Questions regarding getting an Elise

[lancer360]

I have been searching this site for several hours and found some really great information. I'm interested in picking up an Elise before the year is out. I have the money available now if needed, but I'm not against waiting (even though it might kill me )! I need to stay under $50K drive out so that leaves me a bunch of options and of course this has me confused !

Quick points
1. My daily driver is a truck and the only car I have ever owned was my wife's 01 Jetta Wolfsberg
2. This will be a garage kept "fun" car for local car shows, autox, track days, trip to dinner etc.
3. My only performance type driving has been Kart racing a few times at a indoor track (a freakin blast that after three 8 minute sessions your arms are sore and your kidneys felt like you just went a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson when your buddy spun you out into the tire wall )
4. I'm in Charlotte, NC and the nearest dealer is several hours away in Durham , but I'm less than 30 minutes from Lowes Motor Speedway!!!
5. Definitly want to do some bolt ons, but nothing too crazy at first.
6. Definitly want to take some classes to learn how to drive it like it was meant to be driven.
7. I am a reasonably skilled at car maintenance/repair with some decent instructions (I have done just about everything on my cars except for internal engine/tranny repairs)

Questions:
1. What are your opinions on getting an 05 used, 06 used, or 06 new?
2. Should I get one now, or is waiting till the end of the year going to get me a significantly better deal?
3. What options would you consider a must have? I'm really leaning towards finding one with the sport or track package, LS, and the hardtop.
4. Anybody have good luck with Durham? I'm also willing to drive/fly to pick one up from 1 or 2 states away.

[Elise2go]

Definitely go for the driving school before spending a lot of money on upgrades. The driving techniques you learn will work in any car or truck, and will give you more performance for the dollar than almost any parts you add to your car.

Having said that, I would definitely recommend buying a car with the Lotus track suspension and A048 tires to start with. You will be much happier on the track or autocross course with those options, compared to the base car.

Beyond that, the sky and your bank account are the only limits! Have fun!

[HardDrive101]

If you plan on tracking the car quite a bit then yes, get the track suspension. If you plan on tracking the car every 6 months or so, then it's debatable. I use my Elise on the streets a whole bunch... so I stayed away from stiffer suspension, and glad I did.

Get the car, drive it, enjoy it, learn what it can do. Go to school, then drive it for 3 to 6 more months.

After all that, then decide what more you want to put on the car. This thing is a crazy fast car stock. Upgrades for the sake of upgrades are a waste. You need to get used to your car and then decides what upgrades will make sense to you.

The only thing I put on mine out of the dealer was the starshield and the touring pack, since I wanted the power windows. Now it has a heck of a lot more!

[lancer360]

That makes sense. Since I have never owned a sports car, and I'm a little worried about doing something stupid. If I start with any upgrades it won't be power upgrades. I'll leave those to a little later when I start trusting myself with it. The wife will periodically be with me in the car so the track suspension might be a bad idea. She really wants me to get the car that I want and not to settle on something lesser. I have been talking/dreaming about a fun car for several years now, and I finally have the $$ to do what I want.

What are your thoughts on 05 vs. 06 used? I could do an '06 new, but it doesn't seem like there is a good reason to with used ones up for sale. Either way, I figure I will have to hunt around a bit for a color I like.

[solar]

Lotus of Durham is great. Look in the Southeast region section for a few threads from all of us around the Charlotte area.

PS - None of the option packages are must haves. You'll probably want to get the touring package if your wife has sensitive ears for the sound insulation. It also has leather seats and power windows. Actually, Starshield is probably a must have.

[lancer360]

Is this right? I just checked cars.com and used 06 are listed at $43K and up and 05's are down at $37K and up. Thats a $6K difference comparing cheapest 05 to cheapest 06! Does 2500 miles on one of these cars save you $6K? That will buy a bunch of upgrades. I'm seriously thinking an 05 is the way to go. Thoughts?

[lateapex]

Look at a used '05. There seem to be some great low mileage deals around. Many of them show up here on ET first.

[EburgE]

Personally, I got the sport pack and now wish I hadn't. First, the ride of the standard tires is much better for daily driving than the optional sport tires, and the car is still far beyond my capability. (Or, get the sport pack, and when the tires wear out in 8 months, replace them with the standard tires.)

Second, the money I would have saved could have been put to a Stage II exhaust, which sounds very nice IMHO.

Pick up an '05 if you can find one in good condition. But for me, I prefer to own this car brand new, as you never know exactly how the used ones were treated.

