now finally looking!

[burt]

hia you lot....

after 8 years of Elise ownership, i cant resist the "itch" anymore...NO!! - so my beloved S2 Audi'd Elise is up for grads and now i am currently looking for an esprit....

it will be a everyday car (30 miles a day), my budget is about 13/14k....

ive heard horror stories about various versions i.e. V8 and turbo'd ones - are these stories unfounded??

what version should i be looking at??

your unbais view is VERY much appreciated

Burt

Edited August 22, 2007 by burt

[sky_cz]

everyday car, think about it, better to own second "normal" car, esprit is devious car.

Edited August 22, 2007 by SKY

[burt]

everyday car, thing about it, better to own second, esprit is devious car.

TWO esprit's then

/seriously - are they THAT bad??

burt

[GordonMasson]

I ran my Esprit for years as my first car but that was 25 years ago.

In those days car break downs were a little more prevalent than they are today but i don

[burt]

so would i be able to get a "well sorted" one with my budget?

burt

[sky_cz]

u never know, if is well sorter, people told u everytnig in vision of sale:)

u can check only what is possible to see.

[98GT3]

I used mine as a daily driver for a year doing a 36 mile round trip with no serious problems, just a window control module and a chargecooler impeller, nothing to stop it going - having said that, I did have the peace of mind of a years warranty.

I decided to get a cheap daily driver for 2 main reasons;-

1. There were times and places where an Esprit would not be desirable or practical - trips to the tip or DIY store for example!

2. I didn't want to incur the costs of running one every day, such as tyres, servicing, petrol etc. and wanted to minimise general wear and tear, and also to keep it "special"

If you factor in added fuel costs, tyres, servicing, brake pads etc. and general wear and tear then running a cheap econimical daily driver alongside an Esprit is probably no more expensive than having an Esprit on it own.

Phil

98GT3

[burt]

currently i am looking at S4's.....is this a stupid choice??? - any particular ones to stay clear of??

Burt

[Tentenths]

Welcome to LEF

Yes, an Esprit can be run as an everyday car. But you need to be prepared for the fact that servicing/parts costs are relatively high.

A budget of

[burt]

thanks...was looking for ages for something like that

i dont want to really go to a v8....really heavy running costs and expensive when it goes wrong!

sorta already braced myself for the running cost thing....i have spent a fortune on my Elise what with tyres / pads / discs etc as i tracked it quite a lot!! - something wont be doing in the esprit!!

burt

[Tentenths]

<snip>....i have spent a fortune on my Elise what with tyres / pads / discs etc <snip>

They're the cheap(er) bits on a 4 pot Esprit

[burt]

so what's the "expensive" bits??

burt

[arbell9]

Hi Burt,

welcome to the forum, I have run my 4-pot GT3 vitually daily since last november. Only on really wet days has it remained parked up. I run an everyday family car to. I have covered 7000 happy miles in it so far this year. will make about 9500 come november.

Mine is relatively young being registered new in 2000 and so she has run like a dream. A few niggles but all types of cars have niggles (maybe Jap cars have the least).

There is only one really expensive service the C-one which cost

[esprit350]

Hi Burt, my S4 ( great car) was run as a daily drive by the previous owner, he traded up/down to an Elise but he was 73...

just had new oil coolers new rad and power steering pump and C service with belts. that lot cost me

[OwenGT3]

Hi,

Welcome Burt to the forum. Do seriously look at the car when you buy, get it inspected if possible. The one I purchased had been used everyday, but I still have a list of 40 jobs I've done so far! Ok most are minor jobs, but they still needed doing, just glad I could do them.

Have to say some of the prices you people are quoting for servicing are frightening!!! I'm just glad I don't need to pay them. My damaged exhaust would have set me back about a grand to have fixed, cost me three evenings and an afternoon to fix, oh and two quid for some new turbo mount bolts. :yes

You will need a second car, luckily my wife doesn't need hers for work so I use hers about two or three days a week, the rest in the Esprit. Also I never take it to places it might get damaged if left, another reason for the 'normal blend into the crowd car'. B)

Owen.

Edited August 23, 2007 by OwenGT3

[bzguy]

TWO esprit's then

/seriously - are they THAT bad??

burt

Not at all, just depends what car you fall onto, just like any other brand.

I've had a quite expensive new Rover, nothing but trouble ; now as my daily driver I have a Skoda Octavia Diesel, never had any troubles with it.

I know people complaining about Mercedes, and others being very happy with the cheapest Lada. Just a bit of luck, maintenance history can help as well, as well as how the previous owner took care about it.

[shawty_82]

Welcome to the madhouse!

I ran my 85 Esprit Turbo almost daily, and racked up 7000 miles in a shade under 6 months, and even being a 21/22 year old car, I never experienced any problems at all, apart from a few (typical British car) electrical niggles, such as the fuel gauge and temperature gauge failing intermittently and the n/s headlight flickering on and off occasionally. Apart from that it really was plain sailing! All I did really was keep an eye on coolant and oil levels, and "listened" to what the car was telling me - pretty much the same applies for more modern Esprits, so I believe, except there's the added benefit of being able to hook up a laptop to help tell you whats wrong.

From speaking to a couple of specialists, the general consensus is that if you're running your Esprit as a 2nd nice weather car, budget (not necessarily gonna spend all of it)

Edited August 23, 2007 by Tim Shaw

[burt]

thanks all for your valued input and welcomes - mucho appreciated.....

as i said in my first post...i have to sell the Elise first!!...but the more info i can get on S4 - 4 POTS the better!!

i ve been trawling pistonheads and auto-trader for something suitable

found a few that caught my eye

this one : http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/221232.htm but its green-yuk!

and this one: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/193071.htm - but thats pushing the budget

thoughts on these 2 would be good!!

(being picky now) one thing that i absolutly HATE on some Esprits is that ugly wooden fascia panel where the dial sit...good that looks auwful!! - can those be changed with an aftersales part??

burt

[Bibs]

The Green one is owned by Paul, one of our members and this is an exceptional car. It's Lotus Racing Green too, learn to love it and you'd have a hell of a car for the money there.

The Walnut Burr binnacle mask (direct replacement c

[bzguy]

(being picky now) one thing that i absolutly HATE on some Esprits is that ugly wooden fascia panel where the dial sit...good that looks auwful!! - can those be changed with an aftersales part??

burt

early S4 models do have carbon fibre panel (as mine has) iso wood ; but it's easy to overdo a wooden one

[Backmarker]

Yeah my S4 had the mock carbon effect on the dash/doors.

I really preferred it to the wood effect but not everyones cup of tea.

Graham.

[Tentenths]

<snip> one thing that i absolutly HATE on some Esprits is that ugly wooden fascia panel where the dial sit...good that looks auwful!!<snip>

Oi!! Less of yer lip yer cheeky young monkey... I quite like my wood (ooh err!) in a retro cheesy kind of way

Did you find the For Sale section over on LEW?

[simonf]

Hi Burt,

You are looking at the WRONG Esprit! You want a G-CAR like mine!

Why spend all that time worring whether you car was going to be reliable - at least with a G-CAR you would know it isn't FULLSTOP!

Anyhow which ever way you go i am sure you will be thrilled with it. I had an S1 Elise and i loved it but the Esprit is a different animal!

[arbell9]

this one : http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/221232.htm but its green-yuk!

burt

Ands just whats wrong with Green

Classy and sexy colour all in one if you ask me!

[bzguy]

Ands just whats wrong with Green

Classy and sexy colour all in one if you ask me!

Nothing wrong about the color, Alex, not at all, it's just a matter of taste and like/dislike

BTW : I like yours