...Make me keep my car!

[slade]

...All the smileys/layouts are different. Should I have posted this in the n00b room? :laughing:

Anyway, yeah I've managed to wake up washed up on these shores again... Life's been... Interesting!

To its credit, the Esprit has managed to endure all this with little complaint, maybe if it had effed up at all in recent days I'd have had a reason to crawl back here sooner, hah. But no... The AC even blows cold, with the tan interior and so little space to cool down things get cold quick, which is I'm afraid to say the most enjoyment I get out of the car aside from sitting in traffic at commutes I haven't had much time to actually take any nice trips or enjoy the car as anything more than a bus basically... But it's served fairly well at that.

...So why the hell would I want to sell it?

Well with any luck in a few months, my college will be forced to graduate me, if not kick me out outright (took me long enough, yeah) And uhh. That part aside, I'm probably going to have moved FAR away from Riverside, and be uhh. Providing most of the support for a family type thing til my sweetheart gets out of school (that's college, not elementary!!! And no, I didn't knock anyone up So that's I'm afraid where most of my income will have to be going I'll assume... But then I really don't even know which job I'm going to have there, or my situation... hah. Just call it a rash case of responsibility on my part that tells me that if anything major goes wrong with the car, it's safe to say it'll be hard to justify spending the sort of money that'll keep the car in the condition to retain respectability. Having a Lotus is hardly justifiable when her (and it is a HER too, yes! ) car barely runs...

On the other hand... The Lotus still does get remarkable fuel economy, and works well, when it works correctly, which isn't too infrequent... Up to 30mpg (I'm careful), which means it's hardly worth trading in for much else on that basis. But looking back at receipts it's needed about one expensive doing per year, and I know I'm just biding time til the next expensive servicing or thing breaking...

So yeah. I'm halfway to selling the car, I'd love to keep it but it can't be a real priority... If I sell it I'll part ways pleasantly, and probably wind up proud owner of a new Smart or Yaris... (saw a Smart for the first time in Arizona, seemed to be keeping up with my mom's (dying) Blazer on the freeway...

So I suppose my twofold point here is to ask you for reasons to keep the car, or recommending me something else that'll allow me to keep some semblance of style, while being relatively efficient etc...

Oh yeah. Nearly forgot. The biggest plus to possibly keeping the Esprit: I'm most likely moving to upstate New York for a few years, about 20 minutes from the border to Canada... So I can always pull a HI WAYNE!!! if anything goes wrong

Did I mention I own NO heavy coats of any sort I've never seen snow oh my god wtf am I doing...

BTW. Missed you guys.

Edited October 5, 2007 by slade

[Bibs]

Hey Slade, welcome back to the fold!

Don't sell the car. You'll immediately be less attractive to 'young' women and your college will have no option but ot flunk you. You're leather jacket collection will no longer match your car and the sunglasses will have to go. You'll find that bad luck will start to become your new best friends and that the creams will no longer clear up that rash.

Convinced?

[Mark Blanchard]

Hi Slade,

You don't want to sell! Life won't be the same and you'll always feel somethings missing. And imaging how you'll feel if you're driving along in your Yaris and you see an Esprit!

My advice is move and see how things turn out, might not be as bad as you think. If things get tough and you have to sell the jacket, then I guess you have no choice. But see how it goes.

Hope things turn out for the best .

[mwmackenzie]

Ah ha.... SELL IT and BUY MINE hahaha.....

You'll regret selling it mate, I'm regretting even advertising mine....

Also you'll feel poooo if you sell, trust me.. and chick don't like guys who are down in the dumps.. Stay happy keep car and have an abundance of chicks falling at your feet fighting for your attention

Mark

OK aproach number 2.. you want me to make you keep your car eh?? ok here goes....

KEEP YOUR CAR OR I'LL BREAK YOUR LEGS AND FINGERS AND THEN DROP YOU IN THE LION ENCLOSURE AT THE ZOO...

