Non-Cat Pacific Blue Elan SE turbo (SOLD)

[Toys2]

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

Sorry to monkey for going a little off topic, but I think that this is relevant to his sale too

I think that the way a car is presented online is hugely important to the price it makes, sadly "Stripeys" listing could have been better. This isn't meant as a criticism to Dan, I can't begin to understand how hard it must be for him to sell his Dad's car, let alone muster the courage to spend ages on the advert

There are educated buyers out there, but there's far more potential buyers that just need tempting and guiding towards Lotus life. Look at house purchase, there's people that can be put off by a scruffy front door or cluttered dark rooms, yet others can see through this and see the potential of the house. It's about maximising buyers. The Elan is at a price where it's not just enthusiasts looking, people could be tempted to buy a car they didn't realise that they "needed"

I do a lot on ebay and typically sell for more than similar items, IMO to get the best price......

Photos, are the most important thing, the main thumbnail is critical, that's the "hook", every photo should look like it's come from a photoshoot, high resolution, zoomable and edited well. For a car like an Elan the first 5 or 6 images should be "lifestyle" pictures in sunny countryside etc, then the remaining can be a little more detail. Have a look in the "Gallery" section on LEC, there's some images on there that would make anyone fall in love with a car. I quite like the look of Stripey, though like any Elan, it's best angles are low front/side corner and other low angles, nose down from the front doesn't do the Elan justice. Being honest I'm not 100% sure of Stripeys carpets and yellow gear knob,(I suspect they look better "in the flesh") I'd be taking photos so they are not quite so prevalent in the images

Text
The first part should always be a little on the lifestyle, you should always say why you are selling, which sadly isn't easy in this case, but something along the lines of "my Dad's pride and joy.....Sadly he's no longer with us....want a new owner to continue to love and enjoy the car"
Then onto how enjoyable and use able the car is

Then another paragraph along the lines of "The Elan is a reliable and usable car, but like any performance can can have certain problem, they can be expensive to resolve, these are all sorted on this car," then list about 6 highlight, eg "the Elan is known to have weak front brakes, this car has Hi-Spec front calipers and discs, a great improvement though expensive at £xxx" carry on with to top expensive and common issues, eg wishbones, rear lights, etc

Then I'd go to a list format of the work done over the years, including the top 6 above, it's personal choice whether to include the cost of the work, on each line, as a total or not at all

Finally, I think people expect to see mention of anyone known issues and this does enhance the impression of honesty of the seller



I hope that I haven't upset anyone with this, it's an emotive subject, I do wish Sy's family all the best with the sale

[clemo]

In answer to your question Michael , ( pick through the bits you want )

Selling a car is a difficult thing as Toys2 mentioned above .
Photos sell the car for sure and so is giving all the details laid out .
Those that tell the story of the Lotus front wheel drive story is blah blah blah , filling lines that could be full of relevant information to that car.
I'm Not quite in agreement with the personal attachment of weither you call it monty the 2nd . I want to buy your car not your attachment to it. but thats subjective .
A car is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it .
recent S2's have sold in the 6.5 + region ( in the last months of last year and the beginning of this - know as "out of season") myself included in that with my jim clark S2. But a few weekends later when the sun came out 2 others sold at 7k and 7.5K . somewhat superior cars to mine .
At the moment there is a very nice red S2 is on LECs facebook page at 7k .. IMHO another bargain .

Again ( subjective) S2 fetch more money than SE's .
SE's tend to top out at 7 - 8k . and for that you would expect s2 wheels , hood & galvanised suspension with relatively low mileage.
S2's tend to start at 6.5 and for that you would expect to do some work

Now the many variables - colour , mileage , wheels . But what should be more important is not how it looks topside its about the details underside . Outriggers and sills . rust , dropping door hinges , and many more nasty that would put any normal person off from buying one .
Fortunately most of us who own one of these are not that normal . We didn't buy a boxter or an MX5 . and that goes for those who are interested in buying one .

As a 2nd or 3rd toy for the garage some will spend a fortune . The silk red S2 with 30k sold in 2 days at £10k. it was immaculate ( looking )
But the most movement seems to be in the sub 5k bracket . With the most amount of selling cars are in the 3-4 k . They show up on ebay and actually sell . Check the black Se at £3800 . looks pretty respectable .


Though you get what you pay for . My S2 requires a full respray , suspension shot blast and powder coat , new lines and rubbers . that before i start on the roof and seats . I would have been much better off buying a car for a few thousand more . As the parts i am about to replace will cost inxs of that . But thats all i had to spend at the time . I can afford the car at X and now spend Y over the next few years .

If you want to get shot then there is the easy selling bracket .
If you want to hold out and wait for someone who appreciates what you have done to it then + some
If you want to secretly keep it then put it in the mid s2 bracket
if you want to waste your time regardless how good you think it is with treble figure milage start it with somewhere close to 10K .


Again just my opinion .

