[Lotus 07]

My wife is interested in buying an Elise. She has been in one but has never driven one. She wants to rent one for a day to see if she would like it.
We are in the midwest, but will be at a tradeshow in Las Vegas soon.
Anyone have any good/bad experiences in renting a street driven Elise?

 

[serpent]

If the car has not been maintained correctly or beaten to death it wont be the same as a car thats been well cared for. You will however get the general idea.

 

[tsunami racer]

i rented on from enterprise when they had some in their fleet a couple years ago. it was beat to living hell but it was a good experience to drive the car for several days in routine normal life to make sure you can live with it.

do not go driving through the hills because you know it's gonna be great in that environment. drive it on the highway, park it at the supermarket, pick up your drycleaning in it, go through a drive thru and other daily chores. if you can survive through all that, you're ready for an elise. if you can't, at least you know before you went and bought one.

good luck.

 

[roraww]

do not go driving through the hills because you know it's gonna be great in that environment. drive it on the highway, park it at the supermarket, pick up your drycleaning in it, go through a drive thru and other daily chores.

LOL!

Lotus + Drive Thrus = FAIL.

I fully recommend taking the car to the hills and having fun - that's the reason for buying the car!

Take it out US 93 to the Hoover Dam and snap some photos!!! (This will give you good practice for all the attention you'll get day to day as well).

 

[Tejs]

LOL!

Lotus + Drive Thrus = FAIL.

I fully recommend taking the car to the hills and having fun - that's the reason for buying the car!

Take it out US 93 to the Hoover Dam and snap some photos!!! (This will give you good practice for all the attention you'll get day to day as well).

You kidding me? It's funny as hell. Especially when they ask what kind of Ferrari it is. On the down side, if you are going for drive through food, don't order drinks.

 

[MattG]

do not go driving through the hills because you know it's gonna be great in that environment. drive it on the highway, park it at the supermarket, pick up your drycleaning in it, go through a drive thru and other daily chores. if you can survive through all that, you're ready for an elise. if you can't, at least you know before you went and bought one.

Agreed. I've never heard of someone disappointed with how the car handled on a mountain road or race track (except for maybe wishing for less understeer, something the wider sport pack tires addresses). Driving it around town really teaches you if you can live with it.

If you really want to have some fun, consider the Lotus driving school nearby:
Lotus Cars USA | Performance Driving School

 

[Rennstore]

Did this with most of the cars I've purchased - NOTHING beats living with one for days rahter than minutes.

Kinda like spouses.

 

[drj1]

We did the same thing a couple of years ago. Contact Gina Stoddard at Las Vegas Exotic Car Rental. (866)871-1895. She took good care of us. The car was clean and in good condition. If you do this, you HAVE to drive it up to Mt. Charleston, as well as Red Rock. We had the car for 24 hours (2 days.) My wife got the Mt. Charleston run and I did Red Rock & out to Lake Mead. Lots of fun.

John
Cobra going, Elise coming (hope)

 

[Phantom]

LOL!

Lotus + Drive Thrus = FAIL.

I fully recommend taking the car to the hills and having fun - that's the reason for buying the car!

Take it out US 93 to the Hoover Dam and snap some photos!!! (This will give you good practice for all the attention you'll get day to day as well).

That's awesome! Exactly what I did 4 or 5 years ago, except I rented a 348 spider- I though it was a steal at $350 for most of the day- I was fingerprinted at the rental counter

It gave me the bug that lead to my Lotus a year or so later- The 348 wasn't quite as nimble as my Elise, but still a great car-

 

[Minnis]

I saw a red one on the strip last week for rent with "dubs" on it. Someone should rent it and put it out of its misery

 

[skibum]

I saw a red one on the strip last week for rent with "dubs" on it. Someone should rent it and put it out of its misery

I was just about to comment on that car. Please do not rent an Elise with big heavy chrome wheels and expect it to be as great as the Elise you are considering buying. It is funny how that red Elise is next to a Gallardo or 355 and more people take pics of the Lotus.

 

[lucky_scrote]

I was just about to comment on that car. Please do not rent an Elise with big heavy chrome wheels and expect it to be as great as the Elise you are considering buying. It is funny how that red Elise is next to a Gallardo or 355 and more people take pics of the Lotus.

I've only had an 8 year old boy take photos and the odd person take a look at it when it's parked up. Maybe us brits are just less impressed with cars?

 

[LotusLacer]

Where at would you recommend for renting one? I may possibly be flying into Vegas for my birthday with a friend, and it would be a pretty sweet present to rent an elise for the day.

Also what kind of age requirements do they throw on the elise? Or does that vary from location to location

 

[Simba]

Also what kind of age requirements do they throw on the elise? Or does that vary from location to location

Most exotic places vary between 21 and 25. Your license history will also be a factor.

 

[LotusLacer]

Any idea on rates or recommendation on who to use? From what i've been able to find online i want to avoid 'Las Vegas Exotic Car Rentals' but a google search only found 2-3 places

 

[jeffsnavely]

I rented one from Dream Car Rentals in Sep 07...

it was red and in good condition.
It was not expensive and was well worth it.
Rent-a-vette also has them in Vegas.
I assumed my wife would hate the Elise but she loved it (as did I).
Ever since that day the Elise is definitely on my list of cars to buy, and why I'm lurking on this board.
We did just a 5-hour rental and drove it the WHOLE time with only a few short stops.

Try to book online for lower rates than in person.
Be aware that the taxes were almost 20%.
At the end of the day we drove Red Rock Canyon and it was pretty much deserted so my wife drove a lap then I did - probably the best drive of my life.
I came away thinking that the Elise was not nearly as rough & noisy, uncomfortable etc as the reviews say and not much worse than our '99 996 Cab was. We both found it to be very livable (I'm only 5' 6" and she's shorter). After having a 911 & a Boxster S and many German luxury cars the Elise was a revelation.

It's well worth the money to rent a car for a day or more that you're thinking of buying. We did it with the Boxster S and ended up buying one a few years later.

 

[Bender Unit]

I saw a red one on the strip last week for rent with "dubs" on it. Someone should rent it and put it out of its misery

rotfl

 

[petroboy]

I saw the red one on the Strip in March. I asked my wife to call and check the rate. $400 for the day, all in with insurance and taxes. Not sure about mileage allowance, though.

 

[charliex]

i dunno if this guy is still going Exotic and Luxury Car Rental in Las Vegas or stil has a lotus (
$249 )

you get a discount if you're in the video games biz too.

 

[RelativePants]

Just talk to your nearest Lotus dealer. A lot of car dealerships will let you test drive the car for the day. A great low-pressure sales technique in my opinion.