RE: Lotus Exige S Roadster: Review
Discussion
Complete and utter hogwash.
Just sold my exige s to buy a new v6. I lost 7k in 4 years. Show me another car you can buy for 34k that does that.
Also the factory is hummingly busy, exports are booming and the owners are investing.
It's uninformed commentary like yours that puts people off, not the facts.
Fittster said:
Heathrow said:
The bigger hurdle is that it feels like a leap of faith with buying a brand new Lotus right due to the obvious, and what it might therefore mean for warranty, factory support, residuals etc. Important when spending £50k plus I imagine.
What's the problem? The residuals stack up well against any comparable car.What are the short comings of the factory support?
I appreciate the above is all hypothetical (and very negative) but actually I hope they do well with it as it looks like a fantastic machine. Lotus deserve some good fortune given they are clearly capable of producing some outstanding performance cars with comparatively minimal financial resources.
schrodinger said:
Complete and utter hogwash.
Just sold my exige s to buy a new v6. I lost 7k in 4 years. Show me another car you can buy for 34k that does that.
Also the factory is hummingly busy, exports are booming and the owners are investing.
It's uninformed commentary like yours that puts people off, not the facts.
I speak from experience as I was until recently a Lotus owner with a car that was still in warranty.Just sold my exige s to buy a new v6. I lost 7k in 4 years. Show me another car you can buy for 34k that does that.
Also the factory is hummingly busy, exports are booming and the owners are investing.
It's uninformed commentary like yours that puts people off, not the facts.
That's also good news about the increased volumes. Maybe Lotus should communicate this more to existing and potential customers as it would alay some fears.
You had a Lotus that depreciated badly? What on earth was it?
Mine is ten years old and still worth half what it cost new. It's lost about £2k in the six and a half years I've had it, but even in the first three years it lost less than half its value which is a damned slight better than almost anything else.
Take a look at what a 2003 Boxster is worth now.
Mine is ten years old and still worth half what it cost new. It's lost about £2k in the six and a half years I've had it, but even in the first three years it lost less than half its value which is a damned slight better than almost anything else.
Take a look at what a 2003 Boxster is worth now.
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 3rd July 17:43
kambites said:
You had a Lotus that depreciated badly? What on earth was it?
You misunderstood my point.My experience was that the car didn't depreciate much at all. But for me one of the factors (at that point in time, I stress) was the apparent financial weakness of the company which could have had a big impact on whether the warranty would be honoured etc. and hence affect the future value.
405dogvan said:
Fittster said:
What's the problem? The residuals stack up well against any comparable car.
What are the short comings of the factory support?
I think he's suggesting the whole thing could go tits-up at any time - and he's right, it could.What are the short comings of the factory support?
It's impossible to get away from the fact that the cars are pricey, outdated in many ways and whatever the market may think, cars are nearly-effing-impossible to resell and often sell WELL WELL below the 'market value' as a result.
The cars which do sell through the trade are cherrypicked and often dealers don't even buy a car without a likely buyer in-mind - and so 'the market' looks good.
Reality isn't so clever. When someone I vaguely know recently tried to sell an Elise, the interest level was non-existant, all he got were people offering him crazy-low prices - WAY below any 'book' value - and this was a nice car, good colour, history, everything you'd expect and it was sunny and June!!
Financial abandon really is required here...
ks.Elise prices have been very firm for years. Post the car and the price. I'm in the market for a "cheap" elise.
Heathrow said:
You misunderstood my point.
My experience was that the car didn't depreciate much at all. But for me one of the factors (at that point in time, I stress) was the apparent financial weakness of the company which could have had a big impact on whether the warranty would be honoured etc. and hence affect the future value.
Ah OK. I get you now. My experience was that the car didn't depreciate much at all. But for me one of the factors (at that point in time, I stress) was the apparent financial weakness of the company which could have had a big impact on whether the warranty would be honoured etc. and hence affect the future value.
kambites said:
You had a Lotus that depreciated badly? What on earth was it?
Mine is ten years old and still worth half what it cost new. It's lost about £2k in the six and a half years I've had it.
It's not so much depreciating badly - the market suggests they hold their value very well IF - and it's a big IF - you can find a buyer, but reality is that can be hard work (esp for young/low-mileage cars as this was).Mine is ten years old and still worth half what it cost new. It's lost about £2k in the six and a half years I've had it.
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 3rd July 17:42
The lack of interest in this Elise was total, not one serious call despite ads in the all usual places in MID JUNE - 2 trade-in offers well below book too.
Then there's the fact that the factory went from saying a lot of nonsense to saying pretty much nothing at all - that doesn't inspire confidence either does it?
Perhaps it's locational - we're a long way from London here - perhaps everyone needs a 4x4 - certainly you don't see many Lotuses (Lotii?) around here at the best of times and I know some people see 'Northumberland' on an ad and think "f
k, my passport has expired" Edited by 405dogvan on Wednesday 3rd July 17:51
405dogvan said:
It's not so much depreciating badly - the market suggests they hold their value very well IF - and it's a big IF - you can find a buyer, but reality is that can be hard work (esp for young/low-mileage cars as this was).