I think that should just about do it... haha You gonna keep it now then eh?? Don't test me mate....

Mark

P.s just messin..lol

Edited October 5, 2007 by mwmackenzie

[molemot]

Some years back, financial crisis struck, decided the Lotus had to go. Looked at the paintwork...hmmmm, could do with a freshen up....wouldn't sell like that...3 years later I'd completely resprayed the car, the financial crisis was but a memory, and I still had the Lotus! Don't sell, even if she ends up parked in the garage for a while, times will improve and where would you get another one if you'd sold??

[WayneB]

Hello Mr.Slade and welcome to the forum.

Re: Selling your Lotus Turbo Esprit motor car (desirable Giugiaro version in black).

STOP BEING SO BLOODY DAFT!

The idea is to find a job/woman/occupation or crime which will support the addiction to this car, not have to sell it to become some meek/mild/ politically correct and sensible type of shrinking violet character.

Seriously, great to see you back again .

(now all we have to do is persuade Fishy and Jussi to come back aswell.)

[slade]

Hah, the jacket is polyesther thank you very much!

I'll make sure to cover up the reasons dealing with younger women, hah.

Not like I'm being made to sell, but I just wonder if I'll be able to support a hungry Esprit mouth to feed... I'd rather not have it go to seed if it turns out I can't take care of it, or have it sit for a long while while I save up for a repair (and have to figure out at that point how to work out transportation... the Esprit IS my only car, for some reason). Hah. Of course she wouldn't be the sort to make me sell the car, or ask me to have less rippling abs or whatnot :laughing:

...One of the biggest things is that yes, it IS the "best" version of the G Esprit in the "best" color etc. etc... well, it's the one I wanted. (ok, maybe I want orange or lime green more at this point lol) And not like they make em anymore... One thing I WILL need to do before seeing whether it survives the 2000 however many mile trip to snowland is fix the heater, hah.

...Sometimes I think I'm TOO ok with the idea of parting with it

I'll wait it out for a while, to graduation at least... no need to be hasty about things...

EDIT: Whoa wait. Fish and Jussi are gone?

Edited October 5, 2007 by slade

[Tony K]

Slade --

I've been in a similar situation.

When I got out of grad school, I was struggling to make ends meet, my financial situation was worsening, and the red S1 hit me with needing an engine rebuild. I found a place I could tuck it away and not think about it for a while (although I did think about it and check up on it and run the accessories). I thought it would be 4-5 years before I could afford to fix it, but it turned out to be only two. It's amazing, how quickly we get past things like financial crises.

If you sell it, it's gone. Something will be missing from your life, absolutely. It's not like selling a Trans Am. Now if you want to get another one, you'll have to pony up $15k give or take, plus tax, plus transport across the country, and go through the two year trial of finding things wrong and correcting them ($$$). If you just hold on to it, then when you are ready for it again, there it is waiting for you, and you will be out at most a few grand if something needs fixing. There is a real value in that you know your car and have it already.

Also, there are a fair number of Lotus owners in upstate New York, and you may find some some good support from them.

Finding an affordable place to live with a decent garage is not difficult in snowland. If you wind up renting a house with a garage, and feel you shouldn't be driving the car but don't have the discipline, put it in the back of the garage and pile all kinds of crap around it, so whenever you want to go for a drive, you walk out there, realize you will have to spend two hours moving boxes, furniture, whatever, and then say fuhgeddaboudit. (Trust me, this works.)

If you think your stay in NY will only be for a couple of years and you will wind up back in CA, then leave the car in CA.

- T

p.s., here's some S1 spam for you:

[dodgy]

Slade chap!!!! how the hell are ya???

missed you greatly man not in that sorta way either

Jussi has been otherwise engaged with off forum problems and building a jacuzzi in his basement, and we all hope he will be coming back ASAP and EDF has moved on but still pops on to see who's about.

lots of new members in the US seem to be appearing which is great

Don't sell chap, as you said, it does 30mpg , and looked after, we know they can be very reliable too.

