Question #1 out of 7243 questions - LotusTalk

WatchDog · 09-10-2009, 05:15 PM

Hi everyone. This is my first post.

I've gone from Porsche 914 (high school), to Toyota MR2 w/T-bar roof (US Marines), to Toyota MR2 Spyder (post-divorce).

I sold the Spyder a week ago (cried my eyes out, no joke), and now I'm thinking about my next sports car.

I believe I'm in love with the Lotus Elise. Now on to my question.

How difficult and / or expensive is it to maintain? I live on Long Island, NY, US, and offhand I don't know of any Lotus dealers (yeah yeah, I know, 'Google is my friend'). So, what's the skinny on maintenance? Will this car put me in the poorhouse? Can I bring it to my trusty Toyota dealer, or is that a sacrilege? Educate me. Thanks.

Oh, and bear in mind, if you say the wrong things, I might have to buy a Carrera. And nobody wants that to happen.

jmiesse · 09-10-2009, 05:17 PM

Demonized · 09-10-2009, 05:48 PM

2ZZ-GE.

...m... · 09-10-2009, 06:05 PM

...very cheap to maintain, very expensive to crash...

BrianK · 09-10-2009, 06:09 PM

Lots of threads on this subject, so I won't comment too much... I just wanted to say that I, too, have owned 914s and MR2s, and more recently moved to an Elise (after an RX7, but that's another story).

Just go drive one. Nothing else will matter at that point. Maintenance is not a huge issue. An Elise is no Toyota re: reliability, but it's close. You will never regret the decision, but you'll always wonder what the Elise would be like while driving around in anything else. It's sublime.

ErictheBastard · 09-10-2009, 06:11 PM

I haven't spent a dime on mine that I didn't want to...

Tires are expensive and changed frequently. Oil changes by the dealer are expensive, but I just remove the panel and take it to my drive through lube.

It has a few 'exotic' idiosyncrasies, but none of them come in the form of financial turmoil (unless you jack the car in the wrong place or allow some kid at the tire shop to have his way with it).

Your Toyota dealer will tell you 'Get that thing the hell out of here' or something to that effect.

It's the easiest car to work on that I've ever owned. Lot's of clearance, everything is pretty straightforward.

Hesitate not.

VINSTA · 09-10-2009, 07:21 PM

~15,000 miles and no issues so far. Only fluids (I do them myself) and a new set of rear tires.
However, it is used as a fair weather toy and has never seen a wet road. Also, it's stored in a climate controlled garage.

Elise Sport #46

jlj3394 · 09-10-2009, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ...m...

...very cheap to maintain, very expensive to crash...

X2.

I'm an idiot and I do my own maintenance. Its refreshing.

RENDERMAN · 09-10-2009, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ...m...

...very cheap to maintain, very expensive to crash...

..................mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm................ ....true!!

JoshS · 09-10-2009, 08:06 PM

ACE10

RoadDad · 09-11-2009, 06:31 AM

There is no way that you really have 7243 questions about this car. That would break Whitey#1's record by 8 questions and I don't believe that to be possible.

Maintenance is oil change, air filter, checking bolts and bits for proper torque and whatnot. Do it yourself. Don't take the car to the Toyota dealer as they most likely won't work on it for you and you don't want them to practice on your car if they were willing.

Buy a copy of the service manual ($25 for download) and a copy of the engine manual (if you want the engine internals) can be found on the 'net for free (look for Celica GTS 2ZZ-GE engine manuals).

Snowphun · 09-11-2009, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WatchDog

I believe I'm in love with the Lotus Elise. Now on to my question.

How difficult and / or expensive is it to maintain? I live on Long Island, NY, US, and offhand I don't know of any Lotus dealers (yeah yeah, I know, 'Google is my friend'). So, what's the skinny on maintenance? Will this car put me in the poorhouse? Can I bring it to my trusty Toyota dealer, or is that a sacrilege? Educate me. Thanks.

I bought my Elise out on LI last month, having a lot of fun with it. If you haven't put any seat time in one, do so. That's the only way to understand the car and its idiosyncrasies, and will pretty quickly tell you if you can manage the compromises.

