Elise S1 Millennium Edition, 1 owner from new...
Discussion
I've been running a Smart Roadster-Coupe for 5 years now. I love it and even wrote a Carpool article, but I've had a hankering for an Elise for a while now and finally decided to act.
This came up for sale on Autotrader on Sunday night, literally hours after I looked over another nice S1 near York on my first weekend of serious Elise hunting:
It's a 57k mile, one-owner-from-new Elise Millennium advertised for £8300. This special edition is based on the standard 118bhp car with added alcantara trim and some 111S bits. Except for the exhaust the car is completely original spec down to having the plastic window winders.
It looked great in the pics and plenty of other people thought so too as the seller said he had 7 people waiting to view it and a dealer had offered £7500 unseen!
I was the first to call, and got the chance to see it first. It was owned by a very nice guy and I had a good drive and long look around it.
I really had to think carefully. It's lived outside it's entire life and has been loved but only maintained when things came up at MOT or service time - just the minimum to keep it roadworthy. It's also got more than it's fair share of stonechips and paint blisters and I could see daylight through the roof seams. It drives straight enough but obviously is a bit worn unlike the lovely tight car I'd driven earlier.
In the end I was won over by the colour, wheels and clean interior as well as the hope that it'll hold value better than the other cars I was considering in my price range. I managed to seal the deal at £8100 and now have a summer of expensive fettling to look forward too
With this along with my ZT 260 I don't think I'm going to be short of things to fix...
This came up for sale on Autotrader on Sunday night, literally hours after I looked over another nice S1 near York on my first weekend of serious Elise hunting:
It's a 57k mile, one-owner-from-new Elise Millennium advertised for £8300. This special edition is based on the standard 118bhp car with added alcantara trim and some 111S bits. Except for the exhaust the car is completely original spec down to having the plastic window winders.
It looked great in the pics and plenty of other people thought so too as the seller said he had 7 people waiting to view it and a dealer had offered £7500 unseen!
I was the first to call, and got the chance to see it first. It was owned by a very nice guy and I had a good drive and long look around it.
I really had to think carefully. It's lived outside it's entire life and has been loved but only maintained when things came up at MOT or service time - just the minimum to keep it roadworthy. It's also got more than it's fair share of stonechips and paint blisters and I could see daylight through the roof seams. It drives straight enough but obviously is a bit worn unlike the lovely tight car I'd driven earlier.
In the end I was won over by the colour, wheels and clean interior as well as the hope that it'll hold value better than the other cars I was considering in my price range. I managed to seal the deal at £8100 and now have a summer of expensive fettling to look forward too
With this along with my ZT 260 I don't think I'm going to be short of things to fix...
chevronb37 said:
Awesome work, mate! Looks great I'm around Wakey a lot with work at the moment so I'll keep an eye open for you. Next step will be the S1 Exige 
Oh and don't forget the good guys at NYLOC: nyloc.org
I don't think an Exige is on the cards any time soon. This is extreme enough for now. God it's bloody loud inside!Oh and don't forget the good guys at NYLOC: nyloc.org
Good call re NYLOC.
Tiger Tim said:
I'm stationed at Leeming and have an s2 so if you guys ever want to go for a blast then I'm in.
Great looking car! Mine was in need of a bit of tlc when I bought it but now it's sorted it's a fantastic car.
Paul
That's what I wanted to hear. It's pretty decent now to be honest but I know it could be better.Great looking car! Mine was in need of a bit of tlc when I bought it but now it's sorted it's a fantastic car.
Paul
If you fancy a hoon... http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
wevster said:
Glad you finally managed to get an Elise, they're quite a performance jump from the Roadster.
Nice colour.
You should join the SELOC sprint series, it's great fun!
More pictures please!
Cheers! I don't know about sprints but I intend doing some more Autosolos for sure. And it's about time I did another track day too.Nice colour.
You should join the SELOC sprint series, it's great fun!
More pictures please!
