ALL CARS ON EBAY.

[surfboardfiller]

I had a tipoff about this discussion and thought I'd tie up some loose ends for the old school.

Like a teenager after breaking up with his long term girlfriend and lover - then going off with the first pretty girl that comes along; I bought this car (on this forum in 2013), on the rebound of selling my beloved Esprit S1. This was my first mistake.
I trusted the seller who was honest about the description and said it had noisey tappets - I factored that in to the price with the tatty paint and thought it may be a good way into owning my first (and only) S2, that was my second mistake.
I took it to Gerald (third mistake) who said it was not tappets - he said it needed a head gasket job (no other symptoms) as that's what he said the knocking noise was - he handed me the car back after the work was done and the noise was still there! he had replaced perfectly good parts and done me for £1300 - then said its fine you can really rev it ignore the noise.
The tappets were replaced but they were not the problem - the engine had been damaged.
I found a 'real' engineer (not ike Gerald Turner - GST or some coal miner on this forum who thinks they are an engineer). The 'real' engineer guessed it was overheated some time before I bought it and the pistons had shrunk, damaging the bores with piston slap.
I had just sold Pinkies old engine to another member; who had the same problem with his car, oops - fourth mistake.

I spent three years getting the car back on the road, as I worked in Germany and Sweden on various contracts.

In March 2020 our government along with most in the western world, destroyed creative industry with a lockdown and propaganda campaign like none in the history of man, and having the engineering project I was working on cancelled/shelved indefinitely I was out of work and had time to finish the Elan S2 and get an MOT cert.
I put the car up for sale with perfect alloy wheels in May, I had only idiots and time wasters, no one came to see it all summer.
In September I had a retard disguised as a genuine buyer who spent two weeks text messaging me wanting the car for £1000 lower than the asking price of £8,500, only to disappear like a ghost when it was time to pay.

I kept the car up for sale reducing the price to the offer I accepted from that retarded ghost. £7500

Just more time wasters.

No Emma/ecc didn't come and look, despite saying she would - another Ghost /typical woman

Nothing but time wasters contacting me and not viewing the car for a few months and then one chap who wasn't sure about anything wanting a 'project' car, found it wasn't a project as everything was done, it could do with paint and some seals like most Elans do.

By Christmas I knew it would not sell - for whatever reason the market wasn't there or wasn't prepared to travel to Somerset, or just died of some fictitious virus invented by big pharma and supported by a corrupt government and media - you decide!
Either way I had an asset I could not liquidate and it was costing me £110 per month to store.

I considered breaking it as a last resort, it had cost me a fortune and two years getting parts and the engine rebuilt, but I really didn't want to.
So, I sold the only asset that would not kill the car - for £2250. I could then reduce the price of the car to a new market and keep it alive, alive O.
I sold the wheels to an S2 owner, who had after market wheels on his car (like a lot do!)

I then put the engine and other bits up for sale as people started asking me for parts and I thought the only way to get my money back was to break it - something I never want to do.

I sold it to a car collector soon after who bought it direct without seeing it for £5,500 giving me the total of £7,500

_________

S2 wheels are crap and I drove this car for thousands of miles on SE wheels and a thousand miles on S2 wheels, SE wheels are better in most ways, arguably the BBS look better - you decide.

It didn't 'need' a respray but it would have looked perfect with one.

It had a new clutch - I had to fit a clutch anyway so why not put a new clutch in/ why put a 20 year old one with 60k back in - not in my programming to do that, sorry, it just makes sense to me - you decide.

The boot had the badges the wrong way around because that's how someone had fitted them before I owned it, no its not an SE bootlid - its Azure blue.

Not having S2 wheels devalued the car, or did they? What was the value of that car? No one wanted it for 9 months! But selling them enabled me to sell the car - it broke the deadlock.

