How long?

[Kento]

The title Says it all, How long did it take You to find Your Esprit? Also did You pass any up that You now feel You SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN!

[WayneB]

Took me about a year of looking to find mine.

Got it 4 years ago in my pre-computer/ internet period.

Found it by calling a Lotus Dealer in Montreal, and asking did he have a white Turbo Esprit? (He had 2!)

It was the best of a bad bunch (4 cars).

Not exactly spoilt for choice up here.

Dont regret not buying any of the others at all

Edited February 1, 2006 by WayneB

[Loose Cannon]

1989 - Aged 21 passed up a red S1 (big mistake), too scared of my lack of experience to run the thing

1994 - Passed up a 007 copper G Turbo, too expensive, too rattly. Spent the rest of the year staring at a silk red S4 in the local dealers window and praying...

1996 - Killed myself financially to buy a Calibra Turbo, almost instantly a lime green S1 popped up for half price...Bought a copy of Autocar with the orange GT3 test car and decided no other car would do.

March 2003 - wept openly at Donington at the sight of an orange GT3, missus took pity and arranged a meeting with the bank.

May 2003 - bought orange GT3!

So, 14 years of dithering, but once I got the green light very lucky to find the perfect spec in 2 months. Pure chance mind you, the next one that would have fitted the bill popped up 2 years later.

The biggest mistake however was that first S1, owned by a Hethel engineer no less. Could have had the experience all those years ago.

[Paul C]

Got it 4 years ago in my pre-computer/ internet period.

My first one was the same, had only Club Lotus and the classic car

magazines to go on. I do regret on that occasion not buying a turbo

they had in stock, not that my S3 N/A was not a good car, but because

it turned out to have a duff engine, and in the first year i'd spent more

on the N/A engine than the price difference of the turbo car.

I went 6 months without an Esprit before finding my second. I could have

waited longer still, but i saw so many dogs, and so many that looked good

but turned out bad, that i snapped mine up as the best i'd seen at that point.

If i'd waited another month or so, then i'd have spent an extra

[JRTurbo909]

took about 3 to 4 months for me. found quite a few that werent quite running and went for the one i own now after a month or so of haggling on the price...

Shah

[fmxa]

Bought the first one I saw!!! Through a chain of bizarre events, it turned out the seller was a friend-of-a-friend who was also an Esprit owner. Car came with glowing recommendations from everyone who knew it, so I bought it, and its been a great three years!

[lotuslyles]

I started looking in December of '04 for an S4 or S4s. Passed on the perfect "looking"yellow S4 because the pre-purchase inspection proved that its beauty was only skin deep. Another S4s proved to have a repaired bent frame. I also talked to two sellers up in Minn. I believe. This was in the early part of my search and I was trying to exhaust my options for buying a local car. (After all I should have been able to find my car in Southern California, the real MOTOR CITY. Uh-oh, here come the insults.) I also considered a red 88 that was sold for a great price, but I wanted a chargecooled Esprit. Finally bought my Black 90 SE in May of '05 after starting dialogue with the seller the month before. I was still holding out for an S4 or S4s, but this car represented a great value and I have been very happy with it. I wish I could have bought that red 88 AND my SE.

Here is a small sample of the cars I considered:

http://tinyurl.com/d4hcp

~James

[Bibs]

*moved to motoring chat*

The chap I bought my car from was a friend and I tried to ply if off him for 6 years. He eventually moved to Aus and sold me the car.

When I bought it I thought it was the only Esprit in the world, I'd never seen another on the roads! It was a year into ownership I found LEW and it's been great ever since

[lottylotus]

bought a orange s1 ( set on fire )

bought a white s1 ( now in cheshire somewhere )

bought a black s1 ( now in mid wales )

bought a black 88 turbo ( still got it )

i now want an se

[th4neuk]

I spent a year doing research and trying to find out as much info as possible (thank you EFF and LEW) then 6 months to find my current car. Only looked at 3. 1 I couldn't afford and one I'm pleased I didn't buy (hard to walk away though).

Cheers

[WayneB]

bought a orange s1 ( set on fire )

i now want an  se

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sniff , Blart,Ahaargh (Wayne starts sobbing uncontrolably all over his lunch)

[Loose Cannon]

bought a orange s1 ( set on fire )

Got any pics of the orange one??? B)

[Jonathan]

The only requirement for me was a red post 1993.

My 1st helping took 8 months of solid day to day looking along with Paul C at the time. Second time out took me about 2 months, 3 red GT3's came up in 1 go !

I must admit, I regretted the V8. I bought it in frustration and it was too powerful step for me coming from a sports saloon into a monster of a supercar. The GT3 is much more my car, although I wish I'd have got one in better condition as far as metal appearance goes....mechanically its sound, just needs load of TLC which I am happy to give it.

