Newbie GT3

[buccal]

Hi everyone, newbie post so don't flame please!

I have been on the hunt for an elise but have just fallen in love with this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/996714.htm

What do you think in terms of price, running costs and things to look for?

Car would be for weekend use only and less than 4000 miles per year.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/947596.htm is also very close to me

Any thoughts gratefully recieved.

Edited April 19, 2009 by buccal

[ramjet]

Alex,

The guys on here won't flame you at all. They helped me a lot with answers to questions when I was looking at an S4 over here in Australia. These guys will sort you with whether the prices are fair and if they know the cars you'll get their opinions.

Best of luck and don't give up on it. I absolutely love driving my esprit. Weather is great here today so I'm about to take the glass roof out and drive around with the roof off.

A lot of the guys are at Donnington I think so might be a while till you see some replies.

Michael.

[andydclements]

If it were my choice and both cars were mechanically in the same sate it would be the Chrome Orange one, probably the best colour (to my taste), with Mustard and Lime green coming close, Red is fine, but don't be surprised if people think it's an Italian wanabe by being red.

I did state, if they were both mechanically the same.

That;s the bit that counts, just because yo prefer the colour of one over the other doesn't mean it's the one to buy. Make sure you get the car inspected by a reputable Lotus specialist (franchised or not), if you don't you could find the purchase price disappears into insignificance against the bills to get it to a decent mechanical standard. A car of your preferred choice is great, a full scale model that costs the same but you can't use for various reasons may annoy you.

Service history is great, but can be meaningless. I like the idea of the seller stating a service and belt change will be included, but why not have it done somewhere suitable where they will be brutally honest with you as to the general state of the vehicle.

Find out where the cars are maintained, phone those firms and find out what you can (maintained on a budget with only bits necessary to keep it going done Vs maintained with no reasonable expense spared).

Don't think you have to buy the first one that ticks all the right boxes, but don't think that you have to find the perfect one, consider somewhere between the two.

Have you set your mind on the GT3? If so, think about what it was that did so, and keep that in mind when looking at the cars. If not, try meeting up with some local owners (GT3 and others) and see if you can be a passenger in various ones. That way you'll understand what the cars should be like, and what isn't a case "They all do that!"

And good luck hunting down the right one.

Andy

[arbell9]

Hi Alex,

welcome to the forum.

Firstly perfect selection my good friend. best and finest they ever made, reliable and cost effective to run.

http://www.lotusespritforum.com/forums/ind...c=21184&hl=

Check out this GT3 running costs threads to give you an idea of what you would getting into.

cheers

and bummer Alex --GT3-- name is already gone lol

Edited April 19, 2009 by Alex --GT3--

[Backmarker]

I agree with Andy, don't let colour be the factor that determines which car you have.

Pick the best GT3 you can afford. The red one has half the milage of the orange one. These cars like to be used and not stored so a very low mileage can be as much of a problem as it can be an attraction.

I wanted a turbo S3 but couldn't find the right one. In my haste for Esprit ownership I bought an S4. It was a great car but in Silk Red it was not to everyones liking.

I still wanted a turbo S3 and got one when an excellent example came on the market. I didn't keep it long before moving onto a V8-GT. I missed things like ABS & PAS.

Both the red and orange car have the old interior. You might prefer to get a 1998 model onwards which has the latest interior.

Look at as many different Esprits as you can. Get along to regional meets. The guys on here will happily show you their Esprits. You may even be able to blag a ride in the passenger seat

Good luck with the search and welcome aboard

[Cos]

Hi

Welcome to the forum.

Before buying any Stephens car, get it up on a jack and have a bloody good look under there. These cars dont mix very well with water, and rust on GT3s is very very common.

dont be fooled by the shiny paint on the GT3s. The paint finish was very good. Its underneigth you ought to inspect.

Usual stuff also count, oil leaks from engine or gearbox, cracked (repaired) exhuast maninfold, rust springs and shocks, rust on the suspension parts. Whinning turbo etc etc etc The bills to fix these problems can, and has run into

[karluk29]

ive owned mine for 6 years and its as cheap as a normal car to run, so dont be scared at all

its only a 4 pot like most cars are, most bits are vauxhall, just use your head and you will find

that normal service parts are all very very cheap, remember a bosch part in a bosch bag is

the same as a bosch part in a "lotus" bag, unless you like to pay triple for a bag LMAO. spark

plugs are around

[Jonathan]

Mines been an excellent car, dont let mileage pput you off though - as long as the car has been looked after it should be fine. Mine had low mileage but was neglected and hence needed a lot of work to get it back upto scratch.

Appart from that I have had no issues with the original Lotus parts over 4 years, the radiator burst but that was down to lack of maintenance really.

Lovely cars, you can really chuck them about but they are not too crazy.

