[Feel free to skip obligatory sob story]
Shortly after buying this car in 2011, a friend of mine said “never sell this car.” I fell in love with every aspect of this car and had no intentions of ever selling. It was an easy promise to make.
Fast forward five years… I’ve gone from being single and kid-less to married and having two awesome boys. A couple work promotions, helped further reduce my “free time” and now the car sits in the garage on the battery tender with the occasional short drive out.
I’ve contemplated holding the car until my oldest can ride along with me, but the reality is he has a long journey ahead before he can ride in a car without a car seat, and won’t be riding along any time soon.
This is an amazing car that needs to driven and enjoyed. As much as I enjoy the occasional drive, and the excitement my oldest has every time he sees the car in the garage (he asks to see it several times a week), it’s just not practical to keep it and to be fair to the car – it deserves more quality time on the road.
So here I am breaking a promise and putting my beloved Lotus up for sale. The reality is I don’t have to or need to sell it, but I’m ready to pass this awesome experience on to a good home.
[About the car]
I purchased this car in 2011 as the third owner. The car had just over 30k miles, and in the five years of ownership I managed to propel that to 39k miles. When I bought it, it was mainly stock with a <very loud> :evil: Larini exhaust (later replaced, after I realized I was losing some hearing), and the original owner had the “bandit blackout” painted on – which I think was a very tasteful mod. They also deleted the rear view mirror (which adds zero value in this car – unless you just like watching the intercooler).
When purchased, I also bought a 6 year / 60k extended warranty from a very reputable/dependable provider. They have never denied a claim. I’ve had a few of the normal things go that they quickly covered: leaking coolant tank, loose/worn toe links, and a hairline crack in the intercooler shroud. Otherwise the car has been rock solid, but it provides the peace of mind. The warranty has one year and 50k miles remaining.
From my detective work in the owners registry on this forum there is only one other nightfall blue listed. I thought I had registered mine but couldn’t find it in the list, and I think I saw posts from someone else with a nightfall blue. Point being – this is a rare color/year combo, and if you’ve never seen the color in person it’s hard to fully describe/appreciate. I always get complements!
Clean Carfax, Clear Title in hand, Never Raced. The car has always been garaged and maintained ahead of schedule since I’ve owned it.
[Enhancements]
PPF - I had the Starshield removed and replaced it with a more comprehensive coverage using Xpel Ultimate. That pesky line that went across the front clam is gone, as I had the whole thing covered.
Craftsquare CF Mirrors – Provides a better view (and look)
CF Side skits – HK Fever side skirts and mud flaps (these look awesome – if you’re on the fence - buy them from him!)
APR CF Front Splitter
Pioneer head unit that has rear view camera capability (I never got to that project), and other modern amenities (e.g. Bluetooth)
Focal speakers (front and rear) – huge improvement
Jim Claytons Heavy Shift Knob
White LED for Start Button
S111 Carpet Buttons
S111 Harness Bar and Schroth 4 point harness. Helps keep you planted (and makes that bruise on your left leg vanish) when driving on the twisties. The harness bar is also an amazing place for a radar detector :shift:
One keyfob converted to flip style – can easily be converted back to stock.
Replaced fog lights with OEM – A rock got them, so now there’s a fresh set.
RLS Intercooler (Black)
RLS Intercooler Heat Shield (CF)
RLS Intercooler Tubes (Black)
Radium Intercooler Coupler Kit
Saikou Michi Catch Cans
Oydssey Race Battery
S111 Battery Brace and Extender (switch on/off)
Front & Rear - DBA Brake Rotors and Ferodo Pads ~7k miles on rear, ~4k on front
Wolo BadBoy Horn (stock was too quiet)
RLS/NCI - Diffuser and under tray quarter turn kit (best investment ever)
S111 Boomerang Toe Hook (Red)
S111 Front Toe Hook (Red)
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs replaced @ 31k
BOE Fastworks Torque 300 – If you’re questioning doing this… DO IT! The power band is so much smoother and has so much more to give now.
