Sell e90 330i Manual - Buy used Lotus Elise?

JJin909 · 07-28-2006, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bmrboy

Hey there,

I've owned an Elise as a daily driver since Nov. 2005 and can answer any questions you may have on the car.

I was coming out of a 2002 330CI, have driven Porsches, other BMWS, etc.. so I understand the differences.

The Elise is the most fun I've ever had driving a car. It has great looks, the engine is rock solid, and the styling and handling are both great. That being said, you also are going to put up with some squeaks/rattles and some annoying problems. Is it worth it? Totally.. Life would be really easy if you had another car as a daily. I'm 28 years old (6'2" just under 180 pounds) and it's real easy for me to get in and out because I'm used to it. (much easier with the top off)

RE: Maintenance costs. Don't let people around here fool you. You can do the oil changes yourself or take them somewhere else for cheaper. The dealer rips you off. It is just a Toyota engine with the Lotus housing. I changed the oil myself after the first 1k miles. Mine has 5k miles on it right now (Silver w/ red leather interior) and I am probably going to put it on the market pretty soon if I decide to get the 335i. I would keep it if I had another car.

I was either going to get an Elise or an M3, and decided on the Elise because of the edgy looks, handling, and personality. You should go over to www.elisetalk.com if you want a better source for information on the car.

Thanks!! I am shopping / searchin for a used one. If you sellin yours let me know

voltron1011 · 07-28-2006, 02:15 PM

If you want an exotic fast car, get NOBLE M12!!! Enough said...

voltron1011 · 07-28-2006, 02:17 PM

Also, I would hate to be inside an Elise when some inattentive soccer mom rolls over you in her Excursion. The Elise is more of a European car where the Big-assed-Truck/SUV ratio is a lot less than it is here.

porschegt3 · 07-30-2006, 07:37 PM

JJin909 - please keep us informed on what you ultimately decide. And if you do go with the Elise, please keep us in the loop on your candid thoughts. 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, and one year updates. Who knows, maybe more of us will end up switching

Quemoy · 07-31-2006, 02:24 AM

Buy it bro..
Elise is a superb car ever.. Elise exige

Robert · 07-31-2006, 02:55 AM

Elise is a driver's car but won't make a good everyday commuter.

Kit523 · 07-31-2006, 06:29 AM

you should get the lotus exige S =)

backtofront001 · 07-31-2006, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kit523

you should get the lotus exige S =)

Exige, mmmmm...drool

croaker · 07-31-2006, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voltron1011

If you want an exotic fast car, get NOBLE M12!!! Enough said...

Isn't that quite a price jump? A base elise is around 40k.

porschegt3 · 07-31-2006, 10:08 AM

Exige is really just an Elise with a fixed roof (makes it more difficult to get in/out). There are some aftermarket kits to fix that...but that's just cheesy.

Ultimately the Exige is a better track day car, looks better, has horrible rear visibilty and makes even less sense for a daily driver. Although a great track day toy....but the extra $10K is not worth it in JJin909's case. What you really need is the supercharged version...but that's a whole lot more money, trouble, and not available in the US. Let's stay focused on the Elise for JJin909.

akhbhaat · 07-31-2006, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porschegt3

Ultimately the Exige is a better track day car, looks better, has horrible rear visibilty and makes even less sense for a daily driver. Although a great track day toy....but the extra $10K is not worth it in JJin909's case. What you really need is the supercharged version...but that's a whole lot more money, trouble, and not available in the US. Let's stay focused on the Elise for JJin909.

Actually, Lotus will be importing around 15 supercharged Exiges to the US. Reportedly, they'll sell for around 80k.

mkoesel · 07-31-2006, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akhbhaat

Actually, Lotus will be importing around 15 supercharged Exiges to the US. Reportedly, they'll sell for around 80k.

And not legal on the street.

BMWDavid · 08-01-2006, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkoesel

And not legal on the street.

The elise will be street legal.

mkoesel · 08-01-2006, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david06M3

The elise will be street legal.

There is no factory supercharged Elise. At least not for the US.

porschegt3 · 08-01-2006, 09:21 AM

The supercharged elise/exige is severly overpriced for what you get. If you want that type of action, then get a Super Charged Honda S2000, more horspower and more reliable. The original post wanted to trade his 330 for a USED elise, and a new supercharged elise is definitely not going to work for him.

But if you're going to spend that kind of money (which I highly encourage), because there's nothing better than OPM (other people's money). You might as well get a Tesla. I've already posted a link once, but for those of you who missed it the first time:

http://www.teslamotors.com

Don't bother with high-strung supercharged engines. Instead, support a local US startup (yes its mostly built in England), but the engine comes from US. Protect the environment and buy American, and have great fun doing it!

