How to achieve financial ruin: 2002 Elise s2
Discussion
After spending a year looking for an Elise, and almost buying a barn find S1 that needed a bit of work, I eventually found this at Giles Cooper Automotive: A 2002 Elise sports tourer in what is to my eyes one of the most beautiful colours you can get the car in.
I had originally seen it for sale in September 2019 but it sold- I was gutted to not have been able to get the funds then to purchase it then, but after promising my long suffering girlfriend that I would stop looking at Seloc,pistonheads, gumtree, etc everyday, I sucumbed once again and found it for sale, by the same dealer, for the same price.
I called and asked for the story of the car; why was it back up for sale? And apparently the person that bought it loved the car but decided it was simply to impractical for him and his wife (thankfully for me!)
After hours (literally) on the phone with Giles, where he described the car and its history (it's sometimes done less than 1 000 miles per year), sent me photos of the chassis, we eventually managed to book in a viewing and the car was as described: a bit of microblistering on the doors close to the windows, no damage whatsoever, good service history and 28 500 miles. Drove the car and fell in love - it's exactly as I hoped it would be.
Picked it up yesterday morning from Giles, drove to Ipswich for lunch and I'm now driving it back to France where I live, doing 700 miles in 3 days (with my very, very understanding girlfriend). I wanted to spend more time and visit some nice roads before getting on the eurotunnel but I guess I have Coronavirus to thank for that..
The plan is to take it easy while I learn what the car is like to drive, but so far I love how communicative it is, and it feels perfect for short people (like me and my 5' 7). It's even somewhat practical with decent luggage space and fuel economy!
Driving today to the tunnel and then to Lille, with Sunday being spent driving down to Lyon.
Hoping to do a few trackdays in it this year (and getting paint protection film applied and maybe a toe link kit as well) and keeping it standard for the next year or two, as the car is completely original. Or maybe I won't resist getting an induction kit....
I had originally seen it for sale in September 2019 but it sold- I was gutted to not have been able to get the funds then to purchase it then, but after promising my long suffering girlfriend that I would stop looking at Seloc,pistonheads, gumtree, etc everyday, I sucumbed once again and found it for sale, by the same dealer, for the same price.
I called and asked for the story of the car; why was it back up for sale? And apparently the person that bought it loved the car but decided it was simply to impractical for him and his wife (thankfully for me!)
After hours (literally) on the phone with Giles, where he described the car and its history (it's sometimes done less than 1 000 miles per year), sent me photos of the chassis, we eventually managed to book in a viewing and the car was as described: a bit of microblistering on the doors close to the windows, no damage whatsoever, good service history and 28 500 miles. Drove the car and fell in love - it's exactly as I hoped it would be.
Picked it up yesterday morning from Giles, drove to Ipswich for lunch and I'm now driving it back to France where I live, doing 700 miles in 3 days (with my very, very understanding girlfriend). I wanted to spend more time and visit some nice roads before getting on the eurotunnel but I guess I have Coronavirus to thank for that..
The plan is to take it easy while I learn what the car is like to drive, but so far I love how communicative it is, and it feels perfect for short people (like me and my 5' 7). It's even somewhat practical with decent luggage space and fuel economy!
Driving today to the tunnel and then to Lille, with Sunday being spent driving down to Lyon.
Hoping to do a few trackdays in it this year (and getting paint protection film applied and maybe a toe link kit as well) and keeping it standard for the next year or two, as the car is completely original. Or maybe I won't resist getting an induction kit....
I had a 52 plate long tail so they made them then also. I think 03 was the swap over point. I still have a few long tail roof bows to sell if anyone is interested left over from my old car (they’re NLA).
Great car and you’ll not lose a penny with it which is half the beauty of Elise’s.
Great car and you’ll not lose a penny with it which is half the beauty of Elise’s.
Cheers everyone, it's a great car and i'm in love with it so far! The colour is gorgeous in person, and the car really is in great condition - The only issue being the original radio doesn't want to change volume or station, so I might change the headunit altogether..
And I do believe as well that these '02 s2s came with a long roof, but I could be wrong. Love the look of it, even if it's a bit of a faff to remove! Hoping it wont give me big bills, but ready in case the k-series eventually lets go (treating it carefully before it gets up to temperature should help though)
Right, as for the trip itself:
First time in the Eurotunnel, wasn't ready for how tight the carriages are, but eventually made it in and out without a scratch.
A swift 35 min later and we're on our way to a quiet and deserted Lille. Guess people were already predicting the lockdown as no one was on the streets.
