Non-Cat Pacific Blue Elan SE turbo (SOLD)

[Monkey]

***SOLD***
The need for a 5 seater has forced the sale of this lovely Elan. It's kept underground in Docklands, London (E14 area).

Here are some bullet points about it and history for the last 20,00 miles (or less):
ALL receipts available.

1990 Pacific Blue (Turbo).
Owned for over 17 years.
Full MOT.
Elan S2 wheels with Lotus badge centres.
Air conditioning (modified to non CFC system).
Full leather interior.
Stainless steel exhaust, with uprated downpipe (give a very gentle enhanced unmistakeable Lotus purr!
Uprated gear shift cable/ linkage.
Uprated radiator.
New water pump.
Reconditioned starter motor.
New turbo (Turbo Technics).
New cylinder head.
New steering rack.
New light mechanism clutches.
New clutch.
Complete new door/ window seals with new window runners (over £4,000).
Engine rebuild (£4,808) by Lakeside Engineering, with less than 5,000 miles on it since.
Brand new lifetime guarantee battery.
Thatcham rated remote central locking alarm/ immobiliser by Hamilton Palmer

In addition:
The roof is is in very good condition with new seals. Car is only run during the summer. The windows glide perfectly. JVC hands free blue tooth stereo. The only thing of any substance that I would do to the car if I was keeping it is an interior refurb - it's ok, but it is showing its age. As such, I am willing to be negotiable to a degree on the price.

£5995


If you would like to view/ test drive it, please call me (Mike) on 0787 964 8812 (London E14 area). e-mail: michaellove5@gmail.com

[Rambo]

Hi Mike - sorry if I'm being a bit forward but I think you need to give a prospective new owner, and there are plenty on LEC at the moment, an idea of your price so they can compare what else is on offer. Otherwise you will end up with time wasters, tyre kickers and dealers offering you insulting prices so they can part it or move it on for easy ££££ profit

PS I sold my lovely red Collapso Red on LEC last year and it sold in under 40 minutes !! Some might say my price was too low but I thought it very fair and wanted it to go to someone here who would enjoy and cherish it as much as I had for 14 years. Believe me, an idea of price, and a fair one, will shift any car

[rip]

Although yours had the advantage of both you & the car already being well known on here.

[clemo]

:agree:
Although yours had the advantage of both you & the car already being well known on here.

And one of them had plenty of new parts .

[Rambo]

:agree:
Although yours had the advantage of both you & the car already being well known on here.

Very true. I had a good headscarf

[Rambo]

:agree:
Although yours had the advantage of both you & the car already being well known on here.

Very true. I had a good headstart

[clemo]

Alright Monkey
What is the current mileage ?
And does it have opera glass headlights ?

And what Rambo said .... some guideline would be helpful .

All the best

[Rambo]

:agree:
Although yours had the advantage of both you & the car already being well known on here.

Very true. I had a good headscarf

Oi Geoff, ya bugger

[GeoffSmith]

:agree:
Although yours had the advantage of both you & the car already being well known on here.

Very true. I had a good headscarf

Oi Geoff, ya bugger

Didn't want you getting into trouble with Cap'n Xerox for making identical posts.

[simonbuk]

£4000 on door & window seals !! Must be more water tight than a submarine !!

[Monkey]

Dear all,

Many thanks for all your replies and comments.

Rambo, et al, you make perfect reasonable sense. I guess the reason I find it so hard to suggest an asking price is because having looked at so many other Elans, I couldn't make a reasonable comparison. However, you are right, it's simply not helpful to anyone not to stick my monkey head above the parapet and put a price on the car as a starting point.

I mentioned the interior looking its age. Apart from that there is cosmetic crazing on some of the paint, but whoever is interested, I can ensure that any paintwork is put right. An idler pulley is a bit noisy (I think they're about £90, but obviously there's labour on top of that unless you do it yourself, of course). It has a current MOT, but again, I'll happily put it through a test to make sure that whoever wants it gets 12 months, so no worries there. The odometer reads a true mileage of 136010 miles as at 10 minutes ago. It was rebuilt at 132206.

