Esprit Market Watch

[chipp]

That looks like the one at Stratton Motor Company.

 

chipp

[Mark Blanchard]

This is a healthy asking price, £29k for a Highwing:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1993-LOTUS-ESPRIT-TURBO-SE-RED-Hi-Wing-/311581570993?hash=item488bb577b1:g:F74AAOSwiylW~t7B

[rudolphwolven]

Indeed......however the sales market potential for this RHD version is mainly limited to the UK.........the market potential for Continental Europe (LHD) is almost 10 x bigger as the RHD-UK market........ and it has almost 90.000 km on the odo...........

Ruud

[Jacques]

Most sorry to have to say this, especially if it may bother someone with a different view on prices on Esprits, but I personally would like to see the Esprit prices being resonable. Not low (to avoid the most awfull car-thrashers), not high, but resonable. So they actually are bought and driven. And if that makes me a hypocrite, a snob, a twat and I suffer from a sad form of turf/ego/expert defensiveness, so be it. I really don't like someone other than me deciding what my car is worth. I'll be the judge of that, thankyou. I much prefer to see Esprits driving around on curvy roads, rather than presiding on gold embossed carbon tiles in a 500m2 garage being a garagequeen. I really honestly don't say this to offend anyone, nor would I have the general inclination of such an attitude towards others as I find it disrespectfull and counterproductive, certainly on an international forum as well as in general and finally, is it not a part of my upbringing. But of course, if the majority of owners, experts, and others WHO may have an interest in guesstimating prices on Esprits as rising sky high, then be it. If I decided to sell my Esprit, I would be more interested in selling it to a new owner, whom I felt would take very good care of the car, rather than achiving an absolute sky-high Price. But that is just me, I guess. Hope I haven't offended anyone.

Kind regards,

Jacques.

[Escape]

I can certainly understand your reasoning Jacques! I also love the fact that the Esprit is a supercar that can and should be used on a regular basis. Once prices get to silly levels, no one in his right mind will do that anymore, and those who are crazy enough will probably find the parts needed to keep the cars going are becoming excessively expensive as well. On the other hand, I do like the fact that the higher prices indicate the Esprit is finally being seen as the amazing and exclusive car it is.

On a more selfish note, I like the fact I managed to get my Esprits before prices rose out off my range. Two sides to that medal though, as I found out last year when I was forced to look for another car and really wanted another Esprit SE. My budget didn't allow me to be picky and I was very, very fortunate to find the great example I have now. I must add this was only possible through the help of this forum! As much as I'd be tempted to sell if someone made me a silly offer, just so I could start a new challenge, I also realize I'd probably end up with a long search for a similar car (the only replacement for an SE for me would be the Sport300) and miss out on all those wonderful drives in the mean time.

Filip

[rocket63]

It's a point of view Jaques. But it's not reality mate. Market forces and what people are prepared to pay along with ever diminishing numbers will dictate price. You can always select for less but who on earth would do that ! Prices will no doubt fluctuate as with any commodity but the likelihood of a well look after Esprit staying at the same level would seem very unlikely. But who knows ?

[rudolphwolven]

NEW.........LHD  1990 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE U9............. 66.926 km .................only  €  28.900,-

"mobile de"

 

 

 

[Andyww]

On 16/03/2016 at 20:31, The Pits said:

I get that the 308 would be worth more, it's exceptionally pretty, one of Pininfarina's finest moments. I'll wager more delicate and responsive to drive than any of the 12-cylinder Ferraris up to and including the 550 Maranello. I'm just not sure why it's worth THAT much more than an Esprit. It's really looking like the Esprit is starting to catch up however. There are fewer buyers who want Esprits but there must be far fewer really good examples too.

 

Thats right, the 3x8 is a much better car to drive than the 12-cylinder cars. The Boxer in particular is a heavy beast of a car, not driver-friendly at all.

Its all quite irrelevant how the cars look or drive though when it comes to Ferrari. Much like pieces of art which fetch huge prices are nothing to do with the aesthetics of the picture. Its purely down to investment potential. The market drives the market, egged-on by the dealers colluding to inflate pricing, until such time as the bubble bursts and it all collapses. The only thing that matters is mileage, which is particularly bad if you own a Ferrari and actually want to drive it. Many Ferraris are never driven. I have a friend who stores his 430 in car storage over the winter and there are cars in there which the owners have never even seen let alone driven.

This is not a good situation. I would be the first to admit that my 328 has become rather a garage queen. Also insurance gets crazily expensive.

The best way for the Esprit to go is to rise to a value which the car is actually worth in its own right rather than as an investment. There is no doubt that the cars have been undervalued for years. They are least appreciated here in the UK. The Americans value them far higher. Thats a British thing. Even owners seem to like slagging them off sometimes and many dont look after the cars properly. Values wont rise appreciably until all the tat which is out there has gone.

 

[GTK]

If any of us are aspiring to higher values you have to realise that WE get it, but we generally speaking are true car lovers. But Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Bugatti, Aston Martin... they appeal to any guy who watched Top Gear or stared at posters and might just be the type who'll buy a brand just to be seen in it (I'm not bitching, or getting at any owners of those cars). There are cars that are historic because of achievements, or who owned them, or how they look, or how they perform, or because of nothing more than the badge they wear. The Esprit to it's credit can claim at least little of most if not all of those, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and somehow in the passage of time the Esprit was forgotten, undervalued and underrated. It's just how it is. doesn't diminish my own love for my car. I got in it yesterday just to have a nap [still would love another 3" of leg room  ]

I want prices to go mental - only because it might mean the Esprit finally has the recognition it deserves. I've no interest in driving mine in the wet, but I'll drive it for as many miles as I can for as long as I'm capable of driving... and I'll never sell. That's just as important for values as the guy asking what he thinks his car should be worth.

