Esprit Market Watch

[swindon_alan]

£42k for what is effectively a brand new 2003 V8. Hmmm. In today's money a new one would be about £100k if they were still being manufactured. That looks like a steal to me? So are prices really soaring?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2003-Lotus-Esprit-6-276-Original-Miles-Collector-Owned-None-Better-/331628367770

[Chillidoggy]

It's a steal because it's yellow.

[swindon_alan]

I'm putting my hard hat on right now, suggest that you do the same...

[Sparky]

I'm saving it all up for a shock and awe offensive.

[Vanya]

Brace for impact... 

[Chillidoggy]

He's probably firing blanks.

[eeyoreish]

It's a steal because it's yellow.

That's bananas...

[molemot]

If you want to multiply some of your Money, just buy something really odd like an old egyptian necklace, once touched by a palaceguard, who used to know the Family who breeded Nefertitis cat, and which have since been in custody of the russian tsar's private Cook, during the very first day of the russian revolution, and having a frustrated divorced american female writing a book about it.

And leave the Esprits affordable to the rest of us normal people, with a normal income, thanks.  

Saw a TV programme about a chap who bought, for £100,000, a painting that might have been by Chagall...the programme was about the attempt to authenticate it. Went through everything...all the tests...seems some of the paint used was decades later than the supposed date. In the end they submitted it to the "Chagall Committee" in Paris for the final decision. This is the painter's two grand daughters.... and they decided it was a fake. Not only that, but under a little known quirk of French law, they seized it for destruction!! So not only had he bought a fake...but he can't even hang it on the wall to show people his folly!!

There's a nice German word for this...."Schadenfreude"!!! He has given up the fight, so the furnace awaits....

[C8RKH]

That is so bloody typical French behaviour. As someone said earlier, Bananas....

[hedgerley]

Friend of mine was asking about the GT3 as he is thinking of getting into Lotus ownership. I took a look at the usual sources - their doesn't appear to be a single GT3 on the market at the moment. Neither are there any V8s (not counting the GM LS3 conversion I posted elsewhere) Its very hard to come up with the price he might have to pay.

Don't think I've ever known the market to be this tight. Has the Esprit's time finally come?

[internets]

Friend of mine was asking about the GT3 as he is thinking of getting into Lotus ownership. I took a look at the usual sources - their doesn't appear to be a single GT3 on the market at the moment

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/esprit/lotus-lotus-gt3-esprit-coupe-------------1997/4569357

[rudolphwolven]

#16. Lotus Esprit 2.2 Turbo 910 - LHD - 1987.........66.000 mls

Netherlands............Auction ended today.......Estimate GBP 23.000-30.000,-..........Final bid GBP 18.600,- / € 26.200 (incl. costs)............."Limit not met".......

http://veiling.catawiki.nl/kavels/2545353-lotus-esprit-2-2-turbo-910-lhd-1987

[hedgerley]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/esprit/lotus-lotus-gt3-esprit-coupe-------------1997/4569357

Ah yes, thanks for that. Someone posted in the PH Esprit forum that they couldn't find a GT3, so I didn't even look in their classifieds. I'll pass the link on, thanks.

[The Pits]

Esprits remain very hard to value accurately, some seem to sell overnight while others hang aroung in the classifieds for months. But there was a lot of talk about values at the festival. I still think the Esprit has largely missed out on the classic car boom but that won't be such a bad thing when the bubble bursts.

The very rarest and most sought after Esprits are very much in 'what someone's willing to pay territory'. But most of the asking prices I see still look like a bargains in the current climate to me.

And surely with other rally icons racing up in value the Lotus Sunbeam is a prime candidate to surge? At a time when the Mk1 Golf GTi was considered racy with 115bhp, Lotus packed 150bhp a dog-leg gearbox and rear wheel drive into a Talbot Sunbeam! They still feel quick today.

[Mark Blanchard]

As the prices go up, so do the parts.  One of my mates, who has a 3.2 Carrera (bought for £12k 10 years ago and now valued at £35k and rising), said a second hand gearbox for his car has risen to £8k.  So there's a negative side to price increases.

[The Pits]

Yes absolutely. A nut and bolt restoration of an Esprit is what? £40-£50k unless you can do it yourself.

An Aston Martin DB is £200k for more or less the same number of hours.

