Elise prices. What's going on?

[giveitfish]

I bet not many. All Lotus variants are rare, the S3 1.6 Club Racer like mine was on sale for years yet there are less than 40 in the UK.

My old NA Evora Sports Racer was one of 20 or so.

[Quags]

According to my certificate of authentication from Lotus, there were 15 made.

Mine is the only one made in Signature Orange/Exige Orange with this spec. It was a demo car so had the full alcantara interior/soundproofing etc

This colour wasn't available on the Sprint and was a special dealer only option

[highway]

I’ve watched S3 prices for years. The past 12 months the market for the late £40k ish cars is indeed flatter than a piece of A4. Many of the cars available have been on sale well over 12 months now.

[CABC]

market is flat for a lot of "hobby" cars. it'll come back, not necessarily boom, but it will swing.
Longer term, Elises will thrive. EVs are wonderful but soulless (ie efficient & effective!). They'll be demand for lightweight engaging cars and the Elise is luxurious compared to a Caterham, and nearly as visceral. I wouldn't hold on to those heavyweight German super saloons as their lunch has just been eaten by EVs, and ALL they have left is noise. On that note, I must give full credit to the TRD airbox on my own Elise for releasing a full symphony of induction over 4000rpm. That's proper heaven compared to some exhaust fakery and worth passing on to the next generation.

[fridaypassion]

bennno said:

Possibly as you've been talking the Elise market down for months? Why didn't you bid on it in the auction at £28k

So many dealers either now only want to buy at rock bottom, or have customers continue to fund their stock on a SOR basis whilst they make a large margin.

Nope this is not right TBH if you have learn one thing from me its that you'll get an accurate representation of what's actually going on with no filter. If the news doesn't suit you at the time sorry about that but better times will come! You hear what I have been saying from other owners and stuff as well. Also there is zero benefit in me talking the market down why would I want to do that?! It makes no sense. Obviously we want to buy as low as possible but recently you'll see retail prices from me far cheaper than private sales. The best time for us is when there's that "feel good" thing going on and we get cars in and out and the whole system is just working. Remember for us low price or high price is completely irrelevant its the bit in the middle I'm looking for and that's easier to find by a long shot in a more healthy market.

Re SOR hmm some dealers charge a surprising amount I think and the ones with built in workshops you need to watch as they will rinse you for prep before going live then have their SOR fee. I charge £3000 to sell a car. Is that a lot? Its £2600 after VAT which is then £1300 after tax (Corp/Div/PAYE) its not a lot of money when you think we just spent £11000 on a V6 engine replacement to get it away. Some dealers charge as little as a grand which is financial suicide or they don't look after people like I do or don't prep the cars.

As for CC I hardly ever go on there its not exactly the top destination for stock for me (my own socials and direct contacts are BTW) Auctions are not generally a great place to buy performance cars I feel. BTW if anyone has a Sprint and wants more than 28k for it pm me

[itcaptainslow]

Being fair, you said yourself previously the person you bought that V6 from paid for the engine repair/replacement.

[fridaypassion]

He paid a bit under half of it if we are in nitpick mode

In that same month you wouldn't believe some of the other stuff that went on. I nearly closed the business.

[Grantstown]

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17497162

I like the look of this car. It would be to replace my little track car (Clio 172) and basically be fun on the road, with the option of a couple of track days per year. For this sort of purpose it looks good to me.

[GTRene]

in the Netherlands this LHD beauty is/was for sale, love it, low weight, compact, great looks and power, put a supercharger on it and you can have a superfast just 2kg per HP car. mmm

[Algernon_C_F]

CABC said:

market is flat for a lot of "hobby" cars. it'll come back, not necessarily boom, but it will swing.
Longer term, Elises will thrive. EVs are wonderful but soulless (ie efficient & effective!). They'll be demand for lightweight engaging cars and the Elise is luxurious compared to a Caterham, and nearly as visceral. I wouldn't hold on to those heavyweight German super saloons as their lunch has just been eaten by EVs, and ALL they have left is noise. On that note, I must give full credit to the TRD airbox on my own Elise for releasing a full symphony of induction over 4000rpm. That's proper heaven compared to some exhaust fakery and worth passing on to the next generation.

