Elise as a daily ?
Discussion
Risotto said:
sato said:
Risotto said:
the air vents blew crap into the cabin,
O/T, but does anyone know if there is a fix for this?Personally I found it quite irritating that Lotus seemed to get away with murder in terms of quality and design - and the buyers just let them get away with it. As long as the cars were good to drive, the customers seemed prepared to put up with all manner of flaws. Other car companies would kill for customers like that!
Judd97 said:
Had my S1 for 18 months and 20,000 miles - my only car. If stored outside a hardtop is best for the winter months. Great car, would have another immediately.
It's worth mentioning to the OP that some hardtops require the windows to be adjusted compared with the soft top to avoid leaks. My S2 is fine, but I know plenty of Elise owners who get left with a gap between hardtop and window. My S2 paintwork flaked off in the ice too when left outside - a common fault apparently.Risotto said:
Personally I found it quite irritating that Lotus seemed to get away with murder in terms of quality and design - and the buyers just let them get away with it. As long as the cars were good to drive, the customers seemed prepared to put up with all manner of flaws. Other car companies would kill for customers like that!
If another car company made car that handled like an Elise, was usable as a daily driver and didn't have these problems, then Lotus couldn't get away with it. Unfortunately they don't.kambites said:
Risotto said:
Personally I found it quite irritating that Lotus seemed to get away with murder in terms of quality and design - and the buyers just let them get away with it. As long as the cars were good to drive, the customers seemed prepared to put up with all manner of flaws. Other car companies would kill for customers like that!
If another car company made car that handled like an Elise, was usable as a daily driver and didn't have these problems, then Lotus couldn't get away with it. Unfortunately they don't.
kambites said:
Risotto said:
Personally I found it quite irritating that Lotus seemed to get away with murder in terms of quality and design - and the buyers just let them get away with it. As long as the cars were good to drive, the customers seemed prepared to put up with all manner of flaws. Other car companies would kill for customers like that!
If another car company made car that handled like an Elise, was usable as a daily driver and didn't have these problems, then Lotus couldn't get away with it. Unfortunately they don't.In order to make it as lightweight and drivable as it is, there have to be some compromises in materials and stuff has to be kept relatively simple IMHO. If they engineered it up to that standard it would lose a lot of appeal and ability. If people want a car without the niggles, they have to buy something different and compromise on the handling, fun and seat of the pants aspect.
When/if the next gen Elise that they're promising actually has all these "niggles" put right, I suspect all the current customers will feck off to the Caterham version of the Elise (assuming it's what they announce) as the Lizzie would have gone in more of a boxter direction which turns it into a different proposition.
I have owned mine for 2 years now. When I first bought it it had 9K on the clock, it now has about 33K. Its used everyday as its my only car. I have taken the dog to the vet in it, we go for the weekly shop in it, I drive it to work in all weather conditions. Its a great car and one I will really miss when the time comes to sell it. I don't get mine serviced at a speaclist, I get it done by a local guy I know who races cars and he charges me 100 plus parts. I do go through tyres a lot though, a set of rears every 6 months and a set of fronts every year. My journey to work is about 20 miles there and back so over a week I tend to spend about #30 on fuel.
Downsides: When we are going on our weekly shop some stuff has to go on the Mrs lap. She doesn't mind to much so its not a problem. It can be a pain in the arse in the winter with ice forming on the inside and it can get really cold inside the cabin then get really hot basically I find it difficult to get it to a nice even temp so I have the heaters on full with the window open, it seems to do the trick. Every 4 X 4/Van will piss you off as their lights are at that level that they either blind you when coming towards you or blind you in the rear view mirror (on the jounrey home, when its dark, my rear view is usually dipped). You will get the odd drip of water when it rains heavily. Sometimes you can feel a little cramped in it if your passenger is slightly overwheight. The stero is pants.
Upside: Its sooo much fun. Roundabouts can be taken quickly, you don't really need to slow down for corners. You will be quicker in it than a lot of other Elise drivers as most only drive it occasionaly. Young kids will point at your car and wave. Blasting home on a sunny day with the roof down will make the world feel a better place.
All in all, do it you won't regret it.
