Advice

[The Bumblebee]

Can anyone give me some advice? I am looking to buy another Elise. I have found a couple, both 2001 with mileage of around 50,000. I'm not sure whether I would get lumbered with lots of mechanical problems as I would need it as my daily drive. The last Elise I bought was very low mileage and did not give me any problems whatsoever! Any thoughts...

[Shnozz]

Last time I bought one I went for ultra low miles, 1 owner car. It was a nightmare and I spent £6.5k in about 14 months ironing out all the faults brought on by underuse (IMHO).

I decided not to fuss over a very low mileage car ever again! Focus more on what consumables have already been consumed (and replaced) rather than the mileage IMO. At 50k (and given that sort of age) I would expect suspension, brakes, cambelt etc all to have been changed, poss exhaust.

[Gooby]

There is a good arguement that says that as a car reaches about 30-40k onwards then most of the problems have been sorted and you are down to wear and tear.

Find yourself a loved car.

[Skyman]

The Bumblebee said:

Can anyone give me some advice? I am looking to buy another Elise. I have found a couple, both 2001 with mileage of around 50,000. I'm not sure whether I would get lumbered with lots of mechanical problems as I would need it as my daily drive. The last Elise I bought was very low mileage and did not give me any problems whatsoever! Any thoughts...

2000MY S1 111S with 6,600 miles here, bought by me 12 months ago. It's perfect and I love it.

[minor5]

111r 2004 8000 miles had it since november Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!

you must have just been unlucky

[wacattack]

Shnozz said:

Last time I bought one I went for ultra low miles, 1 owner car. It was a nightmare and I spent £6.5k in about 14 months ironing out all the faults brought on by underuse (IMHO).

I decided not to fuss over a very low mileage car ever again! Focus more on what consumables have already been consumed (and replaced) rather than the mileage IMO. At 50k (and given that sort of age) I would expect suspension, brakes, cambelt etc all to have been changed, poss exhaust.

£6.5k!! What you spend that on?!?!

[TIPPER]

Engine wise a 50k car should be fine, I'd be more worried about suspension and other consumables. At that sort of mileage the suspenision will be in need of a refresh and if its not done then you can expect a big bill for that. I'd also want to see decent brakes fitted, decent tyres on the car etc, etc. I'd try and find a car that's been owned by someone that's taken an interest in it beyond booking it into their local Lotus dealer for servicing.
I bought my S1 with 39k on the clock in October 2005 and there were lots of less leggy examples available for the same sort of money. Nearly 27k miles later she's never let me down (although I have given her new dampers, changed the gearbox, new wheels and a new interior!)

[Jonblue]

Does anyone remember that test a couple of years back where they tested a Gold GTI with 80k on the clock against a new one? Is was faster by a significant margin. Modern cars, well looked after, are in the prime of their lives around that. And for an Elise, that would be considered high milage. Yet there is nothing special about an Elise's mechanicals. I wouldn't worry about anything other than its service history.

[Hollywood Wheels]

TIPPER said:

Lots of sound advice.........

The engine will be fine at that mileage. I would be more worried about the suspension and brakes. Have a really good look at the pads and discs, how much life do they have left? At 50K miles the suspension is not gonna be at it's best. I replaced my LSS at about 36K, it was already shagged.