how reliable???

[rocket]

I have owned my plus 2 over 6 months now,cost a few bob to sort at first but is fine now...my ? is how do other owners find them? i read of so many problems on here,i sometimes wonder if this makes me paranoid? what id like to know is how well these cars can be expected to run???

[Elanintheforest]

It's going to be as reliable as you want to make it, Ian. Brian Buckland's S3 is coming up for 700,000 miles...that should answer your question.

Put it another way, your car is 35 years old, and it had a design life of maybe 10 years / 80,000 miles with proper maintenance. So any component that is outside that life or hasn't been maintained properly is liable to fail.

Many problems that come up on this forum, or any other classic car forum, are caused by the same things...poor or botched workmanship, inappropriate modification or just plain neglect. Get the whole car up to the right standard, maintain it properly, and it will be reliable. That applies to Lotus, Morris 1000s, Beetles and Bentleys....and every other machine. Where the Lotus may differ from the run-of-the-mill classic is that it needs a little more maintenance than most...it produces a high performance for such a small car.

Mark

[peterako]

Very reliable.

But remember, it comes from an age when cars were not commodities.

There is a maintenance schedule. You do need to check oil and water, brake and clutch regularly.

It IS over 30 years old!

I have my +2 over two years now and spent a good portion of teh first year sorting out previous bad maintenace.

Fingers crossed.....my only two 'breakdowns' have been....

Letting the petrol run out
Shearing the steering column (not as bad as it sounds).

My engine is leak free.
There are some petrol vapours from the breathers....

It starts from cold and hot perfectly (in between as it should).

I agree with all Mark said in his previous post.

And I have passed plenty of brand new BMWs, SAABs, Alfa's etc on the road with their bonnets up waiting for the tow truck....

Get it as close to factory level and maintain it!

AND DRIVE IT!!! That's what it's for

Mine is my daily driver.

Peter

[steveww]

I only use my S4 during the summer months at the weekends and runs to Le Mans etc.

I give it plenty of TLC and keep on top of the maintenance. So far it has never let me down

[M.J.S]

In the 6 months ownership of my own Plus 2 130/5, most of the time and a fair bit of cash have been spent locating and rectifying all the cock ups made by previous mechanics.....

no top end engine power - timing chain fitted one tooth out

erratic tickover - home made throttle cable bracket flexing

serious oil leak - cam cover D washers absent and filled with sealer

wandering steering - new steering UJ bolts loose

plugs sooting up - wrong plugs

.....and many other things. The point is all these problems did not stem from the factory or the design, it is later bad maintenence and neglect.

Stay on top of it, replace anything iffy (don't wait for things to break) and there is no reason why it shouldn't be as reliable as any other 60's or 70's car.

The great thing is if it does go wrong you usually know why and can repair it, unlike a modern car which needs a computer to tell you what's gone wrong and a grand bill to replace a little black box.

Mark.