Downsides: When we are going on our weekly shop some stuff has to go on the Mrs lap. She doesn't mind to much so its not a problem. It can be a pain in the arse in the winter with ice forming on the inside and it can get really cold inside the cabin then get really hot basically I find it difficult to get it to a nice even temp so I have the heaters on full with the window open, it seems to do the trick. Every 4 X 4/Van will piss you off as their lights are at that level that they either blind you when coming towards you or blind you in the rear view mirror (on the jounrey home, when its dark, my rear view is usually dipped). You will get the odd drip of water when it rains heavily. Sometimes you can feel a little cramped in it if your passenger is slightly overwheight. The stero is pants.
Upside: Its sooo much fun. Roundabouts can be taken quickly, you don't really need to slow down for corners. You will be quicker in it than a lot of other Elise drivers as most only drive it occasionaly. Young kids will point at your car and wave. Blasting home on a sunny day with the roof down will make the world feel a better place.
All in all, do it you won't regret it.
Ran an S1 Elise daily for about a year (2 yrs ago) sold it for a profit and it didn’t cost much in maintenance as I did the work myself. Bur it did keep me quite busy keeping on top of it all though. Mine was a 98 car and the quality wasn’t as good as the larger manufactures. The door catches required regular tightening, the window channels require regular spraying with silicon spray to stop sticking (even then one of mechanisms broke leaving an open window in the middle of winter in the snow). The mirrors had to be mended as kept dropping in height over time. The exhaust and suspension required replacing (fair enough general wear and tear) and geometry needs doing every 6mths (living in Milton Keynes) as it seems to get knocked out of adjustment faster than other cars.
The roof requires fitting just so to avoid leaking. The track rod ends all required replacing as were worn out. All the underneath of the car that was steel was very rusty making any work harder than other cars of similar age. And I had some worries about the chassis construction method long term on my older examples (the glue was guarantied for 10 years, car was 11 years old and some of the rivets had already failed as you used to find them from time to time on the floor.
Overall a great fun car but wouldn’t be in hurry to use again as a daily driver unless I can afford a much younger example (especially through winter) maybe I am getting old but I bought a S2000 after and currently have a Boxster, although not quite as fun much more comfortable daily drive.
The roof requires fitting just so to avoid leaking. The track rod ends all required replacing as were worn out. All the underneath of the car that was steel was very rusty making any work harder than other cars of similar age. And I had some worries about the chassis construction method long term on my older examples (the glue was guarantied for 10 years, car was 11 years old and some of the rivets had already failed as you used to find them from time to time on the floor.
Overall a great fun car but wouldn’t be in hurry to use again as a daily driver unless I can afford a much younger example (especially through winter) maybe I am getting old but I bought a S2000 after and currently have a Boxster, although not quite as fun much more comfortable daily drive.
I suppose mine is a daily in the sense that it's my first choice of car - but I work from home, so it isn't used for commuting, and we have other cars for things like lugging bulky things about or long journeys. It hasn't become a nuisance yet!
Risotto said:
As long as the cars were good to drive, the customers seemed prepared to put up with all manner of flaws. Other car companies would kill for customers like that!
Unfortunately, most other car companies don't satisfy the "good to drive" bit. 
One thing that concerns me is the whole getting in and out thing, I am just over 6ft and about sixteen stone, big shoulders, big legs (cycling for you) and a bit of belly, not the most flexible individual either, I guess its a knack and I know taller people than me use them as a guy I worked with who was 6ft 7 had one !
Is the VX a bit easier to get in and out,
Basically I want to be left alone with one to practice
Is the VX a bit easier to get in and out,
Basically I want to be left alone with one to practice
VXs and S2s have a lower sill that makes ingress and egress easier than in an S1.
By the way, have a read of the similar thread we had on this subject a week ago:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
By the way, have a read of the similar thread we had on this subject a week ago:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
If you've got wide shoulders you might struggle to fit in with a passenger - the seats are very close-set. There are plenty of people well over six foot who drive them; getting in and out is a knack and, as long as you're not very unfit, is easy enough once you know how to do it.
Edited by kambites on Monday 10th January 19:35
ewenm said:
J4CKO said:
Mentioned to the missus, she likes them but considers them a girls car !
Presumably she is female and you don't care whether people think "girls car" or not, so that's fine.J4CKO said:
When I say "Daily Driver", I really mean, my main car but I have only done 9000 miles in three and a half years in my current car due to the proximity of work and cycling.