Left the next day for a 7 hour drive down south to Lyon, at a steady 70 mph with some music thanks to our wireless speaker, and averaging 40 mpg. Event though the seats are hard and economically padded, they're still quite alright for a long trip, what really gets tiring is the windnoise coming from the a pillars (I think maybe the seals don't do their job very well) and road noise - but who cares, the car more than makes up for it in the corners tbh.
Love the stack instruments and the view with the haunches!
Somewhere two hours north of Lyon to refuel and stretch our legs.
We arrived Sunday night, and the car has developed a noise of some sorts coming from behind the drivers side - sounds like a ticking belt sound. Inspected the belt a bit and it seems fine, but I need to check it a bit better.
Monday evening rolled by and with it, a lockdown announcement starting Tuesday at noon.
Well, better go for a drive then.
Lyon has some interesting roads nearby, with one in particular being very good - the d78. Its usually deserted,full of twists and turns, with elevations changes and straights, it's really good fun and a good place to see what an Elise is really like, as most of the road has plenty of visibility.
Alarm off at 7, and in the car by 7.30! Once on the road, I started to slowly see how it handled. Coming from a mk2.5 mx5 that I thought was pretty efficient at dispatching a country road, the Elise blew me away. The way it sticks, the way it tells you everything about the grip it has, and the power of the brakes. WOW. I see that it can be very easy to get carried away though, as it masks its speed well, so I think I need to book myself a track day soon to get to its limits (Macron can we erm, get this lockdown thing done with soon please? Just let us go on track, no one needs to leave their cars. We'll behave, promise.)
The engine, even if it's not the most powerful engine out there and seems to run out of puff at 5/ 5.5 k rpm, is still a good fit to the car. Even though it sounds good as it is (fully original) I can't help but wonder if maybe an induction kit would improve things... And knowing a couple of people with Elise S1 s that are modified to 170 bhp doesn't help either..
Sadly, I didn't take any pictures. But I had so much fun that I went back at lunch time. Since we'll be locked at home for 15 days et all...
Can easily see myself keeping this for years. Hoping it wont lose any money if time comes to sell one day though!
TL, DR: Man buys Elise, loves it.
And I do believe as well that these '02 s2s came with a long roof, but I could be wrong. Love the look of it, even if it's a bit of a faff to remove! Hoping it wont give me big bills, but ready in case the k-series eventually lets go (treating it carefully before it gets up to temperature should help though)
Right, as for the trip itself:
First time in the Eurotunnel, wasn't ready for how tight the carriages are, but eventually made it in and out without a scratch.
A swift 35 min later and we're on our way to a quiet and deserted Lille. Guess people were already predicting the lockdown as no one was on the streets.
Left the next day for a 7 hour drive down south to Lyon, at a steady 70 mph with some music thanks to our wireless speaker, and averaging 40 mpg. Event though the seats are hard and economically padded, they're still quite alright for a long trip, what really gets tiring is the windnoise coming from the a pillars (I think maybe the seals don't do their job very well) and road noise - but who cares, the car more than makes up for it in the corners tbh.
Love the stack instruments and the view with the haunches!
Somewhere two hours north of Lyon to refuel and stretch our legs.
We arrived Sunday night, and the car has developed a noise of some sorts coming from behind the drivers side - sounds like a ticking belt sound. Inspected the belt a bit and it seems fine, but I need to check it a bit better.
Monday evening rolled by and with it, a lockdown announcement starting Tuesday at noon.
Well, better go for a drive then.
Lyon has some interesting roads nearby, with one in particular being very good - the d78. Its usually deserted,full of twists and turns, with elevations changes and straights, it's really good fun and a good place to see what an Elise is really like, as most of the road has plenty of visibility.
Alarm off at 7, and in the car by 7.30! Once on the road, I started to slowly see how it handled. Coming from a mk2.5 mx5 that I thought was pretty efficient at dispatching a country road, the Elise blew me away. The way it sticks, the way it tells you everything about the grip it has, and the power of the brakes. WOW. I see that it can be very easy to get carried away though, as it masks its speed well, so I think I need to book myself a track day soon to get to its limits (Macron can we erm, get this lockdown thing done with soon please? Just let us go on track, no one needs to leave their cars. We'll behave, promise.)
The engine, even if it's not the most powerful engine out there and seems to run out of puff at 5/ 5.5 k rpm, is still a good fit to the car. Even though it sounds good as it is (fully original) I can't help but wonder if maybe an induction kit would improve things... And knowing a couple of people with Elise S1 s that are modified to 170 bhp doesn't help either..
Sadly, I didn't take any pictures. But I had so much fun that I went back at lunch time. Since we'll be locked at home for 15 days et all...
