Another New Person.... Soon to be SE Owner

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

Hi All,

I'm sure you get thousands of these things all the time so I'll be brief.

Yes I'm new, and this is my first post. Been meaning to join one of these forums for ages now and I've long since been a fan of the esprit but now finally appear to be on the brink of getting one, so I thought I'd better bite the bullet and join! More likely than not mine's gonna be a gorgeous Calypso Red Esprit SE... but what watch this space.

I've had a brief look around the forum and it seems to be the friendly sort of place I was hoping for, and at last I too have found a place where no-one's gonna tell me to SHUT-UP! for rabbitting on about the one thing that seems to make all of us tick round here...

So... here's what have I got planned...

I hope to be actually purchasing the vehicle in the next couple of weeks, that's assuming no one out paces me on my offer which was about 13% under the asking one... so it's gonna be a tight fight but fingers crossed.

The car's coming up to it's next C-Service, where I think they'll be picking up on the clutch plates which are original and have done about 76k without a replacement (although the masters and slaves have been replaced many times). I'm hoping that'll be it, but the threat of full engine rebuild is always looming on the horizon with cars of this mileage.

I'm prob' gonna go for good-old PNM Engineering on this one.. but would welcome advice or suggestions to others that offer know-how without rip-off prices.

I'm also considering a full re-upholstering even though the interior isn't bad, but after seeing that red late eighties N/A on the DVD with the magnolia retrim I just thought it HAD to be a must!

Other than that the car seems to be in good working order. I'm a complete newcomer to Esprit ownership so I would welcome advice from the experts on this. Also if I say anything incorrect or slightly innaccurate in the future in the forums please go easy on me... I do count myself as a serious enthusiast but I don't pretend to be the next Collin Chapman nor do I intend to be beaten senseless by some insane Esprit super-anorak for getting a 0-60mph stat 0.1sec out. Sorry to sound a bit defensive but I've had untold arguments about netiquette with people chatrooms over this sort issue before and I'd hate to start off on the wrong-foot here!

That's about it, Looking forward to appearing in the garage in the next couple months and also looking forward to many captivating posts in the meantime! B)

Oh, and one other thing... I'm 20 years old, does that make me the youngest person here?

ADIOS!

[oneshot]

Welcome!

We were all newbies at one time - you'll find us an easy going bunch. Even better when we meet up at Lotus events.

Depends how far you want to travel to get your car serviced but I hear that Horizon motorsport in the West Midlands are good for Lotus servicing. I haven't used them myself (my car is under warranty from the dealers).

[lrg_machine]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

You don't need to worry, we're a friendly bunch here. Just curious, what's the insurance like for a 20 year old on an Esprit SE.

[Paul C]

Welcome!

Great choice of car and model.

Only advice i'd give on top of your (impressively) planned out purchase,

would be to sort an inspection out. I'm on my second Esprit and still got

inspections done, even after owning my previous one for several years.

Best case = peace of mind

Worst case = a bargaining lever

A

[gb_brown]

Hi,

You've come to the right place, I've owned my SE for 3 weeks now they are awesome cars I'd advise going to one of the many events listed here once you get the car. I went to the Club Lotus Day at Castle Combe this Saturday gone which was great fun and everyone was very friendly and great to talk to with loads of good advice.

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

>>> Thanks! I'll check out horizon... haven't heard of them before but don't mind travelling.

>>> Yeah sorry about ramming home the 'don't have a go at me' spiel - I'm not really that sensitive, have just had a few bad experiences that's all

>>> Well... Insurance has been a bit of an issue but believe it or not I'm actually going to be paying

Edited June 2, 2005 by EspritMiltonKeynes

[scoule]

>>> Well... Insurance has been a bit of an issue but believe it or not I'm actually going to be paying

[WayneB]

Howdy James and good to see you joined this forum I personally dont bother with insurance,I carry a huge wad of cash to pay off people I have ran over, crashed into etc. The cost of insurance for the young uns is scandalous, its a miracle they have enough money left over to put gas in the car! Old farts like me pay penuts (only advantage to age) .This car inspection thing is a good idea if the person you take KNOWS ESPRITS if not its a shot in the dark. Might be better to take it to an Esprit specialist if owner will agree (Paul Mattys?) Just remember the SE is a 15 yr. old car and if driven hard the mechanicals could be pretty tired. Good Luck, hope its a good un.

[Paul C]

This car inspection thing is a good idea if the person you take KNOWS ESPRITS if not its a shot in the dark. Might be better to take it to an Esprit specialist if owner will agree (Paul Mattys?) Just remember the SE is a 15 yr. old car and if driven hard the mechanicals could be pretty tired. Good Luck, hope its a good un.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, should have stated thats what i meant

As a guide, Steve Williams (who looks after my Esprits), inspected an SE

for me that needed about

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

Yeah... I'll def' look into this inspection thing. The general concensus seems to be the AA/RAC ones are a complete waste of time and that we'd probably spot more problems than they could.

