Muhahaha... loan approved!!! Final Choices to make...
Discussion
Hmmm 
Thanks to all the chaps and chapesses on the TVRCC run last weekend, for getting me wet about sports cars again.
I had backed off from a nice car for a bit while I settled into my new money earner and sorted out some other bits (The scary looking £11k hole in my bank balance for example
)
Long and short of the matter is I now have a budget of £15k
Top of my list is an S2 Elise or possibly a S1 Elise 111S.
But I just want a few people to play Devils Advocate... The good, bad and ugly of these cars, Servicing schedules, Tires, Fuel, Club membership etc etc. Basically I'm after the ins and outs of a ducks butt
Also, if anyone can think of any other sweet handling rockets that I can drive every day and do loads of miles in, without costing me Liberia's Defecit every time I over rev it, please feel free to pipe up from the back...
Thanks to all the chaps and chapesses on the TVRCC run last weekend, for getting me wet about sports cars again.
I had backed off from a nice car for a bit while I settled into my new money earner and sorted out some other bits (The scary looking £11k hole in my bank balance for example
) Long and short of the matter is I now have a budget of £15k
Top of my list is an S2 Elise or possibly a S1 Elise 111S.
But I just want a few people to play Devils Advocate... The good, bad and ugly of these cars, Servicing schedules, Tires, Fuel, Club membership etc etc. Basically I'm after the ins and outs of a ducks butt
Also, if anyone can think of any other sweet handling rockets that I can drive every day and do loads of miles in, without costing me Liberia's Defecit every time I over rev it, please feel free to pipe up from the back...
Harry Flashman said:
I thought about one, had the same budget. WIthout off street parking, forget it; big bills when some twunt runs into you while parking and smashes a fibreglass clamshell...
I have the same budget as a man that spends £85 on a sandwich.... 
Ma, I've arrived... ORP and luxury double velvet, 2-ply, soft-on-the-bum car cover...
KingRichard said:
Harry Flashman said:
I thought about one, had the same budget. WIthout off street parking, forget it; big bills when some twunt runs into you while parking and smashes a fibreglass clamshell...
I have the same budget as a man that spends £85 on a sandwich.... Ma, I've arrived... ORP and luxury double velvet, 2-ply, soft-on-the-bum car cover...
Absolutely. I spent the rest of my car money on high class hookers and kilos of class A drugs, obviously.
the sandwich was on expenses but don't tell anyone
For 15k I would have a Chimaera.. In fact, I do....... 5.0 Litres of pure sex on wheels.
Sold the Elise to get one back too.... TBH I found the elise just too small and unusable except for country lane blasts... Not enough room in the cabin for two small(ish) people either to me.......BUT, the flip side, is my word is it fun to drive, especially around roundabouts and the like......
Sold the Elise to get one back too.... TBH I found the elise just too small and unusable except for country lane blasts... Not enough room in the cabin for two small(ish) people either to me.......BUT, the flip side, is my word is it fun to drive, especially around roundabouts and the like......
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I'm just a sucker for cheap credit, thats all
Aren't Porsche 911's horrendously expensive to fix/maintain? I really wanted one before because they look so damn dirrty
but was put off by some of the parts prices. HarryFlashman made a good point about damage to the clamshells on a lotus. I have a couple of irritating little
s who insist on practicing Goal Kicks up and down the street, although I park on the drive I frequently get 'ball prints' on my windscreen. And they keep nicking my valve caps for their bikes... 
If you are on a budget and need a daily driver that will always put a grin on your face and never be too horrific to maintain, a S1 111S really is the car to have. It's pretty much the best of all the Lotus bunch and is unlikely to depreciate much more.
I've had one and definite regret selling it...
If you feel a little more adventurous, you could always go down the S1 Sport 160 route... although these are more expensive to maintain (shorter service intervals) and grumpy little bitches as the best of times... I run mine as a daily driver though!
A VX220 is probably a 'better' car than the Elise and one you buy with your head as opposed to our heart (a VX220 Turbo is an absolutely fantastic car IMHO)... BUT... it is a Vauxhall and you will therefore have to deal with Vauxhall dealers (cheap servicing, but a trifle common don't you think?!?)
TVR's are great... and I suppose with a V8, at least they should be mechanically sound... still bloody expensive to run, which is why they are cheap to buy.
As for the Porsche... I'd walk past the Boxster... I did look closely at one a while ago but am now glad I didn't.... If you are going to do the Porsche thing... a 911 is the way ahead (or perhaps a mint 968CS)... they shouldn't break too often but will be VERY expensive when they do.
Looks like it's a S1 111S for you then!... fortunately, there are a few on the market at the mo'... try to get something with sub 15k mileage and make sure it has had the all-important C-service... this is due at 5-yrs regardless of mileage to be nervous if you don't have documented proof of this being done.
Good luck
I've had one and definite regret selling it...
If you feel a little more adventurous, you could always go down the S1 Sport 160 route... although these are more expensive to maintain (shorter service intervals) and grumpy little bitches as the best of times... I run mine as a daily driver though!