Can easily see myself keeping this for years. Hoping it wont lose any money if time comes to sell one day though!
TL, DR: Man buys Elise, loves it.
Nobbles said:
Come and join the lockdown in Lyon. Home to a surprising amount of RHD elise’s and amazing Beaujolais roads for them.
Should we go for a collective Elise lockdown drive? : D And there do seem a lot of them around...Would you happen to know who I can take it to for servicing? Struggling to find info on this
A lovely car, enjoy it, they are great little things.
Unless anyone more experienced than me can suggest otherwise, go for the induction kit. I used to have access to one of these both before and after the K&N was fitted.
The only downside I remember, was that you find yourself ringing it out through the gears far more often just to enjoy the extra noise coming from over your shoulder.
Unless anyone more experienced than me can suggest otherwise, go for the induction kit. I used to have access to one of these both before and after the K&N was fitted.
The only downside I remember, was that you find yourself ringing it out through the gears far more often just to enjoy the extra noise coming from over your shoulder.
Sorry for the late reply..
https://www.bauden-racing-cars.fr
Also search on facebook:
Sportives amberieux a meet up every third sunday of the month just north of Lyon. Sometimes over 200 cars.. lots of Porsche's and Lotii a good excuse on a sunday morning with the sun shining with a cafe selling a surprisingly large amount of rose (only in France). I have no idea when things will start up again though.. I hope not so soon as I have been busy decorating and not had chance for car cleaning yet... hopefully next week...
https://www.bauden-racing-cars.fr
Also search on facebook:
Sportives amberieux a meet up every third sunday of the month just north of Lyon. Sometimes over 200 cars.. lots of Porsche's and Lotii a good excuse on a sunday morning with the sun shining with a cafe selling a surprisingly large amount of rose (only in France). I have no idea when things will start up again though.. I hope not so soon as I have been busy decorating and not had chance for car cleaning yet... hopefully next week...
Loafers92 said:
First time in the Eurotunnel, wasn't ready for how tight the carriages are, but eventually made it in and out without a scratch.
I know Elise' don't have the best visibility in some scenarios (have oft used the family S1), but try getting onto the Eurotunnel in a Disco 4 Commercial... That's one hell of a brick for getting through those doors at a funny angle!2 month update!
After purchasing the Elise and driving back to France in it, it was announced that the country (and pretty much most of Europe) were going into lockdown, but that wouldn't stop me from enjoying it- Turns out the Elise is a pretty good grocery and baguette getter! Which meant that I managed to put around 100 miles, doing short (20 minute ) trips to keep the battery and everything else in check.
But the time to drive the Elise would come - My company needed me in Clermont-Ferrand (roughly a two hour drive from Lyon) to prepare our upcoming season (we run a racing school at the Charade circuit, and we needed to test the cars).
The more I drive the Elise, the more I love it: I drove top down the whole way at 70 /80 mph, with the sun shining, music blasting - it doesn't get much better than this. And all this while averaging an almost impossible 6l per 100 km.
My friend/boss has an Elise like mine in the family, drove mine and aproved it - he said it drives as it should, with absolutely no flaws, and says he much prefers the Lotus sports exhaust to the Larini set up they have- His Larini clubsport(I think?) sounds beautiful but it's too loud for everyday and makes long trips a bit of a chore.
He also has a beautiful '64 Cooper that's been restored not that long ago and is an absolute hoot to drive - We went out for a drive on the old circuit of Charade (it's a public road that was used for years as part of the French GP in the '60s and early '70s when Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart raced there) and the Cooper can drive at a pretty decent speed down the hill! It helps that my friend knows what he's doing behind the wheel, as he also races vintage Formula Fords.
But he is selling it to buy an Elise of his own. I also let two other friends (one owns an Alpine A110 and usually drives -and wins -GT4 races) drive it and they loved it. Safe to say they'll both be buying one before the end of the year! The plan is for us to roadtrip our Lotus to Portugal in August for some weeks in the Alentejo coast, B-roads and top down all the way (we're young and stupid!)
After two days of testing the school cars, I thought it was time to see how the Elise handled on track: I bought it to do the ocasional trackday, and there was no better place to do it than at the Charade circuit - It's no longer the 8 km track as it was until the '80s, but the 4 km layout still uses half of the old layout, and it's really fun with plenty of elevation changes, off camber corners and high speed sections. I love it. I just did 5 laps with it and a couple of hot laps to not push it too much, and it handled it really well- A bit soft after spending the day lapping the track our school cars, but still really nice to drive. The brake feel is just perfect. It also helps that it has new mintex trackday pads.