[The Pits]

9 hours ago, rudolphwolven said:

NEW.........LHD  1990 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE U9............. 66.926 km .................only  €  28.900,-

"mobile de"

 

 

 

Beautiful! I can't remember seeing a yellow one before. Why are all the really good ones LHD?! (or in Norway just for you Vanya!)

Haven't seen a really nice 'low wing' SE for sale here in ages (that isn't Calypso Red!)

[The Pits]

There is a lot of talk about the Porsche bubble bursting out there. The good thing about the Esprit missing out on the stratospheric rise is that it hasn't got as far to fall. To be honest I think current prices feel about right to me. An Essex or Sport 300 should be worth more than £50k. When people are paying that sort of money for old Fords and as much as twice that for E30 BMW M3s, £50k is still looking very reasonable for a Sport 300. You can still get into an Esprit very reasonably if you go for a leggy early Stevens N/A. I'm glad to see Giugiaros picking up, they are iconic cars and should be worth every penny of todays asking prices. Crucially they are still great to drive, not just to look at plus their bodies can never rust. At the lower end, still very accessible and when you can get the very best Turbo HCs for around £30k that seems fair if not downright reasonable. V8s have done surprisingly well given the party line is that everyone prefers the 4 cylinder cars, in many cases a great V8 can command a higher price than an S4s. That wasn't the case very long ago. 

Even when the Porsche lunatics come to their senses, I don't think Esprit values will fall below where they are today, unless there is some sort of global financial crisis that affects everyone. I still think it's a great time to buy. The trouble with Esprits is they are easy to buy and hard to part with! Some money in the bank doesn't seem like a good swap in exchange for never driving my Turbo again.

[The Pits]

I just saw a Lancia Integrale today that went for £84k in auction recently. OK it had a claim to some unique provenance and to be the only one of its kind (but nothing officially verified by Lancia) but still.... a bargain next to an M3 E30 Evo I suppose but it's a reminder that however much some think Esprit prices may have risen, it's nowhere near as crazy as with some other makes of cars.

[Jacques]

Hmmm... Okay, I surrender, then. I want at least 300.000 gbp for my Esprit this year, and if not, I'll wait till' I can get 500.000 gbp or more.

And later on, in some 8-10 years, I would want 800.000 gbp and aSport300.

Jacques.

[rudolphwolven]

It seems like in the homeland of Ferrari, Chapman's ingenuity is more appreciated / recognised as in many other countries on the Continent (and UK?).  

From the total 35 x ...LHD...Esprit's offered at Autoscout24.de an astonishing 18 units are from Italian origin...........

Italien18

Deutschland5

Spanien3

Frankreich3

Niederlande3

Belgien2

Österreich1

Below one nice 1992 2,0 ltr. / 243 PS Esprit for ........ € 33.500........ 

 

 

 

 

 

[Escape]

10 hours ago, The Pits said:

Beautiful! I can't remember seeing a yellow one before. Why are all the really good ones LHD?! (or in Norway just for you Vanya!)

Haven't seen a really nice 'low wing' SE for sale here in ages (that isn't Calypso Red!)

What's wrong with Calypso Red? Although to yellow does look great as well, and would avoid the Ferrari-questions. 

[C8RKH]

7 minutes ago, Escape said:

What's wrong with Calypso Red? Although to yellow does look great as well, and would avoid the Ferrari-questions. 

Lots of yellow Ferraris in the UK...

[Escape]

19 minutes ago, C8RKH said:

Lots of yellow Ferraris in the UK...

I know the Scuderia's offical color is (was?) yellow, but you can't deny that a red Esprit is more likely to get asked if it was built in Maranello, especially by people that have never heard of Lotus...

[The Pits]

Yes the Ferrari thing is a factor but there's quite a nice SE for sale right now but it's Calypso Red like the vast majority of Turbo SE's. Nothing against it on other Loti, but I prefer the other colours on a Turbo SE. Don't want to upset the Calypso crew, there are hundreds of you out there

 

[Chillidoggy]

Yellow is so passé. Green is the new black.

[swindon_alan]

4 minutes ago, ian29gte said:

Yellow is so passé. Green is the new black.

[Daniel]

14 hours ago, The Pits said:

Some money in the bank doesn't seem like a good swap in exchange for never driving my Turbo again.

I paid £15K for my S2. I bought it because I love it and always wanted one...... happy coincidence that I figured it would be better to have the money in a car than in the bank, and I'm glad I can tell my wife I was right.

I agree though..... even if the Porsche and other marque bubble bursts, I doubt there will come a time that my car is worth less than I paid for it.

[BWex]

I was amazed to see the BMW M1 sell at $600,000, which I always thought of when I thought of Esprits. Too many reasons to list why lotus didnt keep up with BMW.  Still, will be interesting to see what happens with the best conditioned, highest power, Esprits.  

18 hours ago, rudolphwolven said:

It seems like in the homeland of Ferrari, Chapman's ingenuity is more appreciated / recognised as in many other countries on the Continent (and UK?).  

From the total 35 x ...LHD...Esprit's offered at Autoscout24.de an astonishing 18 units are from Italian origin...........

Italien18

Deutschland5

Spanien3

Frankreich3

Niederlande3

Belgien2

Österreich1

Below one nice 1992 2,0 ltr. / 243 PS Esprit for ........ € 33.500........ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That may be because it comes with the model pictured.  

[Choppa]

Calypso Crew - Like it, that's going on my avatar right now!

[BWex]

6 hours ago, swindon_alan said:

And how about green and black -- thats my Elise!

[Barrykearley]

You green boys are soooo wrong - silvers are the very very best