New Elise S1 Owner

[richb]

well, shortly anyway!

 

i'm buyiny a friends 97 elise within the next month or so and would appreciate any kind of advise.

 

firstly, i need a decent insurance company.

 

then i was wondering what sort of modifications, if any, are worth while. is there any way of making it a bit more water tight? also i heard that s2 shocks/suspension could be fitted. is this a good idea?

 

thanks in advance

 

rich

[Mark H]

Welcome

 

The best thing to do is a quick search of the site as there are loads of threads on this especially insurance.

 

Check out the garage section for peoples mods.

 

Also personally I wouldn't mod it yet and just get used to the car as it is.

[Scott_Mac]

insurance depends on age...

 

Tesco, THB Eggar Lawson and Esteem are all pretty handy (though Graeme may recommend Saga )

 

Mods, go for it S2 suspension is well worth doing, but i'd wait until your existing stuff wears out really... especially in this weather!

[Chorlton]

Get yourself a soft-top cleaning kit, that includes re-waterproofing.. or just go down camping shop.

 

That solved all my issues with bath-time after showers, once a year is fine with me no matter what Lotus say.

[GCCK]

Adrian Flux seem to be flavour of the week - see Greyknight's thread.

 

 

Saga pah!

 

 

Yes, get S2 springs & dampers. At 7-8 years old, your original Konis will be well baggy by now. £500 + fitting and if it's a new car (to you anyway), a geo is advisable. Go to Horizon and they'll do the lot for you.

 

 

P.S. Update your profile - if we know whereabouts you live and age, recommending things like garages and insurance Co's is much easier!

[malbon]

[Check out all the insurance companies above and get quotes as there is usually a massive wide between them all.

 

Frizzel have been good to me as they have never bothered about upgrades, points or mileage.

 

Upgrades depends on what kind of nick your car is already in. First thing is to make sure the history is up to date. If it is then suspension parts like ball joints and stuff will prob. Already have been replaced. If its not up to date then a bit of money will have to be spent on replacing these parts – G13CCK did this on his old car and cost him a fair bit.

 

Call Lotus quoting the chassis number and make sure all the recalls have been done as well.

 

If its not had a Geometry done for a while then do this. Also get some Fabsil and waterproof your hood.

 

Hoping this is all done though as you can look at upgrades. Tyres play a big part on the car so if they are 8 year old P Zeros then get them replaced with some better stuff. S2 suspension is a good upgrade as is Gear Linkage – check the garage section for advice on what and nots worth doing.

 

Loads of stuff available for the car – best to check out other peoples car like I said.

 

Id say;

 

S2 Suspension

Gear Linkage

Hurricane Filter

Red Hose replaced

Sports Exhaust (Quicksilver,Eliseparts,B+C)

Yokohama Advans Tyres

Geo

 

If you do a search on the British Cars BBS on all of these key words then it will bring up a host of information. When you’ve decided what your going to do come back on here and ask where to get the stuff and where to have the work done.

 

I’d say there is about £2000 worth of upgrades there but it will transform the car and you don’t have to have them done at the same time

 

Jon.

[Jay NW]

Congratulations RichB!

I just got my hands on my first Elise late last year.

I shopped around those mentioned above and found for a clean licence, 36 years old, full no claims and only little previous experience of perfomance cars THB Eggar Lawson was way cheaper then the rest.

Your choice of insurance company depends on your experience and licence/points.

 

I'm driving quite a modified car (160hp). Eggar Lawson did me fully comp with 4 track days included and no claims protection included for £400. Limited to 3k miles.

 

Not sure if anyone else has recommended it to you, but have you considered some driver training with Andy Walsh at www.carlimits.com to help you get the most from your new car?

[richb]

thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

 

looks like i'll be getting insured with thb egger lawson too. best quote and the only nice bloke i spoke too!

 

hopefully getting the car middle of next week. i'm getting it off one of my best mates, so i know the cars history for the last 6 years. its had the 135 engine conversion, a janspeed exhaust and its got a hard top.

 

cant wait!

[Dixie]

Just got a quote form Adrian Flux. They've beaten Tesco by £150!!! COOL!!!

 

Me, being 26, 4 year NCD, std S1, Tracker monitor, parked on my driveway, 7k miles a year, 0 points or convictions and only a £200 excess.

 

£457!!!!!!

 

The guy said they use one company for Lotus policies so they're getting good rates at the moment. The company is called Nsign.

 

Forgot to ask about track days though!! Doh. Does anybody know what Flux's policy usually is on them?

[GCCK]

Crazy! One week Adrian Flux were beating everything in sight and the next week its Egger Lawson.

 

I'm told that Actuarial Science is one of the most complex mathematical processes around. Sounds like whatever they come up with, the marketing bods run roughshod over!

[GreyKnight]

Ensign (not Nsign) are who Adrian Flux insured me with. Although being 26 and having zero no-claims and no tracker they were only able to offer me £749....... ONLY!

[Scott_Mac]

Blimey that is a good deal - we've just kicked their arses on SELOC about not offering the discounts they said they would - so seems like AF have finally come good on the deal.

 

Good news all round