Bispal

Oh wow that's fantastic, there is quite an active owners community you can join. Which one did you get? Congratulations👏🏻

Lots of McLaren owners used to use NFU as did I and they are amazing, great customer service. But prices shot up so many switched to Admiral, as did I. So far all OK, customer service seems better than average and they are very reasonable on premiums. What macca are you getting?

Oh and there is only £200 difference in insurance (Mc being the more expensive one) and the McLaren uses slightly less petrol (36mpg on the m-way 'v' 32mpg for the Exige)! And it can use 95 E10 in it, if you want, but I only do in emergencies. The Tax on the 430 is slightly less, around £100 or so. You will need a tracker on a Mac, around £200pa subscription. And any tradesperson that comes to your house to quote for work will add 50% supercar tax onto your bill as they think they can get away with it! That's why I drive a 26 year old MX5 and 16 year old Subaru Forester as dailies and that's all you will see on my drive.

I have a 430CUP and a 675LT. To answer your first question my 430CUP has cost me nothing more than services, around £300pa, and that's it. I did buy a warranty this time as I thought my cats had gone, and they had, so that was £800. But that's all I have spent on my 430CUP in 3 years. The 675LT is exactly the same, owned 2.5 years and its cost me £1k pa for a service and £5k pa for a warranty. I have needed nothing else in 8k miles. So in terms of running costs you are really looking at the warranty for a McLaren. Around £3kpa for a sports series and £5kpa for a super series. So the warranty cost is the only real difference. However there are a few good independents now and reliability on the McLarens has settled down. I have only had a broken coolant hose on mine. So you can use 'V' Engineering and probably average £2-3kpa. I only have a warranty so I sleep easy but might pass next time (I just bought 2 years for £9,600) If you can budget for the warranty or an extra £2-3k pa over and above a 430CUP into a slush fund that should do it. In terms of driving my 675LT is from another universe compared to the 430CUP and many other cars, its is so quick, totally planted & stable with very good interior quality. The 430CUP would not know which way it went. However that's not the full story, the Exige has the manual box and offers equal levels of engagement and even more reward for less than half the cost. They feel similar in ethos but on the road are very different. They compliment each other very well but are not competitors. That's why I can justify both and adore them equally, To answer your second question there are 3 types of supercar owners. The ones who want the latest toy and own for 12 months. The ones who want to 'tick a box' and own one once in their life for a year or two and The ones who are enthusiasts and generally buy the cars they like and keep them long term. There are plenty of McLaren owners in the enthusiast camp but by the time they have bought them they have usually been through the initial trinket owner, the second trinket owner and then a tick box owner. So by the time the first enthusiast buys one they are around 3-5 years old with as many owners. This is standard across most supercar brands. Lotus are mostly enthusiast cars from day one, you have to be a single minded fan to buy one, its not a golf club / spa hotel / Sloan street cruiser. If you have the additional £3k pa to run a McLaren on top of the outlay then you won't get a faster or more rewarding car but if you can't justify the extra expenditure over the Exige then I wouldn't be too despondent and just revel in the glory that is the Exige.

Lotus made and sold 3,350 cars in total from 2017-2021 when the 430CUP was available. So any Lotus is rare as they have only averaged about 650 cars a year for the past decade. Usually the UK market share for sports cars is 10% of global, that works roughly for every manufacturer. However USA and many other markets did not get the 430CUP, or any Exige. There were around 50 sold in the UK so 150 world wide sounds about the right number including Europe, Australia and some far east markets?

Mine says 1 of 1 😎

If you can do it without financial stress do it! It's a one off car, unique, I still feel great about mine with no regrets 3 years later.

Yes, if you have the money. Most 430CUP owners came from 350 or V6. If you don't have the funds a 350 Is still a great car. But the 430CUP is definately worth the extra.

Cheers 🙂

Just catching up with some recent comments. I think north America has an imperceptible impact in used Exige values. They are niche cars with a niche audience which is why they never sold many and this will probably continue to be the case. If the Lotus was not a parts bin special then their price would be astronomical. You just need to look at low volume 'bespoke' manufactures like GMA / Pagani /Koenigsegg to see this. Even McLaren use a Nissan engine block , Mitsubishi turbos, Parrot infotainment and many other borrowed bits. using other manufacturers parts has no impact on used Exige values Most people still don't get Lotus, even car enthusiasts and supercar owners. They spend £250k on a Lambo (Audi), Ferrari or McLaren and still say Lotus are far too expensive for what they are, without even having driven one. This is why the market place will remain exceedingly niche. Lotus has no appeal to the Rolex collecting fraternity and never will and its that inherent but intangible perceived cachet that sky rockets values and the Exige does not have this. Personally future values mean nothing to me. I have no intention of selling my 430, its paid for so its staying with me for as long as I am able to use it. I think many owners feel the same so this will make them rare and being the peak Exige the most desirable to that very small market, which I think will keep values high for low mileage good condition examples. But these cars are bought to be driven and not collected so I personally don't think they will appreciate as they will be driven. " For the drivers' sums it up perfectly.......

Costco in Croyon have the rear Michelin 285/30 ZR18 97 (Y) PILOT SPORT CUP 2 XL CONNECT for £316 each and the front Michelin 215/45 ZR17 91 (Y) PILOT SPORT CUP 2 XL CONNECT for £128 each. Highly recommend Costco. Next time I will search out MPS4S but don't do the non sports MP4S, I have them on my daily and they are a bit squidgy, nice ride though but I don't think tyre walls are stiff enough.

Never seen a 430CUP FE in the UK, would be interesting to see if ant were sold in the UK. French dealers are great at making up their own specials.

I don't think there is a 430FE only the 420FE. They only made the 430CUP's they did and that's that, you can't buy one now unless there is old stock somewhere?

Its definitely only 4k rpm or would be a lot, lot louder!

I don't think UK owners who bought the Type 25/49/79 used set out wanting those cars (I think there are only 5 in total of all the types in the UK?) , if anything like me they wanted a 430CUP and luckily when looking a type 25/49/79 became available. If you set out specifically wanting one chances are you would never get one as the timing would be wrong. They are a nice bonus if you are looking for a 430CUP and one becomes available.