Scottish Elises

OK, continuing my search I have come across a couple of elises which may fit the bill.

1999 LOTUS ELISE Elise 111S 2dr Convertible ,
48,600 miles, Rare, gorgeous Ruby Red colour. FSH. Tax&MOT to July. Hardtop & Softtop. Stainless Steel Exhaust and Sports Suspension. Immobiliser, Alloy wheels. Second baby forces sale!. £10,995. ono

Has had the C service, about 6 months left in tyres. Not had ball joints/tre's though. The guy has almost had it since new. 3 months tax/mot. next service due in November.

or

2001 LOTUS ELISE Elise 2dr Convertible,
30,000 miles, One of the last S1 models, Nautilus Blue. Immobiliser, Alloy wheels, Full C service 6 Months ago with cam belt change, Sand leather interior, New Bridgestone S03 tyres, FSH, Wet roof cover, 2 keys and plippers, carpets, roof bag, storage net, air deflecter, CD player with ipod/mp3 connector.Great to drive much loved example. 6 Months tax/MOT. £11,000

Looks as tho it missed a service in 2003 (probs because had done hardly any miles between 02 and 04. 2 previous owners to current seller.

So just out of these two cars (ignoring any which may or may not be for sale on this forum) which one would you choose?
I think the 111s is still winning my vote, but driving an S1 on a Y plate also seems to appeal for some reason as well.

They are both down Bristol way so would still be buying an unknown car but i would be getting a full inspection which should go some way to let me know of any problems

i would take the 111S over a standard car if i had to choose again.

but then i would take a car that may or not be for sale on this forum.

By the way. Gordon's is for sale and its excellent. although he has had some interest of late, so i would make your mind up quickly.

Between those 2 I would go for the 111s.

But, I wouldn't go for either of those two.

Hard top is worth £~500 on fleabay....

mind you, in scotland if you havent got a garage i'd want to keep the hardtop

I have the 111s and am very happy with it. The miles are on the high side but should not be a problem if taken care of. The sports suspension will make up for the mileage although I would want to know what they mean by sports suspension and when it was fitted. If Lotus Sports Suspension (LSS) then defiantly a good one although I understand that most other setups are good as well.

If you want a look at one of the same age/model let me know.

Graham

Apparently it has spax suspension.

Spax ain't the best... Crashy and bouncy, with questionable finish. Probably still better than tired standard Konis though.

it keeps getting mentioned, but whats so wrong with this one:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/70184.htm


Its owned by gordon on here. was bought from MMC a year ago. has had numerous oil changes and everything mechanically sorted. he's a mechanic after all. interested by your comment "(ignoring any which may or may not be for sale on this forum)" why is that??

it also has the S2 suspension kit, which is miles better than either the spax or red koni's on the 2 cars you mentioned.

i reckon gordon is open to offers and will throw in the hardtop.

Further thought, I would save the money on the inspection, you would have to be very lucky to get a guy who knows much about the Elise. I recon you would be better telling the seller that you will only buy it with a 12 month MOT (which will only cost him £40 if he has nothing to hide).

Thoughts from others?

G

First one - I'd be scared about the MOT in July. what tyres is it running, state of disks and pads etc? Was the sports suspension fitted by Lotus?

2nd one - how many miles has it done since the c service? Miles on the tyres, disks , pads etc.

Also worth checking if they have had their alignment checked at any stage?

I couldn't be bothered going to Bristol personally, and reckon (if you haven't already) you may want to have a look at a few closer to home first.

Personally, I'd go with the greater power, but a well sorted model would be my pref.

Good luck though

just a quick note on the standard S1 - though the Bridgestone S03s may have been expensive(£350 for 2 rears at MMC ) they are absolutely gash! You'll be wanting to replace those sooner rather than later before you go through a hedge backwards!!

Just got an update. The standard S1 actually has Pirelli P0 tyres.

Anyway, after sleeping on it, I am still no nearer buying; not really overly interested in a standard S1 (at the moment) and asked a few more questions about the 111s (which is on e-bay) and actually made an offer subject to a succesful lotus specialist inspection. Offer was kind of accepted, but he said (amoungst other things) he did not want to end listing early as it would break ebay rules (despite the fact he has a disclaimer in the ad). Just sounded a bit weird to me, and gut instinct is to walk away.

nicnag wrote:Offer was kind of accepted, but he said (amoungst other things) he did not want to end listing early as it would break ebay rules (despite the fact he has a disclaimer in the ad). Just sounded a bit weird to me, and gut instinct is to walk away.

I'd be very wary on this one. I'm sure you've seen ebay auctions ended before as it was "advertised elsewhere etc". Sounds like he's hanging out for more pennies

Bin them both and buy mine
1yrs MOT,
less miles (36k)
has had C service and recently an A service,
plent of life left in the tyres, (yoko advans)
bell and colvill 140 rumoured to have 140bhp previous owner had mentioned it was r/r at 147bhp can't prove these figures but has zorst, ecu etc. give me a shout if you want more info