Thread: Advice on Lotus Elise/Exige as a weekend car

After scrolling through CarreraCartel's post about what kind of car to get, it got me thinking about my next weekend car. After we had our baby boy last year, I had to make some changes to accommodate my needs in a car. I have a nice (albeit a little boring) DD, so I'm looking for a little fun on a budget..... Enter the Lotus.

I'd like to spend less than $25k and I can wait for prices to fall if need be. I've seen a few Elise's in my neighborhood for sale and may check them out this week, but one has 38k miles and the other is over $32k.

The one with 38k is a 2005 with just a Sport Pack and they are asking $24k. Good deal?

What should I look out for in a pre-owned Lotus? Are they easy to work on? I like to turn my own wrenches.

I'm primarily looking to learn how drive round a track properly and quickly. I may do a few novice Auto-X with it as well. Above it all, I would love to have this car as something my son (in the not so distant future) and I can work on and have fun with.

Any other advice is welcome.

Pretty straightforward mechanically. I have been in both and for the money, I like the Exige a LOT more. Much better handling, downforce, responsiveness. The Elise is a lot of fun too but if you start to push on it, be prepared for trouble. They are not very forgiving once you cross the threshold. If you are stuck on a convertible, the Honda S2000 is a lot of fun for the money too, just not as exotic.

you wont find an exige for under 25k unless it has been wrecked, so I'd say you're definitely gonna get an elise at that budget

that said, even for an elise that is right around the limit for what I've seen, price-wise. will follow-up with more when I get to work

Get an Elise for 30-32K, Its a very forgiving track car, Easy to learn on and you can always add a supercharger down the road. You can track it out of the box, I recommend harness's and a harness bar and upgrading the pads and brake fluid. Thats all you need to get started, Ask me with any questions Ill be glad to help.

"The one with 38k is a 2005 with just a Sport Pack and they are asking $24k. Good deal?"

Be wary of this deal, seems unbelievable, Take down the vin and run a carfax. Also have the seller sign a form stating the car has never been in an accident, and will refund the money. Or have it inspected at the dealer. These cars can not be properly "fixed" after a collision unless its only clam damage. Mileage dosent bother me, Have an ecu dump if you want and see how many times its been over rev-ed. Could have been an enterprise rental car. They used to have a small fleet.

Originally Posted by Shawn C

Get an Elise for 30-32K, Its a very forgiving track car, Easy to learn on and you can always add a supercharger down the road. You can track it out of the box, I recommend harness's and a harness bar and upgrading the pads and brake fluid. Thats all you need to get started, Ask me with any questions Ill be glad to help.

This - You can always add a nice wing/etc.. for more downforce later (as from my experience, downforce is really the key element missing from the elise)

The one with 38k is a 2005 with just a Sport Pack and they are asking $24k. Good deal?

yes and no, since its a toyota engine mileage is not an issue as far as reliabilty, but you can see cars for a bit more with a lot less miles

What should I look out for in a pre-owned Lotus? Are they easy to work on? I like to turn my own wrenches.

for the most part its easy to work on long as you have the right tools and ample space and are somewhat mechanically inclined, on the 2005 models just make sure you check the toe links

I'm primarily looking to learn how drive round a track properly and quickly. I may do a few novice Auto-X with it as well. Above it all, I would love to have this car as something my son (in the not so distant future) and I can work on and have fun with.

there no car better for this job that the lotus IMHO

honestly with the Lotus having a toyota engine, mileage really isnt an issue, espcially if its only going to be your weekend car

the lotus just gives you this grin in your face everytime you drive it, hard to get the same feeling in any other car

an elise for 24K is cheap, i think i saw that its grey colored right?

good luck i hope you get one

make sure to check the body for cracks in the fiberglass - they can be easy to miss, but replacing those body panels is $$$ (my wife's lotus just got hit, and while there is almost no VISIBLE damage, it is going to cost nearly $6k to fix)

I found an Elise for a good friend, it was an 04 I believe with 6k miles, got it for I want to say about $32k a little over a year ago. Friend daily drives it, no problems so far. I changed the exhaust, that part was easy to do

Originally Posted by damen

make sure to check the body for cracks in the fiberglass - they can be easy to miss, but replacing those body panels is $$$ (my wife's lotus just got hit, and while there is almost no VISIBLE damage, it is going to cost nearly $6k to fix)

You got off easy, My new rear clam and roof was 22K!
My dad got an 05 Elise with both hard and soft top and two sets of wheels and tires with only 5K miles for 32,500
We added the flat black stripes, and GUT front and rear spoilers from Sector. Getting black wheels soon.
Should mention this was almost 2 years ago before the economy started going bust.

Lotus is definitely a good car to fit the bill.....however, as mentioned above, they are pretty expensive to fix cosmetic items.

I would also steer you towards an S2000.....while the Lotus is fun, and a GREAT track car, the S2000 has a few more creature comforts and is not quite as bare bones. I enjoy both cars equally, however, the S2000 is a better car for primarily street driving, and the lotus is a better car for primarily track driving.