Stay Around

Dodgy

[Kimbers]

Hi Slady!

Don't sell it!! I only just got one and if I ever sell it I'll want shooting!

[fmxa]

You need to come to Cars and Coffee in Irvine so I can slap you around a little! What are you thinking man!

[cly_mitchell]

Ditch the girl! Love is fleeting, a Lotus is forever! You did ask.

Cheers,

Clay

[lotusdogg]

Slade,

I lost my esprit to a really bad engine fire...man, do I miss it.

Trust me - you'll miss it if it's gone!

So keep yours and know that I'm getting another - life is too short.

Timothy

[slade]

haha, sorry, ditching her isn't an option :laughing: (the girl or the car... it doesn't have to be a choice)

Think I'll at least try to stretch keeping it out as long as I can, thanks to the predictable advice here Even if I do leave it under the custody of a family member... (or maybe Paul, if he butters me up enough if I can make it to Cars and Coffee one of these days, lol)

Edited October 8, 2007 by slade

[Esprit Aviation]

Slade,

DON'T DO IT!!! EVER!!!

When, where, why are you going to be in Upstate NY??????

I am in the Elmira/Corning area in Upstate NY. Whatever you need to keep the car going, just let me know!

I just spent nearly a week in Ottawa helping my good friend sort out numerous mods in his S2. He and his friends from Canada, have worked many, many hours on my Esprit to prepare for Vintage and Historic races that we attend every year @ Watkins Glen (just as a spectator).

So, bring it out!! You will have a plenty of support, and a great deal of fun being so close to Watkins!

Regards, Lee

[WayneB]

I dont think Slade realises how much it snows up here yet! :laughing:

[Bibs]

New York looks lovely in the winter

[USAndretti42]

If you take it with you, you could join the New York Lotus Owners' Club and make a lot of new friends to help you get to know the area.

In the US, if you sell, you will have a major problem getting another one as they are so rare so think hard and learn how to do the work yourself to save mucho dinero.

Aren't R Dent in that neck of the woods? They'll be able to help out with advice and stuff.

When all's said and done, you have to do what's right for you. Ideally you wouldn't want to take the Esprit out when the roads are wet and have been salted which means you'll need a second car for the winter. YOu may not be able to afford that and have to sell the Lotus to fund something more disposable. Better to get something that's cheap and will just last the winter and fit it with a "My other car is a Lotus" sticker rather than sit at home in the summer dreaming of what you could have been driving.

[Esprit Aviation]

Hey Bibs,

The creature in your pic of NYC looks really familiar! Doesn't he remind you of someone? Maybe his name starts w/ a 'T'????

[slade]

HAH, stories of the New York Summer and Fall already scare the shit out of me...

Well, technically I think this place is called the "North Country"... Not really upstate. Eff if I know geography over there :laughing: St. Lawrence County specifically... I'll probably do it ASAP, which means late June, and look to put my Business Administration degree to use... B) Honestly I'm looking for a change and and hopefully I can brave the snow and appreciate the place... My fiance type thing is finishing up college there for the next two or three years. If it turns out we both can't stand the place after that, I probably still won't want to come back to CA, barring a few places... Looking forward to a bit of travel actually.

Hmm, another little factor (don't quite know if it's a phase or not) is that I've sort of lost a lot of enthusiasm for cars in general lately for whatever reason... After growing up surrounded by them and enthusiasm related to them... I suppose I could psychoanalyze myself... But I'd still like to keep the Esprit as it's just hard to imagine me without it :laughing:

I drove in dandruff (in the Esprit) once for 20 mins, which is all of my experience dealing with snow... In my life.

SORTA IRONY ALERT: My Esprit was originally bought in NY, haha. it made the trip once...

Edited October 11, 2007 by slade

[jimmybondi]

Slade,

I understand you are having some thoughts about your future...

Tell me, can you imagine being espritless for the rest of your life without this icon?

G-cars are hard to get nowadays over here, so I don't assume it will be much easier to get hold of another one in the US.

