Good luck with that. I doubt you'll find one that isn't plagued with issues for that price.

 

Save up another 10k, trust me that price range is too low even for an 05.

I doubt you'll find one that isn't plagued with issues for that price

exactly.

 

Save up another 10k, trust me that price range is too low even for an 05.
exactly.

Bahah.. Paaaleeeaasse.... Just because a few dealers are posting their cars for
$10k over market value, and them sitting on them for months, does not mean that is the current going rate. Notice how none of the ebay auctions go over $25-26k? The ones that start over that never get a hit..

Do not feed the dealer trolls.

 

ya i know, i'm just hoping. i only had liability because i didn't think there were too many deer in so cal. so basically i'm out the amount i paid for the lotus and so i have to pay what i can for another one.

and besides i originally bought my lotus off this site for $25k a while ago.

 

i only had liability

On an Elise are you madd!! OUCH!

 

Are you guys nuts? 24k is a perfectly appropriate price for an 05 . Especially over the next 6 months.

Plagued with issues? -BS-

 

Please, show me some instances in recent history where an Elise that didn't require repairs or replacement parts sold for 22-24k on here. I'll happily take my statement back if you can prove this to me.

 

I would say for $24k you would probably find them with around 30-40k in mileage. They are around $24k all the time on here or autotrader. Just be patient.

 

Most sales on here for 05 at 25k are track cars. The rest aim for 29k starters. Now granted they may come down to your range but they dont list for that. With in the next few months price will come down, no question about it. The lowest 05 may go is in your range but its the bottom end of the selections you will see. Buy on the bottom end get the bottom end. Good luck to you, really sorry to here about the loss.

 

They ALWAYS come down. Even the ones with all of the right mods. Now people with >10k cars jack the price way up, but who wants those anyways?

Like chrome, I told him I would give him $26k when he was at $29k, swore he wouldnt budge... He did. All the way down to $25k...

Sellers just see the dealers inflated prices, and get hopeful.

 

Let me know where you guys are finding these cars...I need inventory bad and can't find one that makes financial sense. It seems even the owners have finally caught on and are asking ALL the money. Winter doesn't work here in California so owners will still be asking all the money. If I have to go way out of state (and I've done it a few times), I have to be careful but even then, by the time I ship it, get it smog & safety and assuming it doesn't need anything else, it's usually not worth it financially. FWIW, I know of a salvage title car that someone is asking $20K and apparently looks to be only cosmetics that were damage i.e. clamshell, headlights etc..:shrug:

 

I don't know what all the "never been tracked" mentality is all about. I would much rather get an Elise which has been upgraded in the areas of weakness (oil starve, fuel starve, toe-links) and avoid the expense of "fixing" those problems on my dime. A car which has been "tracked", but is otherwise in good condition, can be a major winner. It has proven it is not one of the "cam lobe wipe" prone engines as well as a series of other maladies which may need expensive work. My Elise was apparently a garage queen from it's previous owners; I have had to address all the upgrades at my expense. If I had the opportunity to re-do my purchase, I would have picked up one which had already had all the basic weaknesses fixed and a supercharger already installed. Live and learn.

 

There is one on here a specifically remember from a while before I bought mine. Was KG elise with 44k miles and I think they were asking 24k for it.

 

I'm talking recently. It seems like the values of these cars have went up some, or at least most people are asking for more than they have been.

 

I sold my elise in very good condition, no stories, about 1 year ago for 24k. It had LSS and sport pack.

 

I'm talking recently. It seems like the values of these cars have went up some, or at least most people are asking for more than they have been.

I agree. There were good deals to be had last year (that is when I bought mine as well). However, I have been seeing an increase in cost recently.

Again, if somebody can prove to me otherwise then I'll shut up.

 

They have been going up. Especially since there are no more here in the states. And the numbers keep dropping as they are slowly but surely getting totaled in accidents.

 

I want them to go UP UP UP. I do think $22K won't buy you a very good car, or at least it will hae some stories like a salvage title.

Oddly, used cars do seem to be going up, at least more exotic cars. In the case of the Elise/Exige, it is partially due to the fact that there just are not any more and they are so easily totalled.

