Lotus Esprit V8 3.5 GT

[Mouse]

http://img61.exs.cx/img61/6219/IMAG10.th.jpg (http://img61.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img61&image=IMAG10.jpg) http://img61.exs.cx/img61/634/IMAG9.th.jpg (http://img61.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img61&image=IMAG9.jpg)http://img61.exs.cx/img61/1531/IMAG0010.th.jpg (http://img61.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img61&image=IMAG0010.jpg)http://img61.exs.cx/img61/9805/IMAG0011.th.jpg (http://img61.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img61&image=IMAG0011.jpg)
http://img61.exs.cx/img61/6421/IMAG0012.th.jpg (http://img61.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img61&image=IMAG0012.jpg)http://img61.exs.cx/img61/8739/IMAG0013.th.jpg (http://img61.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img61&image=IMAG0013.jpg)http://img61.exs.cx/img61/4539/IMAG0014.th.jpg (http://img61.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img61&image=IMAG0014.jpg)http://img61.exs.cx/img61/6162/IMAG0015.th.jpg (http://img61.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img61&image=IMAG0015.jpg)
http://img61.exs.cx/img61/7339/IMAG0016.th.jpg (http://img61.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img61&image=IMAG0016.jpg)

This car is for sale and my parents are interested in buying this one! Oh God! Please go for it! :lol:

[Mouse]

Sorry for the pics but that's all I could do... :roll:

[BADMIHAI]

The Lotus Esprit V8 is really a nice/fast car. So the price was in Euros?

[yg60m]

Yes, very good performances ! A very good car indeed, even if i don't know for reliability :?

Too bad, Lotus conceived a V8 and don't use it anymore :(

[Mouse]

The Lotus Esprit V8 is really a nice/fast car. So the price was in Euros?

No in swiss francs...about 37'000 Euros...

[rob_e1]

This sort of uninformed bollocks really winds me up.

Do you have first hand experience of running one of these cars? If not, then shut the fuck up.

There was another posting recently that I ignored – along the lines of “my mate had one and it was crap” – yeah, well I have a mate who had a porsche that was a piece of shit. Doesn’t mean that all porsches are rubbish does it?
Buy any car that has been poorly maintained or abused and you can expect trouble. More so when the car is not mass produced.

I’ve run a V8-GT for the last 3 years and its not been 100% reliable but then neither has my VW golf or my mate’s toyota celica (two engine rebuilds in 40k miles).

Any hand built super car is expensive to run. The esprit is no more expensive to run than any other car with equivalent performance (ie ferrari, lamborghini, tvr etc).

Because these cars are relatively cheap to buy they sometimes get bought by wankers who cannot afford to run the car – hence skimp on maintenance and theres where the issues start.

Bottom line – it WILL cost more to run that a diesel mercedes, but maintain it properly and will not be any less reliable than anything else of that age/condition.

Don’t confuse high running costs with poor reliability.

[Jabba]

it has fantastic performance....but it's built to break down easily and often.

I used to run an esprit as a daily driver and it was actually quite reliable...certainly no less reliable than a Ferrari or Lamborghini and without the ridiculous high running costs as well (Just had a new starter motor fitted to the diablo £1,854) and that figure would be double if it had been Lamborghini London that had fitted it.

The newer esprits are of course even more reliable and offer staggering performance and looks for the money...I wouldn't think twice about buying another one.....a truly underrated car.....that deserves to be respected by everyone..

[Mouse]

Thanks for the feedbacks! We are going to testdrive that car soon!

[rob_e1]

Mouse - things to check:

Some engines suffered leaking cylinder liners although i suspect that every car that was going to have this problem would have been corrected by now. Still worth asking the question.
Last cambelt change? due every 24k, get it done before you buy the car if its due soon (cost at a dealer approx £700).
Last clutch change? clutches on the v8 last around 25-35k miles. You're looking at around 1400 quid fitted.
Cats can fail - check the car has a recent emissions test and passed ok.
Check condition of the exhaust - prone to cracks but easily fixed.

Sports exhaust is essential (sounds crap with the stock system). The lotus sports exhaust is good but there are also lots of aftermarket options.

:)

What year is that? Looks like 1999? If so it will have brembo brakes. They're good but the later AP's are better (2000model year onwards).

Price is similar to uk for that age.

Good luck with the purchase.

:P

[rob_e1]

Also, look at the following website for lots of other useful info:

www.lotusespritworld.com
www.espritfactfile.com

:wink:

[blast]

This sort of uninformed bollocks really winds me up.

Do you have first hand experience of running one of these cars? If not, then shut the fuck up.


yep I hate that crap too.. people read something in a magazine or hear it 3rd hand and all of a sudden they're a damn armchair expert :(

I get the same shit all the time because I have an Alfa.. actually the whole family has them and in my experience they are just as reliable as any other car, no matter what 10000000 armchair experts say :)

[rob_e1]

Actually, alfas genuinely ARE shit..
























.. only joking ;)

[Mouse]

Thanks rob! :wink:

[blinkmeat]

Good lord I want one!

[blah]

i saw a black one around my town very sexy, and very low.

[novass]

Awesome find! Ive always loved the Esprit and that is a damn fine example.

[Tomerville]

is that really a '99? I thought they had diffeent tail-lights?

[rob_e1]

is that really a '99? I thought they had diffeent tail-lights?

No, the v8 has those lights from 96 to 2001. The round rear lights were only from 2002 model year onwards (like the top gear test car).

:)

[rob_e1]

By the way.. THIS is the reason why the esprit IS and will always be the coolest car in the world:

http://www.lotusespritworld.com/images/films/SWLM_Film_04.gif



:D