jerzybondov

Speak to Jamie at Bell & Colvill. I had a very spirited (unaccompanied) test drive in a GT410 Sport and it was bloody brilliant! This is a Lotus forum, so you’re going to get everyone saying the Lotuses drive better. But also having owned two 911s as well as two Lotuses (currently have one of each) I feel slightly less partisan. - Evora will ride and handle better (Sport 410 and GT410 Sport are same car underneath) - Cayman is better built. Some argue the engine is more special. - if you really want a tool for spirited weekend drives (as opposed to touring) and value the ‘connected’ driving experience over all else get an Elise or an Exige. - Really you have to test drive (or at least test ride) all of Cayman/Evora/(Elise) as you won’t really know what presses your buttons until you get hands on.

Looks lovely. Definitely worth a viewing IMO.

Gosh, so sorry to hear this. How long ago was this? Probably a little while now? So sad to have lost what was a very rare lovely spec car!

Evoras should be pretty quiet at motorway speeds. I'd wager two things are causing your noise levels - wind noise from window/door seals (there shouldn't be any) and worn tyres. I put some Conti Sport Contact 7s on mine and it made a massive difference to noise levels, as did a bit of self repair around the triangular A pillar trim. Might be worth getting your seals checked by a specialist if not immediately obvious how to resolve. Early Evoras did have a bit of an issue with the seals - was sorted on 2012 cars on, although of course age will have an impact too by now!

Would need to be a proper bargain - that’s only the stuff that’s appeared on the report!

Moments of madness are what makes life worth living! And really sorry to hear about your wife's diagnosis. I hope she's getting really good care.

Doh, obviously!!

I completely agree. There are a few reasons why cars go to these kinds of auctions IMO - in order of most common to least common: 1) The car is a dog. Or hiding something that wouldn't be acceptable through private sale. 2) Trade seller took it in part ex and needs to shift. Doesn't suit their business to sell themselves. 3) Probate sale. Family just need to shift the asset. 4) Vendor is rich, and just wants to shift the car. The soft auction price easily offsets the time and energy required to sell privately 5) The car is incredibly rare, and auction is the best way to maximise the value by setting off a bidding war. So trying to ascertain which of these categories it is is part of @jep's 10% skill quotient! What you really want is number 3 (especially if cherished), but 2 and 4 are fine too. Unfortunately most are number 1. @superdavelotus By the way, which Esprit V8 GT did you get? The red one or the silver one? (I just took the liberty of looking at their past results - both cars presented well TBH!)

Gosh. How weird from the seller?! At least you didn’t have to meet them in person! Do you mind if I ask what you bought? And was the condition it arrived in more or less what you thought you were getting? (Assume you didn’t see the car in person pre bidding).

Slightly off topic but how was your experience with Bonhams? Was it Bonhams Cars Online? There's one on there at the moment I'm serious about bidding hard on!

I tried to view a car before bidding once on CC. They insisted I pay them their full commission before handing over the vendor's details, and the only way I'd get it back was if there was something objectively 'wrong' with the listing. i.e. you can't just view and say 'not for me'. So (in combination with some other bad (pushy) experiences) it's not a platform I'd use again quickly.

It's standard practice for them to put a 'hold' across your card for the value of their commission at the level of the first bid you make. They're protecting themselves from people who bid on stuff and don't have the means to even pay the commission. If you don't win the auction, the hold will be released in a few days. If you do, you'll either find this hold turns into the purchase debit (at a slightly higher level given what it will ultimately go for), or they'll charge you a new fee in addition and release the hold. I've had a few experiences with the team at CC - can't say I'm a fan. They're very pushy and very driven by their own commission. They don't really care about buyers or sellers, only that they get their slice.

Lovely motor @Geek!

My S1 has proved to be remarkably rain proof with the soft top on so I’ve not needed the shower cap yet. Congrats on joining the club Geek - I think this thread needs pics!

Big plus vote for the Conti Sport Contact 7s - I put them on my Evora and they were fantastic. Significantly cheaper than the PS4S and beat them in the most recent tests. Don't think you'll have an issue refurbing the wheels any way you like - and good call to do it at tyre change time.

What tyres are you putting on it Mec?

Nice article!

Looking mint!

I can echo these experiences and recommendations for both Lotus Silverstone and Steve Williams 👍

I put 285/30/20 Conti Sport 7s on mine (standard 20" wheel) and they were great. Maybe the right compromise in terms of not increasing the effective gearing too much?

Generally speaking, unless you're legally obliged to have insurance, it doesn't make sense from a mathematical statistical viewpoint (in terms of risk / reward) - that is, unless you know something about your level of risk that the insurance company doesn't! So basically yes, sack off the contents insurance.

Agree you probably need to get hands on with some and see which really presses your ‘want’ buttons! From what you’ve described I think you’d get along with any of Elise, Exige or Evora in terms of how you’d use it and what you want to get out of it. The difference between them comes down to the inevitable balance of compromise (practicality & comfort vs purity of driving experience). Worth noting that the model that leans most towards the former (Evora) is still way to the right hand side of the equation when compared to a 911 or Cayman, for example.

4000 miles a year is a decent amount - how much of that is drudge vs fun? Whereabouts in the country do you live? Will a lot of your driving be speed bumps and traffic lights, or are you straight onto decent roads from your house? Agree that unless you specifically want a classic, you want an ally chassis car (ie Elise, Exige, Evora). But as to which of those is best for you, will depend on the realities of how you’ll use it. For longer drives (road trips etc) and year round use Evora wins. For Caterham like analogue driving immediacy then you want Elise or Exige. For what it’s worth in your shoes I’d be looking at Lotus too rather than the other options you mentioned!

Mec is well accustomed to swear words after owning a DeLorean for 15 odd years!

Nice one Mec - good to see you over here! Will have to check out that content on the Excel 👍 Gez