What's an Esprit like to run?
Discussion
15k will get you a good s4. There are some well maintained cars out there, but also some dogs so take care. Lots of good advice on Lotus Esprit World and Esprit Fact File. Read these first before you start looking.
Yes you can run an esprit as a daily car but it will almost certainly cost you more to maintain than your toyota. My v8 has cost me a fair amount to run as a daily car, but the GT3 i had before that was much cheaper to run. Both are/have been daily drivers.
Costs will obviously be much less if you do some/all of the work yourself. Calvin and Jim on this board probably have the lowest £$ maintenance bills as they spanner the car themselves. I have neither the skill or time to do this, so its main dealer rates for all my work..
Also depends on whether "daily driver" means 5,000 miles per year or 50,000!
Search the archives and you'll find lots of similar discussions. Also: www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=55425&f=17&h=0
cheers
Rob
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/UKLotusEsprit/
Yes you can run an esprit as a daily car but it will almost certainly cost you more to maintain than your toyota. My v8 has cost me a fair amount to run as a daily car, but the GT3 i had before that was much cheaper to run. Both are/have been daily drivers.
Costs will obviously be much less if you do some/all of the work yourself. Calvin and Jim on this board probably have the lowest £$ maintenance bills as they spanner the car themselves. I have neither the skill or time to do this, so its main dealer rates for all my work..
Also depends on whether "daily driver" means 5,000 miles per year or 50,000! Search the archives and you'll find lots of similar discussions. Also: www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=55425&f=17&h=0
cheers
Rob
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/UKLotusEsprit/
If i'm honest with myself, in the four to five years i've had my 1983 n/a S3 it must average £3k a year in bills.
Figure half that if i got my own hands oily though,
labour is about half of most of my bills,and remember that length of ownership has three cambelts services at around £700 each alone.
The M3 though, must cost a fair bit to maintain if you follow proper service advice & specialist requirments.
My advice would be to pick the one you WANT and don't figure on changing too soon. does not take long for these cars to owe you, i spent so much on my S3 that it put off my buying a turbo esprit for at least two years. I wish i had just waited and got a turbo to start with.
Good luck Gaz,
PAUL
Figure half that if i got my own hands oily though,
labour is about half of most of my bills,and remember that length of ownership has three cambelts services at around £700 each alone.
The M3 though, must cost a fair bit to maintain if you follow proper service advice & specialist requirments.
My advice would be to pick the one you WANT and don't figure on changing too soon. does not take long for these cars to owe you, i spent so much on my S3 that it put off my buying a turbo esprit for at least two years. I wish i had just waited and got a turbo to start with.
Good luck Gaz,
PAUL
I have been looking at Gazboy's profile and he has a MR2 with mods. He probably did it himself. The Esprit is a car and he could most likely wrench it himself. The cost in UK pounds would probably be only 3-4 hundered in parts and a little over 1K if he sent it out. Things sure cost a lot less if you catch things before they acutally break or cause secondary or related failures.
I guess the key is even if you are not a DIY person if you can tell what is going on with the car and it's condition it will be much less expensive for you.
Many times Jim and I have avoided costly repairs by checking out what many would consider a minor problem only to find out that a minor failure if allowed to continue could cause a major unfortunate incident.
We catch many things because we are always checking things out. We have fun with our cars, sometimes drive them harder than the average person, but always put things right when parts get worn or out of sorts.
Calvin 90 SE
>> Edited by cnh1990 on Wednesday 3rd September 16:35
I guess the key is even if you are not a DIY person if you can tell what is going on with the car and it's condition it will be much less expensive for you.
Many times Jim and I have avoided costly repairs by checking out what many would consider a minor problem only to find out that a minor failure if allowed to continue could cause a major unfortunate incident.
We catch many things because we are always checking things out. We have fun with our cars, sometimes drive them harder than the average person, but always put things right when parts get worn or out of sorts.
Calvin 90 SE
>> Edited by cnh1990 on Wednesday 3rd September 16:35
Gazboy said:
Cheers fellers, 3k a year to keep it on the road (assuming that doesn't include ins) is too much I'm soory to say, so I'll strike an S4 off the list.
I've had my 90 turbo now for about 9 months and fingers crossed, even though things have gone wrong with it, it hasn't really cost me much at all.
1. Seized wastegate and loose wastegate flap £40
2. Front shocks (set of 4 from Mark McKenzie S4 type £80) fitting £175 because there was major rusted bolts etc.
3. Oil change between service £80.
4. Central locking not working £36.
5. Hole in manifold £30.
6. Clutch master cylinder FOC (but would have cost me about £65 fitted).
7. Sunroof gasket £5.
Total even if I add the master cylinder is just over £500.
Iam due an A service which will cost me £150 for the labour + parts.
MOT was due on Saturday and it passed with an advise on the rear licence plate light too dull. All that was crap built up inside and soon was cleaned out.
This hasn't taken into account any mods. OK so I've been a bit lucky but Iam a believer of Calvin that when anything even very slight, I will investigate and put right to prevent any major happening.
Insurance is about £350-400 from Footman James including breakdown on a 4500 mile limit.
Classicline is about £250 tops for a similar cover.
You can use other cross referenced parts if Lotus ones prove expensive. It all depends how you want to run it.
At the end of the day, it's up to you want your heart wants. I've always wanted an Esprit but just before buying it, nearly bought a Supra because I have a small family. I knew that I would have regretted it if I had bought the Supra. Don't get me wrong, I like the Supra but LOVE the Esprit.
Hope this helps make your decision and good luck. If you need any help on looking for one then give me a shout off line. I know a couple of people selling their S4 for around your budget.
Cheers,
Dave Walters
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