About to get a Lotus - LotusTalk

austin.c · 11-17-2009, 12:04 PM

My local dealer just got in a 2007 Lotus Elise. Less than 1,000miles. It has a small crack in the lower front clam from a curb. Its white and has some special coating on the paint I believe.
Is $36,800 a good price? I have a 2000 Toyota Celica GT-S I will be trading in for it.
Please get back if I should deal to get the price down or if its a steal?
Thank You,
Austin

stinkyonion · 11-17-2009, 12:59 PM

Impossible to tell about the price since you didnt list the options, but is in the realm of reasonable or even reasonably good. Rest assured, the dealer knows exactly what it is worth and you likely wont get a great deal. Value of all Loti plummets in the wintertime. Buying from this website is home of a lot of good deals too if you want a different color from local, just have the seller bring to nearest lotus dealership for inspection at your expense (about $200) and then have car shipped to you (about 1$/mile).

Dont get too excited about the clam crack if it is down low. Fiberglass repair is really easy, probably can reinforce the area and touch up the paint acceptably yourself if on bottom 3 inches of car. Higher up need higher quality repair which can get expensive. My car had some front clam damage from hitting a rabbit at 100mph before I bought it. I still havent bothered to lie on the ground to see where the damage is, and thus have never seen it.

Wexler · 11-17-2009, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by austin.c

My local dealer just got in a 2007 Lotus Elise. Less than 1,000miles. It has a small crack in the lower front clam from a curb. Its white and has some special coating on the paint I believe.
Is $36,800 a good price? I have a 2000 Toyota Celica GT-S I will be trading in for it.
Please get back if I should deal to get the price down or if its a steal?
Thank You,
Austin

The special paint is star shield.

From what I have seen on this site a clam repair can cost any where between $500 to $5,000+ based on the level of damage...personally I think this car you are talking about is a risk.

Ask for the data on the motor - a crack in the clam might indicate that the previous owner was not cautious and might not have broken in the motor properly.

Also, in my experience, if you are not purchasing from a Lotus dealer, the dealership will treat the car like a drunk prom date...everyone from mechanic to sales rep gets a turn to take the car out...not good.

There are plenty of low mileage Lotus available at a better price...matters what is most important to you...low mileage might not mean low wear...

I found the car on Cars.com - they do not mention the crack...what are they hiding? Hot color combo!

austin.c · 11-17-2009, 02:23 PM

The crack is minor. I just left the dealer ship and they can't get it down to my price range so I will just wait. Another deal will come up. The milage doesn't matter to me. I do like the white w/ black coloring. Options are minimal I believe. But that's for all the help guys, I will keep it in mind when I purchase my first Lotus.
This post can be closed.
Thank you.

Wexler · 11-17-2009, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by austin.c

The crack is minor. I just left the dealer ship and they can't get it down to my price range so I will just wait. Another deal will come up. The milage doesn't matter to me. I do like the white w/ black coloring. Options are minimal I believe. But that's for all the help guys, I will keep it in mind when I purchase my first Lotus.
This post can be closed.
Thank you.

It's worth the wait!

wolfy99 · 11-17-2009, 03:43 PM

Hello mate. I'm selling my 07 Polar Blue Elise (with the premium and touring packs). 13600 miles, great condition, never been tracked, and has recently replaced break pads (with stock).

I'm willing to sell at a lower price than you've quoted above, but no trade in. Give me a call 310 383 3949 (LA) if you're interested.

Cheers

Richard

MikeG911 · 11-17-2009, 04:04 PM

Polar blue is a sweet color!

mjf · 11-17-2009, 05:13 PM

Take your time. Now is a great time to look. You could do what I did (which is be really anal) and get a better deal. How much effort is it worth to you?

I started tracking Lotus for sale on cars.com and ebay, and several other websites for cars and kept a spreadsheet of how many miles, color, options, year, etc... oh and price. By the time I had a good idea of the prices and pricing trends I was able to come across a good deal and pounce on it.

Avoid any Lotus that has a salvage or rebuilt title. These cars should be left for people that know what they're doing and more often than not are very overpriced compared to their value.

Best of luck.

austin.c · 11-18-2009, 06:29 AM

Thank You everyone. I know all about the engine and drivetrain, but thats about it for a Lotus, lol. My area is rare to see high dollar cars, we are all blue collared workers, most are in the automotive industry here, and wont even look at a foreign car. I got lucky that where I work, we do less than 1% automotive so it didnt hurt when the auto industry crashed. I am lucky to get to see some test vehicles of the Big 3 around here tho.
European styling is my favorite tho. When I save up enough to get one, I will be back. If not, sooner than that...

muskaroxs · 11-18-2009, 08:45 AM

Lotus of St. Louis has new elise's for 44k. and that comes with a warranty and all the other good stuff.

