[Rule10b5]

Hiya, I'm considering buying my first Elise, or perhaps an Exige.

I'm trying to figure out a few things before taking the plunge and talking numbers with the dealership.

I apologize because I'm sure some of these have been asked, but I'm not having much luck with search.

As invoice disclosures don't seem to exist, is there a recent ballpark on how much below MSRP I should expect to pay on a given car?

For example, a local dealership has an '07 Exige S listed in the $63k range with Touring, Sport, and LSD. But after my (admittedly ineffective searches) I've seen people claiming (6 months ago) that these were going in the $50k range. $13k off of MSRP? Should I expect to pay that? Or less? Or am I just falling prey to internet bragging/bull?

And if the '08 models lost the intercooler, do they go for less than the '07 models, or does it not matter?

This leads into my next questions:

I really like the convertible idea, even though the Exige seems really to outperform the Elise.

I see another dealer in the area with an '08 N/A Elise with touring, sport, LSD, starshield and they're asking $56k.

Applying the $13k off MSRP (above) should I expect to pay $43k for this car?

And finally (I promise this is my last really stupid question for at least a few minutes): I've read a lot of magazine reviews slamming the Elise SC in comparison to the N/A Elise. Is this just press nonsense? Why wouldn't the extra 30 or so HP and who knows what in torque have a positive impact?

Anyway, I'm sorry for the questions, I just don't want to jump into buying one of them, and end up paying too much, or making a stupid choice in terms of which one to buy, and then be grinding my teeth about what an idiot I was a couple of months later.

 

[mjf]

I don't even know where to begin.

Lets try this: under 100mph the Exige doesn't really outperform the Elise. There's debate for over 100mph too. The Exige can be convertible, you can even mod it to use the Elise soft top. Invoice is about 10% off msrp, but don't expect too many dealers to go too low.

The Elise SC only gets slammed on price. It's a great car.

Honestly, go to a dealer, test drive both, see which you like best. Offer a reasonable price. If they reject it, go online. You can get a car for less online, enough less that it will cover the cost of shipping or a flight out.

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

First of all, you should not pay sticker or anywhere near it on a 2 year old car. I don't care if it's new. It's 2 years old. It just isn't worth what it was 2 years ago. It's hard to say what you should pay. You should look at used Exige S (2007) prices for low mileage cars and say, "OK, these are going for XXXXX, but this one is new so it's worth XXXX more than that."


The '08 models are tricky. Think of it as the 2007 Exige S evolving into the Exige S 240 and Lotus adding another lesser Exige in the 2008 Exige S (not including club racers). The 08 Exige S gets a smaller blower, less power, and no intercooler like you said. It's not the same as an '07 S without an intercooler. It's much more different.


In the past, an Elise with sport pack got the better Yokohama tires. For 2008, Elises did not get these better tires, and this has led to some speculation that Lotus arfed up the handling a bit with the smaller front tires of the lesser Yokohama type, if that makes sense. The front wheels are also smaller across the board for 2008+ cars.

There's a C&D Lightning Lap test... in 2006, the N/A Elise with sport pack was near the head of its pack, and for 2008, the Elise SC was around 6 seconds slower than this previous test. Take it for what it's worth. It's a magazine test conducted 3 years later than the 1st one. I'm just trying to give you the facts

 

[chotto]

You need to decide where you are going to be driving. If you're going to be tracking probably want to get an Exige with all the bells at whistles. Get an 07 and get the upgrade from Sector111. It will bump the hp past the 08's. If you're only going to go to the track occassionally or never, get an Elise. You really can't go wrong with either. Both have pro's and con's. I don't regret have an 05 Elise one bit because its a great base for me to turn it into exactly what I want.

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

Which Sector111 upgrade is that?

 

[Aedo]

... or making a stupid choice in terms of which one to buy, and then be grinding my teeth about what an idiot I was a couple of months later.

Fortunately this is extremely unlikely - they are all great choices!!! As mentioned in other posts - your intended purpose should drive your decision (as will no doubt deals on various cars you may be looking at!!!).

PS: Welcome to LT :wave:

 

[pwn]

Don't the 08 exige models have the cup roof, allowing more air flow to the I/C? At least for the s240? Thats a plus I see over the 07 exige s. I am sort of in the same position you are. :wave: I was all about the club racer until I realized the new limitations with the 08 exige s, mainly because I plan to eventually go to the goth.am tune, which give something like 265 bhp.