JJin909 · 08-01-2006, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porschegt3

http://www.teslamotors.com

Wow, nice car / link thanks. I just signed up with them for updates. Do you know how much this thing will cost? $50k?

I am still readin that site ~

porschegt3 · 08-01-2006, 08:37 PM

The first 100 are conisdered special edition and will cost $100,000, you can see the info here http://www.teslamotors.com/sig100.php.

The 'regular' cars will start sales sometime in fall and will list around $80,000. Unfortunately its a lot of money, but the batteries cost $40,000 alone. This is because they've chosen a 250 mile range with LiIon batteries.

Here's a great page to see the differences between the Tesla and the Lotus Elise here http://www.teslamotors.com/blog1/.

Sure the car will have a few bugs, and it will have similar comfort shortcomings as the lotus (although the side sills are 2 inches lower making entry much easier), but the lack of engine torque is a not an issue here since electrics make 100% from 1 RPM. See a chart here http://www.teslamotors.com/performance/performance.php. The only disadvantage to this car is the price, but I can overlook that by knowing that I'm reducing the dependency on foreign oil.

BTW..I do not work for, nor do I represent the company, I'm just very seriously considering becoming a first adopter. As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I've always been a big fan of Lotus Elise (and Espirit), they've just had a few serious shortcomings. I think the Tesla addresses all of my priorities and may just find a place in my garage

voltron1011 · 08-02-2006, 11:22 AM

I wonder how many Teslas will start to spontaniously combust like a lot of Notebook computers (Dell, Apple, etc)?

porschegt3 · 08-02-2006, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voltron1011

I wonder how many Teslas will start to spontaniously combust like a lot of Notebook computers (Dell, Apple, etc)?

Is there something you know about the Tesla that I haven't heard? With a name like Voltron...I assume you're quite a domain expert in that area

Like Tesla says on their site...would you rather have some non-volitile batteries (okay they may spark a bit and make a few pretty flames) or 20 gallons of highly-volitile explosive gasoline behind your seat?

ward · 08-02-2006, 03:30 PM

I'd much rather have gasoline

gas doesn't just light itself on fire, gas vapor is very flamable, liquid gas is not nearly so dangerous.

how many dead priuses have we all seen on the side of the road???? I've seen lots

voltron1011 · 08-02-2006, 03:39 PM

You've heard of the fire triangle? You know how you need 3 things to start combustion? Fuel, Air, Spark? Without those 3 together you will not have combustion.
Now, lets talk about modern Li-ion or Li-po batteries... They fall outside of the firetriangle because they can pretty much spontaniously burn anytime... Even underwater. They are called class D fires, and they are dangerous.
So, back to your question... I'll take the gas under my ass any day.

porschegt3 · 08-03-2006, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by voltron1011

You've heard of the fire triangle? You know how you need 3 things to start combustion? Fuel, Air, Spark? Without those 3 together you will not have combustion.
Now, lets talk about modern Li-ion or Li-po batteries... They fall outside of the firetriangle because they can pretty much spontaniously burn anytime... Even underwater. They are called class D fires, and they are dangerous.
So, back to your question... I'll take the gas under my ass any day.

See, I knew it...you are an expert. Its a good thing we don't have fire triangle in a gas powered car, that would be really dangerous.

