Where'd all the Elises go?

[Dylan]

I don't think that's accurate. The link was to lotus, the flower, and as Lotus the car is a brand name, they do control the ability to decide how it is used. Other examples where common usage would diverge: IBM (no periods between initials); iPhone (should be Iphone or iphone); businesses that use the "+" sign instead of the "&" sign (it looks cool?); google is a mathematical concept, and appears with a small g (I can't imagine a usage in which it starts a sentence, but maybe there is an example) whereas Google the company always appears with a capital G.

Originally Posted by me73

The factory can imagine whatever they want. English decides what the plural form of a word is.

lotus - Wiktionary

[evilfij]

If it makes you feel any better, I bought my Exige S in November and it was sitting in a garage all cozy with the felt cover and a battery tender.

[MadisonArt]

Is plural of Lotus Loti? As in I own two or more?

Originally Posted by DeanG

As the cars get older I believe you will find more go to people with other Lotus cars. There are quiet a few people with multiple Lotus.

[onETon]

Originally Posted by kloftus1044

Living in Colorado, the Elise market is dead right now. I'd love to have the opportunity to drive something locally rather than take a chance on a car that's in Florida, fly out there, and then be disappointed.

An airplane ticket and time is a small price to pay to avoid paying more at the dealer or settling with one that you're not in love with locally. I bought mine from AZ and shipped it back with no issues. Equip yourself with enough knowledge from LT and get all the questions out of the way first.

What's worse is that the seller (not owner; long story) knew nothing about these cars or the one she was selling. So I pretty much took the biggest shot in the dark, but it ended up working out and she was a really nice person.

[me73]

Originally Posted by kloftus1044

Living in Colorado, the Elise market is dead right now. I'd love to have the opportunity to drive something locally rather than take a chance on a car that's in Florida, fly out there, and then be disappointed. There was a silver Elise that made its way onto Craigslist back in the middle of October but its not available And it might have been a scam, anyway. Who knows.

I'd like an unaltered, base model Elise that hasn't been driven to death. Seems that the asking prices from dealerships across the country is around 30-32k which is in my budget (barely) According to many people on the forum, 28-30k is a good price from an individual seller which is more in line with my finances.

But...there aren't any around here, and more and more people seem to be putting theirs away for the winter.

Patience usually pays off when looking for a toy. Use time as a tool to wait and find the right car.

I personally wouldn't buy a car outside of the area where I can go and see it. Even an honest person gets used to noises and issues that may be something for you to be concerned about. Then there's the dishonest sellers.

I've been bitten by buying a car remotely. Even with an inspection and full set of pictures, issues can be missed or things can go missing between the time pictures were taken and the time that the car gets into your driveway.

[onETon]

Originally Posted by me73

Patience usually pays off when looking for a toy. Use time as a tool to wait and find the right car.

I personally wouldn't buy a car outside of the area where I can go and see it. Even an honest person gets used to noises and issues that may be something for you to be concerned about. Then there's the dishonest sellers.

I've been bitten by buying a car remotely. Even with an inspection and full set of pictures, issues can be missed or things can go missing between the time pictures were taken and the time that the car gets into your driveway.

Very true, for me I flew over to AZ and gave it a very thorough inspection. In addition to checking the actual car out, I kind of used the exposure we had to each other as an "inspection" of the seller's character also. It's really your call and how much of a risk you'd want to take. Whether it's even worth the risk, for my situation, it was.

Like me73 mentioned, the risk of something happening intentionally or inadvertently between the time from when you saw it to the time it rolls onto your driveway is huge. So make sure you trust the person and take precautions like taking an inordinate amount of pictures of every little detail. Honestly nothing can be done if it arrives busted, but to me, it's more of an open gesture to the owner/seller that you're cataloging everything and if anything arrives different, you'll notice it. Show them you're not playing around and that you are very meticulous.

Another risk/given disadvantage is your bargaining power. If you flew out, they know you wouldn't want to leave empty handed. I only got my seller down $500 from her asking. Luckily, the asking was ridiculously low to begin with.

You know, the more I type, the more I'm grateful that it worked out. A lot of stuff could have gone awry. But it was definitely worth it and I'd probably do it again for my next car if the situation arises again. I saved almost $10k from what I would have paid locally (even within the state).

[antinym]

Oddly, I was on Cars.com the other day and only found 5 exiges for sale across the US. There may be more right now, but I thought it was odd.
I just checked again.. 4. Hmm..

[sirnonz]

you will find the lotus you are looking for on sale after you purchase one.

[kloftus1044]

Originally Posted by me73

Patience usually pays off when looking for a toy. Use time as a tool to wait and find the right car.

I personally wouldn't buy a car outside of the area where I can go and see it. Even an honest person gets used to noises and issues that may be something for you to be concerned about. Then there's the dishonest sellers.

I've been bitten by buying a car remotely. Even with an inspection and full set of pictures, issues can be missed or things can go missing between the time pictures were taken and the time that the car gets into your driveway.