A VX220 is probably a 'better' car than the Elise and one you buy with your head as opposed to our heart (a VX220 Turbo is an absolutely fantastic car IMHO)... BUT... it is a Vauxhall and you will therefore have to deal with Vauxhall dealers (cheap servicing, but a trifle common don't you think?!?)
TVR's are great... and I suppose with a V8, at least they should be mechanically sound... still bloody expensive to run, which is why they are cheap to buy.
As for the Porsche... I'd walk past the Boxster... I did look closely at one a while ago but am now glad I didn't.... If you are going to do the Porsche thing... a 911 is the way ahead (or perhaps a mint 968CS)... they shouldn't break too often but will be VERY expensive when they do.
Looks like it's a S1 111S for you then!... fortunately, there are a few on the market at the mo'... try to get something with sub 15k mileage and make sure it has had the all-important C-service... this is due at 5-yrs regardless of mileage to be nervous if you don't have documented proof of this being done.
Good luck
the snot green is actually an original colour... it's called scandal green... they only built a handful in that colour as it's a little LOUD... looks fantastic in the sun as there is a metallic gold fleck in it...
as for servicing,,, you are correct that it is A,A,B,A,A,C.... I would personally steer clear of official Lotus dealers form servicing as they can be stupidly expensive (and not necessarily any good!)... There are plenty of really good specialists out there. I would actually prefer to buy a car that has been maintained by specialists than by main dealers... therefore the residuals are not affected by moving away from main dealers.
at the end of the day, the car is powered by a rover k-series engine... it's certainly no ferrari! why pay £90 per hour for servicing?... bits WILL fall off, but you can fix them yourself (my drivers window fell out and I put it all back together even though I have a full Lotus warranty!).
HGF is a bit of an issue and will be a £400-500 job to sort out... but that is about as bad as it gets... suspension can need sorting (the original Koni shocks will be pretty shagged by now), but this is fairly cheap to sort out (if you see a car advertised with Nitrons... go for it... that's £1100 worth of excellent sports suspension and a great upgrade for a S1 111S).
Service costs will range for around £100 for a A-service to £500 for a C-service (at a specialist... a main dealer could quite happily double these charges for no particular reason!).
get yourself over to SELOC (www.seloc.org) and you'll find everything you need plus more!
as for servicing,,, you are correct that it is A,A,B,A,A,C.... I would personally steer clear of official Lotus dealers form servicing as they can be stupidly expensive (and not necessarily any good!)... There are plenty of really good specialists out there. I would actually prefer to buy a car that has been maintained by specialists than by main dealers... therefore the residuals are not affected by moving away from main dealers.
at the end of the day, the car is powered by a rover k-series engine... it's certainly no ferrari! why pay £90 per hour for servicing?... bits WILL fall off, but you can fix them yourself (my drivers window fell out and I put it all back together even though I have a full Lotus warranty!).
HGF is a bit of an issue and will be a £400-500 job to sort out... but that is about as bad as it gets... suspension can need sorting (the original Koni shocks will be pretty shagged by now), but this is fairly cheap to sort out (if you see a car advertised with Nitrons... go for it... that's £1100 worth of excellent sports suspension and a great upgrade for a S1 111S).
Service costs will range for around £100 for a A-service to £500 for a C-service (at a specialist... a main dealer could quite happily double these charges for no particular reason!).
get yourself over to SELOC (www.seloc.org) and you'll find everything you need plus more!
KingRichard said:
Also, if anyone can think of any other sweet handling rockets that I can drive every day and do loads of miles in, without costing me Liberia's Defecit every time I over rev it, please feel free to pipe up from the back...
Dare I suggest an RX8? You can get a decent high-power (230bhp) for 15k these days and whilst it's a little slower to 60 than an Elise it's one of the best handling cars out there. Far more practical if that's important, utterly reliable, comfy, well-equipped and dirt cheap to run (services generally <200 quid a pop).
deckster said:
KingRichard said:
Also, if anyone can think of any other sweet handling rockets that I can drive every day and do loads of miles in, without costing me Liberia's Defecit every time I over rev it, please feel free to pipe up from the back...
Dare I suggest an RX8? You can get a decent high-power (230bhp) for 15k these days and whilst it's a little slower to 60 than an Elise it's one of the best handling cars out there. Far more practical if that's important, utterly reliable, comfy, well-equipped and dirt cheap to run (services generally <200 quid a pop).
Nope, drove a mate's one from the rugby club and hated it... no change in pitch from the engine, all felt a bit clinical, but thanks
shangani said:
RX8 seems like a really innovative car and dare I say practical car, except for the fuel bills, the lack of an open top (which adds loads of fun on an elise) and lack of torque. If they slap forced induction on it though, it will suddenly look rather interesting.
Is it not turbocharged then? Mate told me it was... probably why I was so dissapointed in it
I just assumed it was a version of the RX7 engine.
Open top is a must... look at the goddamn weather!!!!!!!!!
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