Advice to new Elise owners

[sentino]

Originally Posted by Nugget9k

I am new to EliseTalk as of a few days ago and I just wanna say Kudo's to you guys and gals. Tons of good information, Everyone is so helpful... I posted a message asking questions and got a response in 6 minutes.

I have wanted an Elise for the past Year, and I am paying off my school loans so that I can buy one... Shooting for May/June of 07 to have one in my driveway. Only bad part about this website is reading all the posts about how much everyone loves their car... and now Waiting for that day has become almost UNBEARABLE!!!

- Jeremy

Same here! It's been about a year contemplating it , and the last 2 months REALLY wanting one for sure . The more I read on this forum site, the more painful it becomes, and the more reasons I have to owning one! I just sold my Harley softail to free up some cashflow, and expenses (the real reason was not to get creamed in south Florida and end up useless to my growing family). Now I am working on getting a decent down payment without tapping into any long term investments. . . . I always think of that song by George Harrison "I got my mind set on you. . . ", and it makes me get through the agony of waiting. Pretty cool lyrics when it applies to your situation. It will be worth it in the end.

[sentino]

Originally Posted by goelise

If your considering the purchase of an Elise, you might want to plan ahead and have a secure place to park it - the best place is a private garage of course. There has been a disturbing number of incidents with these cars being egged, tires slashed, etc...

Dear god! Where do you live my friend?

[sentino]

Originally Posted by SAElise

Hey- guess who??

The clamshell is the front or rear fiberglass structure (essentially the "body") that encompasses the head/tail lights, etc. There are no bumpers, so any low impact accidents, hitting curbs, etc. will damage the clam. It is rather costly to repair. Here is a picture of a damaged front clam and a picture of a car with the front clam removed.

What a grisly site. . . . Heartbreaking. . . .How much is that part? $7K? State Farm is going to loooove me!

[ladams1]

Originally Posted by JimK

Have others noted a tendency for the battery to discharge this quickly?!

MY Lotus sits for 3 weeks sometimes before I drive it. It starts okay. When I have it at my home garage and have power I use a battery tender.

Lee

[goelise]

Originally Posted by sentino

Dear god! Where do you live my friend?

In the NW suburbs of Chicago. Vandalism can happen anywhere and with the Elise/Exige looking the way they do it can attract attention - some of them pretty negative. Do some searches, you'll find posts of vandalism and such to our cars when parked.

I had hoped with that post that prospective ownerss can put some thought to plan ahead and have a garage or somewhere more secure than just a public street to park/store your car, it would not be fun to find your Lotus damaged by someone.

[sentino]

Originally Posted by goelise

In the NW suburbs of Chicago. Vandalism can happen anywhere and with the Elise/Exige looking the way they do it can attract attention - some of them pretty negative. Do some searches, you'll find posts of vandalism and such to our cars when parked.

I had hoped with that post that prospective ownerss can put some thought to plan ahead and have a garage or somewhere more secure than just a public street to park/store your car, it would not be fun to find your Lotus damaged by someone.

I am happy to say that I live in a very safe, and secure neighborhood in Boca Raton, FL. I work in a very safe area too (Downtown Delray Beach, FL). The owner of my firm drives a new Porsche Carrera 4S convertible, and an 04 Carrera S. He's never had any problems parking outside thank goodness. Except the time he forgot to pull the hand brake before getting out. The car rolled across the parking lot while he was in the office. . . it only hit the curb. Kind of funny. Lucky bastard. People next door also drive really nice cars, and no problems with them either. I guess that's why I was a little shocked by the stories I've read. . . . I think people down here are more aware of high end cars, and exotics, and don't mess around. Now if you are someone who may have an enemy, then you're on your own. . .

[Terminus]

Originally Posted by goelise

In the NW suburbs of Chicago. Vandalism can happen anywhere and with the Elise/Exige looking the way they do it can attract attention - some of them pretty negative. Do some searches, you'll find posts of vandalism and such to our cars when parked.

Glad I live in Seattle and can use mine a a daily driver parking it while I shop, etc. I don't even have a garage, I just park it in the driveway.
Do I think such vandalism is imposible? Nope
Do I think my car would provide a more likely target than ome others? Yes
But, I refuse to let that change the way I want to use my car.

[goelise]

Being that this is a thread to new Elise owners, I thought it was something to consider for prospective owners. This is not a cheap car and for some, it would be pretty awful if they were not forewarned.
No one is saying you should change the way you want to use your car but this is a point some others, maybe not you but someone at the verge of purchasing the car - would want to consider. I probably would not have purchased my Elise IF I did not have the garage space to store it.

[kartvader]

Originally Posted by goelise

In the NW suburbs of Chicago. Vandalism can happen anywhere and with the Elise/Exige looking the way they do it can attract attention - some of them pretty negative. Do some searches, you'll find posts of vandalism and such to our cars when parked.

I had hoped with that post that prospective ownerss can put some thought to plan ahead and have a garage or somewhere more secure than just a public street to park/store your car, it would not be fun to find your Lotus damaged by someone.

I agree with goelise. I also live in the Chicago area. I have also lived in other big cities and I have always stored my car in a garage. In addition to protecting it from vandals and thieves, I also save money on insurance and also protect the paint from the detrimental effects of the sun and rain.

[Chris]

For such an old thread I am suprised nobody mentioned not to over extend the boot lid when opening the trunk as it will hit the roll bar cover chipping the paint. So I guess I will do the honors.

11) Be careful not to over extend the Boot lid when opening the trunk, it will hit the roll bar cover chipping the paint.