Day over, and time to drive back to Lyon late at night. The car so far hasn't missed a beat (knock on the wood) and I couldn't be happier with it. I plan on keeping it for as long as I can and I genuinely hope I'll never have to sell it!
After purchasing the Elise and driving back to France in it, it was announced that the country (and pretty much most of Europe) were going into lockdown, but that wouldn't stop me from enjoying it- Turns out the Elise is a pretty good grocery and baguette getter! Which meant that I managed to put around 100 miles, doing short (20 minute ) trips to keep the battery and everything else in check.
But the time to drive the Elise would come - My company needed me in Clermont-Ferrand (roughly a two hour drive from Lyon) to prepare our upcoming season (we run a racing school at the Charade circuit, and we needed to test the cars).
The more I drive the Elise, the more I love it: I drove top down the whole way at 70 /80 mph, with the sun shining, music blasting - it doesn't get much better than this. And all this while averaging an almost impossible 6l per 100 km.
My friend/boss has an Elise like mine in the family, drove mine and aproved it - he said it drives as it should, with absolutely no flaws, and says he much prefers the Lotus sports exhaust to the Larini set up they have- His Larini clubsport(I think?) sounds beautiful but it's too loud for everyday and makes long trips a bit of a chore.
He also has a beautiful '64 Cooper that's been restored not that long ago and is an absolute hoot to drive - We went out for a drive on the old circuit of Charade (it's a public road that was used for years as part of the French GP in the '60s and early '70s when Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart raced there) and the Cooper can drive at a pretty decent speed down the hill! It helps that my friend knows what he's doing behind the wheel, as he also races vintage Formula Fords.
But he is selling it to buy an Elise of his own. I also let two other friends (one owns an Alpine A110 and usually drives -and wins -GT4 races) drive it and they loved it. Safe to say they'll both be buying one before the end of the year! The plan is for us to roadtrip our Lotus to Portugal in August for some weeks in the Alentejo coast, B-roads and top down all the way (we're young and stupid!)
After two days of testing the school cars, I thought it was time to see how the Elise handled on track: I bought it to do the ocasional trackday, and there was no better place to do it than at the Charade circuit - It's no longer the 8 km track as it was until the '80s, but the 4 km layout still uses half of the old layout, and it's really fun with plenty of elevation changes, off camber corners and high speed sections. I love it. I just did 5 laps with it and a couple of hot laps to not push it too much, and it handled it really well- A bit soft after spending the day lapping the track our school cars, but still really nice to drive. The brake feel is just perfect. It also helps that it has new mintex trackday pads.
Day over, and time to drive back to Lyon late at night. The car so far hasn't missed a beat (knock on the wood) and I couldn't be happier with it. I plan on keeping it for as long as I can and I genuinely hope I'll never have to sell it!
After 5 months and 8k miles, life with an Elise is still sweet!
I had two weeks of holidays this year, so I decided to go back home and visit my friends and family with the Elise, with absolutely 0 preparation : D
I started off by driving to Barcelona to see some friends for the weekend. The whole trip down was done in a morning at 70 mph, with stops just for fuel, all whilst basking in perfect summer weather.
After a quick weekend, it was time for the next stop: Lisbon. I wanted to make the most out of my holidays, so I decided to just do that leg of the journey on the motorway (a big waste of car for the road though) and try to make it to Lisbon the same day. It meant of course, driving through Madrid, in August, in the middle of the day, with 36 degree temps. The Elise handled it perfectly, with a temp of 93 degrees showing during the whole time on the highway, although I had to stop a couple of times to rehydrate and get out of the car as it was unbearably warm inside.
10 hours later, and I was finally home, with not even a sore back (although I must admit these seats aren't the most comfortable). Driving the Elise in the place I grew up sure was special - I grew up close to the Estoril circuit and to some of the legendary Sintra Group B rally stages - so having a chance to drive those roads again in the Lotus was awesome.
On the way back up to France, I decided I'd try the "N222" road that goes from Porto all the way to the East of Portugal, some 200 kms of driving roads. I didn't manage to take any photos as I was running out of time to really stop and take in the view, but the road is gorgeous. The only downside is the local traffic that abides to a very relaxed type of driving. The car was handling it perfectly though, with no issues at all and happy to drive fast on this fantastic bit of road.
After a couple of hours of fun driving, I had to get on the highway to gain back some time and make it in time to my next stop at a highway motel in Pau, so I could spend the next day driving from Pau to Clermont-Ferrand using just local b-roads - a good decision as I got closer to Clermont, the scenery started getting more mountaineous and hilly, which means the roads get a lot more interesting- some of the roads are used for hill climb races, and just the weekend after one of my colleagues would race on the same roads in his 70's Sunbeam.
