Hello From Newbie

[Tomcar]

Hello all,

After some thinking I have come round to the conclusion that a S2 111s is the answer to my current needs.

I have an eye on a couple of cars and a general idea of what to look for, but in the first instance I would be interested to know if anyone knows or has an opinion on this car http://www.autotrade.../1500?logcode=p particularly if the wheels are genuine Lotus fit.

 

I'm hoping for a viewing and a drive on Saturday, so could be a car owner in the fold very soon.

 

thanks

Tom

[Meister]

Hi Tom

I have the same car an Ardent red 2004 spec 111s. I really love the car and I personally think it's one of the best Elises. The one in your link looks like a nice car,but I am fairly sure that they are not the original wheels these were the so called 'Spider' alloys.

Whether or not they were a Lotus price list option at the time I am not totally sure but my gut feeling is that they are not.

Mark

[DeanB]

The wheels are either Team Dynamics (popular amongst Lotus owners, quite well thought of but not a factory option) or OZ racing (very very sought after and standard on sport 190s and 135Rs). The fronts are, I think, a little wider than the standard wheels and allow for wider front tyres (as the Exige has).

I would want to know what tyres it has on, and if the suspension has also been modified. Also, who serviced it? When was the cambelt done as they should be done every 4 years regardless of mileage according to Lotus, what other receipts are there? has it had the head gasket done? the radiator?

I live near Parkway, and bought a Focus off them a few years ago. I also looked at an s2 Elise they had in about 3 1/2 years ago. It needed discs and wasn't particularly smart but they wanted top dollar for it. That one looks dear too, but the red suits it.

 

If you want, pm me on Saturday and if I don't get called out to work I may be able to have a look at it with/for you.

[stockhome]

The wheels are oz racing and came as standard with rover s2 135r and sport 190

 

Here is some info on the options http://wiki.seloc.org/a/S2_Wheel_Options standard would be the 8 spoke rimstocks

 

 

 

Too slow

[Martin R]

Welcome to MLOC. Dont dive in too quick. 111s is a cracking car. If you buy private get it checked by a specialist as a condition of the sale. Take it to Gav at unit 4 for a once over. It may cost you £100 but may well save you a lot of money and grief. Also get in touch with Will B on SELOC. He only sells top notch cars. Good luck

[Numbnutz]

The wheels are not OEM - they look like the Oz racing wheels - but they may have been refurbed as they dont seem to have the oz racing decals, and look more like black than anthracite. Tyres look like PS3 maybe - not the usual elise tyres.

 

It has electric windows, it should have remote CL, and two radiator fans, it does not have aircon (which is a nice to have (working)). Check it has 2 keys and fobs. The Radio may not be OEM. Speakers are different to mine so may not be OEM or grills are missing.

 

Check to see if it has an alloy end radiator - rather than plastic (a haggling point), Wheels will need to be declared as an upgrade. I can't make my mind up from the pics if it has been lowered slightly, which would mean new adjustable shocks rather than Bilstiens.

 

Brakes and disks look standard.

 

Right click on the pics in autotrader and copy the url and paste into a new tab to take a closer look - for example:

 

http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/imgser-uk/servlet/media?id=203655958

http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/imgser-uk/servlet/media?id=203655958

http://pictures2.autotrader.co.uk/imgser-uk/servlet/media?id=203655945

 

Body looks good, but inspect it and look for small lumps/bumps under the paint - may have had the odd bit of paint work done on it, because my 40k mile S2 MY04 has plenty of stone chips.

 

I reckon the rover engines need a Head gasket around every 35-45k miles. Mine went at 41k. So as above - ask if its been done / check the receipts, if not add the the haggling list. It does look like top dollar, so get a long warranty and haggle it down. Make sure the soft top is the thicker lined version and present.

 

Take it out, brakes will feel hard, but should work and not pull - give it a spirited drive and see if it puts a grin on your face.

 

By the way - this is what the wheels should look like (brakes disks on this are not standard tho - oem only has holes - no slots)

 

http://www.autogespot.co.uk/lotus-elise-s2-111s/2012/11/17

[Martin R]

Have a look at this?

 

http://classifieds.seloc.org/ads/2005-s2-111s-ardent-red-with-full-black-leather-29k-miles/

 

Always worth traveling for the right car?

[Alex B]

I stumbled across this car (op's link) whilst having a gander the other day, and my thoughts where it's far too high priced for a 111s that doesn't seem to have everything 100% right.

Also at that price you are in to early 111r territory

[un1eash]

Looks a tidy example but photos can be deceiving, i must of looked at about a dozen Elise before buying mine. If everything was mint and 100% i would want to pay £15k tops as thats what i paid for mine last October and its a 05 with less miles, A/c, near new AD07 tyres, recent C service, Headgasket etc..

 

I bought mine from this guy, Mike. Knows his stuff and only sells good cars, ive seen this one and its in very good condition...

 

http://www.albico.net/page17.html

[L7YSE]

Wow! That looks expensive!! I'd sell my 06 'R' for less than that!

 

Also, is it me or does that paintwork look REALLY new?

 

(Other thing that stood out was - to my eye - it has definitely been lowered)

 

Edit: Ps: HELLO!

[Tomcar]

Thanks all for a warm welcome and some excellent advice and information, specially to Dean for your offer to view with me. (I may take you up on this this depending on my second conversation with the vendor tomorrow)

The car in my link has been regularly serviced at Christopher Neil except for a big bill of £3500 spent at SW lotus centre when the HG was done as well as some head pressure test activity. I know its top dollar but i figured with the hardtop and possibly OZ's and what does look like non-std suspension I could square the value at £14,500 tops.(Although I would prefer to do any mods myself really).

I started looking for a blue car, (there's a nice 1 owner car in N Wales) but pictures of Mark's lovely example changed my mind a couple of days ago. the pics that Numbnutz posted has me convinced.

The Newcastle car looks really perfect and although I'm not really a fan of black spider wheels, the OZ's just get away with it.

As with all specialist cars, it's a bit of a minefield and you do have to travel for the right one - I previously went to Belfast for a 3.2 Carrera!

Now that I have the cash available, I must buy with my head - some hope :-)

I'll keep you posted with progress as well as more questions.

cheers Tom

[DeanB]

Good point about the wheels, hardtop and suspension. They are worth a few quid. Personally I think it looks fantastic in red with the hardtop and those wheels. Much better than standard. Would be good to know what dampers it's on though.

[Alex B]

If you contact Christopher Neil I'm sure they might be able to give you a bit of info on the car?

In fairness it looks spot on it was just the price that got me.

[Tomcar]

Just to report back....

Viewed the red car this morning and it looked as good in the flesh as it photographs.

However, for a car at the top of the K-series price range, my expectations were that it would be 'immaculate' from top to bottom. Perhaps my standards are unrealistically high, although superficially clean, under the surface it was ordinary.

As spotted correctly, the car does have Nitron suspension, couldn't tell if the wheels were genuine OZ's but the £3500 bill was purely for an engine rebuild following HGF - not just a rebuild but a new block and liners!

What I'm long-windedly saying is that the car, whilst nice, didn't match the top-dollar price which was firm so I left it. The search goes on.

 

One further question, should I be surprised that the only receipts were for regular servicing?

Reason I ask is that every 'toy' car I've owned had reams of bills for everything other than petrol.

Tom

[Martin R]

I always keep all my receipts in a folder. Im not sure how many other people do though?