Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

just like anything promoted and toted (correct or not), as the best built...
blackberry vs iphone, wired vs touch

the easy and cheap elan without the weight vs the length, width and weight

Prices are on the up. A good Elan is ?30k+ and a good Sprint is >?40k. Go and look at Matty's if you don't believe me.

Meanwhile, the rise in the value of the 2-seater on its 50th birthday is pulling the Plus 2 up with it. Good Plus 2s at Matty's or from various sellers on Pistonheads are around the ?20k mark.

Plus 2's do lack a little wow factor in the publics eyes, compared to other Lotus cars in the same price range.

Two test I have seen 1st hand confirms this

Test 1
The toy shop test
My son wanted to by me a toy car like each of my three Lotus cars, There was Esprits in all types and colours in the shop, there was Europas in all types and colours but no Elan Plus 2 at all
This may sound all rather silly as a real test of a cars popularity to some, But I feel it speaks volumes.

Test 2
I have all 3 of my Lotus cars on the road and drive them most days and I'm basing this test on my visits to my local Watrose (yes very scientific)

The reaction I get in my S1 Esprit is amazing, People waving at me, thumbs up and when im shopping I get back to the car with people waiting for me to get a tour.
In my Europa I've had teenagers shout cool car mate ! People asking to sit the car, spending ages looking at the car and lads wanting to race me !

But in the Elan +2 I may get an older gentlemen with a beard having a quick look when I'm parked. But thats it.

Dispite the above, I disregard the uneducateds actions and really appreciate what a fine car the Elan +2 is, so much so that I have just brought a second one !

People just dont know what they are missing, so don't complain about low values, use this as a advantage and get a second one !

Matt

Matt wrote:Plus 2's do lack a little wow factor in the publics eyes, compared to other Lotus cars in the same price range.

Two test I have seen 1st hand confirms this

Test 1
The toy shop test
(snip)
Test 2
I have all 3 of my Lotus cars on the road and drive them most days and I'm basing this test on my visits to my local Watrose (yes very scientific)

(snip)


Matt

Hi Matt,
Good observations, perhaps the styling of the Esprit and Europa are still perceived as outrageous in most peoples mind set and therefore more noticeable. The Elan shape has entered most peoples perception of a normal sports car image due to copying by the good old MX5/Miata/Eunos: however my +2 gets a lot of attention, pointing, thumbs up "NICE CAR" etc and at Castle Combe more people stopped to look and photo it even though it was parked next to my pristinely painted pistachio/white S4.

Most casual observers are very surprised to find my +2 is 43 years old and often state that it looks far more modern than that.

The rarity of +2 model cars in toy shops means that those that are available are actually over valued.

I'm pleased I'm not the only person driving my Elans down to the supermarket

HI Matt

My S1 Esprit get the same response with lots of smiles and thumbs up. But my Plus 2 also gets a lots of responses in Australia as i think people mistake it for an old Ferrari

cheers
Rohan

The reaction I get in my S1 Esprit is amazing

That's coz you painted it like Mr Bond's car. Chris Evans has the same car now.

Very few people know what a +2 is when they see it which I like. I must admit I get stopped by old people when I pull it out of the garage. An old bird in her 70's stopped for a chat last week. I told the wife I pulled a chick with the car when she got home.

Hmmmm- an interesting topic.

I stress this is only personal experience/a personal view so no getting hot under the collar!

I've had 3 elans (ok two and a Plus 2 130/5). In 1974 I bought a really mint 68 S4- one owner car previously owned by a doctor. Sold it in March 1978 (the folly of youth) and replaced it with my current car- a 72 fixed head sprint. My apologies to fellow sprint owners but I don't see just why a sprint is apparently more desirable than other road going 2 seater elans, particularly as the S4 and Sprint don't seem to differ much on the road- clearly though the price differential suggests otherwise. My point- it's down to that odd quirk - perception rather than objective facts.

Like the undervalued plus 2, I owned (for 11 years) another "unpopular" car a 89 Excel. Despite its merits and abilities these are still cheaply available. Slightly more downmarket I also had a Se5A Reliant Scimitar for 10 years before that. A great car once the foibles were solved, very practical too even if a bit heavy on the road. In fact I'd go as far as to say that the later Scimitar models (6 and 6a onwards) can still cut it in terms of looks. Prices for Scimitars however still lag far behind less capable cars such as the MGB (and I'm not knocking them as I also think they're pretty good in their own right).

Is it something we all are overlooking- don't laugh at this I assure you this is perfectly true. Before I bought my first elan in September 74 I casually looked at a few around where I lived (Liverpool). At that time I knew of at least a dozen that were in regular use and occasionally one or two others would turn up in general used car dealers. I distinctly remember looking at a particularly tatty one in a dodgy dealer's forecourt and thinking seriously to myself "would that thin floor actually support the weight of the driver"- I really thought that there was every likelihood of falling through the floor because it seemed so flimsy! That was long before I acquired some mechanical knowledge. Perhaps what I thought is still what a lot of potential owners think about plastic cars- they're not quite "proper" cars- and remember- many modern drivers haven't had the benefit of cutting their teeth on cars that can be worked on at home so have no personal knowledge to fall back on. One last thought- why did Ferrari drop the plastic bodied 308 GTB after only 2 years of production- I believe that there was a lot of resistance from traditionalists who thought only steel was suitable for something so upmarket.

John

One last thought- why did Ferrari drop the plastic bodied 308 GTB after only 2 years of production- I believe that there was a lot of resistance from traditionalists who thought only steel was suitable for something so upmarket

You may be right John but I think another reason for the switch to metal body was because of the introduction of the GTS model which was impractical to be done in fibreglass with the targa roof.

Robbie

here's an example of the price being asked for good examples at the moment. I think the servicing and restoration was probably done by "I Saw You Coming Ltd" Lotus Specialists

Here is some good market evidence for current +2 prices:

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20143/lot/264/

Not so sure Jon....good evidence for how an original unrestored and cared for car is valued....but that's a pretty rare beast!
Mark

Good point Mark. And the power of great marketing thru a widely available auction with lots of great cars at the same time.

Oh yes, of course, it's one piece of market evidence and nothing more than that. You would not last long in business as a valuer applying that realisation price to every +2

I am glad the Plus 2 is affordable and undervalued. You can get a completely restored 92-97 point show car for less than $24K and a very nice driver for less than $15k. I was able to get mine thanks to this undervaluation for less than 1/3 the receipts the former owner had on it. Again. I am glad! Carlos