Lotus Elan drophead "Barnfind"

[octainejunkee]

Sorry for this being my first post,
I'm hoping this might be the correct place to guage the value of this barn find.

The car is a factory Elan drophead which was disassembled ( the chassis and running gear have been dry stored) with the intention of having the bodywork recommissioned some 20 years ago.
I spoke to the elderly owner today who kindly showed me around the car and expressed an interest in selling,,
I'm totally out of my depth with regards to restoring the car so once i have bought the car over the Christmas period i'll be offering it for sale on here.

More details to follow once i have them,

The shell
screen shot

The chassis and running gear- somewhere in there lol
screencast

Cheers Jamie

[Mazzini]

Welcome to the forum!

You're in the right place for information and advice.

I think you need to find out what series Elan it is and how much of the car is there and what condition it's in. More and better photos would be a help.

Good luck.

[Rob P]

That looks like a really interesting few weeks you will be having sorting out what parts he has for the car and where they all are
Mind you not a bad way to spend a few weekends over the holidays. Good luck and looking forward to seeing more photos as you uncover the bits and bobs

[KevJ+2]

Shame the elderly owner couldn't post the car on here and make a bit more money. Does the owner know that's what you intend doing?

[elansprint71]

If the black badge is original it will be an S4.

[jimj]

Or an S3, Pete. Shape up and have a merry Christmas.
Jim

[el-saturn]

kev: your attitude makes all of us smile a bit: all i want fer xmas is my 2 front teeth and sumthin ta smile about! sandy

[octainejunkee]

Thanks for all your pm's and replies, Ill post back with more info once i have it,,
Main reason for posting was that i want to get the car for a fair price- not out to rip anyone off- There are a number of cars at the property and i'm trying to buy them all and hold onto the one that originally caught my eye,
I'll get as much info as i can and post my findings..


cheers Jamie

[tedtaylor]

Jamie,
Buy it for as little as you can, and sell it for as much as you can get!!!
Don't let anyone on here try to "guilt" you. You are doing the Lotus community a big favor by "rescuing" an obscure find like this and bringing it back into circulation. It takes a lot to do that, time effort and energy, to gather it all up, inventory, and market it for competitive bidding elsewhere. It's a free and open market. More power to you!

BTW, is the front grill under the bumper line cut away or cut wider? looks different.

Good luck with your acquisition and looking forward to seeing more pictures.

[EPC 394J]

Nobody on here could possibly give you an accurate assessment of a 'fair' price from the two photos you've posted.

Far more information would be required, and almost certainly an inspection from someone who knows the marque!

If you want 'fair', why not tell your owner that you'll sell it for them, and take a 33% commission?! That way y'all can both agree what 'fair' looks like first!!! Rather than asking here?

Bear in mind, just a V5 document and 'chassis plate' can occasionally be found on eBay, for a number of thousands of pounds!

Anyway, judging by the fact you've had a few PMs, I imagine it won't take much selling!

[PeterG]

If the gentleman who's selling it is happy with your offer then thats it! Nobody on here should try to make him feel guilty about it. There's nothing wrong with trying to make a profit as long as the vendor is happy with what he gets. It's your good fortune that you have come across such a find abd no doubt you will do your homework on it's value.
As said previously those 2 pics will not determine a value on here, you could always put it on a few websites or even a certain auction site.
Good luck with the sale and an excellent find......

[EPC 394J]

If the gentleman who's selling it is happy with your offer then thats it! Nobody on here should try to make him feel guilty about it. There's nothing wrong with trying to make a profit as long as the vendor is happy with what he gets.

But it was the OP who said he wanted to pay a 'fair price' and not 'rip off' the elderly person ("gentleman"? widow?) selling.

Much respect to the OP! Best way of each getting a fair cut, is to do as I suggested and charge an agreed commission on whatever is raised. Which I can easily imagine might be ?15-20k, depending on precise model, and if it has an engine present, and much of the unobtainable parts?

So that being the case, what's a 'fair' offer to the elderly person? ("Gentleman"? widow?)

Of course, if you can buy it for ?500, and sell it tomorrow for ?20k, then good on you? As long as the elderly person is happy with their ?500? Is the elderly person able to judge the market value of what they're selling???

But 'fair'?

That's more like 'dog eat dog', isn't it?

I genuinely would like to believe the OP really is trying to offer a 'fair' price, rather than simply starting a bidding war on a specialist elan website by advertising a high value car he doesn't yet own, but says he wants to 'move on' quickly.

[KevJ+2]

In the interests of fairness and clarity, I think the elderly owner should be told about the intention to sell on whether at a profit or not. This does not in anyway constitute bullying or making the OP feel guilty, but more about seeing an elderly person treated fairly (as I'm sure is the case here).
I have had first hand experience of this situation which involved me being reported to the police and having to clear my name - all because I gave someone what they felt was an unfair price for their wreck of a car which I then repaired at some cost.
Honesty and clarity always wins in this sort of situation...oh, and get the deal documented and agreed by both parties.

[jimj]

I think some comments may offend octanejunkie Jamie. He`s been transparent; he`s making a fair offer for a whole collection of cars in dubious condition to obtain the one he wants to keep. Obviously, in selling off the others, he wants to achieve the best return he can. Nothing wrong with that.

To answer Jamie`s actual question; if the car is complete it must be worth over ?10k these days.
Jim

[denicholls2]

Seems to me that the posters who wish the OP to take a field full of junk and turn it into money for the current owner for a commission of only 33% have never been in business. Remember, that elderly gentleman was once, and likely still is, a Lotus enthusiast. So treating him like a complete fool is not exactly reasonable.

I know the problem: My great aunts, living in a family house full of original furnishings dating back a couple of centuries, had an antique dealer steal it all from them. Any single item would have been worth what they agreed to before checking with family members who understood inflation. But although I hate to see any of these cars parted out, reasonable is reasonable. And they have a lot less value sitting where they are then they will with the effort OP invests. Further, the stuff needs to get stored somewhere while it sells, and real estate generally isn't offered for free.

I know that if I were in the OP's shoes, and excepting that I might with a bit of luck get a real treasure out of the keeper car, I'd be thinking that 20-40% of my expected street price was a generous offer, not a steal. All of the risk lies with the buyer, none with the seller. And after that check is written, there's no opportunity to go back for a refund when the pile doesn't justify the price.

Don't let your jealousy at the OP's apparent good fortune cloud reason and fairness in maligning him. And suggesting his sole reason for the post was to drum up advance interest is a bit OTT in the cynical department, methinks. Any bunch of stuff offered here is always going to see interested parties.