I do my own spannering mostly, suspension and brakes, servicing, my last involvement with a Kseries VVC was in my Rover 200 BRM which had HGF, should put me off but it was a great engine in the relatively (in comparison) heavy BRM.
I think the Elise will potentially go up in value
as fuel continues to skyrocket, people still want a fun drive but ultimate straight line speed will take a back seat for handling and being a bit special with reasonable fuel economy, I am thinking decent S1's wont drop this year as potentially a lot of people will have the same idea as me, leaving a lot of other, thirstier stuff depreciating a lot more so I reckon its a fairly safe place to put some cash compared to say a Focus ST or similar which would normally be on my list.
I am probably in the same boat as you, except swap 'cycling' for 'getting on scabby bus full of chavs'. I use the bus to go into the office 2-3 days a week and if I'm going to the train station. If I have to drive a considerable distance I use hire cars, however, as it is my only car, I use it for all by shopping and travelling to site up to approximately a 100 mile round trip. I do my own spannering mostly, suspension and brakes, servicing, my last involvement with a Kseries VVC was in my Rover 200 BRM which had HGF, should put me off but it was a great engine in the relatively (in comparison) heavy BRM.
I think the Elise will potentially go up in value
as fuel continues to skyrocket, people still want a fun drive but ultimate straight line speed will take a back seat for handling and being a bit special with reasonable fuel economy, I am thinking decent S1's wont drop this year as potentially a lot of people will have the same idea as me, leaving a lot of other, thirstier stuff depreciating a lot more so I reckon its a fairly safe place to put some cash compared to say a Focus ST or similar which would normally be on my list.
I have had my '99 Elise S1 about 3 years and haven't had any major problems but I have had a few niggles.
- Exhaust flexi-pipe corroded but can be expected on a car of that age - cost about £120 for a stainless steel replacement which I fitted during a service.
- Failed MOT on a suspension ball joint - cost about £50 for the part and a couple of hours to fit.
- Clutch pedal squeaking - this is caused by the metal bush on the pedal. It can be fixed with a cheap kit consisting of a smaller metal insert and a pair of nylon inserts. It is a pig of a job though as you have to wedge your upper body into the footwell.
- The distributor cap contacts crumbled to buggery causing a breakdown at a really inconvenient time, however, this is due to the crappy Lucas part I had fitted during the previous service.
- A plastic clip on the passenger door release failed. The part cost a couple of quid and it took about 45 minutes to fit.
- The boot release snapped. Fortunately it did so after the lock released so I didnt have any hassle getting in the boot. I fitted the 'Eliseparts' electric release kit which costs about £90 and wires into the hazard lights. It is not without its own problems. One time I was heading to the Cholmondley pageant of Power. I took the roof off in the morning and locked it in the boot. My mate asked me to put his coat in the boot and I realised it wouldn't open. Of course, it started to piss it down as we got near the venue. Fortunately I managed to get it open the next day by reacking into the wheel arch liner James Herriot style and grab what was left of the old cable. Recently it failed on me because I had a scuba cylinder in the boot which knocked the plug off the bottom of the solenoid.
- I suspect I am going to have to replace the shocks this year but for an 11 year old car I can't complain.
Other than above, it has never missed a beat. HGF is not an issue if you keep an eye on the coolant and warm the engine gently before going balls-out. The leaky roof can be annoying but you can fix that with a bit of adjustment of the windows.
Getting in and out is tricky at first but once you have the knack, it is fairly easy. I do have a little trouble in the garage though as I do not have much room to open the door.
When you drive it, you will soon forgive all the little quirks. As I said, mine is not a daily driver but I'm not put off having to drive a long distance in it.
We've had a VXT since 2003. The wifebeast uses it as her daily driver, she's changed jobs a couple of times in that period, but up to 60 miles round trip distance.
She's perfectly happy with it and has no desire to swap it for a pink Micra or similar so I guess that officially makes it a girlie car. She liked it even more after it got a stage 2 remap and exhaust.
It's had the tights mod to the heater intake and the only real concession to girliness is that she insists on the hardtop being on between about November and March
She's perfectly happy with it and has no desire to swap it for a pink Micra or similar so I guess that officially makes it a girlie car. She liked it even more after it got a stage 2 remap and exhaust.
It's had the tights mod to the heater intake and the only real concession to girliness is that she insists on the hardtop being on between about November and March
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff