S1 Lotus Elise

[V8Granite]

What are people's thoughts on a standard 120hp one as an investment/ don't lose any money on car ?

Keep one for 10 years, make enough to counter inflation with minimal summer only use ?

What do the Elise folk on here think would be a good set of conditions to choose one on ?

My own thinking....

Yellow, low mileage, launch spec as in not a 111S, not overly modified.

Dave!

[Matty]

Is the primary factor the value/depreciation? Rather that which you'd prefer?

Pretty much all Elises are depreciation proof at the moment, so just buy whichever you'd like in your garage. If you're looking to ask which ones will be the most desirable, and therefore (potentially) the most likely to 'appreciate' then the maybe the 111S, Sport 135/160/190 in S1 guise.

The very early, 120bhp, MMC ones maybe? But I'd suspect it'd have to be mint, ultra-low mileage.

[Rich B]

i wouldn’t treat mine as an investment, but I hope it doesn’t lose much over time. They are undoubtedly getting rarer with time, but there’s still a decent supply.

It’s a funny old community, They seem to talk the values down more than anything. Every time there’s an article about values strengthening or higher value cars, the owners are all over it with their opposing opinions.

My own view of the longer term values is it’ll happen all of a sudden like with cars that are relatively common but fairly exceptional - e30/e36/e46/e92 M3. Everyone knows they’re great, but there’s loads about - until people suddenly notice there isn’t and the values go up. Who knows when that’ll happen though - usually about 6 months after i sell mine…

[V8Granite]

That's a good point, there's a decent supply and still in the relatively cheap category.

It's just another place to put investment money that's a bit more interesting. So need to be more sensible.

What would be low mileage on most people's weekend car anyway ??

An M3 was always someone's everyday car so a low mileage example would be even more special probably ?

Dave!

[Mito Man]

Having a car which doesn't depreciate and increases in value with inflation is one thing but will it offset tax, insurance and servicing? Probably not.

[V8Granite]

Having a car which doesn't depreciate and increases in value with inflation is one thing but will it offset tax, insurance and servicing? Probably not.

It will hopefully offset its capital gains tax though if it were in shares etc. I can't do tax free ISAS

Insurance and servicing at my old age is nothing at all now, my labour is free.

Would be a 10 year thing.

Any voice of reason is welcome

Dave!

[Rich B]

The issue with cars as investments is that cars cost quite a lot to own. You can’t stick them in a box in the loft and forget about them for 10 years.

Insurance, maintenance, storage, tax, etc all cost money each year - usually more than even a strong appreciating car would make.

An Elise may be the answer, but buying one at £15-20k, is it really going to appreciate 10-20% a year to offset the cost of keeping it in tip top condition?

[scotta]

They are fairly simple cars that you can spanner yourself. I had mine 5 years. I paid £10k for it I sold it at £14000 probably spent £2500 on it not including servicing and tyres. So made a small return.

BUT for 5 years it was Epic. It did 25+ Track-days in my ownership. I sold it to my mate who didnt use it much and only did a few track-days in it. He sold it to another guy in the lotus club who is regularly spanking the tits off it doing hillclimb events. He messaged me this the other day.

Oh and he's bought a Series 2 to go with it!


It's a fairly safe place for your cash. You may get your cash back plus a return.

If you are buying look for a car thats been used recently. Spec wise id say avoid bog standard cars. There are things you have to do with a S1. Buy one with them already done and you will save effort and cash.

Engine - Mine had some tweaks. It had a PTP 140 kit. That company went bust but you can do the same kit yourself. It was Rover/MG 135 cams plus the bigger 52mm throttle body and a piper cross cone filter.

The cat had fallen off...

Nitrons - Very worth finding a car with a set.

Standard brakes are all you need but you'll want braided hoses and decent pads. I ran CL Rc5+ and RBF 660 / 600

Clutch hose - Standard cars have a shitty red plastic hose that connects the clutch to the cylinder. These are shit. They expand with heat and you loose clutch. its a clam off job to replace. A braided replacement is needed. Most by now will have been done. Check it.

Radiator - standard rads have shit plastic end tanks. These are shit. it's not a case of if they will fail its a when will it decide to dump the coolant. I fitted a Pro Alloy rad to mine when it inevitably went. It's a clam off job.

Headlights. These rust. You cant buy them. you will need to replace them with aftermarket units. Thankfully Eliseparts now do a replacement kit. I had to pay a fortune for old new stock items when I replaced them.

Gear cables and gearbox bushes - these stretch and wear. You will be able to do these for a couple of hundred quid.

Wheels - replacements are getting difficult to find as they are well out of manufacture so any car you are looking at make sure they are not fifty penced.

Seats - are not comfy! I had to add additional padding to mine. I cut a section of Yoga mat for that.


What model to buy depends entirely on what your budget is. If you can stretch to a Sport 160 then do so.

[Rich B]

Pretty much the same spec as mine - no denying, on a track it is ridiculously good fun to throw around!

Do you fit in one Dave!?

[IanF]

As an investment, a diversified portfolio will make you more money.. for fun, pick a car you are actually comfortable driving!

[V8Granite]

Lots to think about there!

I did fit in a VX220 years ago but some racing booties would be needed.

Oddlybthe Elise doesn't seem affected by the river counter brigade but a fair few "must haves" are needed, much appreciated Scott.

Time to do some digging.

Dave!

[DeskJockey]

Insurance and servicing at my old age is nothing at all now

Sure, but what about the car?

[duncs500]

As an investment, a diversified portfolio will make you more money.. for fun, pick a car you are actually comfortable driving!

Very much this.

You can buy a car like this that you might not lose much money on, which is a relatively affordable fun hobby, but when you factor in all the costs it's never going to out perform a decent investment portfolio.

If you look at most of the 911s that are crazy money now, you're just looking at the purchase price and not giving much creedence to the amount of time that's passed and the compunded interest other investments would have gradually made.

Of course there are probably a couple of exceptions, but I'd say not many. People have been saying for years that S1s are at the bottom of the curve (and they probably are) but they've been there for a long while. We could have had this conversation 5 years ago and you'd have been way better off with a conventional investment.

[dan]

Do you actually want an investment car or something you can use?

Mint low mileage S1's fetch a large premium because they are investment cars, so you can't use them if you don't want to lose your money. I look after a few sub 10k mile cars that basically do 50 miles a year to my workshop and back, they're lovely but also pointless and the owners would expect 25 to 30 grand to take it off their hands.

If you want one to use then great, it'll probably be worth what you paid for it when you come to sell, whenever that might be, you might even make a tiny bit but cars and not losing money don't really go together unless you're a billionaire.

[mik]

As an investment, a diversified portfolio will make you more money.. for fun, pick a car you are actually comfortable driving!

An elise should fit like a nitrile glove.....