[viacondotti]

I took a look at them on Saturday. The '95 is a truly beautiful car. You can still see a bit of the original design in the lines.

1995 Lotus Espirit S4S

2002 Lotus Esprit V8 | Lotus Dealer in NJ | Sports & Specialist Cars

I will try to test-drive both at the end of the week.

 

[MidLifeZ]

Nice, Sure hope the 1995 gets that price too!

 

[EspritNOOB]

Everytime I see a thread of an Esprit for sale (any model year) I have to get a reality check that I have one too! What an amazing feeling. :clap:

 

[carbuff]

Nice, Sure hope the 1995 gets that price too!

Sports & Specialists AKA Princeton Lotus is a dealer, after all...so you would expect the asking price to be high.


Still, they are Good People there. In fact, I might just say HI to Ed Sanson, the head salesman...

 

[viacondotti]

I'm getting the sense that you guys think these two cars are somewhat overpriced? True?

 

[carbuff]

I'm getting the sense that you guys think these two cars are somewhat overpriced? True?

A dealer (especially a Lotus dealer) would ask a premium. Of course, there would probably be some kind of warranty involved (unless the cars are consigned, ASK)

 

[jtrealty]

A dealer (especially a Lotus dealer) would ask a premium. Of course, there would probably be some kind of warranty involved (unless the cars are consigned, ASK)

Dealers will always ask top dollar and get it because they can offer things a private seller cannot. For example, financing, warranty, inspection, DMV work, insurance, and service. One stop shopping. If these things matter to a buyer they can be worth a lot. People consign a car to a dealer for the same reasons. It also gets them free storage. Dealers like it because it gets traffic in the door and if they can't sell a new car they have some lower priced ones for the customer. Once they make the sale the dealer may also have a new customer for the service department. All of the advertising also promotes the dealership besides showcasing the used inventory. Take a look over at emporiomotorgroup.com, they also have two V-8 Esprits. Dealers can also do trades, unlike a private seller who can only take cash.
David Teitelbaum

 

[Top Flight]

I seen the yellow 95 one in person.. I would have no problems forking over 35 k for it looks brand friggen new... It was a lotus mechanics personal cars ....plus its a 1995 with the screaming 4 banger... Most say the best era of esprits was then...

 

[finnerty]

Frankly, I think both of these Esprits are priced spot on with market for excellent condition / no stories cars. Especially the V8 ---- go find another one in same or better condition for less money ---- good luck !

There are no bargains on used exotic sportscars........save some money upfront on purchase price, and spent 2X that savings within the next 18 months on deferred / botched maintenance and other issues arising from lack of TLC during previous ownership.

no affiliation with either of these particular cars, btw ---- just my $0.02

 

[shill68]

Dealers can also do trades, unlike a private seller who can only take cash.
David Teitelbaum

Correction, anyone can take a trade, but if you trade your car in to a dealer, you only pay state sales tax on the difference between the sale price and the established trade-in value. You pay full tax on any other deal.

 

[viacondotti]

I seen the yellow 95 one in person.. I would have no problems forking over 35 k for it looks brand friggen new... It was a lotus mechanics personal cars ....plus its a 1995 with the screaming 4 banger... Most say the best era of esprits was then...

I drove them both this past weekend. The v8 goes like a v8, not that I pushed it with Ed sitting in the seat next to me, while the 4 has a much lighter and more Lotus-like feel. That is, the steering felt lighter and the chassis had that wonderful Lotus feel. The brakes on the S4S were weird, though: took an enormous amount of pressure to get them to bite, almost like full racing pads + novocaine. Something wasn't right. I'm taking a pass on both, but the S4S, brakes notwithstanding, is a really nice car and thoroughly documented.

I also drove this:

2011 Lotus Evora-S Racing Heritage Edition | Pre-owned Lotus Cars in NJ

Nice car.

 

[CarSalesman]

The brakes on my S4s don't require any abnormal effort. Possibly the booster is not working on that car. The Delco ABS equipped cars did have a less progressive pedal feel, but the choice of brake pads can overcome some of that.

I absolutely agree on the overall feel of the S4 vs V8. Actual weight difference is very little but completely different experience. Whether one is better than the other is personal taste.

 

[maxvelocity]

As far as keeping up while driving the V8 is very forgiving in that if the entry speed into a corner is to high or taking a non optimum line with late braking losing engine and car speed it can recover a lot better. Like a point and shoot device. The 4 cyl cars when running against a V8 just have to be driven in a precise manner and not make as many mistakes. Same is true when a chargecooled car runs against an older G car. There have been many times during club drives in the turns and sweepers I look around spotting car distances and think "Damm this guy is good driver" or "This guy needs to sharpen and tighten up his skills a bit." I much prefer the non ABS brakes of early SE cars

 

[cornbeef]

I also drove this:

2011 Lotus Evora-S Racing Heritage Edition | Pre-owned Lotus Cars in NJ

Nice car.

that is a beautiful car

 

[roblotus79]

Perhaps the ABS unit has been removed in the 95. I have driven a 93.5 with this done and the pedal is very much unassisted and race car pressure.

 

[viacondotti]

that is a beautiful car

Yeah. Probably a pretty good deal, too.

 

[viacondotti]

Perhaps the ABS unit has been removed in the 95. I have driven a 93.5 with this done and the pedal is very much unassisted and race car pressure.

That's exactly what it felt like.

 

[Paul95Lotus]

I think it is that you are not used to the Powermaster III system used in 91-95 Esprits. The Delco system is still there...you can see it in the pictures on their website. The ABS is integrated into the system and really has no effect on pedal feel. The main problem is that it does not have a vacuum booster. It could be a number of things....not bled properly (to get it bled best you need the Tech 1), an accumulator with low pressure, or even a slow operating pressure switch.

Since the accumulator stores the hydraulic pressure it has a direct effect on pedal feel. V8's have a regular vacuum booster so the pedal feel is like 98% of the cars out there.

Did you hear the pump (up front) turning on with every 4 to 5 brake pedal presses? Any blinking red brake light or yellow abs light on the dash?

 

[viacondotti]

Did you hear the pump (up front) turning on with every 4 to 5 brake pedal presses? Any blinking red brake light or yellow abs light on the dash?

No blinking lights on the dash, and as this was my first time driving and Esprit of any vintage, I wasn't listening for what you're describing. I pulled out of the lot with Ed in the seat next to me and almost crashed into the car in front of me when my normal pressure on the brake pedal had about the same effect as pushing on the dead pedal. Later in the drive at a much higher speed I gave it a test to bring the speed down quickly, and again it took far more pressure than any car I have ever driven. I felt the pads start to bite late into the braking....