You might get lucky and get a car totalled due to cosmetic dmage to a front or rear clam and that could be a great buy. Clams are pretty easy to DIY replace and many can be repaired.

 

parts

what do you need to repair the one you have? I have a front subframe for sale with steering rack, suspension arms, carrier hubs, etc. as well as the front radiator/evaporator coils/fan unit and some other stuff... If you hit in the front, remember that Lotus designed the car in 3 separate frame sections which are simply bolted together (ie. you can replace the front end or rear end or center section)...

 

what do you need to repair the one you have? I have a front subframe for sale with steering rack, suspension arms, carrier hubs, etc. as well as the front radiator/evaporator coils/fan unit and some other stuff... If you hit in the front, remember that Lotus designed the car in 3 separate frame sections which are simply bolted together (ie. you can replace the front end or rear end or center section)...

This really confuses me. Please show some photos of the front subframe assembly, as I have built a race car from the tub up and it sure looked to me like every part of the frame and crash structure forward of the rear bulkhead is bonded together in a single piece. As best I could tell, the front control arms and shock mounting points are into the bonded aluminum chassis. Where is the "break" point where the front subframe attaches to the tub with bolts only and no adhesive?

In fact, here is what I believe is an official photo of the chassis and it looks to me that the main extrusions go from the rear subframe past the front control arm mounts and that there is no bolted front subframe.

http://www.lotuscars.com/gb/engineering/vehicle-platform-elise

Now you might be able to section the chassis and re-bond, but to me that is a very significant undertaking and I personally would want some engineering behind it.

The rear subframe is indeed a ferrous part that bolts to the tub, but again I have a bad feeling that a hit hard enough to tear up the rear subframe is likely to hurt at least the mounting points into the aluminum tub.

 

Mods Request - Let's get real on pricing

Oh great and glorius mods, to whom we grovel and besmirch ourselves, please set up an anonymous posting box for the sole purpose of listing the actual price you paid for your car. You only need to post the following: model and edition (if any); mileage; price you actually paid; special notes (e.g., track car, salvage, front clam, mileage [under 100, it's considered new; anything else, you're kidding yourself, regardless of whether or not it was titled], rear clam, etc.). Any other post and any comments will be immediately deleted.

 

I will toss in mine, purchased 11 months ago, 38k miles, storm titanium, LS and touring packs, no wrecks/not race prepped (nobody would have raced it on the khumo Estca ASX tires, low grip), painfully stock other than AC mod, tinting, Lidbone, splitter, Purchased for 25k cash deal in Phoenix Az.
I would like to see what other people have paid in the past 12 months as well.

 

I have been watching the. Market for over a year. $25k for 05 no stories, low miles. $29-30k for supercharged 05 same thing. I do not care what you say, I know what cars are listed for, and what cars actually sell for. Check eBay for instance. Look at how many have bids, where the bids plateaued at, and where cars are sitting without bids.

People will only pay what they think they are worth. I think rarity is not a factor, if it is also factor in buyer concerned for lotus parts/service/costs as well.

 

Well you can also you autotrader as an example. Look at all of the cars there. They have all outside of 2-3 been on there for at least 2 months... They are not moving, and no one would buy them at the stupid prices. Hell you can buy an 06 exige for $34-36K!! Why the hell would you pay $30k for an 05 Elise?!?! Seems completely asinine!!

 

Well you can also you autotrader as an example. Look at all of the cars there. They have all outside of 2-3 been on there for at least 2 months... They are not moving, and no one would buy them at the stupid prices. Hell you can buy an 06 exige for $34-36K!! Why the hell would you pay $30k for an 05 Elise?!?! Seems completely asinine!!

Just a few days after this comment, it appears that a 2005 Saffron Yellow Elise, with only one modification (exhaust) and low but reasonable mileage for these cars (~20k) sold for over $30,000.

I realize the asking price of $33,000 is not necessarily the selling price, but I'm assuming it was sold by the dealer, in less than two weeks, with less than 10 percent discount.

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f94/fs-2005-lotus-elise-touring-120479/

 

Just from what I've seen posted.. the really well cared for (or overly modded for track) cars are being offered in the high 20's. . with well worn cars hovering around $25k.
Can't say I've seen many being offered for much less.

