[cheesepuff]

Through normal wear and tear, how much on average does it cost to maintain one of these? Im talking just normal driving and stuff. price for oil, tires, etc. Can I change the oil by myself or am i guna need to pay a shop to do it for me? is the the engine guna need some special attention? Is the Clutch guna wear out fast? would it ever be acceptable to use any other gas type than Premium? how much is it guna cost me if i were to drive it at least 5 days a week for a decent distance? -poke-anic::wallbang:

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

Depends on type of tires.


You can change the oil yourself. It's pretty simple.


Why would you use anything other than premium?


Clutch will wear depending on how you treat it.


Are you under warranty or not?

 

[EliseSC]

Check out this: http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f221/uberpost-read-here-there-information-uberthread-25131/
and follow the threads and you'll learn a lot about maintenance costs. Also suggest you read the threads on insurance, etc.

Gas consumption is very low compared to most sports cars because the Lotus is extremely light and has a small engine.

Wear and tear depends a lot on you - how much you drive it, how you drive, your driving skill level, the types of conditions you drive in and so on.

 

[Houston Lotus]

It also depends if you take it on track days.

 

[JUNGLISTluder]

it shouldn't cost more to "maintain" than any other modern car. If fact, I would say it costs LESS to maintain since this car is so minimal.

cost to REPAIR on the other hand...... :crazyeyes

 

[xceed]

it shouldn't cost more to "maintain" than any other modern car. If fact, I would say it costs LESS to maintain since this car is so minimal.

cost to REPAIR on the other hand...... :crazyeyes

It's a Toyota car, with a Lotus designed frame and fiberglass shell.. It all depends on how you treat it, but the cost of maintenance is nothing like a "regular" forreign exotic IMO.

Any halfassed Toyota rep can do work on your drivetrain also..

 

[proskills]

If you take it to a dealer, $150 for an oil change. You may also need some other maintenance once a year for other little things which is about $300 at a dealer. Stock tires are about $250 - $300 each depending where you look. You can find cheaper tires out there, not sure how they will perform, though. It's about $1500 - $2000 for a clutch.

 

[Shawn C]

Aftermarket clutch is waaay cheaper and better.

 

[EliseSC]

To put it in perspective though - if you are interested in a very high performance car, then there is no better bargain in the world, IMO.

 

[delise]

91 octane is the what the engine was designed for and tuned with, and the manual specifically states it is the gas to be used. Oil changes are pretty simple but if you care about safety you should have the scheduled maintenance done at a authorized dealer who has a factory trained mechanic. This is not an MR2 ,it is a hand built, tuned, street legal race car with an aluminum chassis. Almost every nut and bolt needs to be regularly checked, and torqued to very specific tolerances for specific reasons. If you feel like you know that you can follow the service manuals specifications and have the tools you could do this yourself. You can download the manual as PDF and read through it's schedule from the sands museum site Lotus Elise Information, Shop Manual and Service Bulletins

++1 read the uberpost most all of this has been covered many many many times

 

[VisualEchos]

It all depends on how you drive it. Normal wear and tear items don't seem to be too expensive compared to my last car (STi), and the gas is certainly less expensive, just don't wreck it and you should be good...lol.

 

[Hello Kitty]

I would say about $400/month if you fix every problem, which i try to do. The warranty is great, but it runs out for me this year. Central door lock (CDL) breaks on most cars etc. Im still on original clutch.

The lights burn out a lot, oil changes are expensive($300 for me), Tires wear out quickly.

 

[Aedo]

Tires wear out quickly.

but this bit is highly user dependent and related to the grin per mile factor

(Hello Kitty must have permanent grin )

 

[evilfij]

Mine has been dirt cheap to maintain. Still on stock brake pads at 30k (I have a complete set I bought from tire rack for under $50 for front AND rear when they get worn out), and other than oil changes ($40 in materials each 4k) and two sets of rear tires ($89 each tire from tire rack), I have had to put very little into it. In fact other than a $20 air filter and $27 dollars worth or trans fluid and an optima, I think that is it--not including mods like the spare set of wheels). I get high 20s mpg too.

 

[plastique999]

It also depends if you take it on track days.

+1

You can go through a set of tires in just a few track sessions...not to mention all the wear and tear increasing exponentially on the engine, clutch, etc...

 

[RoadDad]

but this bit is highly user dependent and related to the grin per mile factor

(Hello Kitty must have permanent grin )

Hello Kitty just "peels out" too much.

 

[Aedo]

Hello Kitty just "peels out" too much.

rotfl - true!!!

 

[Vampyre]

If you do most of the work yourself, not too bad... But...

tires , tires, tires and more tires...

 

[Bavarian Motorist]

If you guys are worried about tires, then get a set of wimpy tires and call it a day. That's what I did rotfl but only out of desperation.

 

[coolingmist]

if you have to ask how much it costs, I would look for something else its not for you. the stock tires lasted me 5K miles under just normal usage. The brake pads lasted 14,000 miles and took the front rotors which could not be shaved becaus they are too thin. The dealer wanted about $1650 or so for that ( I did aftermarket stuff for alot less).

etc.