Elise prices. What's going on?
Discussion
giveitfish said:
I’m the opposite, wouldn’t be without it! I remember after a 500 mile trip home from Le Mans one year in blazing sun in my S1 I had to throw away my t-shirt lol. When I got out of the car I’d sweated so much there was an outline of the seatbelt marked in salt!
One of the reasons I traded up from an S1 to an S3 was air con. It's nice to have the option to either have the roof off & air con blowing cold air over you, or if you're in the midday blazing sun, roof on and air con on. My Irish skin doesn't take well to being burnt!The air con in my S3 is also way more efficient since fitting the Eliseparts alloy radiator set & upgraded fans.
Puzzles said:
Thanks John, do you know what they changed?
As I read horror stories about condensers, pipes in sills, problems with the electrical part etc.
My car is a final edition from 2021 so amongst the last Elises. I had the geo tweaked and the friendly specialist told me he AC unit had been changed from earlier cars. I believe the pipes were the problem and their design was changed as well. Don’t know what MY that was effective, perhaps from the MY17 facelift?As I read horror stories about condensers, pipes in sills, problems with the electrical part etc.
Yes I'd hope with AC I could do a few more miles per year. I get burned easy so in the summer the roof + AC would be idea of me.
highway said:
My car is a final edition from 2021 so amongst the last Elises. I had the geo tweaked and the friendly specialist told me he AC unit had been changed from earlier cars. I believe the pipes were the problem and their design was changed as well. Don’t know what MY that was effective, perhaps from the MY17 facelift?
Thank you, great to hear!The AC condenser has a docking socket on now that Ali to Ali rather than having the steel nuts onto Aluminum pipe which has caused many a swear word in many a workshop up and down the country!
RE the V6 cars that's part of my checklist but the main points. They are "exotic" cars so you should be prepared for the running costs for sure. They are much more expensive to run than the old S1 and 2 cars. Similar to a Porsche is the overall feeling I have.
RE the V6 cars that's part of my checklist but the main points. They are "exotic" cars so you should be prepared for the running costs for sure. They are much more expensive to run than the old S1 and 2 cars. Similar to a Porsche is the overall feeling I have.
Looking to advertise our 1999 S1 Elise, 49k miles, maintained to a very high standard annually regardless of mileage.
Standard apart from ITG Induction Kit and new 52mm throttle body.
Recent service and check over at Lotus Silverstone. Newly refreshed suspension, new instrument cluster, alternator and loads of other recent work.
Going to advertise it privately initially, not quite sure where to price it though.
Anyone sold or bought recently?
Would be interested what the collective reckon to current value.
Standard apart from ITG Induction Kit and new 52mm throttle body.
Recent service and check over at Lotus Silverstone. Newly refreshed suspension, new instrument cluster, alternator and loads of other recent work.
Going to advertise it privately initially, not quite sure where to price it though.
Anyone sold or bought recently?
Would be interested what the collective reckon to current value.
I have a similar car and was thinking £15-16k to actually get it sold in a reasonable time.
Is the S1 market much different?
fridaypassion said:
I wouldn't even take on a Rover S2 at the moment theres just literally no demand for them any more sadly. I might have to refuse them as PX if it carries on like it had been this year.
How come? Is it just price expectations vs reality? Is the S1 market much different?
I think anything sub 30k is struggling people just dont have the disposable income. The market was changing back in 2019 but Covid put a great big sticking plaster over it for 3 years but we are well out of that now. A Lot of demand for the old cars specially S1s was actually from Europe which now thanks to Brexit the cars are no longer viable for EU buyers. To be fair the market in Europe also has similar issues at the moment. It's no longer a cheap hobby with insurance costs and £80 an hour plus to get work done.
The chaps with the cash on the hip for toy cars are spending at 40 plus k these days and I'm finding the V6/Emiras a lot easier to sell than the older cars. I can't see this getting anything other than worse going forward either. You can sell any car but I think in 25 we'll continue to see a decline in these older cars there are just no punters for them at all.
The chaps with the cash on the hip for toy cars are spending at 40 plus k these days and I'm finding the V6/Emiras a lot easier to sell than the older cars. I can't see this getting anything other than worse going forward either. You can sell any car but I think in 25 we'll continue to see a decline in these older cars there are just no punters for them at all.
fridaypassion said:
I think anything sub 30k is struggling people just dont have the disposable income. The market was changing back in 2019 but Covid put a great big sticking plaster over it for 3 years but we are well out of that now. A Lot of demand for the old cars specially S1s was actually from Europe which now thanks to Brexit the cars are no longer viable for EU buyers. To be fair the market in Europe also has similar issues at the moment. It's no longer a cheap hobby with insurance costs and £80 an hour plus to get work done.