[ducatiluca]

thanks!

[LARRY]

SLOWLY IN AND OUT OF DRIVEWAYS.

[spf4000]

Originally Posted by LARRY

SLOWLY IN AND OUT OF DRIVEWAYS.

And approach the driveway from an angle.

[erikm3]

Originally Posted by megatron

Get a battery tender, if you don't drive it often. Because the stock battery will die in about 2 weeks worth of sitting time.

I would second that remark. I have constantly been fighting it to stay alive in the winter months especially.

[Danny@Boardwalk]

Originally Posted by JimK

Have others noted a tendency for the battery to discharge this quickly?!

Hello Jimk....we try to start the cars on the showroom every other day to keep the batteries from dying on us...this seems to be common with the cars. Not sure what causes it but there must be something that has a continuous draw while at rest. I will talk to our techs tomorrow and see if they know what it is. If someone else knows why I would love to know...until then I will get back to you on this.

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by Danny@Boardwalk

Hello Jimk....we try to start the cars on the showroom every other day to keep the batteries from dying on us...

This is a very bad thing to do to an engine. Stop it. Seriously, a cold start on an engine creates the most "junk" that gets into the crankcase and contaminates the oil. Ruining the car while sitting (even for a long time) doesn't get things "hot" enough to burn off the contaminants. Running the car on the road under normal operating conditions for 20 minutes of so does. If you are going to start a car - drive it, don't just start it to charge the battery. This goes for winter storage too.

Do everyone a favor, and get a Battery Tender or a Battery MINDer. For showroom duty at a dealership, they even have larger units that you can plug multiple cars into at the same time. Plugging in the showroom cars over night every 2 or 3 days will do just fine.

Not sure what causes it but there must be something that has a continuous draw while at rest.

Three things in the car use "dark current" (the power used when the car is "turned off"). The ECU draws a small amount of current to "keep it alive". The radio draws a small amount to get it's memory active (so you don't loose station presets, etc.). and the alarm/immobilizer draws a small amount. The Elise/Exige alarm/immobilizer in particular draws about 10 milliamps when the alarm is no turned off (just the automatic immobilizer), and 15 milliamps when the alarm is active (it shouldn't need to be active in the showroom) or a person's locked garage.

[Danny@Boardwalk]

Originally Posted by TimMullen

This is a very bad thing to do to an engine. Stop it. Seriously, a cold start on an engine creates the most "junk" that gets into the crankcase and contaminates the oil. Ruining the car while sitting (even for a long time) doesn't get things "hot" enough to burn off the contaminants. Running the car on the road under normal operating conditions for 20 minutes of so does. If you are going to start a car - drive it, don't just start it to charge the battery. This goes for winter storage too.

Do everyone a favor, and get a Battery Tender or a Battery MINDer. For showroom duty at a dealership, they even have larger units that you can plug multiple cars into at the same time. Plugging in the showroom cars over night every 2 or 3 days will do just fine.

Three things in the car use "dark current" (the power used when the car is "turned off"). The ECU draws a small amount of current to "keep it alive". The radio draws a small amount to get it's memory active (so you don't loose station presets, etc.). and the alarm/immobilizer draws a small amount. The Elise/Exige alarm/immobilizer in particular draws about 10 milliamps when the alarm is no turned off (just the automatic immobilizer), and 15 milliamps when the alarm is active (it shouldn't need to be active in the showroom) or a person's locked garage.

Tim...

Thanks for the great advice, I just spoke to our 2 technicians and they informed me the very same thing....they also informed me that back in 2005 the Elise's had different batteries. so if you leave your car parked for a long time without being on a trickle charger this could cause the car to loose the charge as with any other vehicle. They said that you can find the trickle chargers pretty inexpensive on sites like http://www.autoanything.com/ and http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/S...-10101/s-10101 just to name a few.

Again being a newbie to Lotus and starting to learn the technical side of these cars I greatly appreciate your knowledge.

[traumadoc]

Originally Posted by Thundercizzle

wow. That really sucks. You'd think that they would appreciate your support over the years. Doesn't sound like a very classy place though. Maybe you should speak with the owner, not the manager..

Not an uncommon occurrence.....

[davidb]

First post here.
All good info. I am still in the decision making stage and am very intrigued by the Elise. Other than a couple of Honda daily drivers, I've only owned American cars and still own two first gen. Camaros. My wife and I want something different and GM stopped earning my loyalty a few years ago anyway . Even if they hadn't, Vettes are as common as taxis in New York City.

The closest dealer to me is approx 3 hours away (Kansas City to St. Louis). Would I be a fool to buy one without warranty service close to home?
We plan to make a long weekend trip so we can go check them out. This dealer only has 2006's, is there any reason to wait for a 2007? Any major changes or improvements worth noting?


Thanks.
David
Lee's Summit, Missouri
2001 Honda Accord (Wife's daily workhorse)
2006 Honda Ridgline (It is NOT ugly! damnit.)
1968 Camaro SS-396 convertible
1969 Camaro vintage trans-am replica.
1999 KTM 200 EXC

[Chris Mackey]

Originally Posted by davidb

The closest dealer to me is approx 3 hours away (Kansas City to St. Louis).

Part of the answer depends on how good a mechanic you are. The other part depends on the quality of the car. Mine is only 6 weeks old. There have been 2 annoying problems so far, but nothing out of the ordinary. That was faulty AC (needed coolant) and the infamous alarm-goes-off-n-the-rain issue.

I can fix small stuff, but I like knowing that the dealer is a mile away.