Hmm, that goes completely against my experience. I know a few people who've sold in the last few months and they've all sold to private buyers within a week or two of going on the market; I believe all but one ending up abroad. Frankly "book" price is rubbish, especially for a relatively specialist car like the Elise. If you were struggling to sell at the start of summer the thing was priced too high, and if you had no interest at all it was far too high. Location shouldn't really matter when the majority of second-hand sales don't even seem to be to people in this country (although I guess proximity to an airport might).
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 3rd July 18:09
kambites said:
405dogvan said:
It's not so much depreciating badly - the market suggests they hold their value very well IF - and it's a big IF - you can find a buyer, but reality is that can be hard work (esp for young/low-mileage cars as this was).
Hmm, that goes completely against my experience. I know a few people who've sold in the last few months and they've all sold to private buyers within a week or two of going on the market; I believe all but one ending up abroad. Frankly "book" price is rubbish, especially for a relatively specialist car like the Elise. If you were struggling to sell at the start of summer the thing was priced too high, and if you had no interest at all it was far too high. Location shouldn't really matter when the majority of second-hand sales don't even seem to be to people in this country (although I guess proximity to an airport might).
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 3rd July 18:09
You will struggle to find a car that has such low depreciation as an elise (uless its an elise derivative, in which case they defy gravity!)
I've owned mine for about 8 years, its lost f
k all in that time, probably less than 2k, even if I wanted a quick sale. schrodinger said:
Also the factory is hummingly busy, exports are booming....
Where is the evidence to support that statement? Which cars are selling well, and in what markets?"Lotus – 137 vehicles sold [in 2012 in UK], down 58.4%"
http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/uk-car-sales-2012-...
"...Proton-owned Lotus was THE lowest selling marque in the UK in 2012. Management and cashflow issues have cost Lotus the confidence of suppliers as well as customers, making for sporadic production suggesting genuine reasons for concern. Fingers and toes crossed for a brighter 2013."
Ozzie Osmond said:
schrodinger said:
Also the factory is hummingly busy, exports are booming....
Where is the evidence to support that statement? Which cars are selling well, and in what markets?"Lotus – 137 vehicles sold [in 2012 in UK], down 58.4%"
http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/uk-car-sales-2012-...
"...Proton-owned Lotus was THE lowest selling marque in the UK in 2012. Management and cashflow issues have cost Lotus the confidence of suppliers as well as customers, making for sporadic production suggesting genuine reasons for concern. Fingers and toes crossed for a brighter 2013."
http://cars.uk.msn.com/reviews/lotus-exige-s-roads...
German test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgUr88RT8uw
At Spa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBVOZ_52TJ0
Too much slower cars and some mistakes to have a clean lap. Correct data analysis give a 2.47.8 as fastest virtual. This lap: 2.53 with the traffic and mistake on B2.
So . . . this is even madder dan the TG tested 260:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxflDjfBdoI
I drove that one and it's . . . small.
But a lot of fun.
V6 should be even better then.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgUr88RT8uw
At Spa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBVOZ_52TJ0
Too much slower cars and some mistakes to have a clean lap. Correct data analysis give a 2.47.8 as fastest virtual. This lap: 2.53 with the traffic and mistake on B2.
So . . . this is even madder dan the TG tested 260:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxflDjfBdoI
I drove that one and it's . . . small.
But a lot of fun.
V6 should be even better then.
kambites said:
Hmm, that goes completely against my experience. I know a few people who've sold in the last few months and they've all sold to private buyers within a week or two of going on the market; I believe all but one ending up abroad.
Frankly "book" price is rubbish, especially for a relatively specialist car like the Elise. If you were struggling to sell at the start of summer the thing was priced too high, and if you had no interest at all it was far too high. Location shouldn't really matter when the majority of second-hand sales don't even seem to be to people in this country (although I guess proximity to an airport might).
For the record, the owner is rather remote and his price was, I thought, fair for the car he was selling - but I was talking to someone last week who sells a lot of cars/bikes via eBay and he reckons a lot of his 'phantom bidders' - the ones who don't follow-through - just didn't look at WHERE he was before they bidded. He knows this because he lists bikes located around the country and the further than are from London/Midlands - the higher number of no-show bidders he gets.Frankly "book" price is rubbish, especially for a relatively specialist car like the Elise. If you were struggling to sell at the start of summer the thing was priced too high, and if you had no interest at all it was far too high. Location shouldn't really matter when the majority of second-hand sales don't even seem to be to people in this country (although I guess proximity to an airport might).
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 3rd July 18:09
I'd never thought about that before - living up here we're used to having to travel to get stuff - but I guess some people think the whole world is an easy day roundtrip from their house!?
ESOG said:
Anyone know what the 0-100mph and 1/4mile times are on the coupe and or this model?
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