The chaps with the cash on the hip for toy cars are spending at 40 plus k these days and I'm finding the V6/Emiras a lot easier to sell than the older cars. I can't see this getting anything other than worse going forward either. You can sell any car but I think in 25 we'll continue to see a decline in these older cars there are just no punters for them at all.
It’s not specific to these cars, market is flat. Porsche dealers with new Spyder RS cars for sale at list, compared to the traditional by special invite only + take one for the team approach. The chaps with the cash on the hip for toy cars are spending at 40 plus k these days and I'm finding the V6/Emiras a lot easier to sell than the older cars. I can't see this getting anything other than worse going forward either. You can sell any car but I think in 25 we'll continue to see a decline in these older cars there are just no punters for them at all.
Cost of borrowing high, uncertainty high, pcp rates high, mortgages high, risk - people aren’t spending.
The 2 issues are, as said above: Over £40k, the interest costs on cars are in the multiple thousands. A new Emira I looked at had interest costs of £11,000 on the finance!
Below this the market for 'everyday people' has gone thanks to increased mortgage rates and business confidence crashing, making people not take on expensive luxury toys. Plus, IMO, Elises are old cars, even the last ones are essentially just nicer versions of a car designed a very long time ago.
i just looked at some cars I had been window shopping. This is how much the prices have dropped on them:
Audi R8 £5000
AM V8 £7000
M2 (one of the cheapest) £4000
Focus RS and Megane RS Mk3 £0
Below this the market for 'everyday people' has gone thanks to increased mortgage rates and business confidence crashing, making people not take on expensive luxury toys. Plus, IMO, Elises are old cars, even the last ones are essentially just nicer versions of a car designed a very long time ago.
i just looked at some cars I had been window shopping. This is how much the prices have dropped on them:
Audi R8 £5000
AM V8 £7000
M2 (one of the cheapest) £4000
Focus RS and Megane RS Mk3 £0
Edited by Frimley111R on Sunday 1st December 18:15
Seems similar to the Chimaera market.
Older, cheaper, abundant sportscars the arse really has fallen out the market.
I tentatively put mine on the market for £9k, lots of messages but not a single viewing or serious buyer.
Absolutely not worth selling it for any less so it can sit in the garage.
Older, cheaper, abundant sportscars the arse really has fallen out the market.
I tentatively put mine on the market for £9k, lots of messages but not a single viewing or serious buyer.
Absolutely not worth selling it for any less so it can sit in the garage.
long term I think the Elise & TVR market will pick up as they're so truly analogue. Cars that rely on straight line speed will suffer more, BMWs and the like. Confidence will pick up just at the time when most middle-aged good earners will have an EV on the drive and desire a contrast to that. An M3 won't cut it. The Tesla Roadster (or equivalent) might be awesome in many ways, but it's still not an Elise down a B road. Nasp power curves and manual gearboxes will make a comeback!
Maybe not next year though.
Maybe not next year though.
CABC said:
long term I think the Elise & TVR market will pick up as they're so truly analogue. Cars that rely on straight line speed will suffer more, BMWs and the like. Confidence will pick up just at the time when most middle-aged good earners will have an EV on the drive and desire a contrast to that. An M3 won't cut it. The Tesla Roadster (or equivalent) might be awesome in many ways, but it's still not an Elise down a B road. Nasp power curves and manual gearboxes will make a comeback!
Maybe not next year though.
I think they deserve that but i'm not confident it will happen ever. Maybe not next year though.
I really think it will, a growing number of enthusiasts are rapidly losing interest in new cars. The driver assists are widely disliked as is the increase in weight, complexity, touchscreens and haptic controls. Next round of emissions and safety legislation will further erode character and driver feedback, all the tech is pushing towards autonomous driving. Electric steering was only brought in to allow active lane keep assist. Having lived with a 2019 car with emergency brake assist I am totally against the technology it is more likely to cause an accident than save me from one. As a result the most recent car I have bought is a 2017 car which is blessed by the absence of this ‘safety’ tech and is blessed with far higher quality tactile buttons than our 2019 car from the same brand.
So I think cars like the Elise will only become a more appreciated as long as they are allowed in the road. Could there be a better contrast or antidote to a large SUV? You can’t buy one new and not even Lotus will ever make anything like it again.
So I think cars like the Elise will only become a more appreciated as long as they are allowed in the road. Could there be a better contrast or antidote to a large SUV? You can’t buy one new and not even Lotus will ever make anything like it again.
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