[Whitey#1]

just wondering how much it actually costs to own a Lotus Elise? are there all kinds of maintenance you have to have done? i know an oil change is around $150, but what about other maintenance costs? are you required to do annual maintenance, or every 10,000 miles or so? and how much would something like this cost?

sorry to be a pain, but i am just trying to get a handle on all of this. i wouldnt want to buy a Lotus and then have the salesman tell me not to forget my 5,000 mile maintenance which costs $800.

Mike

 

[the1sen]

Tires bro, Oil, Filters, maybe pads if you drive a lot.

 

[BUELL XB12R]

You save money owning an Elise, they are very Reliable and you get better gas mileage than
most of the cars out there.

 

[FVRacer]

I have my general matienance and oil changes done at a place in Carmel, IN. They charge less for an oil change than is quoted here and they do a real nice job. The only cost I have found that goes well beyond what your standard car requires is tires. If you want the car to perform correctly you put sticky rubber on it 048 or r888. The tires wear out at a rate that many people are not accustomed to. For example each year I buy 2 new tires, either front or back,,and I only drive the car perhaps 6 thousand miles a year or less. You can buy harder compound tires that will last longer, but the car will not perform as well. And for me the performance is the point of it all.

Matthew

 

[Whitey#1]

believe i read somewhere that after you take ownership of a Lotus you are required to have it back at the dealer between 800 and 1000 miles so they can perform the initial maintenance/inspection on the car. was told this could cost between $250 and $500.

are there any other maintenance schedules that i would need to pay for? 5,000 miles? 10,000 miles? or expenses that i should know about before i jump in?

bear in mind i will not be racing this Lotus Elise. rather, it will be just to cruise around in, and look very cool while doing so. i'd say no more than 10,000 miles a year is what i would put on this car.

Mike

 

[the1sen]

believe i read somewhere that after you take ownership of a Lotus you are required to have it back at the dealer between 800 and 1000 miles so they can perform the initial maintenance/inspection on the car. was told this could cost between $250 and $500.

are there any other maintenance schedules that i would need to pay for? 5,000 miles? 10,000 miles? or expenses that i should know about before i jump in?

bear in mind i will not be racing this Lotus Elise. rather, it will be just to cruise around in, and look very cool while doing so. i'd say no more than 10,000 miles a year is what i would put on this car.

Mike

Save yourself the money and do the oil change yourself.

just oil, filters, and tires bro... lots of tires.

 

[Rei]

If you need someone to change your oil this isn't the car for you. If your paying 150 dollars to change oil on a Toyota motor or any motor your plain stupid.

 

[BUELL XB12R]

believe i read somewhere that after you take ownership of a Lotus you are required to have it back at the dealer between 800 and 1000 miles so they can perform the initial maintenance/inspection on the car. was told this could cost between $250 and $500.

are there any other maintenance schedules that i would need to pay for? 5,000 miles? 10,000 miles? or expenses that i should know about before i jump in?

bear in mind i will not be racing this Lotus Elise. rather, it will be just to cruise around in, and look very cool while doing so. i'd say no more than 10,000 miles a year is what i would put on this car.

Mike

Your just going to buy an Elise to cruise around in? The Elise is to hardcore
of a car to just cruise around in.

 

[Whitey#1]

Your just going to buy an Elise to cruise around in? The Elise is to hardcore
of a car to just cruise around in.

well, i dont necessarily mean a sunday afternoon drive through the city streets here in our small town.

for example, the casino at French Lick is a place i frequent, and the 25 mile drive is full of very curvy roads. with 1 or 2 straightaways. and there is a big lake/campground over at Patoka, including the swimming area. i drove my 2008 Nissan 350Z around there some last summer.

but racing? nope, wont do any of that.

Mike

 

[4380r]

...are there all kinds of maintenance you have to have done?
Mike

I think your phrasing of this part of your question 'have to have done' holds the key to your answer.

From that language I take that most of the service will 'have' to be done by a paid mechanic, rather than yourself. So oil changes, torquing the toe links, tracking down the odd electrical gremlin, doing the brake pads, etc. would be things you'd have to pay for.

At that point you'll be paying pricey shop rates.

