How much does it cost to run a Lotus Exige?
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- Опубликовано: 6 янв 2024
- After owning the Exige for 2 full years, I look back at the cost of owning, maintaining and running a Lotus Exige. Part of the logic behind buying the Exige was that it should be relatively cheap to run compared to other performance cars, but did that turn out to be true?
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love the video! I bought my 06 Exige in January of 23 so I love to see other newish owners and there experiences with them. I've sadly had to do a lot because of the branded title it has.
Glad to see you back posting the videos. We spoke a while ago about our exige's. I mentioned mine being an Ardent red one, track days and upgraded. I recommend Classis sports cars at stourport for all your service work and mot. They do all mine, it's a great place to have the work done over a couple days. And from where you live it is a fantastic drive. Can't wait for the next video 👍
Appreciate your support! I take mine to Back on Track near Guildford and they’ve been brilliant. If I ever move back to my Midlands roots then I may well follow up on your recommendation.
Thank you for your review!!! enjoy the car!
Thanks! Appreciate your support
Good to see another of your vids! Convert the Exige to a soft top & store the hood behind the seats - there is defo room in the S1 & S2. A Lotus with Toyota lump must be one of the most reliable engines & prob close to 35MPG overall. Enjoy.
The chassis and engine combo are brilliant, the supercharger whine is addictive!
Great video - nice to have the honesty and transparency that helps potential buyers. I'd recommend you take it on track though - look at Bedford, snetterton or silverstone for a first day (good run off and more predictable etc vs. Brands). On track Lotus come ALIVE.
I keep meaning to and never find the time. I’m going to do the one day Lotus driving academy this year, which will give me some more confidence on track, albeit in the Emira. Thanks for the track tips too 🙌🏻
Happy new year to you too 👍.
I've got a service and MOT coming up for my Exige so hope it's not £££!
I've also been looking at replacing the head unit with an Android/Apple Carplay unit. I'm unsure which to go for as I don't want to cover the air vents or the ac controls. I think a big screen would be too much - 7 inch may be enough. I'd be interested to see what you go for.
Look forward to the next video.
Cheers
I’m toying with that dilemma too! The better units with wireless CarPlay seem to be closer to 9” which would cover the vents. I’m not in a rush so will continue researching.
@@BritishRacingGreens I keep seeing Joying units recommended but I'm not convinced by a make I've never heard of. The Pioneer ones that use your phone as a screen look good in principle but some people have issues with the Pioneer app.
Had an elise and an evora, had a couple of caymans as well. Been wanting an Ultima but i keep finding myself staring at the honda swapped elise/exiges on the market. I feel like a 300bhp exige would be perfect amount of power for me. Once you have had a lotus you always have a desire to own another, fantastic characterful cars.
I can totally imagine, if/when I sell the lotus I know I’ll quickly want another!
Did you like the Elise or Evora better? Evora are starting to look pretty nice on the used market. I love the Elise but I'd bet the Evora is easier to live with. I like both almost equally, leaning to the Elise. It reminds me of the first gen MR2 I had a while back. I'm an Ultima fan also which is tons of work with not much driving but I have never minded that.
@@govnor1495 The evora was def easier to live with on a daily bassis in terms of comfort and ease of use. However it is a more complex machine and things can and do go wrong on them. Nothing major but plenty of small issues that can be a pain to sort out where as the elise is very basic with little to actually fail on it. My main reason for selling the evora was the price of a new clutch which is an engine out job roughly same cost as a new clutch in a gallardo except its all labour cost which is £3500.00 in uk or about $5 to $6000 in USA. If i was to buy another i would buy an exige or elise tbh but as a second car.
@@1183newman This tells me everything I need to know! Thanks!
I just found your videos a couple days ago and am glad to see you're still happy dailying your Exige, which is something I'm looking into doing (if I can find a good deal on one). Have you considered getting the soft top and adding the brackets for it to your car? Then you could take it out without the roof and not worry about rain.
