Newbie Question

[ipanter]

Hi all, I'm new here and i havn't got my Elise yet but i'll have it soon, it will be around a standard 97 model.

 

I have a question regarding the reliability of the Elise, i will be using it as my daily drive, (even though it won't actually be used daily) but people keep telling me that it is unlikely to stand up to the punishment of being used in that way.

 

Does anyone here use their elise daily, and do they have any problems with reliabily. Also are there any commom problems that occur with the elise, i am aware of a few minor ones such as the window mechanisms and the slightly larger one of the HGF. But are there any other issues i should be aware of? Or are all these people telling me i should be wary, just jealous that they won't be driving around in one of the worlds best sports cars.

 

I'd just like to know what i'm letting myself in for, it would also be good if you could let me know what normal running and servicing costs are, even though i will probably do most of the servicing myself, which leads me onto my next question; how difficult they are to service at home? i'm a fairly competant home mechanic, with a professional mechanic friend.

 

I think thats all...

 

Thanks in advance

 

Ian

[Ladders]

but people keep telling me that it is unlikely to stand up to the punishment of being used in that way.

Complete Rubbish!

 

I use mine every day now, starts every time, although I do keep it garaged.

 

The only problems really are the battery draining down, but this usually happens to people who dont use it very often, and the occasional HGF. I wouldnt really worry about HGF to much, think how many rovers, MGF's etc out their that have no problems with HGF!

 

Sounds like they are jelous, or just soft! When my friend found out I was getting one he said "They're quite hard to get in to, and they dont have cup holders!" LMAO

 

You probably could service the engine yourself, its just stuff like the suspension that is a bit more specialised. If you take it to someone like Bruce at Ragtop Roadsters (Very good rep with Elise owners) it will cost you Just over a hundred for an A service and about £220 for a B service. There is also Lou at Tollgate garage in Burbage who a lot of us have took our cars to. Servicing at Lotus dealers is about £200 for an A, and £400 for a B. I'd recommend Nick Whales in Birmingham if you prefer to take that route!

 

Probably the only consumable over a normal car is Tyres and Petrol - but only cos you'll want to drive it all the time

[Mark H]

I agree, 60,000 miles in the 2 1/2 years and the only real problems I've had in those miles is: water in the top of the engine, which is now sorted and my VVC mechanism snapping which needed a top engine rebuild.

 

Not too bad considering that the engines probably get more stick than a normal car.

 

If you go into it with your eyes open knowing the car will rattle bang etc then you wont be disapointed, the driving experience more than makes up for it

[Dave S]

Hi Ian

 

I have driven mine just about every day from new and the only problems I have had is with CD Brammel in Leicester (Lotus Agent) who have made a couple of warranty niggles into a drama... But the car is a dream to drive and should be driven. Not parked in a garage..

 

Enjoy

 

Dave

[DerekC]

I bought my Elise last March and asked the same sort of questions at the time. I have a V reg 1999 and was bought with 14000 on the clock. I use my car every day, ok it's kept in the garage and I only do 20 miles aday but it's been one of the most reliable cars i've owned. The MOT is due in march and so is an A service but i've spent absolutely nothing on the car in the last year. Fuel consumption is fantastic, i used to fill up every week before I had the elise, now it's every 2-3 weeks.

 

I was considering selling mine and buying a Toyota Celica 190 sports but realised I was going to make a big mistake, don't get me wrong I really like the celica but the rarity of the Elise makes it special to drive.

 

Good luck with your purchase, i'm sure you won't regret it. The best part for me about driving the Elise is the way people stop and watch you drive by, it gives me such a buzz.

 

 

Derek

[Dave S]

HI Shrek

 

Yeh I know what you mean.. I seem to get people jumping out in front of me giving me the thumbs up...

 

You get some real crazies round here...

 

Chat soon

 

Dave

[Kris H]

I have a question regarding the reliability of the Elise, i will be using it as my daily drive, (even though it won't actually be used daily) but people keep telling me that it is unlikely to stand up to the punishment of being used in that way.

Hello Ian and welcome to MLOC

 

This is rubbish IMHO. Lots of people I know banged on about how lotus build quality was crap (may have a point on some cars) and that they were completely unreliable, which in my experience is drivel. I think that there is a certain reputation associated with the brand which some models historically may have deserved. As a suggestion, try ragging the arse off a normal car and driving on the red line all the time for 10,000 miles or so, and do the same with an elise - I suspect I could guess which would hold up better. They often do rattle a bit, and some might leak a bit as well, but that can be sorted. When people are talking about definitive quality handling though, they tend to compare other cars to the elise - even lardy Clarkson.

 

Regarding HGF, it can happen but I think is quite unusual in the S1s since it tends to be a new car thing (bit of a generalisation) - a lot of the S2 135r's have this problem, and I am told that a couple of the S2 190s have as well. In general though it seems more likely to happen earlier rather than later if the car is properly maintained.

 

Running costs I would suggest average out - servicing isn't that cheap, but fuel costs are very low. Insurance is higher than your average fiesta or whatever, but then it's a sports car.

