Buying an Elise 111S

[yod9999]

I'm thinking about buying an S2 111S (my first Lotus) and I've found one I like the look of at the independant dealer (although a Lotus specialist). The service history in the log book is up to date and was all done by Lotus dealers, although there's no invoices or anything.

The only issue I have with it is that the instrument cluster was changed at about 7k miles. This is reflected in the service history (the milage is recorded as "7000 + 1500" or something like that), but other than that there is no record of the change. I did phone the dealer that did the work and they confirmed that everything was as I had been told, so I'm fairly confident that it's all ok.

The question is - would this put anyone off? And how much effect is this going to have when I come to sell it on. The dealer who did the servicing was very helpful and said that they'd be happy to confirm what happened to the car again at some point in the future i.e. if I'm selling it, but I'm still slightly worried that this would put potential buyers off.

Opinions would be appreciated...

Cheers

[kambites]

It wouldn't bother me at all.

Get a written to statement from the dealer that did the work stating the mileage when the Stack was changed and the reason for the change and you should have no problems selling the car on.

[andy_s]

I personally wouldn't have too much of a problem with it if everything tallied up, but I could see it putting some people off when it comes to resale; document everything for future reference and be prepared to explain although anyone that's an enthusiast will go off condition etc rather than a few k miles out on the odometer.
Just make sure it's a real 111s though.......!

[SeanyD]

Sounds ok as long as the history/paperwork supports what you're seeing - could also be worth a call to the previous owner if you have their details for a chat about it all.

[yod9999]

Cheers, thanks for the replies. I did ask if they could give me copies of the original invoices but they said no to that for data protection reasons. A letter might do the trick though - nice idea

It's definitely a 111S. The original dealer was really helpful, I spoke to them a few times and then went through everything that had been done to the car.

The only other thing of real note was that the VVC mechanism had been changed, but I'm guessing that's not a bad thing for me as it now has a new one.

Cheers

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

Yeah, get them to put it in writing for you that the stack was changed. Also, ask them if they can confirm the dates, mileage and type of service done on the car as well - They should be able to do that without contravening the DPA AFAIK, as they aren't going to be giving you any personal details.

[chris7676]

Must be part of Lotus ownership I see, surprised how many cars are being sold without bills. Stamps are quite meaningless really. Good that the dealer can confirm the history though.

[bananamana]

I bought my Elise. The device also stopped working. It stopped at 20K miles and was recorded in the log book. Seems like a common enough issue. My car says ive done 16K miles but really ive done 36K

I wouldnt worry about it

[RobM77]

I agree with everything here so far. The car sounds fine, just get that letter to guard against future resale.

[yod9999]

Thanks again for the advice, I'll try and get them to do that. The helpful original dealer was Castle Lotus in Stansted btw - credit where it's due etc.

Cheers