[pbjsammich]

This is my first post here, and for an obvious reason. I'm in the market for my first Lotus. I got a chance to ride in a Lotus at a recent visit to "the Driver's Edge" at TWS College Station. I have never been a fan of 4cyl's until this point. Long story short, my 03 Cobra sold a few weeks ago and I'm ready to buy.

I understand my price range will limit me, but here are some requirements/preferences:

-Little to no mods
-Original owner
-Not a fan of yellow (personal preference)
-lower miles the better


If you are not in TX or somewhere within reasonable traveling distance of Houston, I will consider your car....but please understand it will have to be a rediculous deal to tempt me to travel to pick up the car or have it delivered. A friend of mine was burned on a long distance deal recently, so I'm a bit gunshy.

You guys drive some impressive cars....so show me what you got for sale and get me in one!!

 

[Vampyre]

25K with TTL?

 

[...m...]

...good luck in your search!..

...recently, every once in a while a car pops up within your price range...you're flexible regarding specifics, which is good, although your geographic restriction will of course impose a major constraint on availability...

...if you truly don't care about colors or options, you're good to go for a track car, but if your preferences lean one way or another, i suggest being willing go two or three thousand higher for the right car - it's a pittance for long-term satisfaction, and will ease your search considerably...

 

[pbjsammich]

$25K is my "round-a-bout" number....I'd like to do the deal TTL under $25K, but I know that's even more aggressive.

There is a 2005 in town that meets my requirements except it's yellow. And I see there's a few here and there on Autotrader/cars.com that are around that price, so I know I'm not dreaming.

I posted in here because I'd rather buy from an individual than a dealer....I feel that you get much more disclosure about the car's past this way.

 

[...m...]

...be very fastidious in researching the history of any car you find under $25k - there have been a few good examples out there, but they're far outnumbered by salvage title scams...

 

[pbjsammich]

...be very fastidious in researching the history of any car you find under $25k - there have been a few good examples out there, but they're far outnumbered by salvage title scams...

Agreed....and that's mostly my reasoning for attempting to find something local so I can look it over.

However, I have a great tool right here....some forum member might be able to help me out if I find something out of state.

 

[racerboy]

There is a pretty decent looking car on the forums here for 23K, red, not in your area but I'm sure you could fly up there and check it out and still come out on top.

 

[RichS]

Who did you ride with at TWS? Black Exige? Red Elise? Yellow Elise? White Elise? Red Exige? Yellow Exige? Silver Exige?

 

[RichS]

Also, I think there might be a Chrome Orange in Austin for sale. Not sure if that is the right price range, but it's a really nice looking car.

 

[LordZ]

This is my first post here, and for an obvious reason. I'm in the market for my first Lotus. I got a chance to ride in a Lotus at a recent visit to "the Driver's Edge" at TWS College Station. I have never been a fan of 4cyl's until this point. Long story short, my 03 Cobra sold a few weeks ago and I'm ready to buy.

I understand my price range will limit me, but here are some requirements/preferences:

-Little to no mods
-Original owner
-Not a fan of yellow (personal preference)
-lower miles the better


If you are not in TX or somewhere within reasonable traveling distance of Houston, I will consider your car....but please understand it will have to be a rediculous deal to tempt me to travel to pick up the car or have it delivered. A friend of mine was burned on a long distance deal recently, so I'm a bit gunshy.

You guys drive some impressive cars....so show me what you got for sale and get me in one!!

Excellent, another convert! I love going to TDE events. Always seems like the Lotus group is multiplying. 25k isn't too far off for an Elise. But like they said, double and triple check the car. If you are in the Houston area you could always have Gas Head Motorworks check the car out for you. They know ours inside and out down there and good guys to work with.

Z

 

[carlover]

My old car may turn up in South Texas for around what you want. I would avoid it though, click the link in my sig for more info.

 

[pbjsammich]

Who did you ride with at TWS? Black Exige? Red Elise? Yellow Elise? White Elise? Red Exige? Yellow Exige? Silver Exige?

Hehe...I rode in so many different cars I have a hard time remembering. One was yellow, one was red....one was an Elise and one was an Exige. Which was which I don't recall :wallbang:

 

[pbjsammich]

Yeah, the red one is pretty far for me....I think it's in Michigan. I'm willing to do a days worth of driving....anything over that I'd probably have it delivered (my work schedule is difficult)....which makes it even more expensive for me.

The one is Austin is tempting....I like the color, but it does have some miles on it.

You may all get frustrated with me in my search....I'm picky, I'm cheap, and I'm patient. The first two are dangerous, but the latter makes up for the first two.

I'm tempted to request a member to check out a 2006 Exige in NJ. A little more than I wanted to spend, and it has a fender bender in it's history. But I believe it could be had for under $30K....tempting!!

 

[pbjsammich]

My old car may turn up in South Texas for around what you want. I would avoid it though, click the link in my sig for more info.

This is the EXACT reason I love car forums!! Thanks for the info

 

[...m...]

...picky and patient are a good combination...

 

[Chili Red]

Hehe...I rode in so many different cars I have a hard time remembering. One was yellow, one was red....one was an Elise and one was an Exige. Which was which I don't recall :wallbang:

If you were Tom's buddy then one of the rides was with me.

 

[Vampyre]

....I'm picky, I'm cheap, and I'm patient. The first two are dangerous, but the latter makes up for the first two.

If you really are patient, You should be able to find something in a year or two, that would be under 25K with TTL.

Snow melting up north will mean a slight rise in prices on cars in the northern states...

I am trying to buy another toy before the prices start to rise again...

you can drive year round so this might keep your searches closer to home this time of year, since prices are not changing due to the season in Texas.

good luck with your search

 

[pbjsammich]

If you were Tom's buddy then one of the rides was with me.

I was out there in January....had a white Cobra. I don't know Tom....I was out there with my buddies that had a 2006 Blue/White Viper and Grey Z06.

I'll have to look back through my pictures....I rode in quite a few cars that weekend and the Lotus definitely impressed!!

 

[CosmosMpower]

23K plus TTL for an Elise? Let me know if you find one, I'll buy another.

 

[racerboy]

23K plus TTL for an Elise? Let me know if you find one, I'll buy another.

Here you go http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f94/23-500-obo-05-ardent-red-elise-68659/