It’s kind of funny that you ask today. I meet a few M100 buddies for lunch today. One of the club members at
www.lotuselancentral.com flew out from your neck of the woods, well near by at least from Michigan, to pick up a M100 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
As a note, there are a couple things that may seem odd about the M100, but are perfectly okay. The first is the steering noise. When you turn the wheel, the steering pump make a pretty loud whistling sound, especially when held fully turned. The sound is kind of like what you would hear from a 70’s Olds or Cadillac when turning the wheel to make a u-turn. Also, the idle on the M100 is a bit high even when warmed up (about 1k, accordingly to the tack). Lastly, the temperature gauge will register ¾ mark before the fan kicks on, or at 210 degrees.
With 16k on the clock, it seems like the M100 was pretty pampered and probably never seem water. Nonetheless, take a close look at the suspension arm/components to make sure there is no corrosion. Look at the CV boots carefully. Due to its age, they may start to dry out and crack. Make sure the windows work properly (go up and down with no noise). Inquire about the gas tank recall. The CAS (Cam Angle Sensor) is known to fail in these cars giving it a rough idle. Inspect the top carefully! There are two spots on the top where it’s known to rip. When the top is stored in the boot improperly, the fabric rubs on the top mechanism that causes it to wear then rip. Make sure no oil is leaking around the turbo. I know, I may be forgetting some items. Check out
http://lotuselancentral.com/repair/index.htm#info and
http://lotuselancentral.com/forum/index.php for more details/information.
I wish I was able to keep my M100 when purchasing my Elise. Good luck, and let me know if you have any more Q’s.