07-28-2006, 02:15 PM	#68
voltron1011 Colonel 124 Rep 2,909 Posts Drives: 2011 135i, FJR-1300 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wiesbaden iTrader: (2)	If you want an exotic fast car, get NOBLE M12!!! Enough said...
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07-28-2006, 02:17 PM	#69
voltron1011 Colonel 124 Rep 2,909 Posts Drives: 2011 135i, FJR-1300 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wiesbaden iTrader: (2)	Also, I would hate to be inside an Elise when some inattentive soccer mom rolls over you in her Excursion. The Elise is more of a European car where the Big-assed-Truck/SUV ratio is a lot less than it is here.
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07-30-2006, 07:37 PM	#70
porschegt3 Enlisted Member 3 Rep 49 Posts Drives: BMW & Porsche Join Date: May 2006 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	JJin909 - please keep us informed on what you ultimately decide. And if you do go with the Elise, please keep us in the loop on your candid thoughts. 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, and one year updates. Who knows, maybe more of us will end up switching __________________ 2004 Porsche GT3 (for sale click here)
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07-31-2006, 02:24 AM	#71
Quemoy BMWPassion 18 Rep 48 Posts Drives: E36 316i Limo M Technik Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Türkiye - Bursa iTrader: (0) Garage List 1997 BMW E36 316i M ... [0.00]	Buy it bro.. Elise is a superb car ever.. Elise exige __________________
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07-31-2006, 02:55 AM	#72
Robert Major General 443 Rep 6,967 Posts Drives: 135i -> is350 -> Tesla M3 perf Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Socal iTrader: (1)	Elise is a driver's car but won't make a good everyday commuter.
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07-31-2006, 06:29 AM	#73
Kit523 Major General 384 Rep 7,074 Posts Drives: F80 M3/FK8/C63S Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: B.C. Vancouver iTrader: (27)	you should get the lotus exige S =)
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07-31-2006, 10:08 AM	#76
porschegt3 Enlisted Member 3 Rep 49 Posts Drives: BMW & Porsche Join Date: May 2006 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Exige is really just an Elise with a fixed roof (makes it more difficult to get in/out). There are some aftermarket kits to fix that...but that's just cheesy. Ultimately the Exige is a better track day car, looks better, has horrible rear visibilty and makes even less sense for a daily driver. Although a great track day toy....but the extra $10K is not worth it in JJin909's case. What you really need is the supercharged version...but that's a whole lot more money, trouble, and not available in the US. Let's stay focused on the Elise for JJin909. __________________ 2004 Porsche GT3 (for sale click here)
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-01-2006, 09:21 AM	#81
porschegt3 Enlisted Member 3 Rep 49 Posts Drives: BMW & Porsche Join Date: May 2006 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	The supercharged elise/exige is severly overpriced for what you get. If you want that type of action, then get a Super Charged Honda S2000, more horspower and more reliable. The original post wanted to trade his 330 for a USED elise, and a new supercharged elise is definitely not going to work for him. But if you're going to spend that kind of money (which I highly encourage), because there's nothing better than OPM (other people's money). You might as well get a Tesla. I've already posted a link once, but for those of you who missed it the first time: http://www.teslamotors.com Don't bother with high-strung supercharged engines. Instead, support a local US startup (yes its mostly built in England), but the engine comes from US. Protect the environment and buy American, and have great fun doing it! __________________ 2004 Porsche GT3 (for sale click here)
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-01-2006, 08:37 PM	#83
porschegt3 Enlisted Member 3 Rep 49 Posts Drives: BMW & Porsche Join Date: May 2006 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	The first 100 are conisdered special edition and will cost $100,000, you can see the info here http://www.teslamotors.com/sig100.php. The 'regular' cars will start sales sometime in fall and will list around $80,000. Unfortunately its a lot of money, but the batteries cost $40,000 alone. This is because they've chosen a 250 mile range with LiIon batteries. Here's a great page to see the differences between the Tesla and the Lotus Elise here http://www.teslamotors.com/blog1/. Sure the car will have a few bugs, and it will have similar comfort shortcomings as the lotus (although the side sills are 2 inches lower making entry much easier), but the lack of engine torque is a not an issue here since electrics make 100% from 1 RPM. See a chart here http://www.teslamotors.com/performance/performance.php. The only disadvantage to this car is the price, but I can overlook that by knowing that I'm reducing the dependency on foreign oil. BTW..I do not work for, nor do I represent the company, I'm just very seriously considering becoming a first adopter. As I mentioned in my earlier posts, I've always been a big fan of Lotus Elise (and Espirit), they've just had a few serious shortcomings. I think the Tesla addresses all of my priorities and may just find a place in my garage __________________ 2004 Porsche GT3 (for sale click here)
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-02-2006, 11:22 AM	#84
voltron1011 Colonel 124 Rep 2,909 Posts Drives: 2011 135i, FJR-1300 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wiesbaden iTrader: (2)	I wonder how many Teslas will start to spontaniously combust like a lot of Notebook computers (Dell, Apple, etc)?
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08-02-2006, 03:30 PM	#86
ward Major General 163 Rep 6,158 Posts Drives: F Join Date: May 2005 Location: T iTrader: (0)	I'd much rather have gasoline gas doesn't just light itself on fire, gas vapor is very flamable, liquid gas is not nearly so dangerous. how many dead priuses have we all seen on the side of the road???? I've seen lots
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08-02-2006, 03:39 PM	#87
voltron1011 Colonel 124 Rep 2,909 Posts Drives: 2011 135i, FJR-1300 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wiesbaden iTrader: (2)	You've heard of the fire triangle? You know how you need 3 things to start combustion? Fuel, Air, Spark? Without those 3 together you will not have combustion. Now, lets talk about modern Li-ion or Li-po batteries... They fall outside of the firetriangle because they can pretty much spontaniously burn anytime... Even underwater. They are called class D fires, and they are dangerous. So, back to your question... I'll take the gas under my ass any day.
	Appreciate 0 Quote