Poll: K Series

[renmure]

This is going a wee bit like some of the threads on the Ferrari forums..

... Hi, I am thinking about getting a Ferrari. Do they break?, are they cheap to fix? My budget is £40k will that get me a good one? Any advice?

.. Welcome, Don't be too worried. Some of the good ones don't break too often and if you pay top whack for a really good one it won't cost much more than an arm and a leg to run. You may be better adding a little bit to your budget and spending £80k. They don't really break any less but are cheaper to fix and should only cost an arm and a kidney.

Wonder what the threads are like on the TVR Forums??

[Lazydonkey]

an elise/exige is not for you... seriously

I agree sorry - this is your third or fourth post/poll about what car to buy and options/opinions, not that there is anything wrong with that, but you seem far to unsure about the whole thing.

A K series S2 goes for £11k/£12k, if i'm reading into your budget properly that will leave you plenty cash to get any niggles sorted out, inlcuding HGF, should it ever happen. Trust everyone here who have had a few of these things (I've now had 4 Loti) and take the plunge if it's the car you really want.

The funny thing is I have an S2 Exige and it's cost me more to run in the 2 years i've had it than all 3 of the K series Loti' that I had before it - I also know of our very own Andy G on here who had to replace his toyota engine on his Elise due to problems with it - luck of the draw fella!

We can sit here and talk to you about the problems and joys all day, but the matter of fact is every Lotus is unique and we'll never know for sure what each one will bring, regardless of model.. You only ever read about the problems on these forums, never the years of hassle free driving the vast majority enjoy.

Good god i agree with lewis

vx220 - before your accident you were talking about wanting you car to feel special and give you the buzz and excitement you crave - now you are talking about which car is more reliable !

Buy with your heart and get P&L cover

[Andy G]

K series - it may get HGF it may not.

And I've killed a Yota too

I've also had one in my old RLC , which was my first Elise Trophy race car. We took a 8k mile engine , tuned it to 160bhp, and i drove the nuts off it for 12k miles, did 6/7 race weekends and it still refused to die, even after doing about 20 trackdays that year in it, and French Frolic.

I understand your concern, I was there once, and bought an S2 111r as a result.

The S1's for me are about more than the engine. You've got a sound network of contacts and people here for help and advice, and I'm constantly amazed at what a stunning community this place is when people need help - there are few finer. But please dont start the S1 vs S2 debate

Take a chance, if you dont like it even putting the car to Ali (SLS) or Dan who are pro;s wont cost you much with parts and labour. (i.e. its not a massive expense to fix)

Any more Q's feel free to PM, and earlier posts - easy Tigers, we were all perspective owners once

To illustrate the concerns i have with the K series, I've got another K Race Car now, and a VHPD K series 340R

[mwmackenzie]

pffft, liner heights, get block skimed like I did and Bobs yer uncle and Fanny's your mother's sister!

[Jacobite]

While I've not had a car with a K series in it but I do remember a similar thread on SELOC with some guys quoting over 100,000 miles on the origional head gasket so the chances are there is the odd good one out there

[Edin430]

Good god i agree with lewis

Can one of the mods please make this a sticky?!

[neil]

Well I cant be bothered reading the whole thread, but an S2 Exige isn't going to cost less to run than an K series Elise. I've had mine 3 years now and while I've not had any engine issues I've had 2 bills of a HGF size - driveshaft and air con - possibly others that I've managed to forget too. Just get it bought, get your P&L cover, and drive the thing!!

[bertieduff]

- easy Tigers, we were all perspective owners once

Well said- perfectly valid concerns, so fair enough to ask...

Mine hasn't gone pop so far in 4 years. If it does I don't care- I'll scape up the cash to fix it, because my weedy 120bhp still thrills me, in a way that the likes of a boxster never could....

Hope you get back in the saddle sooner rather than later.

[Matelotman]

Had 4 K's in various guises (including a 53k mile S1) and never had any HG probs. But then who says that the cars didn't have snags before I bought them. Only way to know for sure is to get a brand new one.

You could buy any car from any manufacturer second hand and you'll never really know the full history - cars are mechanical, mechanical things break now again.

[Mikie711]

At the end of the day you can buy a used K series engine for anything from £60 up. So if you break it either get repaired with AA P&L or change the bloody thing. Elise/Exige tend to be driven harder than some of the other cars their engines appear in so it stands to reason that you will get problems. Different owners have different levels of mechanical sympathy etc etc.
I have ragged the nuts out of both of my K engines and have remained reliable throughout, even the race engine to date has been OK.

At the end of the day it's all part and parcell of Lotus ownership.

BTW IMO by a standard S1 and learn to drive it . Most fun you can have with your clothes on.

[robin]

easy Tigers, we were all perspective owners once

Another classic AndyG-ism - that would be prospective - perspective (as in limited) owners is perhaps what we've all now become, happy with only 40% HGF rate

Cheers,
Robin

[gorrie]

I read to page 2 then realised this was pretty much the same as all the other threads recently. So if this has been said after page 2, sorry.

If the aim of your poll was to get an idea of failure rates, you poll is flawed.
Your poll asks if they have owned a K, have they suffered HGF.
A person can vote only 1 time .... but may have owned multiple K-series cars.
So, if they owned 3 K's and suffered HGF on 1... by choosing 'yes' your results discount the 2 that didn't fail.
Similarly, if they owned 3 K's, & none suffered HGF, by choosing 'no' your results look like it was just 1 K that didn't suffer HGF.

So, it's a pointless poll IMO unless your aim was however to produce a poll that made you feel better about discounting the K...

From reading your other threads, I'd say you've already decided anyway so go get looking at 111r's

Sorry if that sounds blunt, but this is something like the 3rd or 4th thread along the same lines and all seem to be going the same direction.

Andy.

[Rich H]

Can foresee a massive spate of HGFs now... Group buy of gaskets and tensionners?

[Andy G]

easy Tigers, we were all perspective owners once

Another classic AndyG-ism - that would be prospective - perspective (as in limited) owners is perhaps what we've all now become, happy with only 40% HGF rate

Cheers,
Robin

Swine - my late night postings arent always the most accurate (or some would say interesting).

I bet you are like this with Tom and Elliots homework

[ryallm]

My Elise didn't get HGF, and it was a 135 Sport which is supposed to be especially prone to it. I have had HGF in a Ford Focus, VW Polo, and my mother had it with huge expense in a Subaru Legacy (boxer engine, hence engine out job to fix). As the yanks would say, go figure