End of the day the numbers game was so swayed out of my favour I had to take the best one at the time - really happy with my GT3 ownership so far although others seem to thing I'm not

[lottylotus]

Got any pics of the orange one??? B)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yes , i think i posted them a while back (it isn't nice viewing though)

[abrussich]

For me it was an impulse buy. I was familiar with the Lotus name but had never driven anything other than a 72 Europa.

I was with the wife and we had just left the Mazda dealership where I was looking to trade my second generation RX-7 in on a third generation model. This was in 1992. My car was a pristine 88 but it also had 88+K miles on it.

The Mazda dealer did not want to give me anything for my car and they wanted an additional 5K over sticker just to say hello.

I said no thanks and goodbye.

As we were driving away my wife told me to do a quick turn around and go to the Toyota used car lot across the highway. She had spotted something up on a display stand and wanted to check it out.

We had just seen the movie Pretty Woman a day or two before.

Sure enough there it was. A 1989 Esprit up on the rack.

We had been working on the house and as such were not dressed in our Sunday best. When the salesman saw me crawl under the car he came running out in a panic doing his best to get my shabby looking self away from the car.

The Esprit had just been delivered to the dealership to be sold on consignment. The owner had bought it for his wife who decided that she did not like it because it was to difficult to get in and out of in her evening dress, (I suffer the same problem, chuckel, chuckel).

The car had 1,700 miles on it, and the owner had purchased a transferable 6 year 100,000 mile warranty on it which he was willing to pay the cost of transfer on.

Asking price for the car....$35k.

Trying not to sound anxious or overly eager I asked what they would give me for my lowly RX-7. To my surprise and delight the answer was $10k. I told the salesman I would see what I could do and get back to him on Monday. Sinc Esprits were about as rare as hen's teeth around here I figured the chances of it still being there on Monday were good. I was right.

You should have seen the look on the salesmans face when I walked in on Monday morning in my buisness duds. He did not recognize me at first and when he did he fell all over himself apologizing for being rude the day before. I loved it!

Before handing him a check I asked for a test drive and proceeded to scare the begeezuz out of the poor schlep. Went back to the dealership, signed the papers, and drove away grinning like a loon. Still grin every time I think about that day.

It's the only car I've ever bought that way and to this day have absolutely no regrets. B)

post script to the story:

A couple of days after I had driven away in the Esprit the salesman calls to say that they had made a mistake with regards to the sales price and that I should come back to the store to work out the problem.

when I asked what that problem was he said they had undersold the car and that I would need to bring in a check to make up the difference.

I said of course! I'll be right there.....NOT!

Sometimes you just get lucky.

Edited February 2, 2006 by abrussich

[SwissV8]

First Esprit I tried was an early V8 back in '97. Tested it while the Elise was having a service. Loved it, and wanted one ever since.

Wasn't in a position to seriously consider one though until early 2004. Looked only at V8's, not really much choice here in Switzerland. At that time decided not to go for it, and bought the worst car I ever owned instead.... obviously really regretted that move. Still kept thinking about it though, until finally in Aug 05 I gave in. Luckily, the best of the V8's I'd already been considering was still available - a 2002 V8 in Yellow with only 7,000Kms.

The thing that made it really hard though, was that I saw a collector in Germany wanted to sell his Yellow Sport 300. Both cars were around the same price.... damn hard choice!

Finally I went for the V8, as:

- it was about 8 years younger

- 25,000 kms less

- already in Switzerland, so no hastle with import

- likely to be more reliable, and more usable.... after all, I did want a car to drive, not just to store away and look at!

Do I regret the decision?.... sometimes! There's something very special about the Sport 300 (don't think I need to teel you lot that!). On the other hand, I love the V8, one of the last Esprit's in Europe, and I'm never gonna give it up!!!

[Paul C]

At that time decided not to go for it, and bought the worst car I ever owned instead....

What was that then?

[SwissV8]

What was that then?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmm... now I have to embarrass myself

My wife convinced me that it would be far better to go for a car that would be comfortable for longer journeys - living in Switzerland, we often drive to Italy or France for a long weekend or holiday. Also, there's always that reliabilty question!

Anyway, I'm a real Cabrio fan, and I had the chance to grab a good deal on a 2 yr old Merc 500SL, the new shape. I have to say, I love the design, but what a heap of c**p! That was my first and last Merc. Within 1 yr, and less that 8,000km's, it had been back to the Merc dealer 9 times, for around 15 different faults!

I'm absolutely convinced the Esprit would have been much more reliable, and also depreciated less!

..... you did ask!

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

My personal story is a bit back-to-front I think compared to most people's....

I spent two and half years learning to drive from when I was 18 through to 20. It was so difficult fitting the driving lessons in with my strange working hours and consequently I ended up having 86 driving lessons spread over a time period of 30months before finally passing my test on the first attempt in April 2005.

Becuase I'd then been saving up for so long, I immediately had the ability to go car crazy and bought a Porsche 944 (rusted to hell, big mistake), a Toyota MR2 (don't even ask!), and my Esprit Turbo SE a few weeks later in June 2005.