Edited by wevster on Friday 26th April 22:20
chevronb37 said:
I took mine to Donington last weekend. God it's hot and noisy in there! Hateful old rattlebox. I'm off to Silverstone tomorrow and will be in the Polo listening to Radio 6 Music and averaging 55mpg 
Really chuffed you've made the jump and that you're enjoying it. I'll give you a nod before the next NYLOC meet and we'll convoy up. I'm based in Cas with work at the moment so not far from you.
Go on Andy, I'll take you up on that!Really chuffed you've made the jump and that you're enjoying it. I'll give you a nod before the next NYLOC meet and we'll convoy up. I'm based in Cas with work at the moment so not far from you.
Thanks, can't beat a bit of retro British flakyness 
Took this tonight before the Smart was picked up by it's new owner. Promise to take more pics over the weekend.
Before and after:
W195TFP by giveitfish, on Flickr
Took this tonight before the Smart was picked up by it's new owner. Promise to take more pics over the weekend.
Before and after:
W195TFP by giveitfish, on Flickr
Yup 118bhp and steel disks with EBC red stuff pads which is perhaps not ideal? Drove an MMC equipped car on Sunday and the brakes were superb with great feel. My setup is a bit dead feeling in comparison. I think everyone recommends Pagids?
I'm find my Seloc password and check out your thread Jay, cheers! Mine does have rubber mats glued down so possibly some horrors beneath.
I'm find my Seloc password and check out your thread Jay, cheers! Mine does have rubber mats glued down so possibly some horrors beneath.
Right, gave it a bit of a wipe down and going over this afternoon.
First the bad, most of which I already knew about...
- the coolant level was just below the minimum. I wasn't able to check this when I bought the car as it was on a steep slope. Now topped up and I'll keep a close eye on this...
- the oil level was also lower than it should be but not too bad. Also topped up.
- the tyre pressures were all low, the rears especially - 1.4 bar instead of 1.9. This has already improved the way it drives.
- the roof is very tired. I've cleaned it and re-proofed it so it'll do for now
- the drain by the boot catch was leaking into the boot. Fixed with tape (hopefully)
- plenty of stone chips and a broken driving light lens:
- rust on anything steel:
- the light covers are not brilliantly sealed:
- quite a lot of paint blistering, luckily nowhere you'd really notice it day to day:
And the good...
- the interior is spot on for the miles, really happy with it:
- so are the wheels, also my favourite Elise design:
- and...well, it's just lovely despite the issues Had a great little drive this evening, and I keep going to the window to look at it.
First the bad, most of which I already knew about...
- the coolant level was just below the minimum. I wasn't able to check this when I bought the car as it was on a steep slope. Now topped up and I'll keep a close eye on this...
- the oil level was also lower than it should be but not too bad. Also topped up.
- the tyre pressures were all low, the rears especially - 1.4 bar instead of 1.9. This has already improved the way it drives.
- the roof is very tired. I've cleaned it and re-proofed it so it'll do for now
- the drain by the boot catch was leaking into the boot. Fixed with tape (hopefully)
- plenty of stone chips and a broken driving light lens:
- rust on anything steel:
- the light covers are not brilliantly sealed:
- quite a lot of paint blistering, luckily nowhere you'd really notice it day to day:
And the good...
- the interior is spot on for the miles, really happy with it:
- so are the wheels, also my favourite Elise design:
- and...well, it's just lovely despite the issues
Had a great little drive this evening, and I keep going to the window to look at it.Quick update. So far the car has been treated to a new driving lamp and S2 wiper arm (both via EliseParts), and the previously silent Kenwood head unit has been fixed by the simple act of turning off DSP in the menu (took a while to work that one out!).
The lamp took some fitting but the only damage was to my hand and not the clam at least. The wiper is a massive improvement, very pleased with that.
I've cleaned and re-proofed the hood which seems to be working well although it still looks a bit tatty.
I've also fitted a cabin air filter in the form of the foot off a pair of tights but the blower still spreads grit all over the interior so I guess there's a lot of crap in the system yet.
