[Palting]

Just got a call from Ascot Motors in PA. I'm on the list for a May delivery at MSRP. They have my exact car in the showroom, availabe NOW. Storm Titanium with LSS and Touring pack and hardtop. I'm not ready for it yet, but maybe somebody here is.

No affiliation with Ascot, yada yada yada. Just thought I'd let you all know.

 

[babak]

Did they tell you what markup?

 

[Palting]

Nope. I made it very clear when I went there a few months ago that I will NOT pay ANY markup or pseudo charges like a $1K dealer prep. Any such nonsense is a deal breaker. So, since they called me and not the other way around, I assume the sale if I wanted the car would be on my terms: MSRP.

 

[spindoc]

I assume the sale if I wanted the car would be on my terms: MSRP.

No offense, but I think your assumption is incorrect.

 

[Palting]

No offense, but I think your assumption is incorrect.

I have a basis for my assumption stated in my post. Do you have one for yours?

 

[mooty]

msrp

i love the elise, but it's not worth a penny over msrp. some idiot dealer here in CA wants 64k on a car with 45k msrp. hahaha, good luck.

 

[pianomaniac]

Re: msrp

i love the elise, but it's not worth a penny over msrp. some idiot dealer here in CA wants 64k on a car with 45k msrp. hahaha, good luck.

I,too,love the Elise. I did pay pennies over msrp. and I'm driving mine. How 'bout you? hahaha,good luck.

 

[mooty]

msrp

i don't have my elise yet. still waiting for msrp ;-) mean while i just putter aroud in my GT3.

 

[Palting]

Hey, mooty/John! Another Porschephile looking at the Elise. How many track toys do you NEED???

Anyway, give Ascot a call. I'll be happy to drive the car to CA for you, heh-heh-heh . I think the Elise buying frenzy is finally dying down, and you don't have to wait too long for MSRP. Mine's MSRP when Im ready for it, come May.

 

[fitfan]

I am pretty sure Ascot has not sold any Elise for over MSRP - they are a very respectable dealership... even though they never call me to say they have cars available!

 

[spindoc]

I have a basis for my assumption stated in my post. Do you have one for yours?

Yes, I think they offered me a car above MSRP (I could be wrong though, as I called several dealers the day I called Ascot).

 

[raggedy1]

funny how some of us will state they refuse to pay a penny over msrp.
the msrp is a value/figure placed on the Elise by the factory - as in "recommended."
don't we all decide for ouselves what our possessions are worth to us?
I don't care for a lot of cars and therefore wouldn't ever consider paying anything close to msrp for them.
You can try to sell me a Mazda RX8 (for example) at 20K and I would still walk away, and that's plenty less than msrp.

And yet here I am in my new Elise and I paid over MSRP.

Before the Elise I was in the camp that said, "I would never pay over msrp for a car!!!"

The Elise is undervalued in my opinion; and it's just my opinion for my needs/wants/expectations.

So we have 3 groups:

1. Pay a little over MSRP and still feel like a good deal was had.
2. Never pay over MSRP - "I believe Lotus is correct in the stated value of this car."
3. I'll wait to get a car under MSRP, whether that means a new car selling for under MSRP or buying a used Elise later because it's only worth X dollars to me....

What of the person who just bought his Enzo for 1.1million - and not for investment purposes??? He just paid close to twice what the factory stated the "value" to be, but the market has spoken and the Enzo is "worth" more than what the factory wanted for the car.

The Elise is selling for comparably less dollars here than anywhere else in the world. Are the Brits, Euros and Aussies crazy for spending more money on the Elise than we are here in the States???

I think we're lucky to be able to buy the elise at any price here in the U.S. We're fortunate Lotus was able to beg the feds to let this lightweight beauty onto our shores. Now it's a matter of determining how much the car is worth to each of us.

Mooty, you have decided that you agree with Lotus in determining the value of the Elise for your purposes. That's fine, but there are several of us driving our Elises right now and we were happy to hand over a few extra dollars to the dealer to get into the car sooner...

 

[Lotus Fury]

Did they tell you what markup?

Ascot does not sell the Elise with a markup.