In retrospect, it was all a bit daft - I should have bought a sensible everyday thing like an astra and then maybe waited for a really decent SE to come along rather than plumping for the first 'half-decent' one I saw which is kinda what I did in the end in all fairness my car was probably only 7/10 in terms of condition (not that I'll be telling my insurers that )

If experience has taught me anything it is to hold your horses and wait for a REALLY good example to rear it's head. But then again this is advice I'd never follow myself. I'm quite sure that when I get my cheque I'll be straight out there and buying a Esprit within 48hrs of the cheque clearing!

[slade]

I thought this all was asking something obscene pm me for the details of the true answer of "how long"

Anyways. Bout a year. Saw one that looked good from a distance on ebay that didn't sell, sent my dad down to investigate. It checked out, so here I am

slade

[mayevora]

Having loved the Esprit for so long without owning one. I made the big mistake of buying the first one I looked at! As soon as I had reasonable funds, heart rulled head a parted with some hard earned. Diddn't know any other owners or where to find good advise and unaware of LEW.

Brought it home and booked it in for C service straight away. Soon realised it needed Pads/Discs all round and not to mention tyres (which were the wrong size anyway) Pop ups were bouncing all over the place when driven at night. Two headlights cracked, Tail release badly bodged, broken ariel, broken air-con, no jacking points, no engine heatshield, badly scuffed alloys, rubber door surounds ripped, Haddn't looked under mats and carpet down to bodyshell. Exhaust not attached well and ratteling on bodywork at right exit.

However bodywork, gearbox and engine all looking and working well - more luck than judgement. Ok all above is cosmetic and has now been brought back to former glory, but it all costs! Had I not been blind/daft, I should have had a good look around. The moral is if you don't own an Esprit and are looking, take someone with you who knows what to look for and where to look! 5 years on and I have a great car but at a much inflatted cost to myself.

[markt]

Ditto.

Just about everything Ian's just said, I went though the same thing. Did have LEW on my side though.

Before the Esprit, I desperately wanted a 911. Took me 5 years to scape up enough cash to buy one. I drove it for a year and hated the thing. Sold it and wanted a Dancing Donkey. Drove those and didn't like them either. Found a pic of me at my uncles wedding sitting in a black JPS S2. Had a moment of clarity.

Actively looked for an Esprit for the last 4 years and bought the 1st one I saw. Not exactly lots to choose from here, so you take your chances. I've spent serious cash the last 6 months to start getting mine sorted. Dealer saw me coming a mile off

This one is for keeps though. There's a great car under the bodges and annoying faults. Bit of patience, cash and time will tell. Have the car for 8 months and already a big improvement over what I bought

[s4simon]

18 months of searching for me.

Had to be a late model S4 with the Brembos

Had to be Red

Had to have the tan interior

Had to have low mileage

So as you can imagine, not many of this type popped up.

Was worth the wait though.

[Vulcan Grey]

I looked for over 2 years. I've always wanted an Esprit, since I was about 5 , but never thought I would be able to get one. I kinda forgot about Lotus for a while until the Elise came out in '95. Then I was really into Lotus for a few years, and then I finally saw the prices for 88-89 Esprits in Autoweek. I couldn't believe the prices that they were asking (as in how low). I started keeping tabs on all of them that I saw for sale, to get a good idea of whet they went for. Also started searching the internet for all the info I could find--- www.espritfaactfile.com was a huge help.

I finally had a good job, though temporary, and I asked my company what I had to do to be hired permanently. They said "make yourself indespensable" So I did, and they did hire me. So I began really looking for an Esprit.

I knew I wanted a metallic blue color, but those are impossible to find. I found a few on the web, and one I really liked, it looked blue in the pictures, though he called it "vulcan grey". I really wanted that one, but it wasn't for sale.

Then one day I saw an email to the US TurboEsprit list, it was the owner of the blue looking "vulcan grey" car. He was thinking about selling it cause he found a silver 93.5SE in his town.

I emailed him back within minutes and told him not to sell it to anyone cause I was driving to see it the next day.

So I grabbed my best friend and my parents Volvo, and we drove from Colorado to Nashville Tennesse (1200miles each way!!). 17 hours later we were at the guy's house. We pulled up and saw the car, first thing I said was "That's not blue!" The sky was overcast that day and the car was Grey grey, not blue at all.

But We took it for a test drive, I didn't know how to drive a manual transmission car, so my friend drove first. Then I stalled t 10 times on my turn. We had no license plate, and had three cop cars following us around everywhere!

The next day, the owner let us take the car across town and inspect the car. We took that thing apart, and checked everything from the Espritfactfile.com. It wasn't perfect, but I did like the color.

So I put it back togerther and bought it, drove it home (1200miles) with the only problem being a broken windshield wiper.

That was in September 2000. Still have the car as you can see from my garage info.

[gghc87]

FIVE YEARS , BUT WAS IT WORTH THE WAIT OR WHAT !!!