Car is currently being serviced. It passed it's MOT first time today (whoopee!) and will be getting new Mintex pads to replace the EBC's. I'm expecting it to need discs all round too.
It's also getting a new expansion tank - was shocked to see a crack weeping coolant after getting home from 250 miles of driving on Sunday. Luckily it's holding enough pressure to keep the temps where they should be but I'm glad I caught it in time.
Hopefully nothing else will come to light in the service - it's looking like the old adage is true that all good Elises cost at least £10k - either up front or by the time you've fixed them
The lamp took some fitting but the only damage was to my hand and not the clam at least. The wiper is a massive improvement, very pleased with that.
I've cleaned and re-proofed the hood which seems to be working well although it still looks a bit tatty.
I've also fitted a cabin air filter in the form of the foot off a pair of tights but the blower still spreads grit all over the interior so I guess there's a lot of crap in the system yet.
Car is currently being serviced. It passed it's MOT first time today (whoopee!) and will be getting new Mintex pads to replace the EBC's. I'm expecting it to need discs all round too.
It's also getting a new expansion tank - was shocked to see a crack weeping coolant after getting home from 250 miles of driving on Sunday. Luckily it's holding enough pressure to keep the temps where they should be but I'm glad I caught it in time.
Hopefully nothing else will come to light in the service - it's looking like the old adage is true that all good Elises cost at least £10k - either up front or by the time you've fixed them
Sunday's drive was my first proper run out in the car. Over 100 miles across the Dales in good PH company followed by a fry-up and then another 100+ miles to and from the Vulcan Sunday Service.
I was worried about my back but it was surprisingly comfortable in the end. My ears suffered more, I need better ear plugs.
It was bloody brilliant to drive though and plenty quick enough.
I've definitely bonded with it now
I was worried about my back but it was surprisingly comfortable in the end. My ears suffered more, I need better ear plugs.
It was bloody brilliant to drive though and plenty quick enough.
I've definitely bonded with it now
pthelazyjourno said:
The expansion bottle is out of another car - it wasn't designed for the Elise. The level sits naturally below the line - if you top it up, it will once again end up lower down eventually.
Nothing to worry about.
Cheers, just read that many seem to settle on min. Mine has a crack in the expansion tank though, so def. losing water at the moment.Nothing to worry about.
DanielSan said:
Gorgeous car. Love the colour, I'm getting annoyed its taking me longer to get an Elise than I had originally planned it to now. Maybe time to bite the dust and f
k the Integra off for a cheap runner for a bit. But I really don't want to do that
Thanks! Took me a while to commit, but glad I did now. I'd think carefully about having one as an only car though. I know many do and I happily did 20k miles a year myself in a tiny noisy Smart Roadster but this is in another league of noise and inconvenience!k the Integra off for a cheap runner for a bit. But I really don't want to do that Woza said:
Have thought about that course before - def. something to think about. I'm certainly very aware of this cars reputation for spitting new owners into the scenery!
Looks like that's the next job then.
Just got the car back from Pure Lotus today.
- passed it's MOT first time
- new expansion tank
- new disks and pads all round and new brake fluid
- "A" service completed
Got excellent service and car was properly cleaned too - even the engine bay, I've never had a clean engine bay on any car I've owned before!
The mechanic told me it's in decent mechanical condition all round - good news. Even better news the owner told if he was selling my car it'd retail at £10k. I've spent £9k so far, so as long as I can resist spending too much on cosmetics hopefully I can now enjoy a little depreciation-free weekend fun...
Just got the car back from Pure Lotus today.
- passed it's MOT first time
- new expansion tank
- new disks and pads all round and new brake fluid
- "A" service completed
Got excellent service and car was properly cleaned too - even the engine bay, I've never had a clean engine bay on any car I've owned before!
The mechanic told me it's in decent mechanical condition all round - good news. Even better news the owner told if he was selling my car it'd retail at £10k. I've spent £9k so far, so as long as I can resist spending too much on cosmetics hopefully I can now enjoy a little depreciation-free weekend fun...
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