That said I've spent money on my car and will continue to as long as it needs it, so I need prices to rise just to get my money back one day!

[Andy Esprit SE]

Im still gutted i was too young to buy a 1997 v8 esprit around 2005 i remeber seeing them at 15 to 16 grand, in one hand 10 years maintenance would add up to todays values and a bit more but by the time i was ready to buy they were out of my range, love my SE though been a gem so far, not fussed about values really they will never equate to cambelt changes and maintenance on an annual cost vs inflation in value

[silverfrost]

  Totally agree with Mark B about the parts prices hence even with the old lotus models models now the parts prices are

   will start going through the roof. Which means a fair few people planning restorations will be put off, some will never

   purchase the old cars esprits,europas,elans,elites,etc due to this, the rest will end up paying top money for already

   decent running cars.

   That said the only saving grace for this brands like lotus is they are a bit like vw beetles some people will spend

    more than the cars worth to restore them, as the lotus cars look,history etc will always inspire passion in

    peoples hearts.

    Those of us that already own the cars and quite  a few of us on here are even more lucky to own more than

     one lotus, have purchased the cars we a always wanted to own and paid less than crazy prices , so its a win

    win situation.

    The same goes for Ferrari and Porsche owners etc they are all in the same boat, I bought a 911 sc a few

     few years ago paid next to nothing for it, now crazy money!  but like houses, etc they are all just material

     items and prices goes up and down over the years.

    As another member said it all comes down to what the buyer is willing to pay, myself as I know what these cars used

   to exchange hands for, my mind is sort of set, so I look at most current prices and think they are crazy money.

   But I always still look for esprit and other lotus projects and find that even basket cases are been offered at

   crazy money, more so when you know what sort of work is involved also.

[rudolphwolven]

Sorry,

A little off-topic (I know)......I hope you can forgive me......(I am so proud as a a peacock)......

As a '90 Turbo SE owner I just completed the restoration of a 40 year old Honda Goldwing, which as a 2nd owner, was storaged in my garage for 32 years. 

1975

2015

(Click to enlarge)

My GL1000 K1 from 1975 is 100% completed now and almost "as new"; it is running perfect; .........a very impressing experience after all those years.
The K1 is 40 years old and has a total of 11.000 mls on the odo; 37 years of ownership of which the last 32 years stored in my garage under a selfmade awning...........my age was 35 when I purchased her, now I am 72 years old.
.
The "restauration"; necessary after 32 years of an uninterrupted layoff, lasted 11 months in which I did finally spent approx. 1000 hours of labour all by myself; plus hundreds of hours for internet-searching and parts ordering as well as a couple of thousand pound's for motorparts, paint, polishing, new set of tires, SS spokes, etc, etc.........
.
The engine and frame were spraypainted and all frame tubes were treatad from the inside with an anticorrosive protection (400 ml / nearly 1/2 quart of stuff); all colour painted panels still have the original candy paint as supplied by the factory.
 

BTW:.......a new (crated) Goldwing LTD for sale........GBP 31.000.. (has to be disassembled partly for checking/replacement of gaskets, brakes, 4x carb's, o-rings etc).

http://www.finn.no/finn/mc/used/object;jsessionid=267E11E1FAB04D5A678F4EBFA02E27EF?finnkode=52860898

New parts are very difficult to find in the meantime......a new differential for GBP 3.500,-, new exhaust (worlwide not available for the moment) over GBP 2.000,-, a 2nd hand muffler for $ 900,- incl. shipping.........

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-EXHAUST-MUFFLER-PIPE-ASSY-1975-HONDA-GOLDWING-GL1000-GL-1000-K0-75-/361209933432?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5419ca2e78&vxp=mt

Best regards,

Ruud

[fjmuurling]

Ziet er goed uit Ruud.

Freek

[rudolphwolven]

Dank je Freek........

Overigens jouw VFR800i VTEC ABS is ook een geweldige motorfiets........

Groetjes, Ruud

[frix]

Well after spending some time reading this thread i see it was started back in October 2013! 

So where do we think the prices are at the moment? Have they moved at all? Paul

S1                      

S2

S2.2

S3 

S3 Turbo

[Barrykearley]

Don't forget us commoners with the newer shape ones !!!

[eeyoreish]

And rare Stevens N/As..!

[Barrykearley]

Underpowered NA s which don't have all the usual turbo problems you mean???