How long till the £20k Evora?

How long till the £20k Evora?

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Discussion

Mossyboy1978

140 posts

144 months

Monday 5th January 2015
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Interesting one this. I bought an MY12 Evora S IPS for under £40k in September. One owner (Lotus) all packs, every options box ticked as it was a management car. True stunner. Thought it was a bargain price for the spec of the car.

I spotted an 2012 M3 in the exact spec I have always wanted on a dealer site (not Lotus dealer) last week and enquired about possible part ex and the best he could offer was £30k. He spoke to two Lotus dealers
I recommended before offering the price. Let's be clear - he was obviously looking to take my car as cheap as he could to give himself a strong margin but even so - a £10 bath ver three months???? Surely that's not right.

blueg33

35,578 posts

223 months

Monday 5th January 2015
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Mossyboy1978 said:
Interesting one this. I bought an MY12 Evora S IPS for under £40k in September. One owner (Lotus) all packs, every options box ticked as it was a management car. True stunner. Thought it was a bargain price for the spec of the car.

I spotted an 2012 M3 in the exact spec I have always wanted on a dealer site (not Lotus dealer) last week and enquired about possible part ex and the best he could offer was £30k. He spoke to two Lotus dealers
I recommended before offering the price. Let's be clear - he was obviously looking to take my car as cheap as he could to give himself a strong margin but even so - a £10 bath ver three months???? Surely that's not right.
I'll give you £32k depending on colour smile

I will probably be looking for an S IPS in a month or two.

Lotus Dealers dont shift that many cars so like to take a decent margin

limpsfield

5,871 posts

252 months

Monday 5th January 2015
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blueg33 said:
I'll give you £32k depending on colour smile

I will probably be looking for an S IPS in a month or two.

Lotus Dealers dont shift that many cars so like to take a decent margin
This is is a good point. Whilst looking at the retail prices can give us owners a nice warm feeling, I think if you were trading it in you suffer from the spread due to the lack of activity for these cars. I was offered £28k for mine just before last summer by a dealer desperate to get stock in. Considering the time of year I am sure it would be lower now - but still think it will be a long time before we see £20k retail prices on these.

When I was selling my Elise a couple of years ago I had zero interest for weeks and weeks and in the end went to a German importer. . I still think these are great cars from a minimal depreciation point of view - you just need to be patient if you want to achieve the perceived "market" price. If someone only planned on owning one for 6 months or so, it's not going to be that cheap I think.

Edited by limpsfield on Monday 5th January 18:30

Boogs

404 posts

142 months

Monday 5th January 2015
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Mossyboy1978 said:
Interesting one this. I bought an MY12 Evora S IPS for under £40k in September. One owner (Lotus) all packs, every options box ticked as it was a management car. True stunner. Thought it was a bargain price for the spec of the car.

I spotted an 2012 M3 in the exact spec I have always wanted on a dealer site (not Lotus dealer) last week and enquired about possible part ex and the best he could offer was £30k. He spoke to two Lotus dealers
I recommended before offering the price. Let's be clear - he was obviously looking to take my car as cheap as he could to give himself a strong margin but even so - a £10 bath ver three months???? Surely that's not right.
Probably worth talking direct to a lotus dealer. You simply have 2 dealers each wanting their margin here. So you are comparing a double trade in hit against forecourt price. Even try someone like Will Blackham.

There is a lot of comment here comparing forecourt price versus trade in. There will always be a difference here and that hit is taken on day 1 of ownership, dealers need to make a profit, but the forecourt prices are stable, the trade in price is stable and the private sale price is stable and they have been for over 2 years so IMHO it will be a long long time before 30% is knocked off the current prices.

Ikobo

511 posts

148 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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£10k seems insane after three months? I only owned my Evora S for six months myself as I'm terrible for chopping and changing cars, but I sold it back to the dealer I purchased it from for £38k which was £3k less than I paid for it originally. This was earlier this year for reference. To me I just look at that as £3k for a six month car hire of a fantastic machine, which was a bargain in my eyes.

