excel on piston heads

[alanbell]

ad on piston heads- castle lotus Essex- 1987 red excel lc - 20000 odd miles- price 12000 less 50 sterling, I wonder if they will get the asking price.

[Big Jim]

Pity I have already bought one
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... se/1678758#

[Hawaiis0]

20000 miles and a blown engine? Why replace a 1987 SE 180 HC with a 160 LC engine? Or am I wrong in thinking what I'm thinking

[Big Jim]

Does PistonHeads site fill in the spec automatically ? I have noticed several cars with the wrong details .

[alanmoss]

160bhp is a typo, I think since performance spec is right.
I think I know this car, although the number plate appears to have been changed to a more personal one and the gear knob has changed.

This most my original post on the car: http://www.lotusexcel.net/phpbb/viewtop ... f=2&t=5709

If I am right this car was supplied new by Peter Smith Sports Cars and was maintained immaculately. Peter sold it for the original owner about 18 months ago with just over 19000 miles and was sold to an enthusiastic new owner. If it is the car I am thinking about then I drove it about 2 years ago to deliver it back to the first owner from Peter Smith's and it was very good. The mileage was genuine.
I cannot think of another with that colour combination and it was always garaged.
If so it should be good - not sure about the price though.

[Simpatico]

I hope he gets it if it's a minter. £12k for any 20k mile Lotus is good deal. Remember that ultra low mileage Grey SA that sat around at a similar price for ages? I would have paid that in a second if it hadn't been left hand drive

[MalcolmH]

I'm sure someone will buy it... eventually! However even excellent, well sorted Excels at a third of that price seem to take a while to sell.

My theory is the market of people who know and appreciate Excels is now fairly limited. To mainly those of us on here, most of whom already have a fairly decent example. And/or one that a fair amount of outlay has been ploughed into. Making it hard (even with the current gently rising prices) to easily and quickly sell your current car if a much better example comes up.

And to be honest, many of the cars owned on here - mine aside! - benefit from so much skilled self-maintenance (mechanical and cosmetic) that they're probably as reliable and desirable as that twelve thousand quid 20k-miler. Especially as the bodies don't rust. So most of us stick with what we've got.

Among the unitiated, the purchase of any old Lotus - especially Elites, Eclats, Excels - is seen as a big risk. So many try and limit their outlay by buying the cheaper examples, which inevitably need the most doing, thus perpetuating the 'Loads Of Trouble...' legend. So I'm just not sure how many people out there would pay £12k for an Excel, even one with so few miles on. I suspect anyone that seriously interested would have a pretty decent one already.

What do others think?

[Hawaiis0]

20000 miles means everything is yet to break

[Big Jim]

I doubt there is any one out there actively looking to buy an Excel , well not many . I have always been into classic cars , but up until 4 months ago I had never heard of the Excel .Every one I now tell about my Excel has never heard of them .The only way it came to my attention was by using Ebay . I was searching TVR and the suggested associated search brings up Lotus . The Excel is remarkable value , which is why I bought one , to me 12k is not good value . No matter how low the millage is it will still have deteriorated and need work .
I am so pleased I bought my car , I use it at every opportunity and always makes me smile , but a 12k car might be to good to drive a lot .
Just my ramblings
Jim

[MalcolmH]

As I've said in previous posts, when I had Excels in the '80's new (or nearly new) they constantly needed stuff doing. My SE - bought as a 3-month old demonstrator - had about £1600-worth of work go through on warranty on its first service! And my earlier one, among other things, went through 3 wiper motors in a couple of years.

So love them though I do, I'm afraid the idea of the 20k-mile one not having yet broken is wishful thinking!!

[MalcolmH]

And ramblings or not, Jim - what you say is spot-on.

I hope the day's not far off when every Excel is worth at least £12k. Providing we've still got ours!! But until that day, it's not necessary to pay anywhere near that for a really good and superbly maintained example.

As you rightly say, at that car's age there will have been deterioration. So whilst paying all that money would probably guarantee someone the lowest mileage Excel, it wouldn't necessarily give the best one.

[alanmoss]

20000 miles means everything is yet to break

Of course, with age parts will need replacing, but I know that this one was properly maintained.
It was the last car serviced at Peter Smith Sports Cars before their demise (mine was the next to last).

[shaunw]

20000 miles means everything is yet to break

Of course, with age parts will need replacing, but I know that this one was properly maintained.
It was the last car serviced at Peter Smith Sports Cars before their demise (mine was the next to last).

Things that are hard / expensive to repair such as warped dashboards, body crazing etc tend to be less of an issue on low mileage cars that have been garaged and maintained to a time schedule rather than mileage in my experience. I'd definitely consider buying an ultra low mileage example (and paying a premium) providing it had always been properly maintained and garaged. In the mid 90s I owned a 1985 example that had 20,000 on the clock, had always been garaged and regularly serviced. I've spent a lot of time and money trying to make my current Excel drive as 'tight' and rattle free as that one did.

[Simpatico]

Totally agree. Rubber bushes, belts, caliper seals etc can all be replaced (usually much easier without the corrosion on high miles cars). That factory fitted tightness and cosmetic appearance cannot; as they say, a car is only original once.

[MalcolmH]

I suppose it depends how much money a prospective buyer is prepared to spend.

Last year I was lucky enough to find a 10-year-old Renault Clio for my teenage daughter, with a genuine 22k miles on the clock. In many ways it's still like a new car, and I paid £1635 for it. As opposed to about £1000 if I'd bought one with the typical 70k-90k miles for that age.

I was very happy to pay a £600-odd premium for such a low-mile minter, with the extra peace of mind that brings. But would I pay a £7000 premium for a 20k-mile Excel? Personally no, however someone with loads more money than me might. But I'm just not sure how many people in that position make up today's Excel marketplace.