Value of a garage find?

PostPost by: Marsupilami » Sun Jun 14, 2009 11:43 pm

I was able to take a better look at the Lotus today. Sorry, no pictures, but I found out that it's a +2 coup?.
I would have prefered a two seater. The interior is falling apart, the paint and rear lights are cracked etc. but it seems to be pretty complete.
The deal isn't finalised yet, but we are so certain that we will be able to come to an agreement that the current owner will leave the car in the garage when they move out in two weeks time. :D
The other four project cars will be out of the garage by the time we move in, and I will be able to examine the Lotus in detail before I agree to buy it.
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PostPost by: Jolly Jumper » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:26 am

Marsupilami wrote: but I found out that it's a +2 coup?.


:shock: :roll: :?

Anyway, the thought of it was nice. Who would not want to find a forgotten Elan Coupe in a barn?
:lol:

As for a Plus 2, forget it, it's not worth restoring a rough one. There are some nice restored cars on the market for less money than a rebuild will cost.

Restoring a Plus 2 is more expensive than restoring a Baby Elan. But it's worth less in the end.
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PostPost by: rgh0 » Mon Jun 15, 2009 10:43 am

No Lotus Elan or Plus2 or any other Lotus is worth the cost of the restoration when finished. You do it for pleasure of the doing and pleasure of knowing the car you drive in intimate detail you never do it for the money.

Personally I think the Plus2 is a better all round road car than the Elan.

cheers
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PostPost by: Jolly Jumper » Mon Jun 15, 2009 11:56 am

rgh0 wrote:No Lotus Elan or Plus2 or any other Lotus is worth the cost of the restoration when finished. You do it for pleasure of the doing and pleasure of knowing the car you drive in intimate detail you never do it for the money.


That is correct. But the gap between restoration costs and value can be so or so, so it might be considered. I have spoken to two restorers and both said the Plus 2 is way more expensive to restore (more gizmos, more parts).

rgh0 wrote:Personally I think the Plus2 is a better all round road car than the Elan.

cheers
Rohan


Yes, it is a personal question. As far as I am concerned, for all round qualities nothing beats a modern car. :twisted: I don't need space or proper comfort in a old sportscar. Therefore, for me it is the baby Elan, the perfect blend of size, performance and pedigree. Having said that, the Plus 2 is a very nice car! :D

cheers, Jolly
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PostPost by: gjz30075 » Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:26 pm

Is there a second car in the barn, as orignally posted, but just not for sale? Is it a Lotus? If a Lotus, can it be for sale?

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PostPost by: Marsupilami » Mon Jun 15, 2009 1:42 pm

Yes, there is another Elan +2 (Along with a Porsche 911, a Volvo Amazon and a Volvo PV) but that one isn't for sale.
At the moment, there is no way that I'll be able to afford any other Elan (or any "unnecessary" car for that matter) in any condition so it's either this +2 or non at all.. We have a house to restore as well..
I'm looking forward to have a project of my own, that I will be able to walk out to and fiddle with an hour here and an hour there. Money wise, it might not be worth restoring to it's original condition but that's not too important for me, I'm not planning on selling it anyway. I want a fun car to drive and I like the look of the +2 as much as the original Elan. It might not be as much fun as the two seater, but if I understand things correctly, it's hardly a boring car to drive either.. ;)
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PostPost by: andyelan » Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:29 pm

Hi There

There will be a minimun value of I guess around 3000 GBP which even a Plus 2 will not drop below, the engine alone would be worth this much. Much as I hate to say it, this car will probably be better broken for spares than as a restoration project. A pair of rear light alone are likly to cost around 200-300GBP and I wouldn't even like to imagine how much a full interior retrim would cost.

The question I'd have to ask myself is, what on the car is actually any good. If the paint work and interior are shot, most likley the chassis and suspension too, then at best you've is an engine. If that's the case you're no longer into restoration but you are almost building a new car from scratch. Do you really have the time, skill and especially money to do that. I'd walk away, sorry

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PostPost by: Elanintheforest » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:22 pm

Or you can do it another way, and buy up bits from broken cars on eBay and build up some really good parts for very little money. Doing a lot of stuff yourself will keep the costs down, and you'll have a lot of fun doing it. I bought a complete early Plus 2 a couple of years ago for ?1500, on the understanding that I would restore it rather than break it, Since then I've found many parts needed, including a new chassis, a really good interior, front lights, bumpers, front and rear suspension, and much more......all for less than ?1000. if you can strip the paint off yourself and complete some gel-coat repairs, and find someone who understands fibreglass re-finishing (and there isn't much to understand) you can get the shell re done for ?1500 as well.

Far more fun than a cheque-book restoration!!

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PostPost by: twincamman » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:34 pm

wellll this game of putting old lotus cars back too some form of restoration is not for the faint of heart ---heres what I started with in Feb 03 ----tons of time and care money and pride and and skinned knuckles- late nights with a ton of frustration results in a damn fine motor car --its up to you in the end ---ed
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PostPost by: types26/36 » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:49 pm

So Ed, is that what they call a "Ladder Frame" in the background :lol: :lol:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body-on-frame
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PostPost by: twincamman » Mon Jun 15, 2009 7:22 pm

gee it may be more robust than the original :) --ed
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PostPost by: richgilb » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:50 pm

And here is the mercenary and callous view! If you break another +2 for a baby Elan, as a +2 owner myself, this is fine. The less there are, the rarer my car will be. A+2 will never be seen as an undesirable turkey....and so the interest and subsequent value rises. Everyone's a winner. A minter being worth 10 grand is still quite a lot more than it was when it was new. So they are going up, albeit slowly. Didn't a +2 anorak provide autotrader asking price data over time once upon a time, to show the rise in values for +2s?

Cheque book restoration, DIY restoration donor car restoration, whatever, just do it! Not many of us will make a proift on our old Lotuses. And I guess even fewer really care if they do or not. I have to take this view. I did a concours restoration on a Spitfire 20 years ago, which cost 12 grand. Got 5 for it 3 years later....and it did not even repay me with inspired motoring - the engine was slow and rough and it didn't handle and it leaked!
I am now an ex-Elan owner but will drop by from time to time with some suitably inappropriate comments.
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PostPost by: andyelan » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:29 pm

Hi Marsupilami

I really don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but you really must be honest with yourself over what your taking on here. While I'm sure twincamman and Mark could put this car together, they're both totally obsessive car nuts (apologies if I've got this wrong) as I guess I am. If you have your house to restore and can only give the car an hour or two a night, are you really sure you have the time to see the job through.

The point is, if you want a car to use, there are plenty of Plus 2s for sale (at least here in the UK) which while cosmetically not the best, are perfectly good runners and they don't go for much money. One of these might be a much better bet for you than one which requires a total rebuild

Regards
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PostPost by: twincamman » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:37 pm

no apologies needed ---I guess any one who spends the time to save a a super 7 an Elan a sprite and a Europa from the concourse DE dumpster category must have that noble tag attached to them -[and the race car ]--my wife however has less glamorous names for my addiction --- in retospect I should get a life :D :D ed
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PostPost by: Marsupilami » Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:58 am

Thank you for your input so far, I really value all of it. I'll have access to the house and car in a little less than two weeks time.
I'll be able to examine it in detail (with a camera in my hands) and hopefully be able to make a sound decission regarding it then.
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