Esprit Search

[Dan777]

I've started looking for my one of

 

I'm a total "newbie" when it comes to Lotus which is why I've joined the club.  

 

Would I be correct in assuming a non turbo S3 would be a good compromise?

 

 

iI would appreciate the experts opinions on these... 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141419159108?_trksid=p2060778.m1431.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161430889835?_trksid=p2060778.m1431.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

 

 

Dan

[johnpwalsh]

Hi Dan and welcome. First off, congrats on taking full membership on TLF, it's well worth it. If you get a good S3 N/A you will love it, I just sold mine (mug) and moved up to an S4 which is great but I miss the lines of the S3.Like any other make sure she has good history or at the very least very good evidence that work has been done, for instance if somene says the belts have been changed in the last 3000 miles, you also have to ask, how long ago as many cars sit about and do very low mileage and an old belt can be as bad as a high mileage one in terms of failure. For checks as well as mechanical history, as questions about have the fuel tanks been done, the fuel hoses, what condition are the rear brake discs, may seem a strange question but try finding a replacement set.

Check the tyres, original sizes for the rears are no longer available so if the car still has them they will be a fair age by now.

Best of all, if you find a car, post a question on here I can almost gaurantee someone will know the car or it's history and will be able to gve you a good rundown on it.

Good luck in your search.

[andy b]

Dan

The adverts on both cars read well both are drivable from the get go you are lucky to have such a choice  if you like red LOL

If you can view them i would recommend that.

I have a late S3 na HC and a 82 turbo but i have to wait until nov to drive the turbo as the tax is up on the élan then so i cannot give a comment on the performance of the turbo. good luck.

andy b

[Choppa]

Dan - welcome, nothing wrong with Red Esprits  

 

As Andy says they both look worthy of an inspection, not sure where you are in the country but if you look at both of them you'll be doing quite a bit of driving!

 

I'm certainly no expert but from the listings there are on or two little bits that you might miss,  On the first one I spotted that the gear lever gaiter and handbrake cover are missing so it will be a little more noisy in the cabin as a result . As far as the lacquer  de laminating  you might find yourself looking at a little more than £500 to sort out. Longer term the problem you'd face is that whoever did the work would adjust the local respray to match the existing paintwork (which seems original )and over time as the paintwork continued to "mellow" you'd start to notice where the work had been done as it would no longer match. There would also be the possibility  that at some point the lacquer de laminating might also occur on the old paintwork on other upper surfaces of the car, don't usually get it on the sides and lower down

 

 On the second one  it has  probably been resprayed at some point, The crazing on the door is more than likely gel coat damage where someone has  parked next to it and caught it when opening the door. While the owner had the bumpers colour coded he rather oddly did not get the rear lamp surrounds painted. It's got non standard rear number plate lamps and the air intake grills on the bonnet are normally mat black not the same colour as the body. The door would have to come off if you ever wanted to replace the electric aerial. Like the first one, still a nice car and worthy of an inspection and a test drive.

 

Good luck in your search

[mdw]

Both need a proper airbox and the 2nd one has a diy plumbing bits connection from the cam cover to ( or not in this case) airbox and crank case. Unless some one has gone through the cars thoroughly  you are going to get stuff like this on a lot of these cars.  And lots have been tidied up to make a few quid but not properly gone through.  However for the right price they look ok. Whilst n/a obviously  means no turbo to go wrong you will still have jobs like tanks and manifolds that are just as tricky.  Be nice to see a pic of the Stainless manifold on the bottom one as that will have cost a few quid to sort out. 

Headlamps on 1st one need adjusting

The drivers  door on the black interior one might just be slightly open or has dropped slightly

[Dan777]

Thankyou Gentlemen,

 

Unfortunately I have no mechanical talent so I would like to get any prospective puchase inspected by someone with Esprit experience, which possilby rules out these two cars as the auctions end in a couple of days. (Is there a list of people who carry out inspections?)

 

I like my cars to be as original as possible (colour coded bumpers would have to go!) so each would need work but as mdw says "at the right price they look ok" so what is the right price for cars in this condition?

[mayevora]

Where about are you Dan? Many owners here (if within the area) may be only too pleased to view and offer a opinion on what needs doing and a rough cost idea as well as where you could get the work done.

[Dan777]

I'm in Ireland, but distance is not a problem for the right car.

[Jacques]

Is a red Esprit ugly?

 

Good luck on your search. As I'm sure others would agree, buy the best you can pay for. That pays in the longer run.

 

Kind regards,

Jacques.

 

 

[Choppa]

[pete]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1982-Lotus-Esprit-S3-low-mileage-full-history-ready-to-drive-away-/141419159108?_trksid=p2054897.l4275&clk_rvr_id=704750388469&afsrc=1

[andy b]

i love red both my cars are red but dan might not like red hence my comment. fair play some of you are so observant i look at esprit's and love em all and never notice the small details i tend to look at the big picture. As dan is no mechanic take your time dan but try and view and test drive before you purchase. Esprit's are fab cars but they can cause a drain on the wallet if you cannot do the work yourself. happy hunting.

andy b

[Jacques]

I'd say it's not the car that drains your wallet, but more the astrophysical phenomenon that occours in very close proximity to anyones Esprit - the Black Hole. Any money comes near it, and SNAP, they are gone into oblivity.

 

Cheers,

Jacques.

[johnpwalsh]

Hi Dan, just been thinking about yoour car search, Mike Brewar one of the guys here on the forum was selling a nice Silver S4 which   I considered just about a  month ago, in the  end I went for a Pacific Blue which came on the market as it was my first choice of colour, check Mike out and ping him a message.

[Dan777]

The car would have to be 30 years old to qualify for Irish classic car status so the S4 is too new.

 

The first car I mentioned ended last night at £6900. It was advertised last week on Carandclassic at £5995 and sold pretty quickly.

 

I have no problem with red!

[lostu]

Hi Dan

if you look on this forum I have just put my esprit  S3 n/a up for sale have a look and see what you think

cheers lostu and its a 30 year old lotus next month

[GhostWKD]

for instance if somene says the belts have been changed in the last 3000 miles, you also have to ask, how long ago as many cars sit about and do very low mileage 

 

Very important to consider. I was speaking to someone about a car which had belts etc done in the last 500 miles or so iirc - turned out that was 10 years ago!

 

Genuinely concerned for whomever buys that one considering the seller didn't seem bothered and has been presumably starting/moving the car despite the 10 year old cambelt...