2005 Lotus Elise - Talk me into it or out of it...

[doug_porsche]

Ok. Former, and probably future, Lotus Elise owner for 8 years.

The bad:
Getting in and out of the car. Very doable, it's not unlike getting into and out of a 911 with a full roll cage when you have to clime over the side protection bars.

The cars bodywork is a bit of a faberge egg. I really can't recommend parallel parking one of these. The other drivers who park by the tap method will ruin your day.

The good:

The cars steering/suspension communicates so well you could almost drive the car blindfolded and know exactly what the car is doing. One heck of a dance partner!!!
Turn in, and everything that follows, is amazing.

Yep, it's got a terribly un-sexy, to talk about, Toyota motor. This means it will start, run, get good gas mileage, not use oil... You know, all the good that goes with Toyota.

Pricing seems stable, plenty of power, suspension options.

You will have a very happy birthday with one of these

[Racerbvd]

Lots of fun. be careful of the clam-shell, harder to drive if you have wide feed.

[recycled sixtie]

FYI there is a 2006 supercharged Elise for sale in the Calgary Autotrader. It has the eaton's supercharger, fancy spoiler and it even says it has a cupholder! 240 hp versus the 189 normal. Around 20k miles and $47,900 can or about $36,000 US.

[Mony]

Fancied an elise once, they are great cars, don't get me wrong. But theres this one thing backing me off with them.. Is it the popularity? The image? I do not know. I ended up buying a 3.2 Targa, and I am happy with the decision. The Targa has much more "soul" if you know what I mean.
Elises are nice and fun, but I guess I can only buy cars with so much history with them! I say get a caterham!

[aschen]

If an Elise doesn't have soul and history, i am not sure what car does

Also not sure about popularity and image either. Surely there is a whole lot more 3.2 s on us roads than Elise's. Also almost nobody I meet has any idea what the car is really.

[Nickshu]

Thanks guys, I had a couple long talks w/ the seller yesterday and the car is legit. I am going to fly out and look at it (just to be sure), then have it shipped back. I would drive it back but I just don't think I have 3 days free to do so. Will keep you posted.

[kach22i]

I love these cars but last year the the "Battle of the Brits" car show at Camp Dearborn in Milford, Michigan I noticed most of them had crackling of the paint finish.

Perhaps it's the cold winter storage?

I found this link which goes over may of the things to be weary of.


Lotus Elise Buyers Guide
Lotus Elise Buyers Guide

‘spider web’ stress cracks

Note the crackling I saw was not like the "spider web" shown above. It did not break the surface, was in larger coin sized irregular plates. All the cars seemed to suffer from it, just like old Corvettes.

The upside?

None of them were rusty.


THE DETROIT TRIUMPH SPORTSCAR CLUB PRESENTS

Battle of the Brits 2014
The 33nd Annual Battle of the Brits

2015

Sunday September 13, 2015

On-line Registration now closed - Register at the show

Camp Dearborn
1700 General Motors Road, Milford MI 48380

[recycled sixtie]

[QUOTE=kach22i;8785550]I love these cars but last year the the "Battle of the Brits" car show at Camp Dearborn in Milford, Michigan I noticed most of them had crackling of the paint finish.

Perhaps it's the cold winter storage?

I found this link which goes over may of the things to be weary of.


Lotus Elise Buyers Guide
Lotus Elise Buyers Guide



Note the crackling I saw was not like the "spider web" shown above. It did not break the surface, was in larger coin sized irregular plates. All the cars seemed to suffer from it, just like old Corvettes.


As the British would say that is patina.

[aigel]

Sounds good! I like the orange. I'd love to have one. I would not worry too much about imperfections on the body and just use the car. It would be good to have a little more power, I would check into that right away if this was my car. I certainly would not buy without a/c as a drive to one of the central valley tracks will sure be a mess even in late spring or late summer. I don't drive the 993 enough, so there are other toys that will have higher priority, I am afraid ...

G

[Nickshu]

Hey guys here's the update, I completed the purchase on the car and it was shipped out today, will be delivered Monday! I'm so excited to get this beautiful car and to get back to the track again some. Our agreed price was $29K which I think was a great deal for a one owner 14K mile car. Here's a pic of her getting loaded into the trailer today, on the way to me now!

[Don Ro]

Envy is a b!tch.

[aigel]

That's a great price and beautiful color! Congrats!!

[Embraer]

awesome awesome awesome!! I almost bought an '07 Exige in Krypton Green. Looked at a car on a Saturday morning, told the dealer my bank was closed, would get him the cash on Monday. He agreed, and we shook on it. I called Monday morning with cash to come get the car...."oh sorry, a guy came on Saturday afternoon with cash." I was pissed.

BUT...these cars still do a lot for me. I love the fact that it's a Toyota motor. I love my Ferrari, but there are days when I think "god, I should have bought that exige." if you guys think driving a lotus makes you nervous...try driving a 20 year old Ferrari with a 11.75:1 compression motor...that's gone up 50K in value since I bought it. the Ferrari is slowly becoming a garage queen. I'd love to have something to drive without worrying....

[porsche4life]

Sell the Ferrari and get the exige!!!

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

Hey guys here's the update, I completed the purchase on the car and it was shipped out today, will be delivered Monday! I'm so excited to get this beautiful car and to get back to the track again some. Our agreed price was $29K which I think was a great deal for a one owner 14K mile car. Here's a pic of her getting loaded into the trailer today, on the way to me now!

Awesome! What's that in front of it? Skyline? Ferrari?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Congrats!!! Make sure you post feedback when you get it.

Originally Posted by Scuba Steve

Awesome! What's that in front of it? Skyline? Ferrari?

Looks like an R34 Skyline.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Congrats!!! Make sure you post feedback when you get it.

Looks like an R34 Skyline.

I think it's a GT-R.

[billybek]

See!
You came to the right place to have us talk you out of buying that car.
Congrats and have fun with it.

[recycled sixtie]

That is some cool car. More user friendly than the 7 and the price is right. Congratulations. And the colour suits the car. Green with envy!

[Steve Carlton]

Congrats! Love to see more pics when you have a chance.