Bosch EV-14 Injectors
Walbro 255 Fuel Pump
BOE 3” Pulley w/ Gates belt
BOE Cold Air Intake (sounds awesome)
Larini SC Track Exhaust
Fresh Toyo R1Rs with less than 1k miles
[What else do I want you to know about the car?]
This is a 9 year old car with 40k miles. I’m confident you’ll be amazed with the condition but there is some normal wear on the car. Most notably there is a small curbing on one of the rear wheels (complements of previous owner). I planned to replace/fix but it didn’t effect driving and I wanted to get to other things (i.e list above).
I did not have the oil cooler lines replaced. I periodically inspect them for seepage, and they are bone dry. After reading horror stories on this forum from performing the recall, this was the path I decided to take. Monitor and fix if/when needed.
[Price and Ask]
There is a lot of subjectiveness in price for these. When I ran the Carfax it estimated the retail to be $52,660, private party to be $50,460, and trade-in to be $48,020. From monitoring the forums and sales ads for some time, I think these are actually fairly accurate/reasonable. These prices of course assumes the car is stock, and out of warranty. When you factor in the list above, fresh tires, warranty, etc. I think those things add value to what you would normally expect with a private party sale. Yet my asking price is below Carfax’s.
I’m firmly asking $49,800. Firmly means - if you want to invest less in the car, buy it for my price and sell some of the parts on this forum. I don’t have to sell the car, and I’m not worried about riding out the winter, etc. I’ll respond to prospective buyers in the order that I receive the message.
My ask - Let’s be fair to each other – no low balls, no joy rides, etc. Only serious offers will be entertained. Please bear with me with response times, I’m mainly selling this car due to time constraints (so you get it) :bow:.
Pictures below were taken with diffuser off after performing oil change and periodic inspection of toe links, etc. I forgot to put it back on for pictures :facepalm:, I will get some with on and upload soon.
Shortly after buying this car in 2011, a friend of mine said “never sell this car.” I fell in love with every aspect of this car and had no intentions of ever selling. It was an easy promise to make.
Fast forward five years… I’ve gone from being single and kid-less to married and having two awesome boys. A couple work promotions, helped further reduce my “free time” and now the car sits in the garage on the battery tender with the occasional short drive out.
I’ve contemplated holding the car until my oldest can ride along with me, but the reality is he has a long journey ahead before he can ride in a car without a car seat, and won’t be riding along any time soon.
This is an amazing car that needs to driven and enjoyed. As much as I enjoy the occasional drive, and the excitement my oldest has every time he sees the car in the garage (he asks to see it several times a week), it’s just not practical to keep it and to be fair to the car – it deserves more quality time on the road.
So here I am breaking a promise and putting my beloved Lotus up for sale. The reality is I don’t have to or need to sell it, but I’m ready to pass this awesome experience on to a good home.
[About the car]
I purchased this car in 2011 as the third owner. The car had just over 30k miles, and in the five years of ownership I managed to propel that to 39k miles. When I bought it, it was mainly stock with a <very loud> :evil: Larini exhaust (later replaced, after I realized I was losing some hearing), and the original owner had the “bandit blackout” painted on – which I think was a very tasteful mod. They also deleted the rear view mirror (which adds zero value in this car – unless you just like watching the intercooler).
When purchased, I also bought a 6 year / 60k extended warranty from a very reputable/dependable provider. They have never denied a claim. I’ve had a few of the normal things go that they quickly covered: leaking coolant tank, loose/worn toe links, and a hairline crack in the intercooler shroud. Otherwise the car has been rock solid, but it provides the peace of mind. The warranty has one year and 50k miles remaining.
From my detective work in the owners registry on this forum there is only one other nightfall blue listed. I thought I had registered mine but couldn’t find it in the list, and I think I saw posts from someone else with a nightfall blue. Point being – this is a rare color/year combo, and if you’ve never seen the color in person it’s hard to fully describe/appreciate. I always get complements!
