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Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 3:34 am
by 1964 S1
I looked up the word "value" in my 42 year old dictionary and found 14 definitions. A synonym was the word "worth".
Thats what this topic is about, what Elans are worth. It's like the weather, always changing.
If I could find a way to limit replies that only included links to actual Elans for sale and sold I would but I can't.

I hope this evaluation continues on lotuselan.net for decades.

And so, here goes:

After numerous attempts trying to paste a page, not a link, of Elans for sale on the internet, I've given up.... "the extension mht is not allowed" or something like that. I can post links to live pages but in the days, months, years to come they will no longer be available. Below are three links, two Elans, one sold, one not. They were available in November 2011.
Do we have a computer literate elangeek who can convert these to a permanent page and post it, and tell us how to do it? Then we're on our way to establishing, on a continuum, what Lotus Elans are worth.

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 4:17 am
by 1964 S1

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:01 am
by Spyder fan
(edit, not paying attention to who was the original poster!)

Eric,
You can print the Ebay advert to pdf like so :
cgi.ebay.com - 130597940696.pdf
(277.94 KiB) Downloaded 614 times


This will then stay on the lotuselan.net server until wiped off by Mr Cocking.

With a little more computer trickery you can convert the pdf to a jpg and post it up to flicker or photobucket and make a direct link to the picture using the Img tab like so:


Direct picture link using the Img tab below (not so bandwidth friendly for Jeff)

Image

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:37 am
by trw99
Eric

In principle, a grand idea. However, in practise, jolly tricky. I attempt to keep a record of Sprint prices and it's not as easy as it may at first appear.

There would have to be a separate listing for UK, US and other countries, since each market works in different ways. There really needs to be someone to monitor and administer the thread too, to stop duplication. I think we now have three threads going on the stretched Sprint for sale on ebay, for example. That person also needs to make a regular (six monthly?) appraisal, bringing prices together and coming to some conclusion about the general direction they are moving. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, there is a huge difference between advertised price and what the buyer really paid. That is the figure we need to properly access 'value'. It is as often as not the one figure that fails to make the public domain.

Tim

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:53 am
by Spyder fan
trw99 wrote:Eric

snip:
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, there is a huge difference between advertised price and what the buyer really paid. That is the figure we need to properly access 'value'. It is as often as not the one figure that fails to make the public domain.

Tim


Tim,
It's a pity that price paid isn't registered against the vehicle when sold in the same way that houses are registered with their actual sold price with the Land Registry (in the UK). Although we all suspect that the selling prices achieved by dealers bear little resemblance to their sticker price, I would be very surprised if I was able to pick up a Concours condition or Dealer priced A1 condition original DHC Sprint for ?23,000 as is purported in the latest price guide in this months Classic Cars.

?33,000 would be nearer the truth.

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 10:26 am
by ardee_selby
Spyder fan wrote: I would be very surprised if I was able to pick up a Concours condition or Dealer priced A1 condition original DHC Sprint for ?23,000 as is purported in the latest price guide in this months Classic Cars. ?33,000 would be nearer the truth.


Interesting you should mention that...here's something I prepared earlier...much earlier! :)

Whilst the values may not have been accurate, the trend was there...

(I gave up when I realised my giraffe paper wasn't big enough!)

Graph paper too small.jpg and

Cheers - Richard

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 10:48 am
by Robbie693
Or just do a screen grab:

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:10 am
by Spyder fan
Robbie693 wrote:Or just do a screen grab:


A screen grab only gets the detail on screen, where's the rest of the advert?

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:16 am
by Robbie693
I know, it was for example only. One could do multiple shots I guess but I just thought it was perhaps an easier way to capture the ad.

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:25 am
by Spyder fan
Robbie,
Peace & love :oops: :oops:

It's easy to make a pdf though, and changing a pdf to a jpg is simple using most of the free photographic software out there.

Regards

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:38 am
by ardee_selby
Spyder fan wrote:Robbie,
Peace & love :oops: :oops:

It's easy to make a pdf though, and changing a pdf to a jpg is simple using most of the free photographic software out there.

Regards


And having done that, what next? Where would it go? Individual adverts filed somewhere chronologically? Someone plotting the trend for Erics' continuum? :?

Cheers - Richard

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:05 pm
by Spyder fan
ardee_selby wrote:
Spyder fan wrote:Robbie,
Peace & love :oops: :oops:

It's easy to make a pdf though, and changing a pdf to a jpg is simple using most of the free photographic software out there.

Regards


And having done that, what next? Where would it go? Individual adverts filed somewhere chronologically? Someone plotting the trend for Erics' continuum? :?

Cheers - Richard


Richard,
I don't know! I was only answering the question on how to save a web page indefinitely. Do I have to sort out everything for you people.... I mean really, this is too much :P

Things are worth what people will pay for them. If something is desirable you can increase it's price by making it more scarce, I'm doing my best in this respect by taking 2 of the cars off the market!

Back on topic: I don't think Lotuselan.net is designed for this sort of statistical archive, very difficult to achieve anything sensible to produce and make conclusions from.

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:10 am
by 1964 S1
"Back on topic: I don't think Lotuselan.net is designed for this sort of statistical archive, very difficult to achieve anything sensible to produce and make conclusions from."

WHOA !

That says a lot !
I conclude when a car sells for $18,000, it's worth $18,000.
I was simply trying to provide an avenue that showed what Lotus Elans, and Lotus Elan +2 models are worth, presently (which in the future becomes the past). Based on what they actually sell for, or as in the other posting, what someone offers versus what the seller will let it go for. It's a topic that pops up here all the time.
And if Lotuselan.net is not designed for this, can someone point me in the direction of an Elan site that is?
I was just hoping that the topic could have become like a research library.

Dreamer, Eric

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 9:54 am
by Spyder fan
Eric,
Lotuselan.net is the perfect place to discuss these things.

Lotuselan.net is not physically designed to show statistical evidence and map or graph market trends.

Car A sells and was advertised at $18,000------- therefore it's worth $18,000 dollars? How do you know the actual sale price? how do you know it's actual condition

Car B is advertised for $45,000, but doesn't sell-------- what's it worth? what's it's condition, why didn't it sell?

BTW: the average price for a Lotus Elan is now $9000 based on the above simple example.

Tim Wilkes will tell you how hard it is to keep track of things and he is mainly interested in Sprint values, I don't wish to put you off doing this research, perhaps you will find a way to simplify things. good luck.

Regards

Re: Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan +2 values

PostPosted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 11:07 am
by gherlt
>Car A sells and was advertised at $18,000------- therefore it's worth $18,000 dollars? How do you know the actual sale price? how do you know it's actual condition

>Car B is advertised for $45,000, but doesn't sell-------- what's it worth? what's it's condition, why didn't it sell?

BTW: the average price for a Lotus Elan is now $9000 based on the above simple example.


sorry to say that, but the 9000 could be only classified as "money received" for two car put on sale, not average price.
average price of cars *sold*: 18.000
average price of cars *offered*: 31,500