Anyone have any experience with a Lotus Esprit?
 

I love the look of these cars and sometimes toy with the idea of getting one to play around with ... Maybe an S3 ( 1980's ).

Anyone have any personal experience, Good or Bad?

Thanks
-Dan

Every time I see one online for $20k I have the same thought. Then I remember that it is British and was built by some men in a shed. How high is your tolerance for automotive pain?:D

I've worked on a couple. The only one I'd even consider is a V8. They are pretty much what you expect from a British car built in low volume. Colin Chapman was notorious for building as cheaply as possible. Uses a lot of GM fuel injection parts and even some Toyota stuff.

Ive owned a lotus for around 5 years.....I dont think I am brave enough for an esprit though.

We lotus fans prefer the word "lightly" to cheaply :D

Elise / exige is a more carrera RS than any actual porsche these days

I'd want the one that goes underwater.

I had a brand new Europa Special Twin Cam back in 1975. Best handling car I ever drove. Went around corners amazingly. High maintenance though.

they catch on fire alot
have a friend that had one and it did

My brother owned a Turbo which I got to drive a lot and work on. Nice thing, there is a parts exchange list and a lot of parts can be found at the local NAPA. Bad thing, it is kind of hand made.

The instrument cluster shakes off, and needs bigger screws to hold the wood and fiberglass parts together. You do not want to lift it without the top on (they flex). Tuuuuuuurbo laaaaaag.

The positives, you better like to be looked at since it is an attention grabber. It is kind of fast and turns well on the road (NOT on the track). A/C is marginal at best, seats are as comfortable as 914 seats and that leather degrades quickly.

When I was a school kid my uncle bought one and I went around to look at it. I noticed one of the back wheels was sticking out too much at the bottom and he explained to me it was just the way it was parked made it look like that. Ha it turned out I was right. The strut on the bottom of the suspension/hub assembly was made too long. It had made it through the factory, through the :rolleyes: quality control etc etc all the way to New Zealand before a schoolboy noticed it was wrong.

Sure it was fast but my uncle would book it in to get fixed on Monday because he was intending to drive it on the weekend.

The old ones were as reliable as a Fiat X19.......

I had to do a quick search to remind myself which model we were talking about.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1385121972.jpg

Thas a photo of an earlier model.The later the model, the more reliable they became-especially once Toyota sold them some parts and advised on production engineering.
These cars were not built in a shed-i was the same factory that turned out the Formula 1 cars. Lotus also consulted for many car manufacturers, and still do. That said, even the later galvanized chassis still rus, and engine rebuilds cost $$$.

I love the look, but if the engine needed a rebuild I would think about throwing something else in...

Well an alternative motor would need to be all aluminium,and no physically larger than the existing 4 cylinder motor.

It would be cool to throw in a Subaru WRX... That would have the power, mean sound and not kill the rear compartment.

But, there I go thinking of throwing good money after bad.

if you "love" the car, you can make it work....It comes with strings attached.....Let no one knock it
Its just hyper sensitive to long duration with out primping.

You would have less trouble with her then the car and she looks like some high maint!

Just buy an MR2 Turbo...It's close enough and would be 1000x more reliable. Cheaper too.

They suck. A knew some folks who had them in the UK and they used to say Lotus stood for Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious.

Wheeler Dealers did one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcqL1vWdHk4

YMMV.