Exige Sport 350 - buying guidance required

[J-P]

So I have thought about having a Lotus for some time now.  I love them and think that they are great cars.  Having seen the quality of the cars improve over the last couple of years, I'm more tempted than I've ever been to get a new Exige.  Clearly, there is a lot of choice now in the Exige range but the Sport 350 appears to be the pick of the range, given its relatively attractive pricing point when compared to the Cup 380 and Sport 380 - especially after options.  There are also plenty of aftermarket upgrades if you want to make some changes to the way the car performs, which is always a good option.

I've started to look at running costs and just wanted a view from the Lotus community about how expensive these  cars are to run.  I accept that road tax would be higher than the Cayman but it appears the running costs may be more too?  For example, I can get rear brake pads for the Cayman for £60 - these would be the same Brembo pads that Porsche uses but without the Porsche badge, even paying for the badge would only cost me £130, whereas the Lotus items appear to be £220, which is way more than I was expecting.

Servicing is reasonable if it's £450 a year as indicated (but still more than the Porsche).

Finally, what is the depreciation hit likely to be over 2 years?  The Cayman has actually risen a few grand in the past year or two (bizarrely)  so it's been a depreciation free experience for me as I got such a good deal at outset.

The Exige is a lovely car to drive and I do want one but I still need to consider the financial implications.

thoughts? 

TIA

 

J-P

 

 

[LF1]

Firstly, nice one...

Are you planning on tracking the car or is it primarily for road use? I get the impression this is a 2 year cycle so brakes won't be an issue if you are not tracking it.

Unlike the Elise I found the OEM pads on the Exige lasted well, i got through a couple of sets in my 2 years of ownership - but that was with a huge amount of track time, the disks were fine but  would have needed replacing had I held onto the car within a few months. For me the biggie was tyre wear, I believe the geometry on the 350 onwards has been tweaked to  make this more even across the tyre, but we were getting through a set of rears over the course of 2 - 3 track days. There are a number of threads on here about it. I'm pretty sure that was all it cost us over the 2 years - really all reasonable wear and tear from a lot of track use.

Depreciation from new I can comment on, but I'd done significant miles - about 22k in 2 years, the car was immaculate when I sold it to a dealer but the hit was still about 30% (this was an LF1 mind so higher initial price and I am not sure it carried tht to resale). At the time I felt I got a good deal selling - it was a straight sale rather than SOR, I probably could have got a few more K on SOR as the car needed no prep. I also wonder how the 50/50 deals that were all coming to an end around that time affected the price. The 350 is about 18 months old now so I would have thought you could get some guage of prices now.

We had inclusive servicing for 3 years so I am not sure how much it would have been, they need doing annually or 10k IIRC and there is also a running in service which at the time you seemed to have to pay for - I expect you could get that included with the deal. I We had a 918 Boxster S along side it - we never drove it other than an occasional commute car after getting the Exige. I don't think you'll regret it! The porsche was every 2 years/20k miles servicing without requiring a running in service for comparison - don't know if it was the same with the previous generation?

[J-P]

Thanks for the feedback LF1 that's really helpful.

I will definitely track the car but probably not more than 3 times a year with maybe one big European trip?  I like the service inclusive option, I'll ask about that as that'll save me at least £900, which is worth having.  I'm generally quite good with tyres, for example, the OEM Bridgestones (which were awful) lasted 4 years, in fact I didn't actually need to change them even then, so I'm hoping that I won't kill the rears.  No my problem is definitely brakes, I go through rear pads like they are going out of fashion!

I'll take a look at some used cars now and see where they are price-wise.  Do we know what the launch price was for the Sport 350?  I presume it's gone up a couple of grand on price?

[LF1]

Pad wear is increased if you use tour, sport or race mode, particularly the rear. There was some debate on this originally regarding race mode, but it does use the brakes to help with corner entry. So turning off all that will reduce brake wear. I don't know if the brakes on the 350 were the race spec as standard or not though. I wonder if your pad wear is because of the £60/set you are using? I know the OEM Elise pads don't last but when you put decent compound on they do. On my Caterham when we were forced to use road pads due to regs at about £60 a set I had to replace every race weekend and lost feel at about 50% wear which amplified the issue. Now we are open and I am running the same as the Elise they have lasted 6 months and you can run them to the plates. Shelling out £160/axle every 6 months is far better than £60/month.

[The Pits]

Just passed 15,000 miles in my V6 Cup yesterday on the way to its annual service. Plenty of trackdays later the original pads are still at 50% at the front and 20% at the rear. I've replaced rear pads now but consider that very reasonable. Most owners will not replace brake pads during their ownership. If you're going on track use up your standard tyres and then fit Avon ZZRs. I think they are the best tyre for the car. As fast as the Trofeo and they last much longer. No idea how they do it but they are a great road legal track tyre. Cheaper too! Not the best in heavy rain but otherwise very hard to fault.

