Foibles

Bazza. Seriously? That's your first reaction? Yes gents - I am looking to import an Esprit into Aus. And yes, our laws have changed significantly. my greatest challenge is that...well, most public servants in Australia are utter buffoons, and incapable of either independant or moderately intelligent thought. And so recently we (Australia, courtesy of our federal Government) introduced one of those policies that is likely intended as a trade barrier, more so than some ill-guided attempt at virtue. Nevertheless......as with any other police state that pretends not to be a police state we must still comply, and the risks are heavily against the importer. Many people I know get off 'scot free', but it is still an enormous gamble. I have challenged the relevant department many times and asked them to divulge their 'risk assessment method' (for determining which cars to demand evidence from, and which to audit) - but like the imbeciles they are they simply point to the stated policy and say 'there you go...stick to that'. Hence......something as authoritative as possible would be good. Surely someone out there knows the details of Lotus manufacturing materials in the 1990's. Don't you all? Surely this is fireside chat material....

ok...my subject title is sensationalist and almost click bait. fake news! what i hope to clarify.....does anyone have a fairly authoritative understanding of what asbestos parts...if any....lotus was using in cars produced from say 1994 onwards. take an s4s or gt3 for instance...any asbestos in brake pads, brake lines, engine or exhaust gaskets...etc.... or had lotus weaned itself away from asbestos by this time?

Hi Sean, out of interest, what did you have to do when importing your car to meet Australia's fairly stringent asbestos verification laws? how were you able to prove to customs that your esprit contained zero asbestos? in my reading of the requirements....they look insanely bureaucratic. and almost impossible to comply with. same for air con degas....did you need to do anything there?

Thanks everyone for their input and assistance - much appreciated. I have been wanting a Lotus for some considerable time....but I have zero knowledge of these vehicles. My first objective was to clarify which model I wanted (I am outside UK, hence I would need to export from UK and import to my country - which itself entails risk). I like the S4...but I like the S4S much more (performance reasons only). I'm also very much an admirer of both the GT3 and the V8TT models. However, each have their own import and engineering criteria at my end....and the S4 and S4S are without doubt the less complex path rather than the later GT3 and V8 models. My challenge is this - I wish to import an S4S under a specific rule called the 25-year rule (many of you may know of this). It requires that the vehicle be 25 years old - by year AND month - from the time of its manufacture to the time I apply to import it. It seems the S4S commenced manufacture (build) in 1994 (at least if I trust good old Wikipedia) - as follows - "The S4 was succeeded in 1994 by the S4 Sport (S4s)." My challenge is confirming build dates, because Lotus does not seem to have a rigorous method for allowing build date to be determined (some manufacturers have this on the build plate). I appreciate that the 10th character of the S4S VIN sequence gives some indication, but I am as yet unable to get confirmation as to whether this 10th character means 'calendar year of build'.....or the 'model year' - because model years are not the same as calendar years. From what I have seen, most owners who quote a VIN with an 'R' refer to their cars as being 1994 models, and always Esprit S4...never S4S from what I have seen. Most S4S that I see have an 'S' at the VIN 10th position, which either suggests '1995 calendar year'....or 'Model Year 1995'. But these owners call their cars 1995 models (I'm yet to see anyone with a 'T' 1996 model S4S interestingly). Does anyone know the S4 VIN attributes better than I can get my head around? And - if my objective is to buy an earlier S4S - then obviously I want something with a lower serial number (last 3 digits) - hence 001 is far better than 999. BUt as I cannot determine how many S4S were built in 1994, 1995, 1996 - I don't know if they were making 10 a month, or 50, or 80...etc. If they made 50 a month, and I saw (by way of example) SCC082910SHA64051 - that would tell me it was likely made in the second month....whether that be build month or MY month. As it stands, I have commenced enquiries with the owners of 3 S4S cars....and i intend to not walk away empty handed! Thanks to Peter - I have read up on Atlas Autos, so I will proceed with caution (but will likely proceed at least - I do like the colour). Cheers.

Something of a thread dig I know but.....but the table above suggests GT3 is a 2.2ltr. I thought GT3 was a 2 litre?

HI Barry - what's the mileage on yours that you have for sale? Also, can you detail the owner and service history?

Must have full service history, recent major service, limited owners, and be HPI clear. Low to average mileage is fine. Please PM me through the forum