It may be reliable (I hope so) but it definitely has some "hand built car" issues, ranging from trivial to a pain in the neck. Hard to beat for the money.

fast+forward · 09-11-2009, 08:17 AM

just buy the Porsche

glb · 09-11-2009, 11:58 AM

which was more dangerous, Marines or divorce???

WatchDog · 09-11-2009, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glb

which was more dangerous, Marines or divorce???

Lol. But to answer your question, the divorce. Because that was in closer proximity to the "marriage."

MGTOW

EliseSC · 09-11-2009, 01:02 PM

It's typically extremely cheap to maintain, depending on your driving habits, if you keep up on regular maintenance, and so on. You can do maintenance yourself or have it done at the Lotus dealership. The Lotus is certainly the most economical high-performance sports car you can buy, with a very low total cost of ownership. Best bang for the buck you'll find, IMHO. Tons of useful information for you here: Hi, I am new here - LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community. Semper Fi

avonnieda · 09-11-2009, 01:17 PM

Easy to maintain, and I'm no gearhead by any means.

Semper Fi, and welcome!

09-10-2009, 05:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
WatchDog Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 2	Question #1 out of 7243 questions Hi everyone. This is my first post. I've gone from Porsche 914 (high school), to Toyota MR2 w/T-bar roof (US Marines), to Toyota MR2 Spyder (post-divorce). I sold the Spyder a week ago (cried my eyes out, no joke), and now I'm thinking about my next sports car. I believe I'm in love with the Lotus Elise. Now on to my question. How difficult and / or expensive is it to maintain? I live on Long Island, NY, US, and offhand I don't know of any Lotus dealers (yeah yeah, I know, 'Google is my friend'). So, what's the skinny on maintenance? Will this car put me in the poorhouse? Can I bring it to my trusty Toyota dealer, or is that a sacrilege? Educate me. Thanks. Oh, and bear in mind, if you say the wrong things, I might have to buy a Carrera. And nobody wants that to happen. Last edited by WatchDog : 09-10-2009 at 05:22 PM.

09-10-2009, 05:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
jmiesse Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 565	__________________ 05 AS Elise. Tour and Sport Pack. Hard Top.Stage II Exhaust, Sport ecu, Pagid RS 4-2s,Toyo R888's, Shifter Matrix brace, Micro Mirror

09-10-2009, 05:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
Demonized NOT ßANNED! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,546	2ZZ-GE. __________________ 2005 Saffron Yellow Elise, Katana Supercharger, LSS Wheels, 2Bular exhaust & cat, rear panel delete, Cup Airbox, Volt / Oil temp gauge, Ohlins double adjustable coilovers, Dual Oil Coolers, S111 RTD Brace, Moroso Oil Pan, MicroMirror, S111 "V-Force" Harness bar, Manly Engine Mounts, Odyssey PC680 & RLS Bracket, Saikou Michi OCC, CF Scoops, CF Bootlid, CF Front Lip.

09-10-2009, 06:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
...m... Denuo Volatilis Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 2,716	...very cheap to maintain, very expensive to crash... __________________ 2005 Federal Elise \| Touring \| Storm Titanium ...73,000 miles and aging beautifully... 2000 New Beetle \| Turbo \| Reflex Silver ...107,000 miles of steadfast service...

09-10-2009, 06:09 PM	#5 (permalink)
BrianK very dude Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles (Highland Park) Posts: 2,427	Lots of threads on this subject, so I won't comment too much... I just wanted to say that I, too, have owned 914s and MR2s, and more recently moved to an Elise (after an RX7, but that's another story). Just go drive one. Nothing else will matter at that point. Maintenance is not a huge issue. An Elise is no Toyota re: reliability, but it's close. You will never regret the decision, but you'll always wonder what the Elise would be like while driving around in anything else. It's sublime. __________________ Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

