Anyone know this car?

[matc]

I've been looking at this car on the 'trader', it seems to be pretty good value for money, but after a conversation with the dealer it turns out to be a Dick Lovetts ex-demo and a female owner after that. Just wondered really if anyone has had any dealings with dealer, or any views on the car being an ex-demo. It would obviously put me off a bit if Dick Lovetts have a habit of using their demo's as track-toys for potential customers.

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/LOTU...
(Hopefully the link works!)

Edited by matc on Thursday 7th May 15:57

[kazste]

probably no help at all, but even if it has been taken on track by a dealer quite a bit then this is what it is designed for, will probably have been warmed over thouroughly beforehand, and you know the history so can come in at an amended offer. I do understand your concerns but at least with this one you can pretty much take for granted that its had a hard life but has been looked after as opposed to buying another with no idea of the history and how it may of been treated. Just something to think about as I strongly believe its better to buy a car knowing the history even if its a bit poor, than just assuming others have treated as you would.

maybe as part of the offer get it looked over by a specialist who can identify any problem areas for you, which again can be taken out of the asking price.

[tom_allen]

I'd be careful buying an ex demo car. A friend of mine was looking at buying an S2 but wanted to drive a few different models before choosing. He went to a dealer to have a test drive and the salesman jumped into a stone cold car and ragged the nuts off it without giving it chance to warm up.

Its like anything though, you could buy one privately thats had similar treatment. I'd imagine that would be a rare thing though, given most Elise owners are enthusiasts who like to look after their pride and joys.

[matc]

kazste said:

maybe as part of the offer get it looked over by a specialist who can identify any problem areas for you, which again can be taken out of the asking price.

Thanks for this - he did mention that it is due a service soon, it was registered in March last year, and had a minor running in service in June; it will be due it's annual service in a couple of weeks? I guess I could negotiate this as part of the deal to make sure they did it; but the sales guy was on about it being done at an independent, as they were quouted about £400 for a main dealer service. Obviously this is something I could insist on if I were to go ahead with it.

[The Bandit]

matc said:

kazste said:

maybe as part of the offer get it looked over by a specialist who can identify any problem areas for you, which again can be taken out of the asking price.

Thanks for this - he did mention that it is due a service soon, it was registered in March last year, and had a minor running in service in June; it will be due it's annual service in a couple of weeks? I guess I could negotiate this as part of the deal to make sure they did it; but the sales guy was on about it being done at an independent, as they were quouted about £400 for a main dealer service. Obviously this is something I could insist on if I were to go ahead with it.

Frosts in Brighton is the nearest main dealer to them,a 1 yr service on an S is £360,add to this the brake fluid change @£55 odd and they're pretty much on the money with that estimate.
I would insist on a main dealer service being done(at least until the 2yr warranty runs out then you can take it to a specialist)just to be 100% sure your warranty would'nt be affected.

Not heard anything bad about that dealer at all by the way,car seems well priced and is a good spec
If i'm passing over the weekend i'll have a little nosey for you.

[The Bandit]

Just to add,should'nt it have the lightweight forged wheels fitted seeing as its got the Sports pack?
Hmm.Maybe worth asking them about that..

[matc]

The Bandit said:

Just to add,should'nt it have the lightweight forged wheels fitted seeing as its got the Sports pack?
Hmm.Maybe worth asking them about that..

Not sure; thought they came with the Performance pack (240bhp), although I'm not sure now!!

Would be awesome if you could pop in, I might try and negotiate with them tomorrow, didn't seem particularly helpful today; was promised an e-mail with some figures by the end of the day which never materialised!!

I'm wondering if it might be worth getting them to knock the price of the service off and get my local dealers to do it for me.

[F.C.]

matc said:

I've been looking at this car on the 'trader', it seems to be pretty good value for money, but after a conversation with the dealer it turns out to be a Dick Lovetts ex-demo and a female owner after that. Just wondered really if anyone has had any dealings with dealer, or any views on the car being an ex-demo. It would obviously put me off a bit if Dick Lovetts have a habit of using their demo's as track-toys for potential customers.

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/LOTU...
(Hopefully the link works!)

Edited by matc on Thursday 7th May 15:57

I know that dealer has used demo cars on track before.
F.C.

[Mr_C]

It was made to be used on track...

however there are plenty out there to choose from so you can afford to be picky!

[matc]

Mr_C said:

however there are plenty out there to choose from so you can afford to be picky!

Not so sure, I've been looking for a while and this seems reasonably priced for the age/mileage. I ideally fancied a white one, and need to buy from a dealer for finance reasons - been scouring here/seloc and Autotrader, and nothing else has really stuck out yet.

If I do go for a black one, I'm thinking of painting the wheels orange ala GT3RS