If you're not able or willing to turn a wrench on at least a few basic things, then yeah, this could cost you a bit. It's a good platform, but it benefits from preventive maintenance on a regular basis, and a lot of it is stuff one can do with basic skills, tools, and the correct jack and jack stands at the right lift points.

The 1000 mile service CAN be expensive, depending on the dealer, and because they MUST do the ECU dump to send to Lotus to validate your warranty, they have you over a barrel for the first service.

If you're thinking you're going to drive the car without really paying attention, in time, money or both to the ongoing preventive maintenance issues, you need to really understand what you'll be getting into.

 

[Murix]

If you need someone to change your oil this isn't the car for you. If your paying 150 dollars to change oil on a Toyota motor or any motor your plain stupid.

Or you make enough to not care and spend your time doing other things.

I let the dealer do all my first oil changes though I do my own now since Lotus Beverly Hills closed shop.

Knowing how to change my oil does not make me feel smart (I have rebuilt motors).

I think your comment is stupid.

 

[RoadDad]

just wondering how much it actually costs to own a Lotus Elise? are there all kinds of maintenance you have to have done? i know an oil change is around $150, but what about other maintenance costs? are you required to do annual maintenance, or every 10,000 miles or so? and how much would something like this cost?

sorry to be a pain, but i am just trying to get a handle on all of this. i wouldnt want to buy a Lotus and then have the salesman tell me not to forget my 5,000 mile maintenance which costs $800.

Mike

The maintenance costs for my car average less than $1000 per year. That includes tires, oil change, transmission fluid change, brake fluid change, brake pads, etc. I do the maintenance myself and do much of it earlier than as appears on the service schedule (ie, I don't wait 7500 miles to change my oil).

I paid $280 for the first (required) service at 1000 miles.

 

[JoshS]

believe i read somewhere that after you take ownership of a Lotus you are required to have it back at the dealer between 800 and 1000 miles so they can perform the initial maintenance/inspection on the car. was told this could cost between $250 and $500.

are there any other maintenance schedules that i would need to pay for? 5,000 miles? 10,000 miles? or expenses that i should know about before i jump in?

bear in mind i will not be racing this Lotus Elise. rather, it will be just to cruise around in, and look very cool while doing so. i'd say no more than 10,000 miles a year is what i would put on this car.

Mike

Negotiable. When you buy the car make your final deal, then make that a deal breaker if they don't do it for free.

 

[LotinElite]

Save yourself the money and do the oil change yourself.

just oil, filters, and tires bro... lots of tires.

He's buying the Elise to "cruise around and look cool" in. You really think he's going to change the oil himself?

Sure is a lot of money to look cool.

 

[xtn]

If you plan to mod the car, you will spend $15K on mods.

If you DON'T plan to mod the car, you will still spend $5K on mods.

I say that only sort of in jest. You'll see.

xtn

 

[kestrel74]

Don't ever ask Lotus owners for a "Cost Per Mile"....because if you knew, you'd never get one.

 

[Whitey#1]

One poster mentioned that he had his Lotus for four (4) years and spent a grand total of $1,000 on it so far. and of that $1,000, $600 was for tires. so thats $400 he put into his Lotus for a four year period.

and now some posters are making me think i will spend an absolute TON of money if i get a Lotus.

what gives?????

Mike

p.s. i aint rich.......

 

[Rainier]

I've had the Elise for 22 months and, driven 13000 miles. I bought it with 4400 miles on it. I live in NY Metropolitan area.

To date I've spent approx

1700 Gas

8800 Maintenance
(I had a one off issue costing 3300
so assume 5500 as a more realistic number)

3900 Insurance

8000 Estimated depreciation + misc.

In my case, approx $22400 for 13,000 miles

 

[4380r]

There's an old saying: "If you have to ask, you can't afford it."

 

[Whitey#1]

There's an old saying: "If you have to ask, you can't afford it."

True.

but, some posters are talking like you WILL ABSOLUTELY 100% HAVE to spend alot of money on this car.

others are telling me $400 in 4 years.

what am i to think? i am not interested in mods to make it look/run better. i think it looks awesome the way it is.

Mike