The A/C works, but could do with a recharge as it hasn't been done for over two years. All the brake system is good (callipers, discs, servo, pads, fluid, pipes). The clutch is nice and light and quiet and I would imagine that it has well over 50K left in it.

The steering is spot on. The only reason I put a brand new rack in it is because I got one from Hethel for £100 when they were doing an M100 clear-out a few years ago (they normally cost over £1K). It just seemed sensible to replace it when the engine was overhauled by Lakeside.

The brand new seals have made it so much quieter, but as for it being more water tight than a submarine, I can only say that it hasn't leaked with the new seals yet. But let's be honest, it's an Elan, bless!

I risk of my wife's wrath telling everyone the next bit and a certain punch if she finds out. I gave the Elan to her as an anniversary present and she thought it more important to get the doors seals done (which weren't causing any real issues), rather than have a complete engine rebuild. That did surprise me and the guys at Lakeside a bit, bearing in mind it is arguably a little more important to get the engine professionally rebuilt at 132206 miles than worry about the odd drop of water..? Anyways, she agreed that it was "also"(!) a sensible thing to do and therefore Lakeside did the rebuild as the very next major job. That with the new head, pretty much makes for a low mileage engine when you consider what has been done to it.

OK, let's get to the price. I'm sure the learned members of this forum know that you are a very lucky person if you ever get close to the amount you have paid out on a car. As such, whilst I have receipts that total well over 10K, I think £7,495, as it is (but that will include 12 months MOT) is reasonable. I am willing to negotiate. If the interior was totally refurbished (I have been quoted £1,700), with all other bits remedied, I would be looking to advertise it significantly higher.

And Clemo, I have no idea what opera glass headlights are. They are just the original lights, that's all I know. The good thing is, my wife and I spent a whole afternoon a couple of years ago replacing the clutch mechanisms (the old ones looked like bits of dried Ready Brek when we took the units apart!). They both work fine now.

I hope this helps. Please do feel free to say whatever you like and ask any other questions.

And many thanks again,

Monkey
P.S. My wife knows we're selling our Little Car!

Tel. 07879648812

[M100_DMM]

I have no idea what opera glass headlights are.

Opera stowed vsm.jpg

[Monkey]

Many thanks. I recall an old Top Gear story about the Elan in the 80s. I think it was Chris Goffey? who test drove it and said that they wouldn't be on the production model. Obviously some were produced, but mine doesn't have them.

[wayne]

Really sorry to hear that you have finally decided to sell "the little car" Michael.
I'm sure that you are going to regret it in the future. But needs must...

Cracking car really well taken care of. I hope that it can find a loving owner.

Best regards

Wayne

[Monkey]

Thanks Wayne. It feels a bit obscene putting a price on "Little Car". It's much more about the person than the price, so I'm willing to be very negotiable, on the assurance of a good home. The last time I saw an Elan was when my wife and I were in Lincoln last year, so hopefully its rarity will mainly attract true enthusiasts?

[MrSammy]

You have PM.

[Rambo]

Good luck with the sale Monkey.

It does look like a cracking, well cared for car

[Monkey]

All,

I have been asked for my view as to what my car is valued at, but would welcome and views from this forum. Having seen all of the information posted by me, I would welcome your views as to what value you would put on my Elan. I understand that obvious caveats apply (the most significant one perhaps being that you haven't seen it!), but I would welcome ball park figures. It can be assumed that the car is as it is, with no additional work having been completed, but with a brand new MOT.

Many thanks,

Michael

[tb10]

Hi Michael,

I think the main issue that you have is the current market as one of the best known cars on the forum (a la Stripey - see forum header picture above) was 'sold' yesterday for £5200.00. With the work that Simon (RIP) put into that, I'm amazed it didn't go for more. Yes, there could be a debate about the colour, and some may say that your colour appeals to a wider audience, but a car known to this forum and anyone else on the internet really (they just need to search especially as LEC was mentioned in Stripey's advert) that appears to be the ballpark figure 'at this time'. Clearly as the summer approaches the prices will rise and then fall again in the winter.

Just my thoughts.

regards

John

[Steve A]

Simon's car didn't reach reserve which was 5500 so I'm assuming there still a bargain Elan out there