Also dont let the lower BHP put you off - the GT3 is light, mine gained 20hp just from an air filter and exhaust.

Service it propperly and be nice to it and it'll last you - mine only really does 200 miles a month as well, it's not ideal for it but it's never let me down despite what all the 'car exsperts' say. Def been one of the best car's Ive ever owned.

[Gasman GT3]

The GT3 is probably the most reliable way into Esprit ownership, both cars you are looking at are reasonably priced and look at

[Backmarker]

I see that a red one has been added to the LEW For Sale site today ( 20 April 09 ). I've not checked it out so over to you

And now this one complete with latest interior

http://www.lotusespritforum.com/forums/ind...c=23278&hl=

[Jonathan]

I really do like your orange car

I like it a lot.

[buccal]

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the replies!

I've always fancied a GT3 and can still remember the original autocar review so its hopefully the right time for me to take the plunge.

One question is how easy is it to source the "sports" rather than confort seats? i would imagine they don't come along that often on ebay etc.

As for maintenance i'm still struggling with lightbulbs so will need to find a local specialist. I'm based in London but am hoping to escape soon (Barry Ely is just down the road from me).

Conventionally i would have always gone for the red lower mileage car but as you say its probably different this time and the orange looks sensational

Will keep you updated

Thanks again

Alex

[Kimbers]

Nothing wrong with red!! Lovely Colour. But I must admit, I did always want an Orange one. When they are clean they look sensational.

Everyone has said virtually everything u need to know. Just to re-iterate. Mileage means nothing really (as long as it's not silly) most important is a full and regular service history from a decent garage. Many Esprits were bought by people who don't have enough money to maintain them so they tended to skip the Cam Belt service (2 yearly) and undermaintain the cars. This causes unreliability with pipes coming loose/rubbing, minor oil leaks becoming major etc etc.

If in doubt ask if any mechanical minded member would mind coming and looking at it with you.

Good Luck

[Jonathan]

Sports seats are hard to come by and can end up rather expensive, all Esprit parts like brakes, wheels and so on tend to go extremely quickly once advertised so you have to be lucky.

Best bet is to buy from a specialist (factor

[buccal]

Quick update, the GT3 was taken as p/ex at christopher neil (surprised they didn't retail it).

I'm awaiting details of the service history though it is def due a cambelt.

Anyone near preston?

[Backmarker]

Carl Charlesworth is near Preston.

Not been too active on here recently.

Drop him a PM. He's CarlC on here.

Carl has/had an S4. Very friendly knowledgeable guy

[Kimbers]

Hmmm due a Cambelt then prob complete C Service required. Allow the money for your seats for the service and leave the seats till later is my recommendation.

If not I believe Purza has just put a very nice V8 on here at a snip of a price and it's a known LEF car as well, Cam Belts done and very low mileage (35k).

[buccal]

Thanks again, rightly or wrongly i'm a bit scared of the V8 in terms of running costs, reliability etc.

Gasman, thanks for the offer will give you a shout if i'm ever in the area.

Will probably try and look at the red one at the weekend.

[buccal]

Quick update, sadly the orange GT3 sold to the first viewer, the day before i had arranged to travel up to see it.

Thanks again for all the advice, wonder how long it will take for another orange one to come along..........

[Backmarker]

Don't rush and something will come along. Looking at as many Esprits as possible is part of the education/fun

[buccal]

I'm struggling to get a grasp on GT3 prices in general.

They seem to be anywhere from 13-19k, also a few for sale for over 12months, is that just a credit crunch/recession thing?

Finally very few with the carbon seats, they're about a grand to source?

Thanks

Alex

[Backmarker]

That price range is about right.

These are supercars and you can't just use Glasses Guide.

There may be many reasons why some are

[arbell9]

Hi Alex,

like Graham says take your time looking for the right car. I bought mine using emotion and so far have been very lucky with her. A 13K car may need 2.5K of work, but then it will be a worth 15k after the work is done. Some prices are a tad optomisitc. If you want a reference point, mine csot 18.5k with only 16 000 miles on the clock at a dealer 2 and half years ago, it the last of the 4 cylinder esprits to roll off the production line and so has a small amount of historic value. Like most GT3s it was adorned with all the v8 SE accessories, some of which have come off because i dont want them. If you can get a car that looks decent but better still has a record of being driven regularly then thats what i would go for.

If you want to see what mine is like for a comparison to what you have seen and its not to far ( bear in mind i travel the country in mine for fun) i can come over one evening. Drop me a PM if you are interested.

cheers

Alex

[Gasman GT3]

Alex is spot on, buy what seems to be a cheap car and you can bet your bottom dollar you will have to spend straight away. I bought mine from a dealer 5 years ago and it cost me

[buccal]

Hi,

Have any members been to see this car?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

It seems to have been for sale for ages, well priced, serviced etc etc

Any opinions?

Alex