[Insurance Premium Increase]

Renewal quote for my GR Yaris came in today, gone up from £198 to £340 (no changes to risk or cover).

Quick look on comparison sites is bringing in quotes at £250 cheapest so not too bad I guess.

[Exige Market Watch, for discussion and to help those searching!]

On 11/04/2023 at 19:37, DH2 said:

Did we do the 430 kit on the Exige you had?  I think the only other IPS Exige we have done was yellow.

Turns out that this very car is for sale on Autotrader, it's the stupidly priced IPS V6S at £50K 😆

I sold that car last October (not to these clowns though) for £38K, which was about the right price IMHO 

[Exige Market Watch, for discussion and to help those searching!]

I know it went through Jon at some point but I bought it privately. Most of the black wrap had already been removed and I took off the remaining sections - around the back lights and under the spoiler. I also got rid of the smoked back lights (absolute pain in the arse job that was!) and the window tints.

 I sort of wish I hadn't sold it

 

 

[Exige Market Watch, for discussion and to help those searching!]

Yes, the K430 kit was fitted by Hangar, done by a previous owner, and it was indeed a solar yellow coupe!

I really liked that car and wanted to keep it, but my garage was full and I couldn't bear to leave it outside over winter so I sold it 

 

[Exige Market Watch, for discussion and to help those searching!]

Did Hangar do  the gearbox/LSD/driveshaft work mentioned in the advert? Not part of the usual 430 kit I believe so what's the story? Despite my earlier post I actually quite like the car, I've previously owned a K430 IPS Exige and it was ok, just not as much fun as a manual. Mine was a coupe in a great colour and I paid a lot less than they are asking for this one!

[Exige Market Watch, for discussion and to help those searching!]

Various factors at work that knock the desirability/price of the silver V6 Auto....

Obviously it's an auto - not well regarded on an Exige, knock off around £5K from coupe prices straight away

It's a roadster - typically another few £K cheaper than a coupe

The interior and exterior colours are not the most sought after

The paintwork is showing some damage on the air intake on one side

The 430 kit will put some people off, it makes insurance more difficult/expensive and people generally prefer a car to be 'standard'

Finally, the car was originally listed (many moons ago) at a frankly ridiculous £50K and has dropped bit by bit over time to where it sits now - not a great sign to buyers. If they pull another £2K off it then it will be priced about right and it will likely sell quickly, or maybe someone will come along at £40K when the weather picks up? They've waited this long, I guess they may as well sweat it out 😄

I notice that another (similarly deluded) trader has listed a similar (but coupe) IPS for £50K - good luck with that one guys, you'd better hope that an uninformed punter who doesn't know the market wanders into your place with cash burning a hole in his/her pocket. 😆

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Elise 220 Sport button]

If I leave mine in Tour by mistake I always notice the more 'lazy' throttle respons and quickly rectify my error. The car feels a lot more sprightly and playful in Sport 👍

[Buying private?]

41 minutes ago, Lee Blue said:

Do you mean I have to get new wheels for a more practicably accessible tyre size?

No, I've ordered some new wheels only because I'm an idiot, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the two sets that I already have for the car 😄

As Dave says, I understand that you can run the wider tyres on the narrow rims if that's what you have.

[Buying private?]

Tyres - if your Elise is mainly for road use then the Yokohama V105 is a very good all rounder and a decent price. I recently bought a full set for £350 including delivery from Camskill. It will cost me a further £50 to get them fitted by my trusted local fitter (ZERO wheel damage!) so that's £400 all in 👌

I'm waiting for some new wheels to try out the tyres for myself but I know of a few Elise owners that are using them for normal/fast road use (and even the occassional track day) and I've heard many positive comments. I understand that the sidewalls are very slightly softer than some track tyres so you might lose a tiny bit of 'feel' but the flip side is the ride will probably improve a bit.

[Emira Paintwork issues]

Whaaaaat - nooooo, I cannot believe that this old chestnut is back

I hope that's now the full extent of the problem and that you get it sorted ✌️

[Price increase]

Pre-reveal deposit here so been waiting for 2 years, confirmed July build for one of the first i4 cars, now subjected to the price increase

I've thrown my toys out of the pram and cancelled my order

I really don't think that Lotus will care one tiny bit

[Immaculate 2020 Evora GT410 Sport]

Nooooooooo Scotty 😭

I will miss the growl of your 410 on Sunday morning runs round the Peaks ☹️

Macca looks great though, fab colour. Congrats!  🙂

[Emira Market Watch, for discussion and to help those searching!]

I agree, c£10K over list is perfect and frankly quite encouraging considering the time of year and the state of the economy etc.

Looking ahead a bit, there is no way that Lotus will be able to keep the new car prices as they are now. If waiting lists stay healthy and inflation stays high then some chunky rises are on the way, which will of course bolster the s/h market.

Looking longer term, what was the list price of a LE Evora - £50K? A decent example will still fetch high £20s, so that's less than £2K per year depreciation. An absolute bargain for a car like this 👍

And even longer term, there's the petrolheads' problem looming of 'can't buy a new ICE car anymore' - who knows what that's going to do?

