[Alexander_Xavier]

I was looki through newly listed Elises and I happened to stumble on one that was for sale in my neighborhood...needless to say I stopped by...

Background: The owners aquired the car because someone they loaned money to couldn't pay them back and used the car as collateral. They have small kids and are in the middle of landscapping their house and need cash to finish their 1/2 completed pool. Their asking price for the 2006 Elise is 29k. The car as about 9,000 miles on it.

Problems with the car that I noticed after a 5-10 minute drive. Small crack on the windshield and the driver's side door was having trouble opening.

I'm going to take it into the Lotus of Atlanta dealership to have their say on the condition of the car.

Besides those flaws I pointed out, the car itself runs smoothly and was everything that I expected compared to the last time I drove one.

Main questions for you all is how much lower should I drop my asking price because the car is not in perfect condition, and the fact that the car is absolutely worthless to them unless they can convert it into cash and if I should just abandon this prospect for one with no identifiable problems.

Thanks for ya'lls help with this, I appreciate it

 

[the1sen]

Howdy -

Windshields are pretty expensive. Like a G if I recall...

What about tires? Our cars use tires up every 10k miles or so... You also might want to make sure the title isn't salvaged.

I'd see what Lotus says and if there is a warranty on it still, go for a price at about $27k so you can get her up to snuff.

Good luck!

 

[Alexander_Xavier]

Thanks for the quick imput, like I said, the couple aquired the car from someone who owned them money, so they had no idea of the car's history which bothered me slightly...

I'm hoping the dealership will clarify it, and I wanted to get some outside knowledge before I seriously pursued it

 

[Aedo]

The door opening issue would bother me more than the windscreen (although you obviously have to factor in the cost of a new one). Is the door alignment good and the hinge just stiff or does the door not shut cleanly?

 

[...m...]

...these doors do need adjustment from time to time, so it could be a fairly trivial fix if it's a simple matter of alignment...

 

[Alexander_Xavier]

The door shuts cleanly, it's just opening it, I had to kinda jiggle the handle ....I don't think the knob that you push in to open the door is aligned right...?

 

[Aedo]

The door shuts cleanly, it's just opening it, I had to kinda jiggle the handle ....I don't think the knob that you push in to open the door is aligned right...?

That sounds like a known issue (the door latch comes adrift) and relatively trivial to fix (also under warranty!)

 

[RoadDad]

Why would you want to buy a car with issues (unknown history, cracked windscreen, owned by someone that didn't pay their bills so may not have taken good care of other things - like their car, door opening problems, etc) when you could find a car without issues for a similar price? The dealer won't be able to tell all of the issues even after a thorough inspection which you will be shelling your hard earned $$ on (I am not saying don't get your future used car inspected ).

As far as the windscreen goes, it is not necessarily the price of the replacement that can be the problem. It may take months to get the replacement glass.

 

[RoadDad]

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f94/2006-aspen-white-lotus-elise-70113/
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f94/fs-2005-lotus-elise-9-8k-miles-great-deal-70507/
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f94...touring-pack-stage-ii-dual-oil-coolers-70349/
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f94/fs-2005-lotus-elise-lrg-sport-pack-touring-pack-14k-miles-63114/

more here: Lotus Cars for Sale - LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community

I understand the "it's right here and I can see it" but there are enough of us here on the forum that I bet you could find a member who is local to most, if not all, of the for sale cars and who would be very willing to check out the car for you, etc.

 

[Chris Mackey]

You don't tell us about the specifics of the car...for example, does it have the Track Pack, Touring Pack, Limited Slip, Traction Control or a hard top? What color is it? The listed bundle is possibly worth about $10k new.

After that, I'd judge the car after LoA has rendered an opinion. And for the reasons RoadDad listed, I'd lowball the price (maybe $24k) and walk if they didn't accept.

 

[mrcarcrazy]

I can verify a windscreen is just shy of 1200.00 installed.

Take car to body shop(if there's one that has experience w/ Lotus), or DLR to check on door issue.

offer low, and negotiate if your actually interested in the car.

Price isn't bad IMO. I pd 26k for a 2005 w/ Touring package, starshield, and both tops. had 23k on it. had it a month and a half now, and its @ 25,500....I love driving this car!

 

[proskills]

I wouldn't pay more than 24k for this car. If you're looking for something close to 30k, it needs to be in very good condition.

 

[JohnZ]

There are also a couple of body shops in town with Lotus experience that can look at the door and/or windshield.
Autoglo in Tucker and Magnum Auto in Marietta.

I had my windshield replaced at Autoglo for about $1500 IIRC.

 

[fargodroid]

It seems like a reasonable price, you can still do some negotiation.

 

[Michael_In_Hoboken]

IMHO for 29k it should not need an immediate trip to the body shop. For that price there are plenty of Elises that are in great shape.

Those 2 issues may indicate that this car's previous owner/s did not take painstaking care of it - and would make me question their attention to the car's maintenance general.

 

[Alexander_Xavier]

So as for an update for everyone...

DO NOT BUY THIS CAR!
2006, LOTUS, ELISE AutoTrader Classics - Buy and Sell Antique Cars, Classic Cars, Muscle Cars

From what the examination said, the car was apparently rolled, even though the carfax history sheet was clean. Maybe an unreported accident and off the record repairs...