Sunday Times Esprit Article

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

Esprit in Sunday Times

Some of the prices are a bit 'out there' but generally its reasonably accurate and actually complimentary for a change!

They have even found LEW!

[SteveSmith]

Don't knock the fact that Paul Matty slightly exaggerated the values - its comments like that that help to keep the values of our cars up when compared to the likes of Parkers etc.

Pretty good article I reckon - though I wouldn't trust Club Lotus to 'recommend' a specialist to service my car knowing their 'connections' with a certain 'specialist' in Kent

[esprit350]

sorry must be missing something here, what connection do Club Lotus have with a speciaist?

PM if you wish

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

I find that UK Sports Cars seem to advertise in Club Lotus magazine quite a lot.....

Yes it's true - it's nice to see the esprit being talked up - I spoke to Paul Matty just over a year ago when I broke my car He gave me a half an hour of his time and was happy to chat and offer help with the insurers and the value if I needed it!

He told me then that he was always trying to talk up the price of the Esprit (well, like any of the cars / Lotus he sells) As a dealer, he obviously has that half of a vested interest int doing so but in all fairness, talking to him I could tell he was a genuine enthusiast and fan and clearly liked the idea of these cars being valued more accurately with regards to their rewards / abilities / status

[esprit350]

I like Paul Matty and his team a lot, Renu had the cam belts on the S350 done there last year and he totally mis estimated on time but stuck to his original quote. I went to test drive some elise's in january and he had loads of time and was very helpful ofering insurers numbers etc, unlike Nick Whale round the corner who sussed i was not going to buy that afternoon so would not even let me drive a car. I was trying to find out wether to go for a S1 elise or an S2.

I have since decided to go for an Esprit as soon as I can find somwhere to store it. The garage is full of Renu's Sport350 and the drive has my car and Renu's landrover and her daily drive.

[Paul C]

sorry must be missing something here, what connection do Club Lotus have with a speciaist?

PM if you wish

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No need to PM.

My first Esprit was from UK Sportscars. I had a club lotus valuation

form that needed to be sent to the club to be endorsed, and then sent

on to footman james for my agreed value. The owner of UKSC (Paul)

Endorsed my form as a 'Club lotus official' on the day i bought the car.

This was really useful as it saved the paper chain and let me send off

the valuation he approved straight to my insurer.

Sadly six months of that first insurance was

wasted while the car had a full engine rebuild.

[WayneB]

Pleased to see Paul Matty mentioned positively, have been buying parts for my car off him for many years, always treated well by Clive in parts dept. It works out more economic for me to buy parts from Mattys in U.K. then to use local suppliers(by a large margin) On the subject of the value of our Esprits, this is such a double edged sword, when we want to buy we want them as cheap as poss.,when we sell ,want as much as poss.! I got my car fairly cheap, which is the reason I was able to buy it. I feel if prices go up it will price alot of genuine enthusiasts out of ever owning an Esprit Wayne 83Turbo

[rocket63]

Pleased to see Paul Matty mentioned positively, have been buying parts for my car off him for many years, always treated well by Clive in parts dept. It works out more economic for me to buy parts from Mattys in U.K. then to use local suppliers(by a large margin)  On the subject of the value of our Esprits, this is such a double edged sword, when we want to buy we want them as cheap as poss.,when we sell ,want as much as poss.! I got my car fairly cheap, which is the reason I was able to buy it. I feel if prices go up it will price alot of genuine enthusiasts out of ever owning an Esprit   Wayne 83Turbo

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Its a good point Wayne. You are spot on.

However, as time goes by, I believe that Esprit's that are genuinely looked after will generally start to realise stronger values.

With no current "New" esprit's on the market to devalue older cars anymore, the good will become more sought after. There will also now be a limited supply of vehicles that will generally disappate with time through accidents, age, breakers, appathy etc.

There is no more new to sustain production figures.

Just ask anyone who is currently trying to source an Esprit for purchase currently. There are not many nice ones on the market. I spent 9 months trying to get a car that matched expectations.

You could say i am choosey, or you could also recognise that there are some right old nails out there, even with the newer models.

I am just glad i decided to purchase now. I believe in 12-18 months time, it will dawn upon people outside of the Lotus circles, that these cars are no longer available and just how desirable we all know they are.

And by that time, the price will be out of reach for most genuine enthusiasts for this superb car.

Proud to be an Esprit owner. Damn right.

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Has anyone seen this weeks Autocar. They have an article on the new Esprit. Mind you I am not tacking it to seriously as they seem to me to be guessing, about a great deal.