As for being on the list and not getting a call, I can't help there. I know since they do sell as MSRP and they have a good allocation he gets several calls a day about the Elise so he may be on a "First Come, First Serve" basis.

 

[mooty]

msrp

raggedy1,

you got it on the nail head. each of us put a different value on the car and i have my number for it. i never intended to imply that if anyone paid more than msrp is not being smart. as long as you enjoy what you drive and are having fun, that's the bottom line. and i am very happy that you are having a blast in your elise.

 

[Terminus]

Re: msrp

i never intended to imply that if anyone paid more than msrp is not being smart.

Though I would say those paying over MSRP (esp well over MSRP), thinking it is for investment purposes, are going to face a sad reality over the next 12 months.
I'll probably be paying a little over MSRP for mine, but it is for the pleasure of driving it.

 

[acw]

Hey Mooty. Good to see you here... Looks like we always buy the same cars... I will also only buy at MSRP

AW

 

[fitfan]

MSRP is a legit value, so if for example your Elsie got totaled or stolen, your insurer will not give you the extra "5 grand paid over" thats on your own (alonf with any modifications), and in short time. the open market will settle into a normal range of depreciation.

A new Elise is allready a financial loss - adding on top of it is just not for me... but if its petty funds to some, than more power to them!

 

[raggedy1]

MSRP is a legit value, so if for example your Elsie got totaled or stolen, your insurer will not give you the extra "5 grand paid over" thats on your own (alonf with any modifications), and in short time. the open market will settle into a normal range of depreciation.

A new Elise is allready a financial loss - adding on top of it is just not for me... but if its petty funds to some, than more power to them!

insurance companies look at replacement cost when valuing your potentially "totaled" wreck. that's not to say the insurers will give you the extra 5K over msrp, but it does say that msrp might not even be a "legit value" when it comes to replacement cost.

nobody ever said the Elise was an investment. I completely agree that it is a large financial loss. The car is a toy! I don't throw money around wrecklessly, but I have decided for myself that a little over msrp was well worth the extra time I've been able to spend with my favorite little toy.

So if Lotus raises the msrp to 50K, is it still a legitimate value and those willing to only pay msrp will still be on board? Again, the Elise is priced WELL BELOW in equivalent costs to the rest of the world so our msrp is a bagain to an Aussie...

 

[Steven22]

value

It was opined: "nobody ever said the Elise was an investment."

Actually, there HAVE been people on this and other boards, from time to time, offering opinions and/or wishful thinking that they will NOT lose money on the car, and might even MAKE money.

All sorts of rationalizations have been offered, ranging from getting the car before dollar-valuation-price increases hit, to a limited number being made before the exemptions run out, to a 2007 Elise being big and ugly, and making the then discontinued smaller/current car more desireable and therefore more sought after.

Again, it's been only a handful, but it stands to reason that some folks getting this car at what may be the extreme of what they're able to afford (or maybe really shouldn't be buying at all) are experiencing some kind of buyers' remorse by telling themselves "well, I can always get my money back, or maybe MAKE money!."

It's getting tougher to sell cars over MSRP now, the ebay frenzy, while still there to some degree, is noticeably cooling off. Somebody with an 'extra' Elise in Northern Va outside of DC has been advertising the car for weeks in the Post and can't even get their money out of it.

As for paying over MSRP, it's all relative. I rationalize that I'm waiting for my car because I won't pay over MSRP. The fact is, though, that in balancing things in life I don't WANT to pay over MSRP because I've got a daughter's wedding to pay for, it's time to get the wife a new car of her own, and I just hit the age where I can put $3K a year over the max into my 401K, so actually I'm quite content waiting another year.

Now, if I had the cash...

 

[zvezdah1]

Continue to be amazed by all the talk/speculation/worry/hope.....blah blah blah about whether the elise will/won't hold it's value, for crying out loud, buy the car, enjoy it, sell it for whatever it's worth when you want to sell it and stop thinking about if it holds it's value. Hell no, just like any other niche car it WON"T hold its value, who cares......

It's in no way an investment. FYI, believe it or not I'll probably sell it next summer, it's been a blast so far tho, let me tell you worth every penny I lose whenever I do sell it.

Chris