Buying a sub 7K Elise

[BMGM3]

Looking to maybe buy such a car,and while I don't expect a minter for this money, I'm interested to hear from those that may have done the same recently.

Cheers

PS. Anyone know of any cars around the 7K range ?

Edited by BMGM3 on Sunday 9th September 14:02

[bogie]

unless its for a DIY project or building a race car etc then youd be better off saving up another £2K and getting one in good nick - anything you find for £7K is likely to need everything replacing on it

[dgr]

Take a look at the 'Project Bumble' thread on SELOC. Stew's racecar build from a shed of an Elise.
As Bogie says, if you are not going to race it, then spend the money to get one that has been looked after. If not you'll pay far more in repairs, and potentially a lot more if something fails at speed.

[BMGM3]

Interesting thread - did Lotus not paint any of the susension arms ??? That said, most of the hassles were related to knowingly buying a accident damamged car. I didn't see a lot to suggest a cheaper Elise would be so bad.Short of major things like HGF, I'm able to do most repairs and servicing myself.

[TIPPER]

Be wary, as I'm sure you're aware cars can be cheap for a reason.
Have a look on the current 'should I get a S1/S2' thread to see how much I'm spending to get my car into mechanically 'mint' condition. HGF is not that much of a worry to be honest,if you take car of the engine, no telling how the previous owner has treated the car of course.
Regarding the wishbones. They are zinc plated but that wears off quite fast. When I do my suspension I'll be getting them cleaned and powder coated.
By all means go for it, but be prepared to spend some money to get it in good shape. The difference between a worn out Elise and a well sorted one is amazing.

[bogie]

unless you can find someone whos desperate, then anyone with any knowledge of them, wont be pricing an Elise at £7K unless it needs a lot of work doing. A 10 year old one, regardless of mileage, may need: steering rack, bushes all round, tyres, pads, discs, clutch hose upgrade, cambelt service etc - the parts on that lot are way over £2K

..you are better off long term, trying to find a £9k enthusiast owned one, thats had everything replaced over the years...you may even find one with some choice upgrades (which will save you later)

[hueandcry71]

BMGM3 said:

Looking to maybe buy such a car,and while I don't expect a minter for this money, I'm interested to hear from those that may have done the same recently.

Cheers

PS. Anyone know of any cars around the 7K range ?

Edited by BMGM3 on Sunday 9th September 14:02

There are some really good looking cars in the classifieds section fora couple of K more than what you want to spend. Try this link http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/237577.htm for a prime example of what you could get.

[S Works]

Everyone here is talking sense, a brave man or a fool would ignore it at his peril. There was a case not so long ago where a similar purchase was made that ended up needing about 2k spent on it to sort out all the niggles.

A good £7k car might be out there, but you'll need to tread carefully and examine whatever you find with a fine-toothed comb.

[BMGM3]

Very nice car,just approx 2K over a budget which I can't lift.I'm afraid its the age old case of only just being able to afford the cheapest of the cars on the market.Fixing bits like ball joints and suspension bushes is cheap enough in parts and something I can do myself to avoid labour costs.I know I'll be slowly spending money of repairs like this, but you do on every car at some point and given the budget, doing it little by little is the only way of getting into an Elise.
Also,next to scrapping a set of front discs,2 front sets of pads and one rear set after one Nurburgring trip in my 540, replacing the front discs and pads on an Elise is cheap. Tyres also will be cheaper and a lot longer lasting.

[Altrezia]

I paid only just over 7k for mine, and it doesnt really have any issues..

go for it. buy mine if you like.

[BMGM3]

Altrezia said:

I paid only just over 7k for mine, and it doesnt really have any issues..

go for it. buy mine if you like.

Couldn't press you to expand on that could I ? No hassles or anything needs/needed doing ? Looks very nice,for sure one of the best colour combos.Is it up for sale ? Spec and miles etc.

[Altrezia]

paint is average, looks great from a few feet away, but has a few little scuffs etc.
needed new suspension - but a mate gave me his stuff as he was upgrading - took 2 hours to fit.
the drivers seat is a bit worn
and the wheels are a bit kerbed/corroded.

part from that its great.

pics here:
http://www.dorkish.com/index.php?a=albums/Cars/Lot...

was thinking of selling, email me through my profile if you like.

[hueandcry71]

Altrezia said:

paint is average, looks great from a few feet away, but has a few little scuffs etc.
needed new suspension - but a mate gave me his stuff as he was upgrading - took 2 hours to fit.
the drivers seat is a bit worn
and the wheels are a bit kerbed/corroded.

part from that its great.

pics here:
http://www.dorkish.com/index.php?a=albums/Cars/Lot...

was thinking of selling, email me through my profile if you like.

You have mail.

[hueandcry71]

S Works said:

Everyone here is talking sense, a brave man or a fool would ignore it at his peril. There was a case not so long ago where a similar purchase was made that ended up needing about 2k spent on it to sort out all the niggles.

A good £7k car might be out there, but you'll need to tread carefully and examine whatever you find with a fine-toothed comb.

I could have sold my soft top 20 times over, the amount of interest i had was amazing. Do you think i was selling it too cheap?? I used the going rate on EBay as a guide.
A bloke in Norfolk bought it subject to me receiving and clearing a cheque.

[BMGM3]

Altrezia said:

paint is average, looks great from a few feet away, but has a few little scuffs etc.
needed new suspension - but a mate gave me his stuff as he was upgrading - took 2 hours to fit.
the drivers seat is a bit worn
and the wheels are a bit kerbed/corroded.

part from that its great.

pics here:
http://www.dorkish.com/index.php?a=albums/Cars/Lot...

was thinking of selling, email me through my profile if you like.

E-mailed you via your vinyl-works site.

[Altrezia]

thats my wifes, but cool, I'll pick it up in a mo.

[fleetelise]

Altrezia said:

paint is average, looks great from a few feet away, but has a few little scuffs etc.

When I was looking for my car I saw S1s at 10K that needed a few feet of distance to make the paintwork look half decent.

As it stands the one i bought has a fairly chipped front clam, but thats the worst of her problems and i'll have her sprayed and amourfended during my ownership.

Decent "cheap" examples exist, in the same way that totally overpriced dogs abound.

• edited to tidy up the spelling*

Edited by fleetelise on Monday 10th September 00:01

[Altrezia]

Totally agree.

[Shnozz]

false economy IMHO. Its easy to spend £2 - £3k sorting a bad car. I managed £7k to sort a "good" car (in the sense of mileage and 1 former owner). Bennno tried to but at £7k and his first bill was about £2.5k for a service IIRC and the car certainly wasnt a minter after that.

[BMGM3]

Shnozz said:

false economy IMHO. Its easy to spend £2 - £3k sorting a bad car. I managed £7k to sort a "good" car (in the sense of mileage and 1 former owner). Bennno tried to but at £7k and his first bill was about £2.5k for a service IIRC and the car certainly wasnt a minter after that.

Interesting. Do you know what needed doing at the 2.5K service?