Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Some of us are like, others minded. Some both.

h20hamelan wrote:Some of us are like, others minded. Some both.

Brilliant!

As I see it there are generally 2 groups of people who might purchase this car- those who are enthusiasts and appreciate the car itself, and those who are collectors and who either specifically want something Jim Clark or who are simply betting on future value. It seems to me the former group would value this car well south of $100k, and the latter group (MAY) value this car well north of $100k, due to their differing interests.

I have no problem with that difference of opinion on value, nor do I see any real risk to a person in either group getting fleeced. In this case, the car is well above the range of the under $100k group, but even if it dropped to the right level I suspect an enthusiasts would research and know what they're buying and what risk they're willing to take. I don't have any reason to believe the well-over $100k group, or over $400k club for that matter, have any less ability to do their own due diligence as it applies to authenticity and/or future valuation estimates. Indeed, they likely have access to more and better information. I don't think there is any real (excusable) risk of anyone getting snookered into paying more for this car than they believe it is worth.

elanfan1 wrote:Another thing, assuming the car was insured when it was written off the remains of the car belong to the insurers who you can be sure would have put a write off marker on the car meaning it shouldn’t be rebuilt and would not have entertained selling any of it except for parts ONLY! Would be interesting if the insurers turned up and laid claim to it.

We all know elans are ultimately rebuildable but when I tried to purchase what was left of a car that burned out on me from the insurers they would not entertain it (even though I was working for them at the time!). The remains were categorised for destruction/dismantling and the DVLA nor insurers would reconsider the category.

I gather that it was 'found' in a scrap yard, so presumably the insurance company sold the wreck to the scrapyard so that part of your message would not apply.