Shnozz

27,421 posts

270 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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Ikobo said:
£10k seems insane after three months? I only owned my Evora S for six months myself as I'm terrible for chopping and changing cars, but I sold it back to the dealer I purchased it from for £38k which was £3k less than I paid for it originally. This was earlier this year for reference. To me I just look at that as £3k for a six month car hire of a fantastic machine, which was a bargain in my eyes.
I see you went to a Vantage. Is that the 4.3 or 4.7? I keep eyeing up Evoras but then think a V8V can be had for the same money...

Any comparisons you could draw?

Ikobo

511 posts

148 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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Oops, I should clarify it was last year I sold my Evora, keep forgetting we're in 2015 now!

As far as comparisons between an Evora S and my current V8V go. The Evora feels massively quicker and handles a hell of a lot better, so if it's all about performance then it's undoubtedly the car to go for out of the two. For me personally the Vantage just feels more special though and if I'm being honest I'm not too fussed for bonkers performance any more. (Maybe it's reaching my forties!)I have to make it clear before the next few things I say that I absolutely love the Evora, but to my eyes the Vantage is a much more beautiful car and I've always wanted to own one. Being inside the Aston you just feel like you're in something that cost a lot of money, it's a bit special I think. That's just not the same in the Lotus. Both cars get very well received by people in general though, attracting a much nicer reception than being behind the wheel of other makes like Porsche for example. (From personal experience)

blueg33

35,578 posts

223 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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Ikobo said:
Oops, I should clarify it was last year I sold my Evora, keep forgetting we're in 2015 now!

As far as comparisons between an Evora S and my current V8V go. The Evora feels massively quicker and handles a hell of a lot better, so if it's all about performance then it's undoubtedly the car to go for out of the two. For me personally the Vantage just feels more special though and if I'm being honest I'm not too fussed for bonkers performance any more. (Maybe it's reaching my forties!)I have to make it clear before the next few things I say that I absolutely love the Evora, but to my eyes the Vantage is a much more beautiful car and I've always wanted to own one. Being inside the Aston you just feel like you're in something that cost a lot of money, it's a bit special I think. That's just not the same in the Lotus. Both cars get very well received by people in general though, attracting a much nicer reception than being behind the wheel of other makes like Porsche for example. (From personal experience)
The Aston definately feels more expensive inside but interestingly from myexperiences I am not sure that non Petrolheads thing that the Lotus is a lesser car, some even think its a Lambo!

For me the V8V was too much of a GT car. When I am ready for a GT then its on the list.

LotusOmega375D

7,580 posts

152 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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Lotus Silverstone were paying 25K - 27K trade-in for early NA Evoras in the autumn. A low miler with all the packs would be at 27K. They generally advertise them for re-sale at about 31K - 33K and they seem to sell eventually. That may sound like a large mark-up, but small dealerships like that need to be very cautious in buying stock: they can't just hoover every Evora up willy-nilly and usually need to tidy up a few things prior to re-sale, so they have to manage their cash-flow accordingly. This may not be the case for the deeper pockets of the large multi-franchise Dealerships of course.

Ikobo

511 posts

148 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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blueg33 said:
The Aston definately feels more expensive inside but interestingly from myexperiences I am not sure that non Petrolheads thing that the Lotus is a lesser car, some even think its a Lambo!

For me the V8V was too much of a GT car. When I am ready for a GT then its on the list.
I don't think I suggested the Evora was a "lesser" car? As for a non car fan thinking an Evora was a Lamborghini, well, that says more about the poor brand recognition Lotus has these days than anything else. I was on the receiving end of that question many times when I had mine "that's a lovely car you have.......er.....what is it?". It gets boring having to explain that one, should people really not know who Lotus are?

And I totally agree, the V8V is a total GT car, I did make a point of saying that from a performance point of view the Evora was way ahead. Don't take what I said as one of the Evora bashing types that inhabit Pistonheads, I'm definitely not in that camp and I thought I had made that clear. My use of the word "special" though is down to categories in which I feel the Aston is ahead of Lotus which matter more to me right now from an ownership perspective, but I make no secret of the fact that in other ways the Lotus has the edge.

Shnozz

27,421 posts

270 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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Ideally I'd keep the Exige and add a V8V for GT duties but parking limitations (not to mention budget implications) mean that is an impossibility for the moment.