I would ring around the dealers to see what deals are out there. Quite a few cars coming into stock now for the summer so deals to be had. You might be able to make the numbers work for a 380 too. B&C have a great option for the noise issue if that's what's stopping you.

[Gashead1105]

3 year inclusive service deal was an offer that Lotus were running a couple of years ago. They aren't doing so now, although if you are looking at second hand cars you might find an example which has some remaining. Main new incentive is the 2yrs 0% 50:50 deal and some money off the list price. In fact, I paid my 50:50 finance off half an hour ago! 

If you want a costing, because of the service plan I've spent almost nothing on the car in the first 2 years, and if I didn't track the car I would've had no costs at all beyond petrol and road tax. If you are buying new the road tax is almost a complete non-issue now in comparison to other cars due to the tax changes from 1 April. 

Having tracked the car half a dozen times or so (I've can't actually remember so maybe more than that!) including going to Spa, and done about 5k road miles on top - my OE corsas are on their last legs, having been heat cycled to death, but they are rock hard now and are still road legal so I haven't replaced them yet. What I have had to do is fit new pads all round and new rear discs after my last trip to Snetterton wore the rear pads to the metal. I went for RS14s rather than OE, so the cost including new discs, labour etc was just over 1k which I don't think was too bad actually considering RS14s all round are £500 inc VAT, new disc at £130 plus VAt per side, castrol brake fluid rather than lotus OE (the service package only includes OE stuff, if you want to put Castrol SRF in - and if you track the car you should - then that needs to be paid for on top. 

If you buy new it's going to lose you 15k over 2 years in depreciation. Sorry. But I think a new Cayman at the same price point will do the same or be even worse. If you buy used and someone else has taken the depreciation hit, I don't think you need to worry about it being a material cost going forward, it's still a rare car and at 40k offers so much performance for the money that I can't see there being much more to lose for the forseeable future. 

Edit - also I track the car in race or sport mode, I haven't got the talent or balls to turn it all off given the potential costs of an accident! Hence spending the money on the RS14s, having had a set on my S2 exige which lasted the whole 4 year ownership period and many many trackdays I think it should be money well spent.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Gashead1105

[LF1]

@Gashead1105 - wow... it's been 2 years? Actually I seem to remember your car being about ready as we were ordering the Elise so that's about right... how time flies!

Corsas are standard on the 350 I believe - they last better but cost lap time and overheat. I only ran Trofeo on the V6, although I was planning to move to ZZR had I kep the car. Due to warrenty issues and the fact I was tracking it I wanted to play by the rules. We started using Trofeo R when they were available and they did seem to last longer at the same price. Although that's probably irrelevant now they are not the OEM tyres on the cars.

Also I would pay for a track inspection at a Lotus dealer every couple of track days this was about £99 at the time for a couple of hours labour checking it all over.

@The Pits 5k miles a year... come on, drive the thing - I managed 22k in 18 months!

[Gashead1105]

Indeed Tom. Can't quite believe how quickly it's gone, but that's life!

[J-P]

Thanks everybody for your advice.  I guess I've been spoiled.  I never expected the Cayman to be depreciation free but so it has proven (more or less). Guess I'll have to make a call on it.

PS tried a few pads on the Cayman.  It has Pagid RS 29s on it right now.  The £60 brembo jobbies are almost as good.  Reckon the Sport version may be even better.  Like I said it's what Porsche fit as standard without the Porsche tax ;-)

[Gashead1105]

Didn't realise your current car is a Cayman R. I drove one before I got my V6 (it was comfort spec, crap colour, crap seats, crap pdk box). Drove to the dealer in a moderately modified S2 Exige. Took the R down one of my favourite local loops and it just felt slow, wallowy and under braked compared to even that, so the Sport 350 should blow your mind! 

[J-P]

So I tried the 350 Sport and it was nice but I didn't like it anywhere near as much as the 380 Sport.  B&C have a beautiful grey one with carbon bits and yellow accents that looks sensational.  Somewhat understated but really purposeful.

I'm a bit stuck with what to do now.  I don't want to get an amazing car that I can only use on loud days and I can't see myself in the Sport 350 as I like the Sport 380 so much more.  An expensive muffler option or new exhaust seems a real waste of money.  And in any case don't want to spend loads more on a car that's already £80k. 

4 hours ago, Gashead1105 said:

Didn't realise your current car is a Cayman R. I drove one before I got my V6 (it was comfort spec, crap colour, crap seats, crap pdk box). Drove to the dealer in a moderately modified S2 Exige. Took the R down one of my favourite local loops and it just felt slow, wallowy and under braked compared to even that, so the Sport 350 should blow your mind! 

I've no idea why some people spec'd their R in an odd way, the buckets make a big difference.  It's a car that takes some getting used to, it's not as immediate as a Lotus but it sounds incredible and does handle really well.  I like it a lot I especially like that it doesn't depreciate!

