[Maverick1]

I just can't believe the number of owners selling their Elises after such a short period of ownership. Are they speculators thinking they could make a quick buck?
I mean some of them waited 1.5-3 years for a chance to own this car and now they are selling. Is the car so rough around the edges that it is very difficult to live with?
I have only test driven it once, and it was a short one to boot. I was so excited to finally see the vehicle and get in and smell it that I do not really remember the test drive.
Before I make my final order placement I will have to take a longer test drive and come with a list.....is the seat comfortable enough to live with, how loud is the engine, how is the shifter, brake feel, can I get in and out easy enough. Now all these factors should be acceptable for me since I have kept my 1988 Honda Civic for over 16 years now, and it was the bare bones car, no A/C, power steering, not even a radio. I don't think people realize that this car can be a challenge to live with on a daily basis.
But for some of you ordering the Elise who are used to very luxurious, very comfortable automobiles I strongly suggest taking a list of things to look for and taking a long enough test drive to make sure this car is for you. Buying the car and then deciding it's not for me can be a very costly $$$$$$$$$ experience.
Just something to think about.

 

[zvezdah1]

I'm with you Mav, can't believe some guys waited so long, buy the car and bail after 3-400 miles, guess expectations weren't met?

Chris

 

[Vantage]

I've noted a few people who were unsure of taking delivery or could barely afford the car, but did so anyway, hoping that if they had to sell the car, they could do so without losing money.

 

[MikeAR303]

I think a lot of people may have bought the car for bling factor after ignoring what everyone had told them earlier (it's not a luxury car, it's small, etc...). Once they took delivery and realized that it doesn't have 10" of padding on the seats and a bass heavy stereo setup, they sold.

I'm not saying that's the case with everyone, but I know there are some.

 

[meat]

No surprise to me - I figured that would happen.

People who think the car is "cool" are the ones selling it. It just isn't easy to live with.

People who "get it" will keep the car regardless.

 

[Stan]

Agree with the above. It's a hard core car. Often sporty cars are purchased on image the first time but subsequent buyers wind up appreciating what the car is and can do. The Elise is so different that those who say yeah-yeah-yeah wind up selling it after finding out that the car is...different, just as they were told. Some cars take years to wind up with the "right" sort of owners. I'm loving mine!

 

[zvezdah1]

Image is everything.......that's why I bought it!
Chris

 

[offroadr35]

it's also tempting to sell a car when you've driven it for a 1000 miles and can still get all your money back. Once depreciation starts to rear its ugly head i'm sure we will see a lot less of them for sale with 300-1500 miles on them.

 

[Allan Gibbs]

It's sometimes hard to get a feel of how long-term ownership would be from a 10 to 15 minute test drive. I think what's happening with some people is that they've been waiting for a long time. When the demo car is actually here, they are in AWE to the point where the impracticalities seem livable.

I think a lot of people "get it" in terms of the Elise. It's obvious to someone who's driven it (or even sat in it) that it's small, impractical and difficult to get in and out of. But because of the long wait, building anticipation, and excitement of finally getting the Elise, they take it. After a few weeks, the honey moon is over and they realize, for one reason or another, that it may have been a mistake.

 

[Stan]

>>>After a few weeks, the honey moon is over and they realize, for one reason or another, that it may have been a mistake.<<<

Man that must be quite a let down for those folks. I think that this harms the Elise experience. I mean I'd hope that everyone would be happy and positive about the car whether they have one or not and whether they want one or not. Ideally with so few cars you'd want to try to get them into the hands of those who will remain smiling. Proper test drives, preferably more than one spread out over time might help. I give test drives all the time on the street or at autocrosses. I'm sure that some decided no-way while others started thinking about getting one.

For some reason this topic reminds me of that picture of the very heavy set couple grinning from ear to ear in the Elise. The guy appeared to be of average height but must have weighed 350-400 pounds. That car was available for sale a few weeks later. It just couldn't possibly work for them at their size. This does not mean they are not nice people. It's just that this car won't be able to meet their needs and they won't like it.

 

[Tech_KO]

This is a very interesting topic. . . . . .I picked up my car in July, and to tell you the truth, it's a little delicate for me. I don't plan on selling, but it did cross my mind.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my satisfaction to this point a 6. I only have 1500 miles in 4 months for a reason. I regret the fact I didn't get Starshield, because the few small chips I have will only get worse over time. From a handling perspective, the car is connected, but it severely understeers while accelerating out of slow corners. I'll hold my judgment until I hit VIR in April, but I can't live with the car set up that way.

So I actually think some people are selling because they don't think the car is a great as they though it would be. This is probably 100% due to the fact that you have to put it on the track to truly appreciate it. I hit the track quite a bit, and that only adds up to 20 or so track days a year. That's not a lot for a car that has to be on the track to enjoy it.

 

[Surferjer]

I'm just curious-how many cars have gone for resale? If 500 have hit our shores, have perhaps 20 of them been resold/for sale? That's 4%, which may seem high. However, how many Honda Civic owners would resell at 400 miles if they knew they could make a tiny profit or break even? When you buy a new civic, you lose thousands of dollars as soon as you drive off the lot. Not so with our car.

