160 at Paul Matty's

[wetny]

Got this months Evo this week. He has got a 160 up for £15250. That's a grand more than I paid for mine three years ago and mine still has less mileage. Mine also came from there. I would have thought that It would be hard to shift at that price.

[Gooby]

Probably to a UK customer....

[griffter]

When I was researching Elises last year, many people criticised the 160 for its 'faults' at launch:

difficult driveablity in town
non-cr box
'only' as quick as the VVC in the real world

Contemporary roadtests are also rather non-plussed in general.

However, as of late the hardcore 160 fans are being joined by a growing number of people who appreciate that - perhaps with sympathetic mods - the 160 is a very special car, and quite a useable, characterful incarnation of the original S1. In turn this drives interest and values, particularly given the limited numbers of cars available.

Sadly I listened to the detractors and didn't buy a 160. One day I think I will.

[roylarkrise]

I had a 160. Bought it last year, sold it 3 months later, got myself a proper Elise. S1 111S!

Ok, the 160 sounds nice and it ran so much better with a CRP. I drove to Le mans Classic in it too. My leg near dropped off though using the clutch so much in traffic.

Yes, I agree, prices for these are on the up.

[TVR Tommy]

The 160 has so much character. I can't think of any other production car in the last 10 years that gets close to the raw even racing car like feel it has. When you drive it hard, it makes you feel part of the car and there is no better sensation for a Pistonhead. There not exactly bank braking expensive to buy or run either. As a daily drive it's a pain in the rear. But to have one as a second car it's perfect. The only reason I would sell mine is to buy a standard Elise to fit a Honda engine into it.

Edited by TVR Tommy on Saturday 23 May 12:18

[danwebster]

I chuckled to myself when I saw it - I only live down the road and got my 160 from him 18 months ago for 12.5.....I was expecting it to have delivery miles on for that price!

The 160 completely changed my opinion of elises, before driving it I found them all to be rather anodyne and lacking in character. 37k miles and 8 track days later i'm still very pleased with it....although i've made a few special modifications myself

[bencollins]

Things go up and down (that is a lot though)
NA VX220 prices 6 months ago were 7k-10k.
Very few under 10k now and only 20 or so for sale on here.
kicks self
Theres a price point when you think buying new is the best policy and take a loan if you have to (or buy a different car).

[S Works]

My Sport 160 is still the only car I've ever wished I'd never sold. What an idiot I was.

[piooly]

S Works said:

My Sport 160 is still the only car I've ever wished I'd never sold. What an idiot I was.

great I just sold mine lol....

I think the 160 is a great car but the S1 111s is the better car for sure. Anyone can turn a standard S1 into a sport 160. all you need to do is stick some wild cams in and a 421 manilfold.

What makes me laugh about that car is that the owner was trying to sell it for £14K and obviously got no offers. He trades it in to Paul Matteys and they stick it on the forecourt for a grand extra !!!! I dont know if they spent some money on it but most garages do nothing when selling a car on. Sure they might put a warrantee on it but you can buy one of those yourself.....

I also think its too much money. I got the full asking price, £13K for mine but mine did have 40 K on the clock, but also it had a shed load of mods on it.

[Sam_68]

piooly said:

I dont know if they spent some money on it but most garages do nothing when selling a car on.

To be fair Paul Matty does usually go over the cars, prep them and fix any faults they find before putting them on sale. They also have a very good reputation for aftersales fairness if anything does go wrong - which says a lot for them since they built their business on older Lotuses that are hardly known for their reliability.

They also tend to give very good part-ex allowances, so I guess you can't have it both ways - from my experience, they may well have given almost as much in part-ex as the previous owner was asking for private sale so, being reasonable, you can't criticise them for the asking price when you take into account preparation, warranty, profit, and a margin to haggle.

It's expensive, sure, but some people would find it worth the peace of mind to buy from the best-respected Lotus independent in the country (which probably means the world...).

Edited by Sam_68 on Monday 25th May 10:22