But I imagine while there's some that have sold for $24k.. anything being sold for $22k is probably a severely beat up car, or a salvage.

 

I paid $29,000 at the beginning of April 2012 for:

- 2005 Chrome Orange Elise w/27,000 miles
- Original loving owner that had no intentions of ever selling the car, and treated it as such, until he decided to move across the world; never tracked; all service records included
- Brand new brakes, newish tires, and 2 oil changes worth of premium oil
- Mint condition, with factory hard top, touring package, and starshield
- Modifications: Larini exhaust, CAI, upgraded stereo head unit and speakers
- Valentine 1 radar detector

The car was sold to me at the perfect time of year (early spring in NY), hands down my favorite color, 20 miles away, by a very nice/honest individual (and fellow forum member). Furthermore, the modifications he had done were definitely ones I would've done right after purchase regard less had they not been done already, I saved a non-trivial amount of saved time and money not having to travel, and the opportunity cost of not being able to find a suitable alternative during the small window I have to enjoy the car (summers for next couple of years, max.)

Moreover, the car was listed on eBay without the new brakes and V1 radar detector (~$850 worth of value) and had 28 bids, 3 of which were over $28,700 (and above the reserve); I had an opportunity to purchase the car due to distance of the winning bidder and time constraints of the owner.

If you look at the year, model, and purchase price of my car, only, many of you would say I over paid. However, taken in context, I feel I got a great deal...

 

I was discussing selling mine this week. The price range I'm willing to sell mine for is in the 30k to 35k range. These are getting harder to find in decent shape and low miles. Supply demand economics.

 

If it is an 05 and not super charged I hope you do not mind waiting a few months, and bringing your price down... The demand is also about to halve in my opinion due to winter.
:tadts:

 

I can't speak with any knowledge beyond my own purchase a year ago what the latest and greatest selling prices are. However, I do know with some certainty that the person that talks the most about Lotus prices being inflated is the one that continues to sit on the sidelines and may never pull the trigger. I may just be another one of the the crazy people who slightly overpaid but at least I'm happily driving the car that I want to be driving. I'm not waiting for the rest of the world to align with my reality...

 

On the other hand, the one that argues against, is only hoping to get his money back down the road. :clap:

 

You know when the best time to buy was? Three years ago. Prices for '05's have essentially been flat since then. I've been driving essentially free, fancy that.

 

With respect to depreciation, it sounds like you're exactly right!

 

It may not be easy to find an elise in that price range but I've seen more than a few clean title cars sell in that area. Although they all had had over 30k miles.

Unless an 05 has a supercharger and extensive mods, or it's one owner with extremely low miles, like 20k mi or below, anything above 25k is a high selling price IMO especially in winter. I've seen clean low mileage 06s go for 26-28k, so why pay that much for an 05 ?

I wonder what will happen to used Elise values after the new elise launches ? Probably won't effect the lower end of the market, 05s will still be worth what they cost now, but I bet the selling prices will come down a lot among the later model years.

As for people saying 22-24k will only buy salvage, 22-24k would be high for a salvage title 05 Elise IMO. At least from the few salvage cars that have sold on the forum. I think 20-21k is more realistic. One went for like 18.5, but it had both clams replaced and still had a few scratches.

 

People will pay more for something they really want. Some cars are just better examples than other. I listed my 07 Elise for 29k. It had 40,xxx miles on it. I took the ad down and ended up selling it for well over the price. It didn't have any options except the touring and black package. But it was in great condition.

I'm actually happy that the prices are coming back up. The values will slowly start to rise again. There are less and less of these on the road. And Lotus isn't even currently building anything new. The few MY13 Evora will come here and that will likely be it.

Why are people here so happy to try and devalue their own car?

 

Why are people here so happy to try and devalue their own car?

The person that has been most active in this thread and likely "perceived" as "devaluing their own car" in fact has been a member for almost a year (and has more than 1,000 posts) but has yet to own a Lotus.

I'm not suggesting that it's necessary to own a Lotus to grasp the current market, but I'm also not saying I agree with his interpretation, either.

 

I keep seeing this thread and thinking OP wants another deer.

Good Luck