[clemo]

Tidying up pack . Bump

[Monkey]

All, many thanks for your very helpful comments, they are greatly appreciated. I have decided to reduce the price to £5995 and have now put a full MOT on it. I'll leave it a week, or so before going to Autotrader, as I would prefer to sell to a genuine enthusiast that you will only find here and a few other specialists sites.

[Monkey]

I have just sold Little Car to a lovely couple that I know will look after him. Very mixed emotions; my wife and I are sad to see him go, but really pleased that he's gone to the right people. And they've promised to send us photos when they take him to Europe on holiday!

[Monkey]

Hi everyone,

It's been a long time since I sold my Elan. A lovely guy bought it and promised to give me first refusal if for any reason he wanted to part with it. That time came when he inherited another classic car and he didn't have the room to keep both, so he duly offered Little Car back to me. By then I had already got the 5 seater that I previously cited asthe only reason that I was selling the Elan, so I too didn't have room for it either, but... my brother did! He knew Little Car very well from working on it for many years. The gentleman kindly sold it to him for exactly the same price as he paid me and gave my brother loads of spare parts/ upgrades, which was kind of him. My brother is now also a LEC member, so I'll leave it to him to share his adventures with everyone. Having just retired from the motor trade, he has loads of technical knowledge, qualifications, expertise and over 40 years of experience with motor vehicles.

My bother has been playing around adding bits and pieces to make Little Car his own and he's done an excellent job, I have to say, but he never listens to his little Monkey brother. He's taken off the Air Con, stating that it puts a load on the engine and adds weight. Oh for goodness sake, please!!! I tried explaining that the Air Con was factory fitted and the load on a car that is putting out goodness knows how much BHP, as the turbo boost (and fuel mixture) + a quality SS exhaust was done when I bought it in 2000. The "load" on the engine is not even worth thinking about in my opinion, nor is the "added weight". Most importantly, having removed the Air Con, he fails to understand three other fundamental things. 1) The Air Con does make a difference, even with the top down in the Summer. 2) It acts as a great dehumidifier in the Winter. 3) By removing the Air Con, it's no longer in its original spec and in my opinion, that matters.

Now, I am willing to be told that he's right and I'm wrong, but would welcome your views, either way.

Finally, I don't ever see Little Car leaving our family again, because my wife still keeps telling me that she wants it back!

Monkey

[clemo]

Hi everyone,

It's been a long time since I sold my Elan. A lovely guy bought it and promised to give me first refusal if for any reason he wanted to part with it. That time came when he inherited another classic car and he didn't have the room to keep both, so he duly offered Little Car back to me. By then I had already got the 5 seater that I previously cited asthe only reason that I was selling the Elan, so I too didn't have room for it either, but... my brother did! He knew Little Car very well from working on it for many years. The gentleman kindly sold it to him for exactly the same price as he paid me and gave my brother loads of spare parts/ upgrades, which was kind of him. My brother is now also a LEC member, so I'll leave it to him to share his adventures with everyone. Having just retired from the motor trade, he has loads of technical knowledge, qualifications, expertise and over 40 years of experience with motor vehicles.

My bother has been playing around adding bits and pieces to make Little Car his own and he's done an excellent job, I have to say, but he never listens to his little Monkey brother. He's taken off the Air Con, stating that it puts a load on the engine and adds weight. Oh for goodness sake, please!!! I tried explaining that the Air Con was factory fitted and the load on a car that is putting out goodness knows how much BHP, as the turbo boost (and fuel mixture) + a quality SS exhaust was done when I bought it in 2000. The "load" on the engine is not even worth thinking about in my opinion, nor is the "added weight". Most importantly, having removed the Air Con, he fails to understand three other fundamental things. 1) The Air Con does make a difference, even with the top down in the Summer. 2) It acts as a great dehumidifier in the Winter. 3) By removing the Air Con, it's no longer in its original spec and in my opinion, that matters.




Now, I am willing to be told that he's right and I'm wrong, but would welcome your views, either way.

Finally, I don't ever see Little Car leaving our family again, because my wife still keeps telling me that she wants it back!

Monkey

Does seem a bit of a strange thing to do ...
If he still has them all stored in a box i would be interested in retro fitting it to my car .

[Monkey]

Dear all,

Again, it's been a while since I was last on the forum and Happy New Year to you all.

I note that my lovely brother never responded to the forum, so I sent him an email just now, reminding him of how silly (in my opinion) he was to take off the factory fitted air con. I tease him regularly about it. He does look after Little Car, in all fairness. He still maintains that Little Car is a girl, because, and I quote: "only a woman could be so cantankerous!" Whatever... Little car is a boy and he is the most arrogant, cheeky, wonderful car and I will always love him. I'm sure that I will get a barrage from my brother, because I will keep going on about it. Let's see if he replies to you lot, too!

Take care everyone and keep loving your Elans, they are simply fabulous!

Monkey.