[img]
I'd love to do this whole trip again but with much more time so I can avoid motorways in the future and just enjoy the smaller roads instead. The car is unbelievably fun and more than fast enough for most roads even with just 122 bhp , so I can only imagine what an Exige with its 189 bhp toyota engine must be like..
My plans for the Elise are now to give it its French registration (lengthy process but pretty simple to do) and do some preventative maintenance this winter in the form of an Aluminium radiator, mls headgasket, pprrt kit, and a full c-service. I considered adding some 135 cams but I think I wont bother as the car is already so sweet as it is. I took it for its French Mot 2 weeks ago and found out one of the front shock absorbers is considerably weaker than the other, but to be quite honest I can barely tell when driving. A quick look in the wheel arches shows that they both look equally old and worn but the car still feels very tight and solid so I'll hold off purchasing a new set until next year. Is it usual for an Elise to have unequal shock absorber wear?
I also saw that in 8 000 miles it consumed roughly 750 ml of oil - I did some hard driving with the car, maybe that could be why?
Other than this, the car is a joy to drive and so easy to toss around! For anyone on the fence about buying one, definitely go for it.
I had two weeks of holidays this year, so I decided to go back home and visit my friends and family with the Elise, with absolutely 0 preparation : D
I started off by driving to Barcelona to see some friends for the weekend. The whole trip down was done in a morning at 70 mph, with stops just for fuel, all whilst basking in perfect summer weather.
After a quick weekend, it was time for the next stop: Lisbon. I wanted to make the most out of my holidays, so I decided to just do that leg of the journey on the motorway (a big waste of car for the road though) and try to make it to Lisbon the same day. It meant of course, driving through Madrid, in August, in the middle of the day, with 36 degree temps. The Elise handled it perfectly, with a temp of 93 degrees showing during the whole time on the highway, although I had to stop a couple of times to rehydrate and get out of the car as it was unbearably warm inside.
10 hours later, and I was finally home, with not even a sore back (although I must admit these seats aren't the most comfortable). Driving the Elise in the place I grew up sure was special - I grew up close to the Estoril circuit and to some of the legendary Sintra Group B rally stages - so having a chance to drive those roads again in the Lotus was awesome.
On the way back up to France, I decided I'd try the "N222" road that goes from Porto all the way to the East of Portugal, some 200 kms of driving roads. I didn't manage to take any photos as I was running out of time to really stop and take in the view, but the road is gorgeous. The only downside is the local traffic that abides to a very relaxed type of driving. The car was handling it perfectly though, with no issues at all and happy to drive fast on this fantastic bit of road.
After a couple of hours of fun driving, I had to get on the highway to gain back some time and make it in time to my next stop at a highway motel in Pau, so I could spend the next day driving from Pau to Clermont-Ferrand using just local b-roads - a good decision as I got closer to Clermont, the scenery started getting more mountaineous and hilly, which means the roads get a lot more interesting- some of the roads are used for hill climb races, and just the weekend after one of my colleagues would race on the same roads in his 70's Sunbeam.
[img]I'd love to do this whole trip again but with much more time so I can avoid motorways in the future and just enjoy the smaller roads instead. The car is unbelievably fun and more than fast enough for most roads even with just 122 bhp , so I can only imagine what an Exige with its 189 bhp toyota engine must be like..
My plans for the Elise are now to give it its French registration (lengthy process but pretty simple to do) and do some preventative maintenance this winter in the form of an Aluminium radiator, mls headgasket, pprrt kit, and a full c-service. I considered adding some 135 cams but I think I wont bother as the car is already so sweet as it is. I took it for its French Mot 2 weeks ago and found out one of the front shock absorbers is considerably weaker than the other, but to be quite honest I can barely tell when driving. A quick look in the wheel arches shows that they both look equally old and worn but the car still feels very tight and solid so I'll hold off purchasing a new set until next year. Is it usual for an Elise to have unequal shock absorber wear?
I also saw that in 8 000 miles it consumed roughly 750 ml of oil - I did some hard driving with the car, maybe that could be why?
Other than this, the car is a joy to drive and so easy to toss around! For anyone on the fence about buying one, definitely go for it.
Nyloc20 said:
Great story and pics, as a Lotus owner on and off since 1975 it's always good to hear from happy owners. You'll be in good company if you keep it a long time, I frequently come across owners who've had theirs for years, obviously some prefer to upgrade.
Lotus owners usually are very kind and love to share the ownership experience with other people (its a bit what made me want to buy one!) I'll definitely try hanging on to this one for as long as I can but an Exige is very tempting..maybe next year! Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff