How Much For An S1 160?

[bermudabob]

OK, I have uncovered a quite low mileage 160 in very good nick. Further to this I've discovered an amazing insurance company that will insure it for £700 with no no claims bonus... (less than all other quotes I've had for a stock S1 with 1 years NCB)

 

How much is the going rate for a decent 160?

 

Rob

[Scott_Mac]

Have a word with MattyB, he keeps threatening to sell his.

 

They should be around £15k - ish

[MattyB]

£15-16k seems to be the going rate. Bear in mind that Nick Whale sell mint black (best/desired 160 colour) S160's with less than 20k on the clock for £17.5k.

 

If its standard (make sure its got Alacantra seats, LSS and maybe sport exhaust but thats not totally essential) with about 15k on the clock and FLSH I'd be looking to pay about £16-16.5, but certainly no more than that.

[Ladders]

Rob, What was the insurance company you got the quote from?

 

Need to find an alternative to the useless to**ers at EGG!

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[bermudabob]

The company is autotorque (www.autotorque.co.uk). The guy I was talking too was very Lotus aware and I get the impression they take a bit more notice of personal situation than most insurers who just plug details into a formula.

[Mark H]

Yep the owner of Autotorque used to have an Exige before he chopped it in so they are very Lotus aware.

[bermudabob]

Actually, there is an Elise 'Super 140' thats going on pistonheads for £11,995 with very low miles.

 

Yet another thats caught my interest (too many!) - it seems very cheap for what it is - are there any reliability problems with Elises that have been upgraded? I've rumours of blown head gaskets.

[steve]

The head gaskets on most elises will go at about 50-60k miles (from what I've heard). Mines upgraded and went at about 58k so no different than standard. I would guess it depends on who upgraded it and how much power is being squeezed out of the little K.

 

[Scott_Mac]

Warm it up properly (don't rev the knackers off it until well after the temp has hit 80) and they can be ok... Stu on SELOC has done 130k withouth HGF.

 

Super 140 is a bit pants, not really worth it.... but relatively cheap for a bit more performance i guess. S160 is a much better car, but i'd be inclined to start with a boggo std car anyway.... An S160 ain't worth any more than £15k IMO, look at what Graeme bought for less!

[bermudabob]

Well, the 160 is this one from pistonheads

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=30259&s=12

 

as is the super 140

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=30244&s=12

 

I'm torn, as the 140 is cheaper than a lot of standard S1s and has very low miles. Then again the 160 has pretty low miles too..

[GCCK]

Both cars are £1000 too much. But maybe at the prices they're at, the owners have factored that in.

 

Observations:

S160 has had 3 owners - you'd be the 4th. Sounds well kept but provenance getting thin after being through several hands. Depends on look & feel as to value.

 

Super 140 is a 1997 car (old) but sounds well looked after. Only 16,000 miles but if the owner has bothered to fit harnesses, how many of them have been on track? No mention of suspension upgrade (£500 + fitting) and if tracked, look closely at track rod ends, rack & rear toelinks. If it checks out after that lot, it would be worth £11,000 or £11,250 at a push.

 

 

Have long conversations by phone because both are a long drive to view.

 

Graeme

[bermudabob]

Hmmm, maybe a standard S1 would be a better idea. I should probably wait until yours is back from the garage Graeme...

 

I'm not so sure now that a 160 would suit me as a first Elise. As for the 140, I'm not too keen to drive that far!

 

Rob

[Scott_Mac]

Personally i think a std Elise is ample for most people... in the right hands its quicker than a 160 on the road.

 

The driver makes more of a difference than 40bhp, trust me.

[Foley]

Have to agree with Scott. It's all about the driver.

I've driven a S160 was was unimpressed with the performance, not much quicker than mine (standard). Had a more bit left when mine would have been running out of steam. They look fantatsic imho, esp in black.

I'd plump for a decent S1 with a few decent mods and spend the saving (in the case of the car you're looking at you could save £4k+ ) on nitrons, 1st Lotus and trackdays. You'll never wipe the smile off your face

[Scott_Mac]

You don't have to agree mate, but you know i'm always right

 

I was impressed with the performance of the S160, when it came on cam it was fantastic... but you can do that to a std Elise, so why worry. As an everyday prospect the std car is waaaaaay better too, no lumpy idel etc. They certainly look fantastic though, completely agree.

 

Without doubt, the best "out of the box, all round solution" is the S135, then the 111S.... more power than standard, Close ratio box, VVC engine possibly an issue on the 111S though.

 

I bought a std car, have spent some cash on modifying it (sensibly) and its a much better car now. Lower service intervals on std car compared to S160 too