Lotus Elan Plus 2 Value Trends

[Martynt1972]

Hi Folks,

I am new to this forum so would firstly like to say hi. I have always wanted a Lotus Elan Plus 2 either as a refurb project but would also be happy to buy a fully roadworthy vehicle but wanted to check on the forum how well the Plus 2 holds it price or is increasing (or decreasing for that matter) in price? I have dome a search on the net & nothing is jumping out at me.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Martyn.

[trw99]

Hi Martyn and welcome.

I use the Hagerty valuation tool, as the methodology they use to obtain values is more realistic than ploughing through adverts. Find it here: https://www.hagerty.co.uk/valuation/tool/

In general terms Plus 2 values have been on the increase since around 2010, when folk realised they ought to preserve them, rather than break them for parts. Now well restored to original spec Plus 2s are fetching quite decent money, with such a 130S/5 going for plus or minus £30k.

You can still find basket cases for much less money, depending on what you want to use your classic for, of course.

Good luck!

Tim

[alanr]

Trying to double guess the classic car market and what will suddenly take off and go skywards pricewise is always a difficult one. I would say that +2 prices have steadily increased over the last few years but maybe not at the same rate increase as say other makes might be doing.
For example Alfas..105series were worth £10k'ish in 2018 for a good one but now they are £40k'ish. The price of basic Ford cars like Cortinas etc is now just silly for what is a very basic ordinary car and as for Lotus Cortina..forget it...just silly!
Also all classic car price values so far in 2023 seem to have dropped back a few thousand £'s but I am fairly sure the trend is upwards in the long term for +2's.

The most important thing I would say is though forget any classic car as an investment. Just buy one because you really want one!
You will always spend a fortune, probably far more than it is worth anyway when you have got it no matter how good you think that particular car might be beforehand!

Good Luck,

Alan

[Slowtus]

The most important thing I would say is though forget any classic car as an investment. Just buy one because you really want one!


Alan

This.

[h20hamelan]

with Lotus plans to make 100,000+ cars by 2026, ied say the odds are good that values will increase.

[Gordon Sauer]

Paid 5000 for mine 1989, but I can tell you the receipts don’t even get close to what the most well sold one has gained, it’s just about pounds of joy, Gordon.

[cliveyboy]

If you buy a restoration project, that is an open cheque book and from experience the most expensive option in both time and money.
If you buy a good example of an Elan and have no significant additional expenditure. After a few years of enjoyment you will most likely get back what you paid for it.
My thoughts on cars are not how do I invest to make money but more how do I keep the costs of my hobby to a realistic level.
Clive

[berni29]

Hi

I think prices will remain steady to declining now that the economy turned downwards and you can actually get a return for putting money in the bank. So to my mind assets that have been bought for the purposes of investment should decline.

As for these cars in my experience you can buy a very nice one for 20k tomorrow pretty much. You can get a useable quite nice one with patina for 11 - 13k but might take a week or two.

If you wait you might find a nice to very mice one in the same 11-13k but you will be waiting and searching hard.

There was a car in last months Lotus news that (in my opinion only) was a 20k car but sold for 10k because that is what the owner wanted for it.

Project cars can be bought for 5-6k, and sans engine, 3.5-4k.

All in my opinion and experience.

I personally wouldn't buy one if I was worried about the investment potential.

Best of luck

Berni

[Martynt1972]

Hi Folks,

Many thanks for all the comments. Ideally I’d like a project so will be keeping my eyes open for such an opportunity.

Regards, Martyn.

[mbell]

Ideally I’d like a project

Personally I think any Elan/+2 is a project unless your going lock it up and not touch it. So its just a question of how much off a project you want and if you want to be able to drive it soon or not....

[LotusEngineeringBuff]

Hello Everyone,
So... No one talks about the fact that not too far from now, older kinda-fuel-hungry cars might fall out of fashion with the younger folks ?
What I see around me are more and more young people who are not interested in cars, and those who are are only interested in the latest ones with a Whole Lotta HP. And more and more, they do not know how to use their hands to fix stuff. That's even the case for the young engineers in my department and in my social circles.
I also suspect that with the necessary push to curb carbon emissions and the inevitable oil peak there will be a combination of steep rise in fuel price and internal combustion engine shaming that will drive the price of our toys down.

I might open here a whole new debate, or maybe you will just rate me as out-of-touch.

[AlistairF]

I see that trend too where interest in cars is generally lower. I can understand the fear of residuals dropping pushing a switch to EVs with looming end of ICE production, but the population can't afford a wholesale switch and nor can the planet afford the environmental impact of accelerated replacement of vehicles with much of the environmental impact being in manufacturing.

So I think we have a bit of time and I hope that carbon neutral fuels will allow us to operate our cars on a close to carbon neutral basis as possible, but they are a way off mass scale production and will the planet have enough organic matter to make them viable? Even if the world gets close it will be pricey.

As a result I expect demand will drop for everyday ICE cars but hopefully there will be enough interest in our cars to enable them to survive. Gosh, so depressing! In the meantime, I shall enjoy them while we can and promote fixing rather than replacing to save the planet, and short term if we can offset the environmental impact maybe we can generate some appeal with younger generations.

So the question was what will this do to residuals? I can't see them rising particularly and there will be downward pressure on the classic market at some point. The fact our cars do not drive mega premiums suggests to me that we are more likely to be affected. But like many of you I am in it for the passion of driving and I enjoy the restorative activities (mostly) so I shall carry on until I can no longer do either and hopefully there will be a decent enough market to sell when I need to.

Maybe there is another thread on promoting environmentally sustainable use of classics and how to generate interest?

[AlistairF]

On the environmental aspect here's a report that looks interesting. I haven't read it yet...

https://www.footmanjames.co.uk/media/82 ... 22-8mb.pdf

[Andy8421]

I think the environmental argument in the case of classic ownership is a red herring, classic cars hardly get used, and given the large carbon cost of vehicle manufacture, the best thing you can do is pootle around in your classic for 1000 miles a year, rather than chopping it in for a new Tesla.

The same is not true if your classic is a daily driver, but that is generally the exception, not the rule.

The future challenge IMO is going to be the easy availability of fuels to keep our classics going. Adoption of new technology follows an S curve, in other words "Things take longer to happen than you think they will, then happen faster than you think they could".

There will come a tipping point when it is no longer sensible or economic to build or run fuel filling stations and support the huge tail of infrastructure that sits behind them from fuel transport to refineries. Given the long payback time for investment in these industries, I would imagine it is already questionable whether it makes sense to build a new filling station given the plans to phase out ICE. The upshot of this is that the filling stations will start to dwindle, leading to a reduction in ICE use, which in turn will result in a reduction of filling stations .... and so on. Given the S curve, you will start to notice the occasional filling station closure, then one morning it will seem as if they are all closing.

This I think will make 'marginal classics' like an old fridge, you won't be able to give them away. The hassle of obtaining fuel, support and so on will make it untenable for someone with a questionable vehicle to bother. I do think there will remain demand for real classics, cars that define an era, and vehicles that have specific engineering or cultural worth. I put the Elans in this camp.

You may have to get used to having your fuel delivered in drums though.

[seniorchristo]

If they eliminated 90% of the fuel stations, I don't believe you have trouble finding one to fill your classic car.