I am looking at an 06 with less than 10K miles. Havent found what I was looking for yet, plus I am going to be selling my mustang for one. My question is, if driven nice and easy is this car going to have all the major problems I have heard, read, yall talking about. That is kinda scary I dont want to be driving to work and break down! Any info is appreciated! There are no lotus dealers around so I am going to have to travel for one. ANY INFO IS MUCH APPRECIATED!
So I am looking to purchase an elise by august
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Hi Kara,
What problems?? Driving it "nice and easy" may lead to problems, however...those that come immediatly to mind are a sense of boredom, improperly seated engine components, brakes, etc...
Where are you located? Climate is a consideration, to some.
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I'll let you research and make an informed decision. But for the most part, as you saw in the other thread, I really didn't beat on mine and I still had a significant problem. (Un)Luck of the draw? :shrug: FWIW, the car didn't break down (it went into limp mode), but had I put a valve into the piston, it would have been uglier.
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524 Posts
I'm sure you will hear a different story from every owner, but I am THRILLED with my 06 Elise. I live 200+ miles from the closest dealer (Lotus of Atlanta), which is inconvenient, but i feel I received EXTRAORDINARY service there (YMMV, as others will attest).
The Elise is a totally different car from the Mustang. Completely different car.
It's impractical.
It's TINY.
It's body is very fragile, so you need to treat it much more carefully than other cars.
It's rare, and attracts LOTS of attention, which I LOVE. (But I'm gregarious, so go figure.)
Most important: I look forward to EVERY OPPORTUNITY to drive the car. There is NOTHING else like it. It isn't as powerful as many, it's not as fast as many, but when you drive this car on your first twisty road - you'll understand.
:coolnana:
The Elise is a totally different car from the Mustang. Completely different car.
It's impractical.
It's TINY.
It's body is very fragile, so you need to treat it much more carefully than other cars.
It's rare, and attracts LOTS of attention, which I LOVE. (But I'm gregarious, so go figure.)
Most important: I look forward to EVERY OPPORTUNITY to drive the car. There is NOTHING else like it. It isn't as powerful as many, it's not as fast as many, but when you drive this car on your first twisty road - you'll understand.
:coolnana:
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7,002 Posts
I live in LA, and it's my DD. Has been for 3 years, now. It is fragile. It is tiny. You have to pay a bit more attention to where you park. BUT...every ride, whether to the grocery store, or the track, feels as though you should have paid a price of admission. I love it.
Easy to work on? Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that it's a toyota engine, and fairly simple in the sense that it's not overwrought with bells and whistles. That said, it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles to hide problems, and it is a sensitive piece of equipment, requiring a certain amount of precision.
If you're not planning on tracking the car, or driving it 10/10ths, or 7/10's for that matter, maybe stay away from the sport pack, and go with the slightly harder compound tires, which will last longer. The ride will be less jarring as well.
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As I mentioned, they are impractical and fragile.
Read through the forum posts in the Maintenace section and you'll get a sense of what I mean. Most basic service requires more dissasembly of the vehicle than you may be used to.
IT'S AN EXOTIC SPORTS CAR. It's not a Corolla.
The excellent 2ZZ engine is supplied by Toyota (a good thing), so that should be a reliability plus.
Beyond that, it's a limited production hand built car, and I EXPECT to deal with more service costs than an ordinary vehicle.
To me, although expensive, it's the price of admission....and worth the price.
:shift:
Read through the forum posts in the Maintenace section and you'll get a sense of what I mean. Most basic service requires more dissasembly of the vehicle than you may be used to.
IT'S AN EXOTIC SPORTS CAR. It's not a Corolla.
The excellent 2ZZ engine is supplied by Toyota (a good thing), so that should be a reliability plus.
Beyond that, it's a limited production hand built car, and I EXPECT to deal with more service costs than an ordinary vehicle.
To me, although expensive, it's the price of admission....and worth the price.
:shift:
I've owned mine for almost 8 months now.
Put ~3500 miles on it under all sorts of driving conditions.
Total work done: 1 flat tire, 1 oil change, and took it in to the dealer for a rough idle (updated the ECU, and all is fine) and some creaks and squeaks.
Putting in new pads this week, but that's the extent of it. It's been super reliable so far (knock on wood), way better than I expected. And I agree with Man of Steel, the dealership experiences I've had in both NC and WA have been top notch
Put ~3500 miles on it under all sorts of driving conditions.
Total work done: 1 flat tire, 1 oil change, and took it in to the dealer for a rough idle (updated the ECU, and all is fine) and some creaks and squeaks.
Putting in new pads this week, but that's the extent of it. It's been super reliable so far (knock on wood), way better than I expected. And I agree with Man of Steel, the dealership experiences I've had in both NC and WA have been top notch
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401 Posts
Kara, don't be afraid. My 2005 Elise has 26,000 miles (including a fair amount of track) and has had no major problems. The biggest deal was replacing the blower fan under warranty. All other problems were niggles you could fix yourself with a screwdriver and guidance from this board. OK, so you might need a pliers too and you might want to take the car to a shop to do the work, but these cars are simple to work on.
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