S2 Elise, is it for me???

[nigelj77]

Hi folks, I'm a long term Pistonheader but not posted in this section before.

I'm wondering is an S2 Elise will suit me, I have in the past had 3 TVRs, a Westfield, 3 Impreza's and currently have an S3 as a daily and a 987 Boxster S as a "toy".

I currently have the Boxster up for sale and am thinking about an S2 111S or 111R as a replacement and am wondering what they are like to live with?

I'd be doing something like 2000 miles a year in one, what sort of running costs should I expect?

Are they reliable cars? I'm looking for something I can take out and enjoy on a weekend, not looking to spend a lot of time working on it, the last TVR went as I didn't have time to tinker with it enough.

I'm looking for something more entertaining than the Boxster, its a very capable car but needs to be going too fast before it feels entertaining, I suspect the Elise would achieve this without being quite as open to the elements as my Westfield was.

I've not driven an Elise yet but have been out in my mates S1 and liked it, my reasoning behind a 111S or R is that my daily is relatively quick and I've owned really fast cars in the past.

Any advise or comments would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

Nigel

[nigelj77]

Thanks for the replies.

111R is my preference to be honest, timing chain over a belt will reduce maintenance cost especially on a car that's not doing many miles.

An SC would be nice but over what I really want to spend.

MattyB mentions they can be rattly, how bad are we talking, is this the odd trim rattle or am I going to feel like I'm in a bag of bolts, I have seen anti rattle door pins mentioned a few times?

I've notice a number have had the heater resister pack replaced, I gather it's a big job, how common is the failure?

Anything else in particular I should worry about?

Thanks again.

[nigelj77]

Thanks for all the responses and information.

I'm leaning towards the 111r but would look at a 111s depending what's available once I've sold the Porsche.

Sounded d daft but I prefer the exhaust positioning on the 111s, suppose I'd never be seeing that though.

Just had a little go in my mates s1, nice little thing and fairly easy to drive, difficult to get into but they have the bigger sills.

[nigelj77]

My mate says his S1 is rattly, I didn't think it was too bad the other day although the roof was off which probably helps.

The Boxster sold this week so the search can begin properly, there's a 111S very local which I haven called about but it looks from the MOT history that it may have been off the road for the last year or two.

There's also a 111R relatively close by, it seems over its time to have been laid up a couple of times and may have missed a service or two, being Toyota engine I'm sure it wont have done it any harm, just worries me come resale.

Being very up north (Newcastle) there aren't many cars near by to look at.

[nigelj77]

Well today I looked at a 111S which was advertised locally, it was sensibly priced but needed a service and timing belt, wheel refurb and had particularly shabby suspension arms.
It seemed to go well, I let the seller drive and he did seem to struggle with gear shift linkage so something else required.
It did persued me that an Elise is what I'm looking for but that one just needed too much work.

[nigelj77]

Flaky powder coating sounds like my the all over again, least most of the chassis is aluminium in this case.

I realise any car can be pulled around but this one needed too much for my liking, even with everything put right it didn't have the best service history which would always hold it back in value.

There are a couple of 111r that I plan to look at 1 is nearer but the other is 4 hours away.

Is the standard 111r exhaust on the quiet side, kind of fancy sports exhaust as noise is part of the experience?

[nigelj77]

I must admit my preference would be a 111r if I can find one that's been looked after at sensible money, as I said before being up north doesn't help.

My biggest complaint on the Porsche was it didn't make enough noise so induction or exhaust noise needs to be enough to add some entertainment.

If I needed to swap shocks and springs due to age what should I budget for something close to standard? I think I'm capable of fit swap, did my Subaru a few years ago.

Thanks again for the responses.

[nigelj77]

Hi TheAlistair34, I'm in Newcastle upon Tyne and don't really want to go above £18k, do you know of a car coming up for sale?

There aren't many private cars for sale at the moment and although there's some reasonable comeback from a dealer it means I'd pay a little more than I would have to privately.

[nigelj77]

I thought my budget was about right, it's just being quick enough to get in before other private or trade buyers get in, work gets in the way but I suppose it will also pay for whatever I go for.

I didn't realise probax seats came in in 2006, thought they were always an option.

I'm going in to see Jon Seal on Saturday as am kind of passing en route to the lake district.

I spoke to a fellow Pistonheader who's car looks nice but has an issue with the digital display for the mileage which I cant see an easy solution for in the internet.

[nigelj77]

Hi folks, I thought I'd provide an update, I bought the 111R that I was going to look at at Jon Seal's place on Saturday :-)
He's going to do a few things that it needs and all being well I should be able to collect it next weekend, just hope the weather holds!

[nigelj77]

Cheers folks :-)

Titanium grey one with black and red interior.

Hope Jon manages to get it ready for Saturday, I can't get down there through the week.