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

Don't the 08 exige models have the cup roof, allowing more air flow to the I/C? At least for the s240? Thats a plus I see over the 07 exige s. I am sort of in the same position you are. :wave: I was all about the club racer until I realized the new limitations with the 08 exige s, mainly because I plan to eventually go to the goth.am tune, which give something like 265 bhp.

Yeah. The 240s have a lot of improvements over the '07 S, including the roof, brakes, and launch control.

 

[pwn]

Yeah. The 240s have a lot of improvements over the '07 S, including the roof, brakes, and launch control.

caliper upgrades?

 

[Dragon]

If your a modding nut like me I'd pick up a 06' N/A in the 30-40k range and then take the 20-30k you saved and go nuts..

 

[4380r]

The '08 models are tricky. Think of it as the 2007 Exige S evolving into the Exige S 240 and Lotus adding another lesser Exige in the 2008 Exige S (not including club racers). The 08 Exige S gets a smaller blower, less power, and no intercooler like you said. It's not the same as an '07 S without an intercooler. It's much more different.

What BM said, but would add that the 2008 Exige S with 220 hp is something of a unicorn in the U.S. Nobody here, to my recollection, claims to own one, and nobody has claimed to have even seen one. Some folks here connected with dealerships say that none were brought into this country. If that's true, the only 2008 220 S's were the 20 Club Racers, that DO have the intercooler and the larger blower...essentially the 07 S with some interior and cosmetic upgrades.

So, if you're looking at 08's, you're gonna have to go with a Club Racer or an S240, which certainly is a good thing if you can afford it.

I bought my 07 S from a dealer, leftover new, last August and got a truly remarkable discount. I'll be glad to PM the OP the details.

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

caliper upgrades?

I'm not a brake expert, but I think it's the system used on the Cup 240s... AP racing kit.

 

[codymac]

I'm not a brake expert, but I think it's the system used on the Cup 240s... AP racing kit.

Cup calipers but doesn't get the Cup's bigger front rotors - at least, not on a local 240. We were scratching our heads over this one in the parking lot at lunch last weekend.
:shrug:

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

That's pointful.


EDIT: Why is pointful selected in the spell check? If pointless is a word, the opposite ought to be true.

 

[Abe]

The 08 Exige S gets a smaller blower, less power, and no intercooler like you said. It's not the same as an '07 S without an intercooler. It's much more different.

Just to reiterate, this is actually false.

A 2007 Exige S and a 2008 Exige S220 are exactly the same however it'd be hard to compare because Vancouver was the ONLY dealer to order such car. Also, there was no such thing as intercoolers being an option and the confusion here was E2Amp, Inc. and the former regime at Lotus failing to announce any corrections.

Club Racer is the only exception of 2008 Exige S220

 

[VisualEchos]

If your a modding nut like me I'd pick up a 06' N/A in the 30-40k range and then take the 20-30k you saved and go nuts..

100% agree.

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

Just to reiterate, this is actually false.

A 2007 Exige S and a 2008 Exige S220 are exactly the same however it'd be hard to compare because Vancouver was the ONLY dealer to order such car. Also, there was no such thing as intercoolers being an option and the confusion here was E2Amp, Inc. and the former regime at Lotus failing to announce any corrections.

Club Racer is the only exception of 2008 Exige S220

??? This is news to probably a lot more people than just me. So the 2008 Exige S 220 is an intercooled Eaton MP62 unit? Hmmm..

 

[EliseAtLeast]

??? This is news to probably a lot more people than just me. So the 2008 Exige S 220 is an intercooled Eaton MP62 unit? Hmmm..

No they are not.

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

No they are not.

Then what is Abe talking about?

 

[Abe]

I've been saying this for some time now that a 2007 Exige S and the 2008 Exige S220 ARE the same set up with the only difference being years.

The reason why some may have thought otherwise was due to bad information from the former marketing ad agency and former Lotus regime.

The reason why I know is that our Vancouver dealer ordered one for their customer thinking it'd come without the I/C so when it came with it, we talked to the factory and apparently there was never any plans to have an Exige S220 in '08 without the I/C...somewhere along the lines someone forgot to verify it with the factory whether this was accurate or not. The factory has stated that other than years, there is absolutely no difference between an '07 & '08 Exige S220.