DukeOfUndersteer wrote: heres a burnt orange Elise for $32,500... http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/1555004561.html
You can easily find them for $10k less than that.
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f94/sold-2005-yellow-elise-17k-miles-touring-package-23k-81428/
And I was very close to trading in my Miata on a Elise before I lost my job. I will own one, I promised my 3 year old daughter (named Elise) one.
I was on track to get one until our third child came along. Quick, good gas mileage, reliable drivetrain, and wicked looks To that is as good as it gets.
Mine is another year or two away, but one day ...
Rusnak_322 wrote: You can easily find them for $10k less than that. http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f94/sold-2005-yellow-elise-17k-miles-touring-package-23k-81428/
From ^^^that^^^ ad:
"Bought this car for my daughter who has decided to not learn how to drive a stick. Why is beyond me and I'm tired of having it sit in the garage."
If only she knew what she was missing 
.
They aren't using Toyota throttle cables, are they?
The horror is that it is a complete toy.
It has virtually no practical purpose at all.
Still it sure it fun for what it can do. 
jstein77 wrote: They aren't using Toyota throttle cables, are they?
joepaluch wrote: The horror is that it is a complete toy.
Can't be that much worse then my old Fiero or my Miata.
I am just guessing, but I expect that most of the owners have at least on other car. I find that I can get by with my Miata about 90% of the time, I almost never drive my truck. I am sure I could live with the Elise the same way.
The trunk is smaller than in the Miata, but IME in a more useful shape. I've done my weekly food shop in it occasionally and I've always had enough space in it.
to add on to the trunk, the battery is tiny and if left outside in cold temps, they die - and often...
one of my friends daily drives his Elise and loves it. he blew up the diff from too many ProSolo drag launches, but otherwise i think it's been a solid car. he says he'll never sell it, and after taking it for a drive, i understand why.
the trunk is probably useful on a daily basis unless you frequently haul around large suitcases or a lot of groceries. it will not fit a set of golf clubs like a miata trunk will, however.
there's a guy in our region who has autoXed one for several years; it is a mess. there might not be an intact panel on it; it's mostly black duct tape at this point. but that thing is stinking fast through the cones.
I like the fact that you can't haul a bag of golf clubs in it, that proves to me that it is a real sports car. Not a car for someone who likes to waste time chasing little white balls around a park, but instead likes to chase little orange cones around a course!
i wasn't presenting it as a positive or a negative...only as an illustration of the difference in shape from a miata trunk.
although i'd submit that an NA miata is also a "real sports car."
The only think i have to add is I know someone who was given the chance to drive one, and his foot didnt fit between the center tunnel and the brake pedal. I think they are only for pretty small people, if you have trouble with a miata or x1/9 then forget it.
The Elise is cool, but I was thinking of putting in a modified small-block Chevy LS3.
Please don't knock this thread off track with another argument about what arbitrary factors make an automobile a "sports car"
I've had my eye on these for a while. Unfortunately I need to haul a kid in a carseat and either a 70lbs or 100lbs shepherd (one of the dogs usually comes to work with me) every day. I'm sure I could put the dog in the trunk or something, but it'd get old pretty quick.
skruffy wrote: I've had my eye on these for a while. Unfortunately I need to haul a kid in a carseat and either a 70lbs or 100lbs shepherd (one of the dogs usually comes to work with me) every day. I'm sure I could put the dog in the trunk or something, but it'd get old pretty quick.
Dunno man, my ratties seem to absolutely love rooting around in the trunk of my car.
no graceful way to enter the cabin with the top on
FO_REAL.
So, what I'm gathering in the negative column:
- expensive bodywork
- potential for chassis damage with minor shunt
The rest (small trunk, challenging ingress/egress, maybe noisy) all strikes me as par for the course with a dedicated sportscar.
Although this won't be our only car (by any means...) it will see daily use, and it will probably accumulate something like 300 miles a week. (She's got a long commute, though half of it can easily be re-routed onto some great back roads without a major time penalty.)
I suppose the question remains whether she really wants to live with a sportscar on a daily basis.
Thanks for the information, all. Keep it coming.
i don't think you can know that until you try. plenty of people like the idea of living with a sports car on a daily basis, but then it rains, or snows, or you're stuck in traffic in August, or all three, etc. sports cars are a lot easier to live with on a day to day basis if you have a backup ride for those days with really crappy weather.
but i'm willing to bet that the Elise is easier to live with than, say, an STS-prepped miata with no air conditioning. it rides surprisingly well, the seats are comfy, and the a/c works OK.
look: you have a girl who wants an Elise. don't go looking for trouble.
Think of it as a more comfortable and slower sportbike.
If you know or suspect the weather is going to be crap, then perhaps drive the backup or swap cars. Otherwise enjoy the minimalistic comforts.
Have you ever worked a corner and heard one driven hard with good tires?
You know, no loud obnoxious exaust, no squeals, no. Just the sound that, to me, sounds just like someone tearing a phone book in half. anyone else notice this?
Thats why you need it.
That's probably the only car I'd consider selling the Jensen for.
I have lusted after an Elise since the first pix popped up on t3h int3rwebs a while back and nearly ruined my unmentionables when US importation became A Sure Thing.
Make mine red with the Sport big brake package. I will glady do the Moroso pan thing and as long as I can get a case of beer in the trunk I'm happy. 
Buzz Killington wrote: look: you have a girl who wants an Elise. don't go looking for trouble.
Oh no, trust me: I'm counting my blessings on this one. But, like I said, this purchase puts my neck on the line. If I miss something that comes back to bite her in the ass down the line, said pain will be revisited upon me tenfold. I gotta have my ducks in a row here. Due diligence and all that.
The idea of it being an enclosed motorcycle is a good one. We both ride - I'm admittedly a little more hardcore (read: insane) than her - so this is an appealing comparison.
We did take a 1500 mile road trip a couple summers back in an NB Miata with stupid-stiff suspension, a loud exhaust and no a/c, and she never complained. Of course, that's not daily driving, but I think it bodes well.
If I miss something that comes back to bite her in the ass down the line, said pain will be revisited upon me tenfold.
I will not abide another TOE!
alex wrote:Buzz Killington wrote: look: you have a girl who wants an Elise. don't go looking for trouble.Oh no, trust me: I'm counting my blessings on this one. But, like I said, this purchase puts my neck on the line. If I miss something that comes back to bite her in the ass down the line, said pain will be revisited upon me tenfold. I gotta have my ducks in a row here. Due diligence and all that. The idea of it being an enclosed motorcycle is a good one. We both ride - I'm admittedly a little more hardcore (read: insane) than her - so this is an appealing comparison. We did take a 1500 mile road trip a couple summers back in an NB Miata with stupid-stiff suspension, a loud exhaust and no a/c, and she never complained. Of course, that's not daily driving, but I think it bodes well.
Good signs all around. I would also suggest that you'll need to spend more time on the upkeep of one that you will with, say, a Miata. There is a lot of expose aluminium that you want to clean keep free of corrosion, the various suspension components will benefit from the odd clean and all that. I don't know if the S2 still has the steel tank, if so you might want to check that if it's rusty. Of course it's most likely the same location as it is one the S1, which means disassembling several covers underneath the car .
Overall I'm still tempted to get another one in the US, but I've already got a list as long as my arm of cars that I urgently want to buy.
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