Elise - I Need Horror Stories

I have successfully infected my girlfriend with the serious desire to buy an Elise. (Yes, I am a lucky man.) She estimates the end of the summer as a realistic time frame to buy used, with cash. As this was my idea all along, and I'll be doing the shopping, my reputation, not to mention my safety - I do have to sleep, after all - is on the line. I need to become an expert, starting now.

Specifically, I'm looking for the horror stories of long term ownership so I can establish their cause, frequency, likelihood of occurring during her ownership, and tactics for their prevention.

So, let's start an Elise ownership thread. Personal experiences? Good owner's sites? Internet horror stories? General advice?

Let's have it.

My buddy was a mechanic and then service manager at the local Ferrari, maserati, lotus dealership and he had nothing but good things to say about the elise.

They almost never came in for warranty work, and when they did come in, it was just for simple maintenance items wich would be cheap and easy to diy.

The motors last forever if taken care of and the trans is very beefy. Brake parts are cheap.

The only downside IMHO is the bodywork, if you get into any kind of accident, it's going to be expensive...

Although I'm sure there are a good number of Elise owners here, I think the membership in the Elise Ownership dreamers club would be much more populated. I'll be reading and learning....you never know one day I might have one.

Any sort of accident that damages the chassis turns the car into an expensive paperweight. I think there are some (very small) exceptions but look at this as a general rule. Inspect it very carefully as a result.

they had a headlight recall, and an airbag recall that i could remember. Other than that, bullet proof.

If you get one, get a Stage 2 exhaust, sounds awesome!! Oh, dont get a 05, try to get atleast an 06, better brake petal, LED taillights...

Don't take it to the local quick lube:

BoxheadTim wrote: Any sort of accident that damages the chassis turns the car into an expensive paperweight. I think there are some (very small) exceptions but look at this as a general rule. Inspect it very carefully as a result.

I don't know, my Grand Turismo version has proven to be very durable despite frequent crashing.

You lucky bastard! An "everyday exotic" if there ever was one.

The only horror stories I've heard were of people driving over sticks and such which got kicked up and poked a hole in the thin(ner) parts of the aluminum floor.

Front clamshell costs ~$10k IIRC. I was shopping around for one, but I'm afraid I'd hurt it and get financially hurt by it.

Are the plans to track it at all? I'm sure its great so long as all 4 wheels stay on the pavement.

The only thing I've heard is that if you're tracking it, the oil can slosh away from the pickup and bad things happen. IN THE MAG is an ADVERTISEMENT for a Moroso, if I recall, oil sump to prevent that. Also, I think the later models (maybe the Exiges) came with an accusump.

Oh, and if the dog is bigger than a teacup poodle, there's not much room for him.

Carson, you should go to the owner of that Elise' web page. Having his car fall off the lift is probably the least worry in his life. He has had a very rough go.

Check out the 'past' section at dpcars.net. He's owned a current gen Exige, and both a current and previous gen Elise. Lots of good info, especially if you're going to do with it what I think you're going to do.

Not much to add, but a friend owns this shop (Sector 111) and they are deep into the Lotus scene. You could ask them for insight to Lotus owners forums.

We have a friend that has one. The worst things I can remember him saying about it is there is no graceful way to enter the cabin with the top on and the tires are expensive. The sacrifices we make...

The only horror story I can think of concerning an Elise is.....

I don't own one.

I saw one at Summit last year sitting inside turn 3... burning to the ground.

I did a Lotus club track day at Laguna Seca. They weren't as fast as I expected, but none were breaking either.

I drive by a Lotus dealer often and when they get one of their $25K used ones, I dream of dumping the TDI and getting one as a 90% daily driver...

The major horror I've heard is also the body work... remember the internet story about the guy who got tapped by a Jeep in a parking garage and it basically totalled the car.

An Elise is NOT the car I'd want to drive if I ever had to parallel park in a city. Between the lack of bumpers and low visibility to other drivers, the car could get totalled and you would have no idea who did it... since the other driver might not have even known they hit it.

Dr. Hess wrote: Oh, and if the dog is bigger than a teacup poodle, there's not much room for him.

I know a guy who brought a dalmatian (IIRC) to autocrosses in his Exige while he lived at least 2 hours away. So its possible...

Not with a passenger in it also.

BoxheadTim wrote: Any sort of accident that damages the chassis turns the car into an expensive paperweight. I think there are some (very small) exceptions but look at this as a general rule. Inspect it very carefully as a result.

Knowing how the chassis is constructed, this is one of my concerns.

Also, good thoughts on the bodywork. Can anybody shed some light on insurance costs, with that in mind?

alex wrote: Also, good thoughts on the bodywork. Can anybody shed some light on insurance costs, with that in mind?

When in doubt, call your agent and ask them.

Unfortunately, I've priced myself out of a few cars by doing that... the old "can afford to buy, but can't afford to own" problem...

Oh, and another thing. Admittedly I haven't driven an S2 (only a Vauxhaul VX220/Opel Speedster, which is kind of a precursor to the S2) but make sure that you don't find it too noisy.

Admittedly my S1 is one of the first sold to the public and has little of anything - especially any sort of noise damping - but I basically have to wear earplugs while driving it for any sort of distance with the hardtop on. I suffer a little from noise-induced migraines and it's the only way I can drive it for more than 50-odd miles without getting one. That said, the problem pretty much disappears once you take the roof off. Not sure if the later ones are as noisy but I'd really check that.

Good point on the bodywork btw, there are recurring stories of people on one of the UK Lotus forums that have someone "tap" their car and then have a hell of a time convincing the insurance not to write off the car even though there is no other damage but to the front or rear clam.

Dr. Hess wrote: Not with a passenger in it also.

well maybe, if the passenger liked the dog REALLY well

Isn't a selling point that it's toyota powered?

Grtechguy wrote: Isn't a selling point that it's toyota powered?

Some people gnash their teeth over that, because they'd rather the Honda K20.

Personally, i think the 2zzge is a great match for the car. It's not like it's slow.

I don't know from Honda/Toyota, so suffice it to say that a proven Japanese powertrain (it's a 'Yota box, too, I assume?) is indeed a selling point.