Advice needed....

[stevo96]

Im thinking of buying a elise s1. Im potentially going to swap my TT for it but having just received some pics of the elise im a little worried.. The drivers seat on the edge is completely worn - can these be replaced/repaired? If so how much - the arm rest material is also worn so just want to know if this can also be replaced?? Its putting me off getting my first Lotus but i suspect its bound to come with a bit of wear being 8 years old. Thanks guys.

[Benmac]

Yep, seats and the sill cushions can be retrimmed easily and relatively inexpensively. The factory trim shop can do it pretty much in any colour, pattern etc you wish.

[midas029]

stevo96 said:

Im thinking of buying a elise s1. Im potentially going to swap my TT for it but having just received some pics of the elise im a little worried.. The drivers seat on the edge is completely worn - can these be replaced/repaired? If so how much - the arm rest material is also worn so just want to know if this can also be replaced?? Its putting me off getting my first Lotus but i suspect its bound to come with a bit of wear being 8 years old. Thanks guys.

has been done before. Use the search section and you should get your answers.

The guy in charge of re trim at the factory used to be mel broome. not sure if it still is though!

[stevo96]

Thanks for the info - the search function isnt working at the mo and after searching through the last 50 pages i thought it best to ask. Apologies for the ignorance but where is the factory?

[midas029]

stevo96 said:

Thanks for the info - the search function isnt working at the mo and after searching through the last 50 pages i thought it best to ask. Apologies for the ignorance but where is the factory?

hethel

www.grouplotus.com


or speak to your local dealer, where abouts are you?

HTH

Edited by midas029 on Friday 21st March 16:14

[Hollywood Wheels]

Don't worry about the wear, they wear down so easily. Don't let it put you off, it's very common. Good luck with the purchase, you won't regret it.

[stevo96]

Im in Wigan and would probably want to take it to a specialist rater than the stealers. I probably won't let the wear put me off but the car also has a 1 inch crack near the lotus badge on the rear - would this be an easy fix?? The car im talking about is here:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/415979.htm
Does anyone know of it? Do you think its priced correctly considering the interior etc?...
Thanks again..

[hueandcry71]

I wouldnt bother with that one Mr C, there are others that are cheaper, look in better condition and closer to home. Although the part ex is attractive to you i would be asking why does he want to swap for the TT??
With regards to changing some of the interio, Douglas Valley breakers isnt far from you and they always have mashed up Lotus` in there.
Give me a shout when you are going to look and i will come along for the ride, i can kick tyres with the best of them.

PS
Aswer your phone.

[superpp]

As your in Wigan, the NW Lotus group is www.norlog.net ask on there for advice too.

That car is over-priced in my opinion.

There are plently of S1s out there around 30K on the clock with full history in this price bracket. Don't rush and be as picky as you want.
The interior does wear (especially on the sill) and externally stone chips will exist.

[TIPPER]

You should be able to find one without any clam damage to repair and full history for £8.5k.
Interiors are easy to sort: have a look at the hanger111 web site. They have the full Lotus trim shop catalogue downloadable as a pdf. The wear patches that Lotus retrim with are much tougher than the original stuff they used. Costs are very good but you do have to go through a dealer.
My general advice is not to get too hung up on miles with an Elise. The engine was designed to do service in a Eurobox so will handle miles in a light car with ease.
Suspension components (ball joints, bushes, dampers, TREs, toe-links etc) are the most likely to need refreshing. If you can find a car thats had the S2 suspension upgrade(dampers and springs) its a worthwhile upgrade.
I'd try and find a fully historied car showing no signs of damage (don't worry about stone chips - they all get them) that looks like its been loved. I personally wouldn't buy from a general motor trader either. Either a sports car or Lotus specialist.
It might be worth looking up WillB on Seloc to see what he has at the moment.