Considering 2000 Lotus Esprit
 

Hey guys,

I currently drive a 06 Z4M as a weekend car, but I've been getting the car bug lately and am thinking about selling it and replacing it with a 2000 or higher model Esprit Turbo. Do you guys think it's a bad move?

I know that the reliability of the earlier 4 cylinder turbos and the 97 model years (the first year of the V8 turbo I believe) wasn't great, which is why I am looking at the later models, hoping by then they've worked out the kinks. Anybody know how reliable the newer Esprits were? I know both the Z4M and Lotus are expensive to maintain. Is the Lotus more expensive?

Performance I am assuming will be the same since they have similar HP numbers. Also, I'm not sure if they will hold their value as well as the Bimmers. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

They hold their value well and are pretty rare. Parts are expensive and they can be a pain to work on but it's definitely a unique ride. The transmission is the cars weakest link.

anyoen remember the top gear episode where the boost the hell out of an espirit to reach a top speed or something? it was a few years back

I believe it was 5th Gear that tried to get a Lotus Esprit to 200mph. As I remember it the car was a complete money pit. Transmission failed right after they bought it and again after they had it fix. Then when trying to boost the HP they just made it extremely unreliable.

A buddy had one for about 3 years. I don't recall which year it was but it was around a 2000, I think 98 or 99. 6 months after buying it the engine failed (over heated I think, not sure though) and including other maint. the car needed it was ~$20k. I think that included the cost of new turbos as well.

Looks cool, pretty fast, and tons of character. But it will take your wallet out back to the wood shed and absolutely go to town.

I'd avoid any car that comes with a fire extinguisher as a factory-standard item. ;)

http://www.thelotusforums.com/search...sforums.com%2F

I never saw the appeal of the Esprit personally. Given the age/super expensive parts/repairs/maintenance that I imagine would come with the Esprit, I would definitely hang on to the Z4M, I love those.

I just watched the Top Gear James Bond special that was recently. There was a pretty interesting segment on the Esprit. Not much mechanical talk, but very interesting nonetheless. Particularly the story of how Lotus got the attention of the Bond producers.

My dad was thinking about getting one also. Absolutley stunning looking car (in my opinion, and apparently my dads also) but what scared him away were the maintenance costs and he got a tip from a couple of his car buddies that they really are not very reliable.

There are a few around with Ford SHO engine swaps that sure look nice. The manifolds are polished! Beautiful car in general. I'd imagine there are many well sorted Espirits on the market. Definetely look nation-wide for one.