Oh sod it, just buy one and enjoy it while we can 😄

[Emira Road Tests & Reviews]

Had a test drive today - I can confirm that the steering is a highlight of the car, it's superb 👍

[Emira Update from Lotus]

It's time we got the message - they are not interested in impressing us Lotus fanboys, they are looking at a different market - people who want something that looks a bit fancy and expensive but can be used a practical daily. The video is clumsy, but there's no mistaking its intent. Hairdressers can apply here........oh wait......I have a deposit down 🤣

[UK Politics Thread]

16 hours ago, C8RKH said:

Road tax shoukd be paid by all road users, including entitled figwit cyclists.

And those damn pedestrians, and double if they are walking a dog.....

[Formula One]

I had mistakenly started to think that MV had grown up a bit this year - what a complete aresole that bloke is. Horner just as bad (if not worse) for excusing/encouraging his appalling behavour and the FIA complicit for turning a blind eye. I can only hope that RB and MV get hammered into 3rd place or lower next year.

[Emira Road Tests & Reviews]

4 hours ago, TomE said:

For identical specs, either FE or Base, the V6 car is about 30kg heavier than the i4 car.

I've read that the i4 engine is a significantly lighter than the V6, but the DCT gearbox is a lot heavier than the manual box, so the overall weight difference is not so great - just the c20kg that you mention. However, that heavy lump of DCT box sits low down in the chassis and I'm further hopefull that the whole i4 installation will sit lower than the V6.

Lower centre of gravity over the back wheels can only help the handling 👍

EDIT: maybe the i4 will drive like 'an Evora dialled up to 11'

[Emira Update from Lotus]

12 hours ago, TomE said:

It's been a shambles for many of the pre-reveal folks.  What's the latest news on your build month?

I moved my spec from V6 to i4 so I think the last I heard was March '23. However, they haven't even asked for my final build spec yet so I'm highly sceptical that that's realistic. If I call CS they confirm I'm high on the i4 list and just say they will be in touch.

Maybe they are prioritising V6 customers for V6 test drives, but then why send me the first email?

All very disappointing

EDIT: just checked again, latest delivery date promise is July '23

[Emira Update from Lotus]

1 hour ago, TomE said:

Welcome to the “loyal enthusiasts put down sight-unseen pre-reveal deposit and get ignored by Lotus” club

I'm in that club too

Pre-reveal deposit, got an email a fortnight ago telling me to expect a further email so that I could book a test drive - heard nothing since

[demo cars at dealers ?]

3 minutes ago, TomE said:

more sound-proofing (to hide the transmission noise)

Tut-tut Tom, I didn't have you down as a cynic

Probably not wrong though 👍

[Emira Picture & Video Thread]

That ^^^^^^ does look great Scotty - Magma red with red leather was my original choice for a V6 FE, then I bottled on pretty much everything and now I have absolutely no idea what (or even if) I will eventually go for

EDIT 'Mine' had silver wheels though

[Exige Market Watch, for discussion and to help those searching!]

Hi Ed, some interesting questions there!

I reckon the market has softened a bit lately - the 2013 @ £45K  type cars are now looking a little hopeful. You might find a dealer who's willing to haggle but you have to remember that they probably got into that car when the market was booming (earlier this year) so they simply may not have the leeway to knock that much off the price. Previously we've seen that some dealers are willing to sit on a car for literally YEARS to get the price that they want, I'm not joking!

If you can keep your nerve you might find a winter bargain pops up around November/December time. That's when the market is pretty flat and some traders get 'keen' to move a bit of stock or you may even get a private seller who thought they could run an Exige as a daily but finally give up - when they realise it's not particularly pleasant to do so in the depths of winter 

Next year who knows? I can't see prices dropping much, there is nothing like them made any more.

Modifications? There are some very respected power mods around, the TVS 1900 and Komotec can both add significant amounts of power, and reliably too. They can be pricey to fit but they don't really push up the s/h price of the cars that much - very nice if you find one with the work already done! Back boxes and inlets are popular mods, a valved 2bular adds to the desirability of a V6S or 350, but other exhausts etc don't really make much difference to the value. Other stuff, you can buy all sorts of carbon bits for inside and out, + different mirrors, ironing board spoilers, different rear lights, barge boards, etc, all cost a fair bit of money but add next to nothing to vehicle value. Most owners will take all the stuff off before sale and sell it s/h because they know it's the best way to get some money back. If you find one with an AiM dash fitted that's a nice thing to have and maybe is worth up to £1K on the price, particularly if the owner still has the original analogue dash to refit if needed.

All in my humble opinion of course, other may (and almost certainly will) disagree

Good luck!

[Right Hand Upright of rear suspension snapped on 2014 Exige V6 - is there a recall?]

An MLOC member had one of these replaced under warranty when he discovered a crack - luckily before failure. I need to go and check mine I think!

[Exige Market Watch, for discussion and to help those searching!]

Long time no see Joe, did you get over to Lotus in the Peak? We have a run ending at Hassop Station on Sunday, the run is 'full' but would be great if you could join us for some breakfast 👍