I find myself in resolute agreement regarding the enduring appeal of the Elise, representing as it does the purest distillation of Colin Chapman's philosophical approach to automotive design. While the market undoubtedly experiences cycles of enthusiasm and indifference toward specialised vehicles, the fundamental brilliance of a properly lightweight, naturally aspirated sports car remains immune to trendy obsolescence.

Father maintained an almost religious devotion to Lotus throughout his life, frequently describing his S1 Elan as "the only car that ever truly understood me." He would become positively incandescent with rage at suggestions of Lotus developing an SUV, considering it tantamount to ecclesiastical heresy. One imagines his spectral form is currently manifesting at Hethel with expressions of profound disapproval.

I must concur enthusiastically regarding induction noise. The symphony of properly engineered air intake systems provides authentic mechanical communication that artificial sound augmentation cannot hope to replicate. Such sensory experiences—immediate, unfiltered, mechanical—will ensure the Elise remains coveted long after the current market fluctuations have been forgotten.

[otolith]

CABC said:

On that note, I must give full credit to the TRD airbox on my own Elise for releasing a full symphony of induction over 4000rpm. That's proper heaven compared to some exhaust fakery and worth passing on to the next generation.

They sound better with a bit of tweaking (I have a TRD on mine, and a fruitier but not much louder 2bular exhaust, though the supercharger is now the dominant noise) but there's no escaping the humbleness of the engines. It's the only thing I'm not so keen on. I'd like a V6 Exige, but that would be hundreds of kilograms heavier.

[twinturban]

Nothing humble about the 2ZZGE one of the greatest 1.8 fours ever built.

[T_S_M]

As a general rule, do prices go up much during the Spring/Summer?

I'm in the market for an S3 Exige but feel I may have timed it wrong with regards to getting a good deal?

[Puzzles]

T_S_M said:

As a general rule, do prices go up much during the Spring/Summer?

It’s been a while since I bought, but ime from years ago… people would wait and a lot of private sales would hit the market in spring and summer. There was much less to choose from in winter.

So I’m not sure it makes much difference.

[T_S_M]

Puzzles said:

T_S_M said:

As a general rule, do prices go up much during the Spring/Summer?

It’s been a while since I bought, but ime from years ago… people would wait and a lot of private sales would hit the market in spring and summer. There was much less to choose from in winter.

So I’m not sure it makes much difference.

I have noticed the number for sale on Autotrader has gone up in the last few weeks.

I guess sellers assume people will be looking to buy in Spring/Summer?

[highway]

The blue S3 Final Edition former press car has been on sale well over 12 months now. I’ve been watching other saved S3 Elise ads and more than a few haven’t moved for seasons.
Maybe some of it is legacy from the Covid years. Prices went up massively and many struggle to reconcile that not all post 17 cars are worth £38-45k anymore.
If you want to buy find a private seller. Their outlets to sell are to Lotus specialists (vanishingly few) or WBAC. The offers they are getting are very low. I know from recent experience selling my FE. Look to buy private and be prepared to haggle.

[fridaypassion]

I finally sold my Olive green one. One of the best Elises I've had and we got £35500 for it. As soon as I dropped it to that the phone was ringing so if you look overall it could just be a price point thing. I'll certainly have to consider that going forward. The difficulty really is there are just so few people actually looking to buy them these days.

[wevster]

fridaypassion said:

I finally sold my Olive green one. One of the best Elises I've had and we got £35500 for it. As soon as I dropped it to that the phone was ringing so if you look overall it could just be a price point thing. I'll certainly have to consider that going forward. The difficulty really is there are just so few people actually looking to buy them these days.

Everything has a price.

The colour on that car was awful.

[fridaypassion]

Well it absolutely wasn't. It was certainly unusual I thought it was awesome personally.

[T_S_M]

fridaypassion said:

I finally sold my Olive green one. One of the best Elises I've had and we got £35500 for it. As soon as I dropped it to that the phone was ringing so if you look overall it could just be a price point thing. I'll certainly have to consider that going forward. The difficulty really is there are just so few people actually looking to buy them these days.

From what you've seen of the market, would you say a manual S3 Exige S for £35k-ish is doable? More than likely a private sale I know rather than dealer.