The way I see it your girl has the following options:

Slade and his Esprit or a man without cojones!

[slade]

Haha... honestly... I CAN imagine myself being Espritless quite easily, which scares me kinda

(lol, and it's not a matter of only having bought the thing to attract women either... I found it was more offputting to most than anything because they assumed that my err... cojones were very small when I drove it :laughing: Not that I really cared what they thought at that point, I just enjoyed driving... (and all she noticed was that it was a very low car...) Maybe I'm too much of a cheapskate, because I find myself worrying about it, babying it, or wondering when the next thing is going to break than enjoying it...

In large part I enjoy the car for both of its histories; the fact that it's a bit period piece and icon, and its history with me personally. Met a bunch of great people because of/in it I'm not really a good enough driver to appreciate it, nor are the conditions ever right to exploit its prowess (plus I don't want anything to break, so I'm gentle with it) I'd almost just as soon keep it as a sculpture sometimes I think. I'm glad that I have no ulitmatum on selling it (anyway, she wouldn't notice even if all of a sudden I was driving something else unless the color changed ) After nearly 5 years, I do have lots of fondness for the car.

And I'm really not quite sure when or how I managed to slip out of car enthusiasm... Which might be at the root of the problem.

I'm really back and forth with this.

...Maybe if I'm still interested when I hit my midlife crisis, I'll be rich enough to buy one back, if we're still driving cars at all at that point... hmm. I guess I do actually need convincing, despite all the arguments... (still, because I'm me, I don't think I could ever do anything the "normal" way, so SMARTs or a used Insight have intrigued me...)

[Paul93Lotus]

I think you are missing one part of this equation - thinking that you will be able to unload the car quickly without taking a huge hit in what it is worth compared to what someone is willing to pay. That alone may convince you to keep the car. I say buy a used Civic for $3K as your daily driver (or whatever is economical and drives well in the snow) once you get to NY. You're likely to hit something or slide into something in the poor road conditions -so buying new would be dumb as you're probably going to f*#k it up. Keep your Esprit. Driving around in a boring people mover will shake this apathy you think you are currently having. Getting into the Esprit on occasion will make you appreciate it more once you're behind the wheel of some boring people mover.

I hear you about change...I would want to get out of Riverside too...my few visits there were less than breathtaking. The changing seasons on the East coast may also renew your love for the car because you won't be able to take the car out whenever you feel like it -the weather will forbid it. It's like the saying goes "absence makes the heart grow fonder". Also guess again that in the future you will be "allowed to buy another Esprit"...or that you'll be able to find the one you want at that time if you are given "permission"... you'll be even more ticked if you sell it and this relationship doesn't work out....because of some perception that selling this car is the responsible thing to do, because of the cost of ownership. It is always better to have the car before you are married, as it is understood that "discussions about selling the Lotus" are not allowed. (Especially since you have a history with the car).

Also thinking about "what ifs" is counter-productive sometimes. Deal with that when it happens...if it ever does. Basic statistics..just because you had red come up 5 times in a row doesn't mean the next spin will be red (as anyone who's been to Las Vegas has seen happen too often)...your car may have a long stint without any issues, especially if you are driving it less. Just start it up regularly and let the seals stay pliable.

In the time you've been "away" I have totaled my 1993 and got a S4s. My fiance would tell you I was a man obsessed until another Esprit was in my garage. Flew to Texas and went through a nightmare to get it. You won't know it was a mistake until you hand the keys over and think "What have I just done?"

I'll get off my soap box now. Boy I'm winded.

DON'T DO IT

Edited October 11, 2007 by Paul93Lotus

[Tony K]

I agree 100% with what Paul said. Every word and every thought.

[lotusdogg]

Echoing what Tony said...Paul's right on.

I lost my S2 earlier this year and am in process of looking for my next Esprit.

But, boy oh boy, do I miss my S2. You've got a great car that you know all about - keep it.

I should really go back to work now.

Be well,

Timothy