or 2 with Andy Walsh of www.1stlotus.com on North Weald airfield...learning how not to wrap it around a lamp post on the 1st damp roundabout you encounter ! Muncher said:
What sort of mpg do you guys get from your Elise?
I'm considering an early (read cheep) S1 Elise, the decent economy could be a plus point for it.
Incedentally if anyone is 21ish with an Elise, how much are you paying for insurance?
Im 22 with an S2 Sports Tourer (2001). (~£17k)
Insured fully comp with protected no claims for about £1300 a year through elephant.co.uk
Ive been on my own policy since 17 so got full no claims etc.. (do have 3 points on licence).
>> Edited by UH-Matt on Monday 2nd August 18:04
s works said:
Is that 12 months or a 10month "bonus accellerator"?
That's a full 12 months, Dad added to the policy, not added Mum as that makes little difference.
Garaged, 6k, drive another car, student, 21 2 years ncb.
I'll be looking to buy in december, what sort of reduction in cost will winter see?
Muncher said:
Is that 12 months or a 10month "bonus accellerator"?
That's a full 12 months, Dad added to the policy, not added Mum as that makes little difference.
Garaged, 6k, drive another car, student, 21 2 years ncb.
I'll be looking to buy in december, what sort of reduction in cost will winter see?
Sounds like a good deal really - props to you for having the common sense to keep your insurance going at Uni!
Buying in winter will probably see prices keener thant they are now, however there are a lot of good cars about at sensible money.
Usual rules of common sense apply (drive a few first and get an idea of what you want), plus make sure you get it checked by a Lotus specialist for peace of mind and to ensure you don't buy a donut. Don't even think about wasting money with an AA or RAC check though - for less than £200 somewhere reputable will do you the necessary in more detail than you'll ever need!
Until December, keep lurking in the forums, use search to swot up and also join SELOC for more Lotus nuts and discounts on loads of good stuff!
i'm 21, with 2 years no claims when i'll have an elise. Paying £750 with mum and aunt through elephant on a group 16 306 rallye just now. I've done a few quotes with elephant, one - which had the same details as the rest came in at £950, but the rest have been about £1275, which although a nice number for a mini nut, is a helluva a lot more for 1 group insurance higher. Mind you last i paid that was when i was 18 and had a 1400 306.
w00dy said:
i'm 21, with 2 years no claims when i'll have an elise. Paying £750 with mum and aunt through elephant on a group 16 306 rallye just now. I've done a few quotes with elephant, one - which had the same details as the rest came in at £950, but the rest have been about £1275, which although a nice number for a mini nut, is a helluva a lot more for 1 group insurance higher. Mind you last i paid that was when i was 18 and had a 1400 306.
Is that on your own policy?
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