So I think its a combination:
1) some are reselling for a profit---drive it a bit for enjoyment in the meantime;
2) some are reselling it because they can't quite afford it or were really on the fence to begin with, and they can do so without losing their shirts;
3) Its small and sporty and not for everybody, so much so that some simply cannot live with it.

I'm not surprised nor alarmed at the resales...

 

[MattG]

Not that many are being sold, actually. As for the ones that are, my personal guess is that most of those are former dealer demo cars being sold not by the dealer, but by the first person who purchased it. I, for one, wouldn't want to buy a demo car, but if I didn't *know* it was a demo car, if I thought it was owned by a private party for its whole life, I wouldn't be as concerned. This is the timeframe where dealer demos can be sold without upsetting Lotus, so it make sense that some individuals would see what the market price is, buy a dealer demo car, and turn around and try to sell it for a profit.

 

[Stan]

>>> From a handling perspective, the car is connected, but it severely understeers while accelerating out of slow corners. I'll hold my judgment until I hit VIR in April, but I can't live with the car set up that way.<<<

The Elise is an absolute *killer* trail braking car. I agree with you though..in some slow, tight turns you can get into a position where you have to wait and wait seemingly forever to be able to apply the gas due to terminal understeer. At such a time if you apply more gas you'll understeer more or longer so you have to wait until the coast is clear. While going slowly. Once you are in this state there is nothing to do but wait it out. Don't add more steering lock. And sometimes a proper throttle lift can help but you need to be careful there. You have to do some things differently earlier in the corner next time.

What you can do to help this out is to play with trail braking. The car can brake so late that it makes the straightaway last a bit longer. Many find that as they get used to the car and their confidence increases, they can change how they handle the first 1/3 of a turn so that the last 1/3 allows good powerdown. When you trail brake the Elise you get more weight onto the front tires which increases their capabilites so you can get some more of the car rotation completed earlier in a turn. So later in the same turn you find yourself pointing towards the exit with lower steering lock with car able to take power.

I had a well know "Alien" autocrosser driving my Elise yesterday. Some of you may know who I mean. Had the very understeer prone (compared to the AO48 setup) AD07 touring tires on it. Even with that rubber the guy was able to do a raw and pax FTD against all other cars, some with better tires and more mods, Hoosier slicks and so forth. There was absolutely NO understeer problem if corner entry was handled differently than most cars. I can't do everything this guy does but I did pick up some good strategies to try out next year. Corner entry is the key.

Stan

 

[Randy Chase]

Corner entry is the key.

Stan

Corner entry is indeed the key. I have had zero issues with understeer, even in the non-LSS car.

 

[Rawr]

No surprise to me - I figured that would happen.

People who think the car is "cool" are the ones selling it. It just isn't easy to live with.

People who "get it" will keep the car regardless.

You know, for an American, you sound awfully English

 

[meat]

The Elise is an absolute *killer* trail braking car. Stan

I'm going way out and saying the Elise/Exige is probably the easist car to trailbrake that I have ever driven. The reason it is so easy is the feedback that you are given by the car.

I don't trailbrake all the time, but there are fast corners that I find it really helps get around the corner.

Get on the brakes and then turn-in. The rear starts to come around, ever so poised and then you just ease off the brake and then get back on the throttle - life is good!

 

[Allan Gibbs]

This is a very interesting topic. . . . . .I picked up my car in July, and to tell you the truth, it's a little delicate for me. I don't plan on selling, but it did cross my mind.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate my satisfaction to this point a 6.

Tech_KO, also raises a good point. There's a lot of hype and high praises for the Elise, both in the press and on internet boards, which may lead to some false expectations. Based on my two test drives of the Fed demo model, I thought hanlding was okay but I never really felt I could push it hard enough to really tell.

I imagine all the press and attention works reverse as well. I'd keep hearing how small the Elise was and how large every other car looks. But after my most recent test drive, I realized that, in my mind, I had made the Elise much smaller than it really was and other car's weren't as large as I had imagined they would be.

So, going back to the original topic, the Elise isn't like a Honda or Toyota were you can go to several dealership and take several test drives in different traffic conditions, over a period of weeks to see if you like the car. It's not even something you can rent for a weekend. So, I think it's perfectly normal for some people to realize that their dream car isn't exactly what they thought it would be. Add to the fact that you could get out of it without taking much of a hit, then you're probably accounting for a good part of Elise sales.

The other part of sales are probably from owners who thought they could flip it for a profit, and are starting to see the over-MSRP market falter.

 

[meat]

You know, for an American, you sound awfully English

Owning the Exige for 2.5 years and hanging around the Elise/Exige forums for longer than that has that effect on you!!!

 

[babak]

Image is everything.......that's why I bought it!
Chris

Now you're being mean. I'm with you guys on this, I wonder how many bought the car as a daily driver sportscar ala Boxster and were not ready with the 'sacrifices' they had to make for it. Frankly, I'm willing to give up loads for the SIG that it'll induce, but then again, my idea of a cross country bike is a 996!