Another car itch - vx 220 n/a
Discussion
well got the scirocco and half a mk1 mx5 but after the run out with some of the pistonheads lot yesterday i have a craving for an elise, thing is i belive they are expensive to run/service/insure. These thoughts have now moved onto a vx 220 as a cheaper to run alternative, looks like you can pick one up for about 8k ish. Am i mad to be thinking of sinking a large chunk of my savings into another toy??
i think they have probably done most of their depreciating?
Right fellas, think the woman is keen on this idea as she says she loved the vx220 when they first came out.
Anyone got any ideas re insurance costs? as it would be a second car i wouldnt be able to use my no claims i presume?
The car would be garaged, in co durham, max say 4000 miles a year, i am 33 years old and would have full ncb (if i could use it somehow)though i did go through insurance when some twonk reversed into me in march but didnt claim on my policy as such, she is 25 and has 2yrs NCB. Occupation wise we are both cops.
I know i should be getting quotes but was wondering if anyone had any ideas?
i think they have probably done most of their depreciating?
Right fellas, think the woman is keen on this idea as she says she loved the vx220 when they first came out.
Anyone got any ideas re insurance costs? as it would be a second car i wouldnt be able to use my no claims i presume?
The car would be garaged, in co durham, max say 4000 miles a year, i am 33 years old and would have full ncb (if i could use it somehow)though i did go through insurance when some twonk reversed into me in march but didnt claim on my policy as such, she is 25 and has 2yrs NCB. Occupation wise we are both cops.
I know i should be getting quotes but was wondering if anyone had any ideas?
I didn't know they were expensive to service. Light so easy on suspension/brakes/tyres and 'only' 4cyl so cheap on oil etc unless it takes lots of labour because they are mid engined? Guess it depends what you are comparing it too!
As for insurance; you might get it on a 'cherished' (second car) policy. Similar to a classic car policy. Try Peter Best, they insured my '98 XJR for me under a cherished policy fully comp, 3000 miles, for £150 and I am a little younger then you.
As for whether you should or not...well I dunno. Drive one, if you get out grinning then I'd say go for it. No idea what future values will do but I would imagine they are a fairly safe bet, and yes I'd rather have an £8k VX220 then an £8k Elise.
As for insurance; you might get it on a 'cherished' (second car) policy. Similar to a classic car policy. Try Peter Best, they insured my '98 XJR for me under a cherished policy fully comp, 3000 miles, for £150 and I am a little younger then you.
As for whether you should or not...well I dunno. Drive one, if you get out grinning then I'd say go for it. No idea what future values will do but I would imagine they are a fairly safe bet, and yes I'd rather have an £8k VX220 then an £8k Elise.
varsas said:
I didn't know they were expensive to service. Light so easy on suspension/brakes/tyres and 'only' 4cyl so cheap on oil etc unless it takes lots of labour because they are mid engined? Guess it depends what you are comparing it too!
As for insurance; you might get it on a 'cherished' (second car) policy. Similar to a classic car policy. Try Peter Best, they insured my '98 XJR for me under a cherished policy fully comp, 3000 miles, for £150 and I am a little younger then you.
As for whether you should or not...well I dunno. Drive one, if you get out grinning then I'd say go for it. No idea what future values will do but I would imagine they are a fairly safe bet, and yes I'd rather have an £8k VX220 then an £8k Elise.
thats what i thought exactly, i know there a different sort of car but i didnt realise z4's can be had for similar moneyAs for insurance; you might get it on a 'cherished' (second car) policy. Similar to a classic car policy. Try Peter Best, they insured my '98 XJR for me under a cherished policy fully comp, 3000 miles, for £150 and I am a little younger then you.
As for whether you should or not...well I dunno. Drive one, if you get out grinning then I'd say go for it. No idea what future values will do but I would imagine they are a fairly safe bet, and yes I'd rather have an £8k VX220 then an £8k Elise.
I'm 33 my vx220 is my daily driver 10,000 miles a year parked on drive I had to start a new policy shortly before getting it so only had one years ncb. It was £500 fully comp, this year it dropped to £450. It does 31mpg on my daily commute. It's an expensive car to have work done on as the clams often have to be removed, I.e I needed a new rad and didn't have tome to do it myself so that ended up costing £450 labour plus parts and you quickly see that many parts had superior replacements available so end up costing more. I.e plastic rad end tanks split so put an alloy one in instead etc
A friend of mine just got rid of his 2.2 VX220. Speaking with him the other day he was saying that although he loved the car but wouldn't get another one, instead he would get an Elise.
His reasoning for this was that whenever he wanted to get parts for it they charged an absolute fortune for the Vauxhall bits whereas the Lotus bits were much cheaper and easier to get hold of. I don't know whether that's the case or not but it's what he told me. He also had the clams off 2 or 3 times in a year for various bits - exhaust, radiator and respray I believe. Expensive!
His reasoning for this was that whenever he wanted to get parts for it they charged an absolute fortune for the Vauxhall bits whereas the Lotus bits were much cheaper and easier to get hold of. I don't know whether that's the case or not but it's what he told me. He also had the clams off 2 or 3 times in a year for various bits - exhaust, radiator and respray I believe. Expensive!
Don't forget, VX car will be a bit cheaper because of the badge but you get a torquer engine, ABS and airbag, don't have to change gear as much (the Elise has shorter gears so you have to thrash it through the box to get the same acceleration times).
VX will be cheaper to insure as well. I'd go VX - be different !!
VX will be cheaper to insure as well. I'd go VX - be different !!
simonej said:
A friend of mine just got rid of his 2.2 VX220. Speaking with him the other day he was saying that although he loved the car but wouldn't get another one, instead he would get an Elise.
His reasoning for this was that whenever he wanted to get parts for it they charged an absolute fortune for the Vauxhall bits whereas the Lotus bits were much cheaper and easier to get hold of. I don't know whether that's the case or not but it's what he told me. He also had the clams off 2 or 3 times in a year for various bits - exhaust, radiator and respray I believe. Expensive!
I'd always thought contrary to this, i.e. that most VX parts (particularly service items/consumables) are substantially cheaper than the Elise. That said, I know clams are hard to get hold of and I seem to remember headlights costing a fortune. Insurance is certainly a lot cheaper than the Elise.His reasoning for this was that whenever he wanted to get parts for it they charged an absolute fortune for the Vauxhall bits whereas the Lotus bits were much cheaper and easier to get hold of. I don't know whether that's the case or not but it's what he told me. He also had the clams off 2 or 3 times in a year for various bits - exhaust, radiator and respray I believe. Expensive!
The clams generally shouldn't need to come off for most jobs. People mention this a lot and I think it scares people off. The radiator and windscreen are the the only two jobs I can think of where the clam had to be removed on my Elise but it's actually a very quick job if all the bolts are free turning. The clam shouldn't have had to come off to do the exhaust.
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