Absolutely, still love it! It has occurred to me and the mounting points are already on my car for the soft top, so it would just be a case of buying one. I don’t like the aesthetic as much, the roof scoop looks kinda odd, but I could get over that. I think they’re usually £500-£1,000. Good luck with your search!
Yeah I don't think it looks good either, but I've been caught by sudden storms with the t-tops off and was always glad those were in the trunk.
That's pretty expensive for a backup you may never even use though... I don't think I'd buy it at that price point either.
You’re right though, a nice option to have.
Nice info! I'm looking at Lotus for my next car. Also based in SW London. Thinking Exige 1.8/3.5 or Evora 😕
Good luck in your search! London is a great city to live in, but there are so many speed bumps, hopefully they’re not too big around your area 🤞🏻
@cardiaries4705 I'm lucky, no speed bumps 🤩
I've had my Elise for a month, and I'm also looking to upgrade the stereo to a modern head unit as my first major "upgrade."
Interested to hear how you get on, I’m still mulling it all over, lots of decisions.
For CarPlay/Android Auto, a single DIN Joying 7inch radio fits without blocking neither the top air vents or hiding the controls (any larger would be a pain). It also has a physical volume knob which is useful. It was plug and play in an Elise R, and can be wired with a reversing camera.
Thanks for the tip 👍🏻 is a single DIN screen big enough to be practical for things like maps?
@@BritishRacingGreensin that case the body of the radio is single DIN and the screen sits forward and is closer to a double DIN in size
@arnaudwolfer5719 ah I follow, just looked at them, that looks like a good solution. I saw a mention on that one on a forum but the user found it hard to use, sounds like you haven’t had the same issues.
That is very reasonable for the type of car, try owning a Noble! Love my Exige
I dread to think!
@@BritishRacingGreens when I bought my Exige in 2006 I also looked at a gto3r I casually asked how much most owners spend on running one if tracked a few times a year, he said to me £4-6k! I used to spend £2k a year on an Exige, I also believe he was being conservative!
£6k a year is a lot for that kinda car! The Lotus looks like fantastic value by comparison.
Cheap update for you instead of a new stereo, is to buy a mobile phone holder that fits within the cup holder. Then your phone is in easy reach and access / control in an Exige (almost as close to you as the gear lever - and useable even when harnesses are on).
That’s a great suggestion, a week too late for me unfortunately 😂 I just fitted the new stereo and uploaded a video about it, very happy with CarPlay 👍🏻
should have parked up to make the video , the audio would have been easier to listen to.
I agree, sorry the audio wasn’t very good.
Bring back the Clio 182
My previous 182 recently sold on Collecting Cars and I nearly did buy it back!
Ah yes,it sold for £4400 plus fees. Still looked tidy. All the best
Elise/Exige is my favorite car and I haven't owned one yet. I don't think your costs are crazy but my question is why not do the services yourself? I don't let anyone touch my cars or bikes unless it's just something big like an engine removal (or tires). I have the money for service but I don't trust most grease monkeys. I'm in the states and my insurance has gone up as well with no wrecks or tickets. My house insurance went up a lot also with no claim. Rapists
Good luck in owning one in the future! I’ve serviced my own cars in the past, but I think I owe it to the car to be looked after properly and if/when I sell the car I expect the buyer would want to know it’s been looked after by a professional. The garage I go to are real specialists, so I trust them more than myself.
@@BritishRacingGreens I agree but as an enthusiast when purchasing I tend to trust other enthusiast owners on maintenance/mods if they know what they are talking about and have receipts. One of my friends had a good running Lamborghini Jalpa that he took in for a tune up to the Lambo dealership and then didn't run at all afterwards. He took it to a Ferrari dealer and they charged him $10,000 (20 years ago) got it running but was running worse. An older guy bought it from him and had it running perfect a few days later.
Give a wave if you pass another Lotus
I'd usually would acknowledge a fellow Lotus driver, they're a rare sight, often both equally surprised to see each other!