Clean Carfax, Clear Title in hand, Never Raced. The car has always been garaged and maintained ahead of schedule since I’ve owned it.
[Enhancements]
PPF - I had the Starshield removed and replaced it with a more comprehensive coverage using Xpel Ultimate. That pesky line that went across the front clam is gone, as I had the whole thing covered.
Craftsquare CF Mirrors – Provides a better view (and look)
CF Side skits – HK Fever side skirts and mud flaps (these look awesome – if you’re on the fence - buy them from him!)
APR CF Front Splitter
Pioneer head unit that has rear view camera capability (I never got to that project), and other modern amenities (e.g. Bluetooth)
Focal speakers (front and rear) – huge improvement
Jim Claytons Heavy Shift Knob
White LED for Start Button
S111 Carpet Buttons
S111 Harness Bar and Schroth 4 point harness. Helps keep you planted (and makes that bruise on your left leg vanish) when driving on the twisties. The harness bar is also an amazing place for a radar detector :shift:
One keyfob converted to flip style – can easily be converted back to stock.
Replaced fog lights with OEM – A rock got them, so now there’s a fresh set.
RLS Intercooler (Black)
RLS Intercooler Heat Shield (CF)
RLS Intercooler Tubes (Black)
Radium Intercooler Coupler Kit
Saikou Michi Catch Cans
Oydssey Race Battery
S111 Battery Brace and Extender (switch on/off)
Front & Rear - DBA Brake Rotors and Ferodo Pads ~7k miles on rear, ~4k on front
Wolo BadBoy Horn (stock was too quiet)
RLS/NCI - Diffuser and under tray quarter turn kit (best investment ever)
S111 Boomerang Toe Hook (Red)
S111 Front Toe Hook (Red)
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs replaced @ 31k
BOE Fastworks Torque 300 – If you’re questioning doing this… DO IT! The power band is so much smoother and has so much more to give now.
Bosch EV-14 Injectors
Walbro 255 Fuel Pump
BOE 3” Pulley w/ Gates belt
BOE Cold Air Intake (sounds awesome)
Larini SC Track Exhaust
Fresh Toyo R1Rs with less than 1k miles
[What else do I want you to know about the car?]
This is a 9 year old car with 40k miles. I’m confident you’ll be amazed with the condition but there is some normal wear on the car. Most notably there is a small curbing on one of the rear wheels (complements of previous owner). I planned to replace/fix but it didn’t effect driving and I wanted to get to other things (i.e list above).
I did not have the oil cooler lines replaced. I periodically inspect them for seepage, and they are bone dry. After reading horror stories on this forum from performing the recall, this was the path I decided to take. Monitor and fix if/when needed.
[Price and Ask]
There is a lot of subjectiveness in price for these. When I ran the Carfax it estimated the retail to be $52,660, private party to be $50,460, and trade-in to be $48,020. From monitoring the forums and sales ads for some time, I think these are actually fairly accurate/reasonable. These prices of course assumes the car is stock, and out of warranty. When you factor in the list above, fresh tires, warranty, etc. I think those things add value to what you would normally expect with a private party sale. Yet my asking price is below Carfax’s.
I’m firmly asking $49,800. Firmly means - if you want to invest less in the car, buy it for my price and sell some of the parts on this forum. I don’t have to sell the car, and I’m not worried about riding out the winter, etc. I’ll respond to prospective buyers in the order that I receive the message.
My ask - Let’s be fair to each other – no low balls, no joy rides, etc. Only serious offers will be entertained. Please bear with me with response times, I’m mainly selling this car due to time constraints (so you get it) :bow:.
Pictures below were taken with diffuser off after performing oil change and periodic inspection of toe links, etc. I forgot to put it back on for pictures :facepalm:, I will get some with on and upload soon.