You have hit on every single point that causes me trepidation when considering a car that isn't within a few hours drive of where I live. Fly out to the seller's site and learn the car isn't what you were lead to believe, and you can bet the return flight is gonna be long and disappointing.

But, it may be that I have to go out of state for what I want. Texas, Arizona and SoCal are reasonably close and thus somewhat inexpensive to fly to. I've seen a fair number of cars show up in those areas. But not lately. Makes me think people have garaged them for the winter. Hopefully there are a lot of Lotus owners that want to part with their cars sometime in March. I wonder if I have the patience to wait that long?

[rotobug]

If a 2005 BR green Elise with a red leather interior is of interest to you, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer example than the one I'm selling. I bought it with 6K miles in May and it now has 9,040 on it. It was owned by one family (father then daughter) before me. Hard and soft tops, sport pack, touring pack, AC, CD radio, new Toyo R888s and no modifications. You can view it on the website for Auto Europe in Birmingham, MI. The dealer is asking 35K, but I'd be willing to sell it privately for 32K. I can be reached at 248-219-5627 or donbad1@gmail.com

[ee.engineer]

Originally Posted by rotobug

If a 2005 BR green Elise with a red leather interior is of interest to you, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer example than the one I'm selling. I bought it with 6K miles in May and it now has 9,040 on it. It was owned by one family (father then daughter) before me. Hard and soft tops, sport pack, touring pack, AC, CD radio, new Toyo R888s and no modifications. You can view it on the website for Auto Europe in Birmingham, MI. The dealer is asking 35K, but I'd be willing to sell it privately for 32K. I can be reached at 248-219-5627 or donbad1@gmail.com

unless you repainted it, i'm pretty sure BRG was not an elise color in 2005. You may be thinking of LRG

[Podunks]

Originally Posted by rotobug

If a 2005 BR green Elise with a red leather interior is of interest to you, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a nicer example than the one I'm selling. I bought it with 6K miles in May and it now has 9,040 on it. It was owned by one family (father then daughter) before me. Hard and soft tops, sport pack, touring pack, AC, CD radio, new Toyo R888s and no modifications. You can view it on the website for Auto Europe in Birmingham, MI. The dealer is asking 35K, but I'd be willing to sell it privately for 32K. I can be reached at 248-219-5627 or donbad1@gmail.com

Is it super charged?

If not, you can find them for much lower.

[Ironmatt]

Pretty sure I saw that car back in the spring... it was immaculate, but I wanted an Exige. Selling it through AE?

-Matt

[luxige]

Originally Posted by Dylan

google is a mathematical concept, and appears with a small g (I can't imagine a usage in which it starts a sentence, but maybe there is an example)

Google is a big-ass number, yo.

Originally Posted by antinym

Oddly, I was on Cars.com the other day and only found 5 exiges for sale across the US. There may be more right now, but I thought it was odd.
I just checked again.. 4. Hmm..

Holy cow! :

[rotobug]

I used the color term BRG because that's how the selling dealer referred to it. Sorry if my description of the color is inaccurate, just going by what I was told. The car is not supercharged. I saw 2 or 3 Elises for less money on wirewheel.com, but they were rebuilt salvage titles. Those cars looked fine, but I imagine the salvage status affects their value.

[Podunks]

Here is a great search tool for you!

http://www.autotempest.com/results/?...any&saleby=any

[me73]

Originally Posted by rotobug

I used the color term BRG because that's how the selling dealer referred to it. Sorry if my description of the color is inaccurate, just going by what I was told. The car is not supercharged. I saw 2 or 3 Elises for less money on wirewheel.com, but they were rebuilt salvage titles. Those cars looked fine, but I imagine the salvage status affects their value.

Pricing is regional and your price is a reasonable one for the options and low mileage. Don't worry about what random internet people tell you the price should be. The only ones who matter are the ones who want to actually buy your car.

[Podunks]

Originally Posted by me73

Pricing is regional and your price is a reasonable one for the options and low mileage. Don't worry about what random internet people tell you the price should be. The only ones who matter are the ones who want to actually buy your car.

To the OP, be patient and you will not over pay, do not worry about random internet people telling you that you have to pay a premium.

[me73]

Originally Posted by kloftus1044

You have hit on every single point that causes me trepidation when considering a car that isn't within a few hours drive of where I live. Fly out to the seller's site and learn the car isn't what you were lead to believe, and you can bet the return flight is gonna be long and disappointing.

But, it may be that I have to go out of state for what I want. Texas, Arizona and SoCal are reasonably close and thus somewhat inexpensive to fly to. I've seen a fair number of cars show up in those areas. But not lately. Makes me think people have garaged them for the winter. Hopefully there are a lot of Lotus owners that want to part with their cars sometime in March. I wonder if I have the patience to wait that long?

You will see a bunch of cars pop up in the spring. For sellers, the asking prices are higher and it's much easier to show a car and give test drives.

[andy7777]

That unknown, not-sure about the history, re-painted, re-clammed car with $2,000 deferred maintenance and cam wear isn't really cheap at $25K. And a full-history lo-mile car sold by reputable Lotus dealer may be quite a bargain at $32K. Just sayin'.