09-10-2009, 06:11 PM	#6 (permalink)
ErictheBastard NOT the Stig Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 265 Images: 5	I haven't spent a dime on mine that I didn't want to... Tires are expensive and changed frequently. Oil changes by the dealer are expensive, but I just remove the panel and take it to my drive through lube. It has a few 'exotic' idiosyncrasies, but none of them come in the form of financial turmoil (unless you jack the car in the wrong place or allow some kid at the tire shop to have his way with it). Your Toyota dealer will tell you 'Get that thing the hell out of here' or something to that effect. It's the easiest car to work on that I've ever owned. Lot's of clearance, everything is pretty straightforward. Hesitate not. __________________ Eric the Bastard, Esq. Sylmar, CA 2005 Buzzbomb Chrome Orange Larini SE Exhaust LETSLA shift kit

09-10-2009, 07:21 PM	#7 (permalink)
VINSTA Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 210	~15,000 miles and no issues so far. Only fluids (I do them myself) and a new set of rear tires. However, it is used as a fair weather toy and has never seen a wet road. Also, it's stored in a climate controlled garage. Elise Sport #46

09-10-2009, 08:06 PM	#10 (permalink)
JoshS Come on down Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA Posts: 1,971	ACE10 __________________ '06 Elise Phantom Black, Touring, Starshield, Powder Coated Black Wheels, Bobble head IMUS

09-11-2009, 06:31 AM	#11 (permalink)
RoadDad perfututum futūtor Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 6,042	There is no way that you really have 7243 questions about this car. That would break Whitey#1's record by 8 questions and I don't believe that to be possible. Maintenance is oil change, air filter, checking bolts and bits for proper torque and whatnot. Do it yourself. Don't take the car to the Toyota dealer as they most likely won't work on it for you and you don't want them to practice on your car if they were willing. Buy a copy of the service manual ($25 for download) and a copy of the engine manual (if you want the engine internals) can be found on the 'net for free (look for Celica GTS 2ZZ-GE engine manuals). __________________ "Really, you want to maintain a semblance of professionalism since you represent Lotus. Me... I don't need to. Bite me." -Randy

09-11-2009, 08:17 AM	#13 (permalink)
fast+forward Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 218	just buy the Porsche

09-11-2009, 11:58 AM	#14 (permalink)
glb Unattractive Nuisance Join Date: May 2005 Location: Chester, NJ Posts: 4,532	which was more dangerous, Marines or divorce??? __________________ 05 elise (PES chip, SSRs, shift tower mods, Multivex; HID low beams); 05 Corolla XRS; 72 Elan Sprint, 170 hp (Sold) "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable." G. Orwell. 6. "A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company." - Gian Vincenzo Gravina

09-11-2009, 01:02 PM	#16 (permalink)
EliseSC Supercharged Join Date: May 2008 Location: Piedmont, California Posts: 294 Images: 19	It's typically extremely cheap to maintain, depending on your driving habits, if you keep up on regular maintenance, and so on. You can do maintenance yourself or have it done at the Lotus dealership. The Lotus is certainly the most economical high-performance sports car you can buy, with a very low total cost of ownership. Best bang for the buck you'll find, IMHO. Tons of useful information for you here: Hi, I am new here - LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community. Semper Fi __________________ 2008 Lotus Elise SC, Canyon Red, Touring Pack, LSD, Starshield, Hardtop, Chin Guards, Janspeed Stage-II Exhaust, Beltronics STi Driver 2002 Ferrari 360 Modena, Rosso Barchetta, Carbon Racing Seats, Carbon Rear Grill, 'Scuderia Ferrari' fender shields, Bordeaux Interior Stitching on Black Leather, Chin Guards 2000 Mercedes Benz ML430, Black, Gray Interior, Brush Guard, Tail Light Guards, Hitch Last edited by EliseSC : 09-11-2009 at 01:10 PM.

09-11-2009, 01:17 PM	#17 (permalink)
avonnieda Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Edwardsville, KS Posts: 57	Easy to maintain, and I'm no gearhead by any means. Semper Fi, and welcome! __________________ 2005 Saffron Yellow Elise, desnorkeled - Hey, it's a start.. 1997 Ducati 748

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