General running costs + surprises

[mustard]

have to say i cant think of another car that can be bought for around 10k or less that would frighten the sh1t out of me more, I've seen what the routine service bills can look like on V8 models(4figures more often than not!), whilst I know 4cylinders are cheaper to maintain they are all highly stressed british thoughbreeds

checkout www.lotusespritworld.co.uk excellent website and a mine of information

>> Edited by mustard on Tuesday 30th December 19:40

[cnh1990]

I would budget at least 1K per 15K miles in your money to maintain and repair. What is not used in one year should be banked for future expenses.

Calvin

[adrianmugridge]

I budget on about £3k every 12000 - 15000 miles.
Have a look at www.adrianmugridge.co.uk All my GT3 running costs are itemised on there.

Adrian
97GT3

[86turbo]

I've owned my 86 turbo for about a year and 6K miles now, and spent about $1K on it so far, most of which went to repairing things the previous owner let go wrong. It's all worth it to me though. It's generally been reliable though, the car has never left me stranded I would be happy with similar luck next year.

[adrianmugridge]

A GT3 is just like any other 4 cyl Esprit.

In 12000 miles, as a minimum, you will need :

2 services , depending on which ones, min £600, max £1300

1 set of tyres : £600

So, that's £1200 minimum, even if nothing goes wrong. There is nearly always something that needs doing when it's serviced. I've also had 3 major things need repairing in 50k miles: Blown Turbo, new manifold, new clucth. That's £4k, i.e. £1k every 12k miles. There are then loads of little things that need looking at, new pads, broken headlight, oil leaks, new exhaust etc etc ( nothing that any other car does not need ). The odd £50 here and £100 there all add up over a few years. If you keep a full record ( and I wonder how many people just remember the big bills ) you get to a large figure.

Ofcause, mine goes to a main dealer, so, if you did the work yourself, I reckon you would halve that.

Adrian
97GT3

[superdave]

I have owned my 1990 turbo for just over a year now. It's had an A service in August.
Other costs were a seized wastegate
New front shocks
Hole in manifold
Leaking drivers side fuel tank
Replacing a few body seals
Replacing carpets
Redying Interior
Minor Electrical bits

Upto now, I have spent about £1K on this list and have covered about 5K miles.

I have of course upgraded a few things, alloys, GT3 seats, CF sunroof, Dump Valve, Race Actuator, SE rear bumper and front bumper.

You can make it more economical if you can tackle some of the jobs yourself. Until I bought the car, hadn't really worked on cars before. Apart from space/ working area they are quite simple cars to work on.

The biggest thing about owning an Esprit is that it's an affordable childhood dream for most people and a real buzz when you're cruising down the road. YOu tend to forgive it for the problems they give you. At least I do anyway. If my Esprit had of been any other car then I would have set fire to it by now!

I just love my car so much

Don't get me wrong, if you are expecting a reliable car like your Toyota then you will be really disappointed. If this is what you are used and owning an Esprit hasn't been a dream then this car isn't for you. Hope you make the right decision and good luck.


Cheers,



Dave

[paul c]

Further to other answers, i'd say that some repair items are made more expensive by covering for any other future expenditure.
For example,if you had reason to take the engine out then there are a lot of things (on top of the original job) that would be easier (and cheaper if you have paid someone to take it out) to do at the time,money permitting of course.
Being in it for the 'long haul' is a good idea,if you can. I personally think this way of doing things keeps your esprit in your own (not the garages) possesion for most of the year.
Which is what you want,i guess.

>> Edited by paul c on Saturday 3rd January 01:29