11-17-2009, 12:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
austin.c Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Waterville, OH Posts: 11	About to get a Lotus My local dealer just got in a 2007 Lotus Elise. Less than 1,000miles. It has a small crack in the lower front clam from a curb. Its white and has some special coating on the paint I believe. Is $36,800 a good price? I have a 2000 Toyota Celica GT-S I will be trading in for it. Please get back if I should deal to get the price down or if its a steal? Thank You, Austin

11-17-2009, 12:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
stinkyonion Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oak Brook, IL Posts: 279 Images: 2	Impossible to tell about the price since you didnt list the options, but is in the realm of reasonable or even reasonably good. Rest assured, the dealer knows exactly what it is worth and you likely wont get a great deal. Value of all Loti plummets in the wintertime. Buying from this website is home of a lot of good deals too if you want a different color from local, just have the seller bring to nearest lotus dealership for inspection at your expense (about $200) and then have car shipped to you (about 1$/mile). Dont get too excited about the clam crack if it is down low. Fiberglass repair is really easy, probably can reinforce the area and touch up the paint acceptably yourself if on bottom 3 inches of car. Higher up need higher quality repair which can get expensive. My car had some front clam damage from hitting a rabbit at 100mph before I bought it. I still havent bothered to lie on the ground to see where the damage is, and thus have never seen it. __________________ 2006 polar blue Elise, VF stage II, clam hinge, von Hep exhaust, HID, Zeitronix/Dashdaq (GPS, wideband O2, EGT, fuel+oil pressure), BWR fuel rail, moroso oil pan, HD SS clutch, RTV brace, Tillet seats, harnesses, Oddysey 625, alpine pdx-5, jvc avx77 head unit, jl speakers, voltmeter on dash, custom gauge pod, etc. Last edited by stinkyonion; 11-17-2009 at 01:06 PM.

11-17-2009, 04:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
MikeG911 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 342	Polar blue is a sweet color! __________________ 07 CO Elise, ReVerie CF Side Scoops, ReVerie 3-Element CF Diffuser, ReVerie center console, ReVerie front splitter, 111 Tow Hook, 111 Boomerang Tow Hook, 111 Bootie, Redline Boot, BWR Key, V1, Larini Exhaust, Green filter, LidBone, MicroMirror. Planned R888, CF Sills, Coil Overs of some kind...

11-17-2009, 05:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
mjf elf Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bellevue, WA Posts: 1,459	Take your time. Now is a great time to look. You could do what I did (which is be really anal) and get a better deal. How much effort is it worth to you? I started tracking Lotus for sale on cars.com and ebay, and several other websites for cars and kept a spreadsheet of how many miles, color, options, year, etc... oh and price. By the time I had a good idea of the prices and pricing trends I was able to come across a good deal and pounce on it. Avoid any Lotus that has a salvage or rebuilt title. These cars should be left for people that know what they're doing and more often than not are very overpriced compared to their value. Best of luck. __________________ 2007 Elise Type 72D #6 of 50

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11-17-2009, 02:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
austin.c Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Waterville, OH Posts: 11	The crack is minor. I just left the dealer ship and they can't get it down to my price range so I will just wait. Another deal will come up. The milage doesn't matter to me. I do like the white w/ black coloring. Options are minimal I believe. But that's for all the help guys, I will keep it in mind when I purchase my first Lotus. This post can be closed. Thank you.

11-17-2009, 03:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
wolfy99 Wolfy99 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Santa Monica Posts: 11 Images: 1	Hello mate. I'm selling my 07 Polar Blue Elise (with the premium and touring packs). 13600 miles, great condition, never been tracked, and has recently replaced break pads (with stock). I'm willing to sell at a lower price than you've quoted above, but no trade in. Give me a call 310 383 3949 (LA) if you're interested. Cheers Richard

11-18-2009, 06:29 AM	#9 (permalink)
austin.c Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Waterville, OH Posts: 11	Thank You everyone. I know all about the engine and drivetrain, but thats about it for a Lotus, lol. My area is rare to see high dollar cars, we are all blue collared workers, most are in the automotive industry here, and wont even look at a foreign car. I got lucky that where I work, we do less than 1% automotive so it didnt hurt when the auto industry crashed. I am lucky to get to see some test vehicles of the Big 3 around here tho. European styling is my favorite tho. When I save up enough to get one, I will be back. If not, sooner than that...

11-18-2009, 08:45 AM	#10 (permalink)
muskaroxs Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 293	Lotus of St. Louis has new elise's for 44k. and that comes with a warranty and all the other good stuff.

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