To sell?

[RobCapper]

uurrggh, the crisis. To sell or not to sell... After 3 years of great fun, the conking out on the M25 yesterday due to a dud connector causing a spark failure, may have been the last nail in my patient coffin. A plus 2 as an everyday car is a lovely thing, but oh to be dry and warm in winter and cool in summer. Oh to know I'll get there everytime, and not dripping in sweat or with a whiff of 20/50 about me. Oh to be able to move house without having to find a garage as a pre-requisite. And that Elise 111R would be soooo much more fun to drive as well..

But - as you're all aware, these cars get under your skin and become a part of you. There's nothing quite like some spotty 14 year old shouting "nice ferarri mate" as you burble past, your shins getting dripped on by that bizarre leak into the footwell that you can never identify. Or that knowing "thumbs up" from the toothless guy in the flat cap who always seems to be at the petrol station when I am. Which is fairly often. And there's something to be said too, for having a car which none of your 26 year old mates can identify, and to which the questions "what's the BHP/has it got NOS" are totally superflous.. And apparently, plus 2 values are going to sky rocket any day*, and the tax is free and the insurance virtually nil.
But the rear shocks need doing and blah blah blah...

so when do you cut your losses and get that Elise? Or do you wait a few years and have both? OR - does anyone want to hire my beautiful +2 through the summer so I can enjoy an elise for a while and get my enthusiasm back?


*yeah right

[RotoFlexible]

I was so close to pulling the trigger - actually tried to pull it once or twice but the gun jammed . I've seen a lot of those "last nails." After 40 years of ownership and haphazard maintenance my S2 had reached the "put up or shut up" stage and I found I couldn't shut up, so I'm putting up (and putting out) right now. My simple engine touch up and wiring upgrade has turned into a full-blown body-off mechanical restoration, leaving out the bodywork for the time being. I am not sure there is any in between at this point. You can try to nurse it along, fix up this and that, deal with the issues as they arise, but there will just be more issues, repeat until crazy. I am laboring under the glorious delusion that I will have a reliable and enjoyable car for a long time after this work is done. I just hope it's true.

I was just at the local ice cream place with my wife. Glorious evening, perfect to wow the ice cream eaters with an unusual sports car. Next year, for sure!

[chicagojeff]

I got my S3 coupe a couple of years ago, just before having one last kid. 3 kids now. Now, having a bonified 4 seater (as the fun 3rd car) would make a lot more sense, but I know this will be the one car I wish I never sold. So, for now, trying to keep from having that eventual regret. Sure, I could drive say, a 87 Carrera a lot more of the time, but there are what, a million of those?

Try to think about the things you wish you never sold. My first go-kart, my first 67 Fender guitar, my old Raleigh 3-speed.

They are just things, after all, but this thing has a certain something, doesn't it?

[1964 S1]

Hello RobCapper,
you wrote a story worth publishing.... are you a writer?
I'm on the same fence, I love my +2, and I have the little S!, I know I'll buy an Elise one day.... I have no garage at home....... what the # _ ( < do I do????????
signed, demented Lotus lover

[MintSprint]

Rob,

In all honesty, if you like the looks of the Elise, only need 2 seats and minimal luggage space and can afford to buy one, then it makes a huge amount more sense than the Plus 2.

I've had a couple myself and they still have the Lotus magic but combined with Japanese levels of reliability.

The reasons I went back to an Elan after my Elises were that it was my first love, Lotus wise, I didn't need to use it as an everyday car, and financially it stacked up better, what with cheap 'classic' insurance, no road tax and no depreciation... but if you're running one every day, you'd have to be mad to deny that the Liz is a better proposition.

1964 S1,

Elises don't leak significantly (you sometimes get the odd drop onto the sills from where the cant rail meets the windscreen on S1's), have a pretty good, modern paint finish and don't really corrode, so why the need fo a garage? My first lived outside, and didn't suffer for it!

[steveww]

The Elise will still depreciate for some time yet.

The +2 has way more luggage space

The +2 is way cooler, you don't see one every day

If you drive an Elise everyone will think your are an IT nerd.

Insurance and tax will be way higher on the Elise

Hmm....

May be you should just invest the extra money in getting the +2 sorted.

We all have moments like this. I should be taking my Elan +0 to France this weekend. However the distributor casing has cracked (old age finally got to it) and I will not be able to get a new one and fit it / test it in time. I guess that is part of the charm of classic cars.