[dakotan50sw]

I agree with Eldersburg- new 06 o r new 05, low milage does not translate to little use! Choice of Dealer is very imp. also because a proper pre sale setup can be the difference of contin love @ first sight, or thinking did I walk into a nightmare. I bought a 06 Base from Denver Ferrari and must say they sorted out the car well and have had no problem's. I am free to make all the mod's I wish, without paying for package item's I don't want. So far added, Hardtop, Stge 2 exhaust. Soon to add leather covered consul per LOtus in red and black. Thinking custom design seat's to my likeing later. I would not purchase speed mod's until Lotus has their own as too many headache's in initial design's, Too expensive, too many failure's in design, too many do not deliver what they claim as Lotus has a unique ECU to defeat!

[megatron]

Get a new 05 (if you can find one you like) there are still a few out there and can be had for thousands less then MSRP or get a used 05 for around mid to high 30s there are a lot deals out there. Same as any used cars, becareful and if you have time on your side hang around this site for a good deal. Options: Hardtop and Starsheilds are good to have. The rest is not really necessary, specially for someone who is not used to driving this type of cars. The stock Elise is an outstanding track car as is. Save the money for more tires.

[Lotuslvr]

Lowes, Schmos-You are 2 hours from Virginia International Raceway (VIR). One of the best road courses in this country. Get the track version of the Elise and make VIR a part of your life.

[Donbecker]

I waited and got a new one, straight from the dealer.

Not all used ones are in bad shape, but IMO it's very easy to track these cars and I didn't want to end up with someone's "track left over".

[NCZ06]

It's good to see another NC member here. As solar mentioned, we are starting to develop a pretty good sized Charlotte area Elise group.

As far as your questions go, I did not buy my car from Lotus of Durham, but my service experiences there have been very positive. I think you'll be more than happy with the performance of the base suspension, especially coming from a pickup. The sport package can be pretty harsh on less than perfect pavement. The touring package seems to come on most cars and isn't a bad choice, but not necessary. I would definitely want to have star shield or some equivalent. A hard top is nice to have, although I haven't used mine much since I bought my car last spring.

[Taxcheat]

I bought mine from Lotus of Durham -- note I'm farther away than Charlotte -- you won't go wrong there. If you have mods in mind that you want on the car, they can install them as part of your deal. Check the uberpost for the best ideas.

Also, forget about bolt-ons. The Lotus ECU doesn't like them. Go up to Durham and drive the sport pack and the so-called touring suspension and see which you prefer. I like the sport ride.

[jlee]

I recently made the same decision and bought an 05 fully loaded. If you can find a leftover 05 optioned the way you want at a dealer thats probably the best deal.

For the most part, 06s still aren't on the used market and you would have to get them from a dealer, invoice is still $43K to $44kish.

Low mileage 05s are $5-7K off that and it seemed like a big enough gap to me to forgo the probax seats and other 06 enhancements.

The two options I had to have was the dual oil coolers and matching hardtop..I think the LSS package isn't really worth it, and research says a better suspension can be outfitted for less. I had a hard time finding a dual oil cooler touring car in Yellow or Orange..oh well.


Jeff

[catapult]

I'd stick with the standard configuration (ie. no sport pack) unless you're experienced on the track. The standard set-up is designed to be a bit more foregiving - less oversteer. As you gain more experience you can upgrade the wheels, tires, shocks etc to give you better track performance. You save a bit of $ in the short tem as well. The performance of the non-sport pack is still very impressive - and the tires last way longer.

[murcielagoGTR]

im really glad i found this thread!! I live in New Bern NC, about 2( ) SE of Raleigh/Duram, and might go there if i decide to buy an elise, and had similar Q's about 05' used, and the dealer there in Duram... thanks for the help..... oh , before i forget.... whats starshield?

[babak]

Starshield is the 3M clear bra version of the same by Lotus. Worth the price.

[coscooper]

New to these forums as I'm a new Elise owner. I purchaed a used 05 Elise from eBay. Car had 3,500 miles on it and I took a major chance, but it was worth it. The car was hardly driven, garage kept, original owner who owned multiple other cars much more exotic cars and bikes, so this was not his primary car. I've had it 6 whole weeks and love having an excuse to drive it every chance I get. I scoured eBay for months watching and waiting for just ther right color, options, mileage and someone without a researve. I picked it up less than 40K. Even after paying taxes in CO, I was still under 40K.

[LARRY]

Uh....get an '06 NOW...the dealers want to get them off the lot because they can't get 07's until they do....

It's wheel and deal time!