I've been out in a V8V several times as a neighbour had use of one and it was a lovely place to be. The Evora that I test drove was a tad underwhelming but I wonder if I got the best out of it and I keep revisiting the idea.

Interesting points anyway, thanks chaps.

And to keep it on topic, I think scarcity will keep the Evora in the £25k - £30k bracket for the earliest cars for a good while yet.

blueg33

35,578 posts

223 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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Ikobo said:
blueg33 said:
The Aston definately feels more expensive inside but interestingly from myexperiences I am not sure that non Petrolheads thing that the Lotus is a lesser car, some even think its a Lambo!

For me the V8V was too much of a GT car. When I am ready for a GT then its on the list.
I don't think I suggested the Evora was a "lesser" car? As for a non car fan thinking an Evora was a Lamborghini, well, that says more about the poor brand recognition Lotus has these days than anything else. I was on the receiving end of that question many times when I had mine "that's a lovely car you have.......er.....what is it?". It gets boring having to explain that one, should people really not know who Lotus are?

And I totally agree, the V8V is a total GT car, I did make a point of saying that from a performance point of view the Evora was way ahead. Don't take what I said as one of the Evora bashing types that inhabit Pistonheads, I'm definitely not in that camp and I thought I had made that clear. My use of the word "special" though is down to categories in which I feel the Aston is ahead of Lotus which matter more to me right now from an ownership perspective, but I make no secret of the fact that in other ways the Lotus has the edge.
I wasnt suggesting that you were Lotus bashing, sorry it it came across like that. I agree that Lotus really need to sort the brand recognition and there is no doubt that the Aston is a very nice place to be, it feels much more premium than the Evora, but the Evora isnt too bad IMO. There is no doubt that the Aston is special to many people, IMO it punches above its weight due to many years of marketing and 007. Ideally I would like both cars in my garage. V8V roadster would be a lovely summer car


Ikobo

511 posts

148 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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That's the thing, they're cars with very different characters so it's kind of hard to lump them in to a comparison anyway. I nearly went for a new Exige V6 after the Evora S, and I can see why an Evora would seem underwhelming in comparison, they feel bonkers from a performance point of view. (As do the higher tuned previous versions)

As is being said though, to agree with others, I can't see very cheap Evora's happening any time soon. I'm actually looking forward to the facelifted version, if they get some improvements right I'll be back at Murray's in Edinburgh throwing my money at them!

Lazydonkey

177 posts

222 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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moribund said:
It'll take a while, but I'm sure they will come down that far and further still. I think the Elise & Exige have a unique niche which basically means if you want a lightweight 2nd car without too many compromises but more practical than a Caterham then they're pretty much the only game in town.

For all it's virtues the same isn't quite true for the Evora, especially with a facelift and increased production coming.

Obviously my view as a hopeful potential owner may be different to that of an existing owner smile
I couldn't disagree more.

Exige 'yota cars went up in value when the V6 came out. s1 elise prices have bottomed out, s1 exige have gone nuts, europa are on the climb. Even m100s are commanding not bad money. So given that ever other Lotus has bottomed out and then stayed at that price why would the evora buck that trend....especially when NAs have been static for some time.

I bought an evora as it literally was the only game in town, other than a 911 that i wouldn't have to sell the minute kids come along. Everyone i know who has an evora loves it and can't think of what to replace it with.

As others have said if the facelift R comes out as S only with a huge price tag it can only help prices.

I knwo you say you can't afford £30k, but if it doesn't depreciate much it will probably cost less than a £20k car to run. Bit of man maths but it worked for me lol

The Wookie

13,909 posts

227 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
Mossyboy1978 said:
Interesting one this. I bought an MY12 Evora S IPS for under £40k in September. One owner (Lotus) all packs, every options box ticked as it was a management car. True stunner. Thought it was a bargain price for the spec of the car.

I spotted an 2012 M3 in the exact spec I have always wanted on a dealer site (not Lotus dealer) last week and enquired about possible part ex and the best he could offer was £30k. He spoke to two Lotus dealers
I recommended before offering the price. Let's be clear - he was obviously looking to take my car as cheap as he could to give himself a strong margin but even so - a £10 bath ver three months???? Surely that's not right.
He was trying to take your trousers down, I got a couple of grand more than that for my 2010 S manual with nearly 50k on the clock when I part-ex'd it in March for my 2013 N/A. I also got an offer of more than 30k from a Land Rover dealer as I was thinking about swapping to a Disco.