[Gashead1105]

The siren call of 50:50 must be heeded on the 380 sport. The only possible answer! It's only 40k! Or less!! Who cares about depreciation, there's always more money to be made and you can probably get B&c to chuck in the quieter back box....  As I like to say to @Gm77...

Do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope that is helpful. 

[The Pits]

Agreed, B&C could work that exhaust into the deal somehow. If you like the spec and the colour then well worth making an offer. Must be less than £80k surely? How about your TLF discount?

This must be the car here at 2.34, saw it yesterday, stunning car in a great spec.

 

[cbaileyuk]

BUY IT! 

 

As said, only money. Just make some more

[550superfast]

47 minutes ago, J-P said:

So I tried the 350 Sport and it was nice but I didn't like it anywhere near as much as the 380 Sport.  B&C have a beautiful grey one with carbon bits and yellow accents that looks sensational.  Somewhat understated but really purposeful.

I'm a bit stuck with what to do now.  I don't want to get an amazing car that I can only use on loud days and I can't see myself in the Sport 350 as I like the Sport 380 so much more.  An expensive muffler option or new exhaust seems a real waste of money.  And in any case don't want to spend loads more on a car that's already £80k. 

 

Hello mate - Oakmere have a yellow 380 Sport for £69K - that spec any good to you?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/exige-s3/lotus-exige-3-5-sport-380/6785341

[Gashead1105]

Trade in the cayman, 50:50 and they will probably give you cash to drive off in a new car. No brainer! New Lotus, cash, and no more Porsche. How much better could anyone's day get?!

[J-P]

59 minutes ago, 550superfast said:

Hello mate - Oakmere have a yellow 380 Sport for £69K - that spec any good to you?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/exige-s3/lotus-exige-3-5-sport-380/6785341

Hi buddy - spec is not ideal - wouldn't want leather seats but this car is used.  Doubt Oakmere will do 50:50 on it, so wouldn't work, sadly!

[J-P]

1 hour ago, The Pits said:

Agreed, B&C could work that exhaust into the deal somehow. If you like the spec and the colour then well worth making an offer. Must be less than £80k surely? How about your TLF discount?

This must be the car here at 2.34, saw it yesterday, stunning car in a great spec.

 

Yes that's the puppy!  Looks amazing in the flesh!  What TLF discount? Jamie has already agreed to fit a frame harness bars towing eye and strap and is looking into QR wheel for me.  If there's also a muffler option and some reduction in servicing costs, it's going to be very hard to resist!

[J-P]

3 hours ago, 550superfast said:

Hello mate - Oakmere have a yellow 380 Sport for £69K - that spec any good to you?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/lotus/exige-s3/lotus-exige-3-5-sport-380/6785341

 

By the way Gary, if I do get one - we're going to have a race 

 

[The Pits]

I'd work on a deal with the exhaust if you really like that car. They have a lot of stock currently though the 380 Cup price will help Sport 380 sales. It's certainly made me take another look at them.

You can fit all the other stuff later and if you're concerned about cost it will add a lot, could be another £3-4K to do and not essential to enjoying trackdays. Personally I'd see how I got on with noisy days first unless you don't like the noise the standard pipe makes.

If in doubt always ask for a TLF discount! 

[J-P]

Good advice - I like the std noise but I like doing Bedford because it's counter clockwise, so good for tyre wear.  Rockingham is a bit of a trek (also counter clockwise) and more expensive.  That means having a car that will get through on quiet days. Maybe I'll ask for that and the towing eyes.  The rest I can live with to be honest.

[The Pits]

Yes I'd work on the best possible deal for the car first then fine tune it with extra bits and pieces. That Quicksilver exhaust is your best chance of getting a Sport 380 around Bedford but still might not be quiet enough, Bedfords one of the strictest on noise, I don't even know for sure if my standard Exige V6 Cup would get through there and I think this pipe is a bit louder than that. Worth talking to B&C and Quicksilver, one of them must have noise tested it by now. I'm having doubts about removing the airbags from a Cup 380 and I've invested pretty heavily in quick release steering wheels, I'd simply stick with the airbags in a Sport 380, the Exige's airbag wheel is as good as they get and it should help for resale too. Harnesses do complete the carbon seats, they were designed to be used with harnesses really. But that can be done at any time later for the same cost.

[J-P]

Agree with you Jonny.  The QR wheel just makes getting in and out easier. As well as being a good anti theft device but I quite like the standard wheel too!

would really like it to get into quiet days though!

[cbaileyuk]

4 hours ago, J-P said:

Hi buddy - spec is not ideal - wouldn't want leather seats but this car is used.  Doubt Oakmere will do 50:50 on it, so wouldn't work, sadly!

Aside from it being used (and potentially colour) explain what is not idea on the spec, what seats are you hoping for?

Edited April 28, 2017 by cbaileyuk
Studf

[Gashead1105]

My V6 S is fine at Bedford on its standard pig snout backbox.