It must be nice to live south.... round here if you want a car to last that long in that condition you must never ever ever drive in the winter, or during the months before or after...
Enthusiast
It must be nice to live south.... round here if you want a car to last that long in that condition you must never ever ever drive in the winter, or during the months before or after...
Enthusiast
280 > 220Originally Posted by sog240
Thanks again everyone!
If I purchased a 1989 model SE, it would have 280 bhp due to the added chargecooler, something that I somewhat regret but all in all, I really love my car (a gift from my wife).
I normally drive my wife's Honda Civic (the back of it can be seen in the 7th pic) or my company vehicle. The Esprit is my weekend get-away car.
a mod is in order! 60 horses is a lot! get that chargecooler!
Gone:
09 Ducati Monster 696
09 Audi Q5 3.2
03 Infiniti G35 Sedan
07 Honda Civic Coupe LX 5spd
Current:
10 BMW 335d
12 Audi Q5 2.0t
10 VW Jetta TDI
11 Ducati Monster 796
Enthusiast
I've always liked the Esprit. They're very understated, and the styling has definitely aged very well.
What sort of details distinguish a 40th Anniversary Edition from a normal Esprit?
UCP's biggest (only?) fan of the '74-'76 Mercury Cougar.
UCP's proudest owner of a '74 Cougar
My favorite color is chrome.
Member
One of my all-time favorites, love it. There was a 90 SE for sale in Atlanta with the same color combo. I looked at it on autotrader practically daily for about 9 months. The previous owner also took it to Petit LeMans so I got to check it out in person too. Welcome to UPC
Enthusiast
so is the cost of ownership as high on a lotus as the rumors say? what is common to break on them besides the transmission?
A woman goes to the doctor to figure out why she is having breathing problems...The doctor tells her she is overweight. She says she wants a second opinion...the doctor says, "your ugly".
Furniture
nice wedge
Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."
Enthusiast
this car reminds me of Pretty Woman!
Gone:
09 Ducati Monster 696
09 Audi Q5 3.2
03 Infiniti G35 Sedan
07 Honda Civic Coupe LX 5spd
Current:
10 BMW 335d
12 Audi Q5 2.0t
10 VW Jetta TDI
11 Ducati Monster 796
Novice
California is O.K., I'd rather move back to Reno, Nevada....but due to my current situation, I don't think it would be possible at the moment.
I was thinking about adding a chargecooler sometime in the future, if it's possible to do with my model Esprit. Hopefully it is!
Spec wise, everything about the 40th Anniversary and a normal Esprit is identical. The only differences are:
1) Pearlescent White body (only the special editions had this color)
2) Tritone Blue Leather interior (I personally don't like the color)
3) Rear wing (normal '88 models didn't have these)
4) A plaque stamped to the dash stating it's a special edition and its number
The SE models are really nice. Better performance and can be modded more easily than mine. If I knew more about Esprits before I bought mine, I would have purchased an SE.
It can get very expensive. Parts are more expensive (and hard to find) than regular car parts, like $25 for an oil filter. Regular service is also very pricey. For example, I called a Lotus dealership in San Francisco and they told me that an "A" service (standard fluids change and tune-up) is going to cost $875 compared to my Civic's $80.
I've actually had my Esprit for only a month and so far, it hasn't had any problems. I was told by other Esprit owners to replace certain parts before they actually break or caused bigger problems for me, like the red clutch feed hose. It seems that Lotus' choice for certain parts that they use in their cars are highly questionable.
Yeah, I really like the wedge shape
Last edited by sog240; 12-14-2008 at 03:28 PM.
Novice
That movie was one of the reasons why I started liking Esprits, the other movie was Basic Instinct
Supporting Member
that caused my love for ice picks....That movie was one of the reasons why I started liking Esprits, the other movie was Basic Instinct
"I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams
UCP'S Guardian Devil
You have a really nice car there, take good care of it! Just one question, how reliable is it? Welcome to UCP!
"NEVER ALLOW SOMEONE TO BE YOUR PRIORITY, WHILE ALLOWING YOURSELF TO BE THEIR OPTION"
Novice
Thank you, I will! I've only had it for about a month and so far, no problems. Hopefully, there won't be any!
I'll let you know in a few months regarding reliability.
Last edited by sog240; 12-14-2008 at 05:29 PM.
Novice
Although, I understand what you're trying to say, I would take my wife's Civic over my Esprit. After she passed away in August, all of her possesions mean a whole lot to me. If I was given a choice to give away one of my cars for free, I wouldn't hesitate.....the Esprit is gone, even though I always say that the Esprit was a gift from her.
I'm not angry at you or anything because you didn't know but it hits me pretty hard when anyone talks down about her car (or anything else about her). I try to avoid any discussion about my wife but this one I couldn't ignore. I hope you understand.
To my wife: I love you and I miss you so much....rest in peace Honey :(
Enthusiast
Really tough to really say anything to reply to that right there and considering that I dont know you at all saying "im sorry" or any other kind of condolences would be meaningless but I am sorry for your loss.
However, since I'm hooked back on lotus' and its partially your fault, I think you should make sure to post any time you have an issue with it, what it was, how much it was to fix, ect...just cause I am real interested in maybe getting a lotus as a "pat on the back" car once i finish law school and start raking in some dough! Also I think you should post any super awsome things that occur with your lotus too.
also, out of curiosity, how accessible are all the essentials as far as regular maintenance goes? How easy is it to get to the oil filter and oil drain plug? how accessible are the spark plugs? is there a lot of room in the engine compartment or not really can a person with adult hands expect to get any work done on that thing or would I have to import a small chinese boy because everything is in a tight space?
A woman goes to the doctor to figure out why she is having breathing problems...The doctor tells her she is overweight. She says she wants a second opinion...the doctor says, "your ugly".
Novice
I thank you kindly....condolences are never meaningless.
I'll be sure to post any problems I have, what caused it and how much it cost to get repaired. I'll also be sure to post any other significant things. After Law School, which MY (model year) Esprit do you plan on getting? I wouldn't suggest anything before 1990MY due to the big difference in performance. The S4s is a really beautiful car but a bit more expensive than an SE (which I feel is also a great car). Good luck to you! I'm told that being an Esprit owner is pretty exclusive....I don't know if there's really any merit to that statement, though.
Here's a picture of the engine:
As you can see, accessing the spark plugs is fairly easy. They're located on the left-hand side of the engine (the 4 blue plug wires). I haven't checked where the oil filter and the drain plug are located. I know of a British Auto Repair shop nearby that will provide all the maintenance work and repairs so I'm not planning to do any of the work myself. I know it's quite expensive this way but I'd rather have someone who knows what he's doing working on the car than me, who might actually make things worse and cost myself even more money.
Regarding space to work, the cargo area behind the engine can actually hold up a full-grown adult with no problems....so accessing and working on the engine yourself is quite possible.
Keep in mind though.....parts are somewhat hard to get. I've tried places like Pep Boys, Kragen Auto, Auto Zone and Napa Auto for certain parts but I always seem to get the same question, "Lotus Esprit?....who makes that?" My response is always the same, "Uh.....Lotus". They don't even have Lotus listed in their computers.
The best place to get your parts are at P.U.K. Esprit Racing. They're based out of Germany and the owner's name is Marcus. He's quite knowledgeable with regards to Esprits. I believe he was a former Lotus engineer.
Last edited by sog240; 12-14-2008 at 07:33 PM.
To my wife: I love you and I miss you so much....rest in peace Honey :(
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