But how do you go about finding an actual Esprit specialist? All the places I've seen on the net seem to be at the closest 'Performance Car Specialists' - and that's a wide field...

Thanks for the tip for 'Steve Williams' in Windsor, I'll look into that...

[Jussi]

Hello James and welcome to forum.

This is very friendly forum so nothing to be afraid of B)

Good luck with your coming car, hope all goes well.

[Paul C]

Yeah... I'll def' look into this inspection thing. The general concensus seems to be the AA/RAC ones are a complete waste of time and that we'd probably spot more problems than they could.

True. How often will they have even touched one?

My cat could inspect it better, no lie.

But how do you go about finding an actual Esprit specialist? All the places I've seen on the net seem to be at the closest 'Performance Car Specialists' - and that's a wide field...

Heres a few:

http://www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/specialists.html

for the tip for 'Steve Williams' in Windsor, I'll look into that...

Steve might travel to inspect for you. Though he can see a lot

more if he can get it in his workshop obviously.

http://www.swlotus.com/

[Bibs]

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with the car and err, insurance!

When I bought my Esprit I was also looking at a TVR Chimeara and the cheapest quote for my insurance was

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

Thanks all,

I'll have a look into those specialist inspectors.

And a big HAHAHA to the guy with the wad of notes story, did laugh the first time around - just a bit of a delayed reaction in typing it lol.

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Hi James and welcome to the nut house.

Have you thought of insuring the car as a second vehicle on a classic insurance, I'm not sure this will apply to the car your looking at but it may save you a packet. Basicaly get a quite from people like Footman James with their maximum milage with the Esprit as a second car, then it may pay you to buy another car and insure it and still be cheaper. I don't think they care much what the other car is, so you could get an 850cc Mini pay minimum road tax, low insurance and make out like a bandit. Worth a try.

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

Hi James and welcome to the nut house.

Have you thought of insuring the car as a second vehicle on a classic insurance, I'm not sure this will apply to the car your looking at but it may save you a packet. Basicaly get a quite from people like Footman James with their maximum milage with the Esprit as a second car, then it may pay you to buy another car and insure it and still be cheaper. I don't think they care much what the other car is, so you could get an 850cc Mini pay minimum road tax, low insurance and make out like a bandit. Worth a try.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LoL... yeah have thought about it. the problem is I know I'd do way more than 3000 miles in a year. Come the summer you won't get me out of the damn thing. It'll be like 'hmmm.... where shall I take the esprit today? Inverness sounds nice... goodbye!'

Apart from that - it's a great idea, and maybe one for next year if the 'new toy' syndrome ever wears off... which I hope it won't

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Mt quote from Footman James was unlimited miles

[pas]

Welcome James.

Re insurance. Big Topic (I'm cross-posting this). I got my first Esprit insurance when I was around 24 yrs old, and it took a lot of research. I assume that you know if the car is > 10 years old (or sometimes over 15 years), it can be classified as limited milage classic insurance? At that age, I had no NCB, since I'd driven an MG for 6 years under classic insurance which doesn't give NCB.

Anyway, at that time I was being quoted 1-2k for 8k worth of Esprit fully comp. Bain Clarkson (now AON) offered a classic policy limited to around 5k miles for

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

Welcome James.

Re insurance. Big Topic (I'm cross-posting this). I got my first Esprit insurance when I was around 24 yrs old, and it took a lot of research.  I assume that you know if the car is > 10 years old (or sometimes over 15 years), it can be classified as limited milage classic insurance?  At that age, I had no NCB, since I'd driven an MG for 6 years under classic insurance which doesn't give NCB. 

Anyway, at that time I was being quoted 1-2k for 8k worth of Esprit fully comp.  Bain Clarkson (now AON) offered a classic policy limited to around 5k miles for

[WayneB]

You should expect to pay for an inspection. I charge $45cdn per hour starting when I get into my car to go and see prospective purchase. It would cost you about $2000 to fly me over to see your car Maybe one of the forums SE nuts would have a look at it if you bought him a nice lunch and got him drunk afterwoods?

[Paul C]

Maybe one of the forums SE nuts would have a look at it if you bought him a nice lunch and got him drunk afterwoods?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey James! I'd gladly take you out in my SE,

and if need be come along to look at one too.

Truth is though, despite several years down,

i needed an inspection myself, so what do i know!

PS, take a look at the events this month.

pop along and meet some of us, even if

you don't have an Esprit by then.

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

Oh I'll definitely be along to one of the meets soon! That's a must.