Thinking of buying an Esprit.....
Discussion
But to be honest don't know a lot about them!
Can you guys help?
I am looking at a 1992-1994 spec, SE Turbo, i understand it's a 2.2 4 Cylinder single turbo.
I basically want to know how easy the engine is to get at? Also, what sort of things go wrong, or if they are very reliable?
I'm looking at spending up to £14,000 GBP so it's obviously limited as to what sort of car i can expect for this money, but there are some out there!
Look forward to any advice/comments you may have for me!
The other car i've been thinking about is a Toyota Supra Twin Turbo or Mazda RX7.....
Can you guys help?
I am looking at a 1992-1994 spec, SE Turbo, i understand it's a 2.2 4 Cylinder single turbo.
I basically want to know how easy the engine is to get at? Also, what sort of things go wrong, or if they are very reliable?
I'm looking at spending up to £14,000 GBP so it's obviously limited as to what sort of car i can expect for this money, but there are some out there!
Look forward to any advice/comments you may have for me!
The other car i've been thinking about is a Toyota Supra Twin Turbo or Mazda RX7.....
Stop thinking, start buying...
Well consult some valuable sources:
www.espritworld.co.uk
www.espritfactfile.com
You will find the best answers to your (first) questions.
Always adviced to bring along another Esprit driver. He will immediately find the weak spots.
Well consult some valuable sources:
www.espritworld.co.uk
www.espritfactfile.com
You will find the best answers to your (first) questions.
Always adviced to bring along another Esprit driver. He will immediately find the weak spots.
andecorp said:
I've owned a T/turbo Supra between my Esprits.
After I sold one Esprit, I bought the Supra. I sold it after one month and went back to an Esprit. While the Supra was nice compared to other cars, it's no Esprit in handling, comfort, performance or looks.
Cool, what year Supra did you own? Let me guess, a 96? Either way, was it a Turbo. I like the Supras, and they hold there value nicely. Nice for the owners, bad for guys on a limited budget. But I hear Supra Turbos can be easily modified to gain some real nice horsepower. And there fast as heck!
There is a red Highwing on Autotrader for £10995. Don't know what it's like, just did a search for you. Servicing can be costly. Every 6000 miles. A service is about £200-300. B Service is about £300-500 and C Service is about £600-1500 depending where you take it. The average labour rate is £60/hour. My local Lotus Specialist only charges £32/hour.
Any reason why you want an SE?
Cheers,
Dave Walters
Any reason why you want an SE?
Cheers,
Dave Walters
Not at all really - they were just around my budget.... there was a nice S4 for £14,995 so that could be a possibility!
Plus it was a 1994 too!
Servicing doesn't sound too bad then, i'll see who around this area (Newbury, Berkshire) services them though!
I would obviously prefer an Esprit to a Supra if i can get a good one for my money!
Anywhere else worth looking for cars for sale?
Plus it was a 1994 too!
Servicing doesn't sound too bad then, i'll see who around this area (Newbury, Berkshire) services them though!
I would obviously prefer an Esprit to a Supra if i can get a good one for my money!
Anywhere else worth looking for cars for sale?
Open up your model years and you'll have no trouble fitting on in your budget. Go for a 90-91, no different than the 92-93 you spec except with a couple things like power steering, no ABS, and slight interior design changes, and you'll have no trouble affording it. Don't need that stuff anyhow. A 90-91 car is just as fast, handles well (upgrade the brakes to S4s or better), just as easily modified, and you can avoid the Supra!
xxplod said:
But then, you'd only need to replace say discs + pads and few odds'n'sods on top of a C service a £4K isn't out of the ball park.
Er.. no. Don't know where you're getting your figures from. Sounds like bollocks to me.
On my V8, A service is normally about 350-400quid. B is about £800 and C all the belts changed, plus tensioners came in at £1200. These are main dealer prices - a specialist would be significantly cheaper.
You'd be mad to pay lotus prices for pads or discs, but even IF you did, you'd still not spend 4k.
nickg123 said:
A few forums i've posted on have straight away said that they're extremely expensive to run due to problems they have.....
Yeah, and probably someone said "lots of trouble usually serious".. blah blah blah.. If you post on a forum where most people run saxos they'll say esprits are expensive to run. If you post somwhere we most people run lamborghini or ferrari they'll say the esprit is remakably cheap.. horses/courses etc.
Rob
nickg123 said:
Is there anywhere else i should look for cars?
tried Autotrader, Top Marques, Findit...
Anywhere else?
Used car section of lotusespritworld.com.
Join the uk yahoo group and ask if anyone knows of a good car for sale.
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/UKLotusEsprit/
Fair comment Rob - i was chatting to a guy with a Tuscan Speed 6, he just said that he wasn't sure how reliable they were as he'd never trust a 1976 TVR and as the Esprit is fairly old he just had a few reservations......
But then they've managed to keep going all this time so they must have done something right!!!
But then they've managed to keep going all this time so they must have done something right!!!
Did you get my e-mail this morning?
BTW the best time to buy one is right about now before spring sets in. Otherwise they will be snapped.
Dealers and specialist won't give impartial advise. Probably talk you into something they have had in stock for ages.
IMO, if you can find a decent S4 which will be hard to find at that price that's been looked after.
GT3 (2.0 turbo) start at around £15 but again, you pay a lot more for a low mileage looked after car.
Next the SE Highwing, which is a limited edition SE but with a wing on the back. Basically the same as an SE.
Next the SE which can dramatically vary in price from £8K to £16K. Now becoming difficult to find even at £10K. Even if you do, these as usually a bit rough.
Next is the turbo Non SE. These do not have a chargecooler and have less power as standard. Still though they do 0-60 in 5.2 accordingly to figures.
Prices vary from £8K-£12K.
Lastly but not least the N/A which obviously doesn't have a turbo. These still fetch a reasonable price from £7K-£11K.
If you take a look at all the models on LEW, they give a comprehensive write ups on each model.
Hope this helps.
Dave Walters
BTW the best time to buy one is right about now before spring sets in. Otherwise they will be snapped.
Dealers and specialist won't give impartial advise. Probably talk you into something they have had in stock for ages.
IMO, if you can find a decent S4 which will be hard to find at that price that's been looked after.
GT3 (2.0 turbo) start at around £15 but again, you pay a lot more for a low mileage looked after car.
Next the SE Highwing, which is a limited edition SE but with a wing on the back. Basically the same as an SE.
Next the SE which can dramatically vary in price from £8K to £16K. Now becoming difficult to find even at £10K. Even if you do, these as usually a bit rough.
Next is the turbo Non SE. These do not have a chargecooler and have less power as standard. Still though they do 0-60 in 5.2 accordingly to figures.
Prices vary from £8K-£12K.
Lastly but not least the N/A which obviously doesn't have a turbo. These still fetch a reasonable price from £7K-£11K.
If you take a look at all the models on LEW, they give a comprehensive write ups on each model.
Hope this helps.
Dave Walters
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