___________________

The lesson I learned:

Its very difficult to find a competent engineer/mechanic who does not charge a fortune and end up cocking up your car - that's for you G Turner!.
Sadly, rescuing Elans is not financially viable for me and I'd rather donate the money to a good cause, than waste it on fixing end of life cars.
Elans DO NOT HAVE BULLET PROOF ENGINES.

Yes I made the same mistakes with women as I did with cars, but at least you can sell the cars and get your money back. There are no hard feelings with cars (however you interpret that, you decide).

PNM engineering say 15" or 16" wheel sizes for brakes, even with my track record of making mistakes with cars & women; I think only a fool would look at the badge on the boot lid to know the wheel size - (you decide).

My other two project Elans are now heading for sale - or whatever fate lies ahead, I have no where to store them and no way to keep paying for storage.

If this car isn't on the S2 database then Geoff or whoever the custodian is can send me a message - they decide.

[clemo]

Hi Phil ,
I feel your pain for sure .I too got caught like this once upon a car . Plenty say they can repair , take your money and return it with the same issues . A lesson to be learnt for all.
It sucks when storage out weighs the want to keep projects and cars. When i read this thread a while back and saw it at face value , i thought odd. Then someone said it was your car which throws a whole new light on it . The current climate and feeling is pretty much reflected in your piece above . People selling assets in order to prioritise more important things right now . I hope it all works out for you , and everyone else who finds themselves going through similar situations .

I would ask hows the flying cat going , but i fear the answer is not a great one.

I'll sign of wishing you all the best for the future , and hope that your situation improves .

[surfboardfiller]

I always intended to have the S2 resprayed but that proved a bridge too far for me. However good news came in an email today and the new buyer had it resprayed and it looks stunning.

I'm working on the track car when weather permits, it feels good to finally be back on it.
I'm also working on the rebuild of Adams old car (which had a new tub and chassis) that is close to going back on the road.

It's not all bad here...

[ElanX4]

Not sure about the rear lights

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-ELAN-S ... .l4275.c10

[dapinky]

Not sure about the rear lights

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LOTUS-ELAN-S ... .l4275.c10

I'm no expert on Elise lights, so can't say for sure which version they are from...... certainly very different to the Mk2 Elise lights on my car (and the panel is different as well - seems completely flat, no recess for number plate).

[Rambo]

Dave - would that actually pass an MOT without any rear no. plate illumination ?

[Jamie N]

Would that actually pass an MOT Dave without any rear no. plate illumination ?

Not a chance, if it had those lights on at last MOT it must have been one of his mates that done it.

Seals are a pretty shocking mess too, I've put better OEM ones in the bin.

[Rambo]

MOT is due again in April.

[dapinky]

Dave - would that actually pass an MOT without any rear no. plate illumination ?

As Jamie said.

However, the English legislation is pretty poorly worded and somewhat contradictory (what a surprise!)..... the index plate needs to be illuminated during the hours of darkness so that it can be read - and that is all that the Road Vehicle Licensing Regs worry about..... however, the Con & Use Regs state that no light other than red shall show to the rear of the vehicle (except indicators)..... clearly we are not considering reversing lights, 'cos if you're going backwards, then it is different, so you can keep your head/side lights on when going into a parking space!

On my panel, the number plate is recessed so there is a row of LEDs under the edge of the bootlid. These light up the plate, but don't show directly to the rear, so it all complies. It is hard to see how this panel can comply, but without seeing it, I suppose it *may* have one of those posh number plates which you can illuminate from the other side (or some other way of complying).

Without knowledge of what the units came from (I'm not convinced that they are Elise ones), or if they are 'aftermarket' units, it is impossible to say if they have a reversing lamp built in, or the (required) reflectors - which Elise lights don't have - I have separate reflectors on the rear, fitted in accordance with C&U Regs.

[dapinky]

As another consideration, he is a trader trying to avoid paying tax and stating it is his private car..... so why say that he is a trader if that is the case?

My suggestion is that he can therefore take card payments etc, but not pay any tax etc.......

.... but.....

the cynic in me says that it is a chance to obfuscate the facts and therefore provide an excuse against an offence under Section 75, Road Traffic Act 1988 of selling (or offering for sale) a vehicle in an unroadworthy condition.

It would be arguable whether the 'alterations' to the vehicle would put it into a 'dangerous condition likely to cause injury' .... but I'm sure that someone with a vested interest could make a viable case.

[apollo996]

Far be it for me to contradict the experts on here but I think the number plate lights are the mini led motorcycle types. If you look closely they stick out.

[Jamie N]

I had that thought they might have been those as well, straight on though they just look like screws, who knows, whatever it is i'ts not
a good look.

[apollo996]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/License-Plate- ... B07PWCGWNT

[dapinky]

Far be it for me to contradict the experts on here but I think the number plate lights are the mini led motorcycle types. If you look closely they stick out.

Not contradicting anyone - above posts were purely for thought..... and we all agreed that it *may* have some way of complying that isn't immediately obvious.

Your suggestion of it being the type you link to is possibly correct.... but I still don't like the look (the light units don't really do anything for the overall look, but each to their own, and maybe whoever fitted them doesn't like mine, but I do and that's what matters....

.... his car to do with as he wishes (as long as it remains legal, if intended for the road).

[Simon_P]

If you look closely they stick out.

Yes, I've looked closely but I can't make out the E approval mark.

somewhat contradictory

Yes especially as "4.7.1.a. a rear registration plate lamp throwing direct white light to the rear" is only a minor on the MOT.
But you must* have them and they must* work (*except for some special cases).

the cynic in me

say no more! I can tell that you fall in to the category of "not a genuine person"

[dapinky]

Simon,

The Con & Use Regs frequently contradict both the Lighting Regs and the Licensing Regs....... bloody nightmare! (well, not now, since I retired )

The amount of things which are 'required' for the MOT, but are not compliant with the other regs (and vice versa) is quite large. Just because a car can pass an MOT is no guarantee that it is compliant with other Regs.

[hondansxr]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324494321434?
the reasonj it is being sold as private as he doesnt have to say its a cat c or milage is incorrect ..its called BUYER BEWARE

Vehicle check report summary

Recorded as Category C

Not recorded as stolen
Not recorded as scrapped
No outstanding finance
No third party interest
No mileage discrepancy
Not imported
Not exported
No recorded colour changes

Other Information
No outstanding stocking finance
No recorded plate changes
MOT Expiry date
16/04/2021
This vehicle is recorded as Category C
You can advertise Cat C vehicles on Auto Trader. We recommend you include as much information as you can about the damage. Buyers will have more confidence if you can document what happened to the vehicle and how it was repaired.
Date recorded as Category C
03-09-1999
MOT Information
Most recent test
Status
PASSED
MOT expiry date
16-04-2021
Mileage recording
53,372
V5C logbook data
V5C issue date
09-10-2012
Most recent recording
Date of most recent record
09-10-2012
Registered vehicle details
Check the details below match the V5C logbook, vehicle appearance and vehicle information.
Make
LOTUS
Model
ELAN SE TURBO
VRM
J919OEW
VIN
SCC100ZT1MHD17875
Engine number
0061452
Colour
-
Date first registered
16-08-1991
Year of manufacture
1991
Number of previous owners
12
Current V5C issue date
09-10-2012
CO2 emissions
-
Mileage data
Most recent recording
Source
DVLA
***********************Mileage recorded
95,000
Date recorded
19-06-2003 ***********************

[muley]

Cat C with a wound back Speedo. Hardly consistent with the sellers comment about being as honest as possible!

Run away!!

[Rambo]

Here's another high mileage, accident damaged cat. recorded car which looks like it's from the same dealer?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373478749428

Not in any way a recommendation from me but just stumbled across it when I had a look at the red SE advert (now sold @ £6100)