FWIW I paid 42k for mine originally at 6 months old and 6k on the clock and it was an ex-marketing car. It was a great deal as I worked at the factory and it sounds like you still got a better one!

Edited by The Wookie on Tuesday 6th January 17:09

blueg33

35,578 posts

223 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
Lazydonkey said:
moribund said:
It'll take a while, but I'm sure they will come down that far and further still. I think the Elise & Exige have a unique niche which basically means if you want a lightweight 2nd car without too many compromises but more practical than a Caterham then they're pretty much the only game in town.

For all it's virtues the same isn't quite true for the Evora, especially with a facelift and increased production coming.

Obviously my view as a hopeful potential owner may be different to that of an existing owner smile
I couldn't disagree more.

Exige 'yota cars went up in value when the V6 came out. s1 elise prices have bottomed out, s1 exige have gone nuts, europa are on the climb. Even m100s are commanding not bad money. So given that ever other Lotus has bottomed out and then stayed at that price why would the evora buck that trend....especially when NAs have been static for some time.

I bought an evora as it literally was the only game in town, other than a 911 that i wouldn't have to sell the minute kids come along. Everyone i know who has an evora loves it and can't think of what to replace it with.

As others have said if the facelift R comes out as S only with a huge price tag it can only help prices.

I knwo you say you can't afford £30k, but if it doesn't depreciate much it will probably cost less than a £20k car to run. Bit of man maths but it worked for me lol
I am sure you are right on he depreciation point, I think for the OP like for many people the initial capital cost is a big hurdle and depreciation and running costs get spread over time. I know a Ferrari 250 GTO wont depreciate much, but the capital cost would be a problem (extreme example).

Like you say, I struggle with what to replace the Evora with, especially at the £30k mark for a used n/a;

V8 Vantage - too much of a GT and high running costs
Maser Gran Tourismo - again a Gt and build quality that makes the Lotus build seem top dollar, very high running costs
911 - nearest comparble, but will be an older car, is very common and pre 997 gen 2 has high risk of engine issues
DB9 - at least it has back seats but running costs are big
Cayman - great car, no back seats
BMW M6 - again too much of a GT



moribund

Original Poster:

4,030 posts

213 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
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TBH it's really nice to see such confidence in the model, and it's the stable prices and man-maths that make Elise ownership a sensible option.

Other brands would kill for this sort of retained value.

Frimley111R

15,537 posts

233 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
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Mossyboy1978 said:
I spotted an 2012 M3 in the exact spec I have always wanted on a dealer site (not Lotus dealer) last week and enquired about possible part ex and the best he could offer was £30k. He spoke to two Lotus dealers
I recommended before offering the price. Let's be clear - he was obviously looking to take my car as cheap as he could to give himself a strong margin but even so - a £10 bath ver three months???? Surely that's not right.
It largely depends on what stock they already have, I get the impression that Evora's don't sell quickly but that the number of cars is so limited that dealers know they will sell eventually but in that time they need to account for tens of thousands of pounds sitting tied up in stock.

The sheer low number of cars will always keep residuals strong.

alex_gray255

6,313 posts

204 months

Wednesday 7th January 2015
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I tried the AM DB9 and just didn't like it when compared to the Evora.

Thinking of getting a V8Vantage now and see how that goes.

The main thing that does the Evora in is the interior. The rest is great.

Lazydonkey

177 posts

222 months

Thursday 8th January 2015
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Frimley111R said:
It largely depends on what stock they already have, I get the impression that Evora's don't sell quickly but that the number of cars is so limited that dealers know they will sell eventually but in that time they need to account for tens of thousands of pounds sitting tied up in stock.

The sheer low number of cars will always keep residuals strong.
It's funny though as you look a dealer like Murray's and they can't get enough stock of Evora. Most of their cars (mine included) sell before they hit the forecourt as they've got a line of buyers waiting for the right spec and price.

Agree on the capital investment point though - and i totally see that.