 

I would say that if you were going down the dealer route, which it sounds like you may well not be, Nick Whale would have my vote too.

 

I run two cars, one purely functional, but with the elise I think it's the first time that I've had a car where I always take the long route, and despite doing a lot of driving with my job, would do so for fun at the weekends.

 

FWIW if you want to ask folks about the elise I think you're better off asking people with some experience of them, as you have done here, rather than folks who don't know what they're talking about.

 

Kristian

[Scott_Mac]

I use mine everyday and have done over 7k miles since buying it in August...

 

It brings a smile to my face on every journey, running costs, its an interesting one, it does 40mpg pretty much all the time on my daily commute (less if "used") so in that respect is cheaper than a lot of cars.... let alone comparable ones.

 

Servicing, is reasonable from main dealers, but specialists are cheaper. If you are handy with a spanner then you can do a lot of work yourself - though lots of folk will always offer to help anyway.

 

So i say go for it, use it everyday and love it!

 

There are lots for sale at the moment due to impending arrival of the Toyota... a few good S1's for sale on here too, also winter is the best time to buy.

 

The best advice i was given was by a mate who said, buy the car and set aside £1000 to fix bits in the first few months... i spent £977, so he wasn't far off Other than that and my impending service, i have bought tyres (puncture), fuel and sports exhaust, induction kit....

[MattyB]

Maybe I haven't quite got the "enthusiast" bug yet....but...

 

I'd say that in Winter, I'd rather have a second car. I've had a bad day with it today (actually, a few days) and I wish I could keep it nice and cosy in the garage until the weathers warmed up while driving around in something erm...more suited to winter driving.

 

In the summer though, nothing comes close.

 

Like Mr Beefcake says, go in eyes open, and you'll be fine. Oh yes, and seconded on keeping a grand aside for work - I could have easily spent £1500 on mine getting it "sorted" ... shame I don't have the cash

[ipanter]

Yay, that's made me feel a lot better about getting one, thank you a everyone.

 

Suppose i shouldn't listen to jealous people!

 

I can't wait now, i feel like a child on christmas eve.

 

I drive an MX5 at the moment, so i'm used to the odd leak or two, at least there is less carpet in the Elise to get wet! And as for engine or any other problems it sounds, from your collective experience, that i will probably have no more problems than i would with any other car. Costs don't look like they will be a problem either especially and the fuel consumption sounds great, better that the 26mpg i get from my 5 at the moment, i guess it's because the elise is so light. Just the insurance that will sting - my best quote is from Tesco for just over £1200, ouch.

 

Thanks again and i look forward to meeting you all on some drives soon.

[Kris H]

Ian

 

There are a fair few of us about between Rugby-Coventry-Kenilworth-Leamington areas so whenever there's a run or any other event on I'm sure you could convoy over with us. Quite a few seen about recently as well which I don't recognise. Have you had much chance to drive an elise yet? Suppose that this maybe isn't the best time of year to familiarise with one, or on the flip side, maybe it's the ideal time.

 

Regarding insurance you might be able to get classic insurance from somewhere if it's a '97 - I am sure that I have heard that a few folks will do that. Try Priviledge, Esteem or Adrian Flux. Expect the first year's premium to be bad anyway on an elise, but if you're getting an extra 14 mpg, that should pretty much make up for it as a daily driver.

 

Kristian

[Scott_Mac]

Yeah Matty seems to have a few probs...

 

I have been designing a new web page and the only page up to date so far scares me...

 

http://www.smckenzie.info/lotus_elise.php

 

 

To be fair your insurance quote doesn't seem too high... i pay £800 also with Tesco.

[steve]

Glad the thread has been of service!

 

I will second all of what has been said above as i have done 16000 miles in my 98 S1 in less than a year and it has never let me down (except the battery running down when i left the lights on ) so reliability is not a problem. Also, i have a hard top for the winter which i would definitely recommend if its for daily use.

 

Costs are really good. I get 35mpg (unlike Scott Mac's 40 because he drives like a girl ) and servicing isnt too bad because the intervals are good unlike a lot of sportscars. Depreciation is excellent which is also something to consider when buying - i think a years hard use will see my car go down 2k. If that was 13k spent on a newer car it would be more like 4k. That makes up for the insurance costs.

 

Anyway - look forward to seeing you on a run. You wont regret buying one at all!!!

 

Steve

[Foley]

I use mine everyday in all weathers and (touching wood) haven't had any problems. I guess the car can be a little difficult to live with at times but for me thats part of its attraction, it's not for everyone.

I'm sure Malbon will be on soon extoling the virtues of fitted carpets. Secretly I'd quite like the comfort myself but can't bring myself to fit them.

I do most of the work myself and I'm no mechanic, just can't afford NW prices.

[malbon]

Ive been tolds its like the easiest car in the world to work on. Its a very simple concept but it might as well be a Mclaren F1 to me.

 

As for problems. They seem very minor and are build quality/lack of development more than anything.

 

I got a good one and ive spent sweet fa on it apart from upgrades and servicing. touch wood.