SinkorSwim

My wife has always had a thing for the movie "Pretty Woman" since she was a kid. I have the opportunity to buy a Lotus, that is supposedly exactly like the one they used in the filming. Trouble is I know nothing about them. I have contacted a local mechanic who specializes in them and he is going to meet with me about the car.

It is a 2.2L 4 cyl with an intercooled turbo with a 5 speed..... 1990 model..

Tantrum

I had a buddy that had one some time back. It was probly an early 80's. As long as I new him he could never drive it because of a cracked windshield. The glass was dam near flat and everytine he went up his driveway apron it cracked again. I think he had something like four windshields in the car never making it out into the street. I dont remember the history of the car as to weather it was ever in an accident or not but thats very possible, he was quite young to be owning a Lotus. I know what your looking at is no where near the same car. I would do what you did and get a mechanic that only works on Lotus who knows what the market is and what to look for.
Good luck.
Sweet looking car.

GLH

Nice looking but a sh&*^load of trouble to run. A friend had one and that thing was t!ts up all the time. He did get it for nothing also I guess the word is around.

rainmn

I would recommend making good friends with that mechanic. I had a friend / boss who bought an 87 Turbo Espirit back around 90-91. It was a fun car to drive, when it ran. I couldn't possibly name everything that went wrong with that car. In typical British fashion, many of the problems were electrical, but not all of them.
I remember it having more than a few oil leaks too.
I ended up with the car for a few months before he finally dumped it. He knew it was a POS, and that he should get rid of it, but it was so much fun to drive, he didn't want it in his garage. He figured he'd take it out for a ride and change his mind about selling it, so he gave it to me to keep until it went.
For the price I see them selling for, I still think they're a great car for the money, as long as you know exactly what you're getting into with one.

Quest for Speed

Have a good talk with your mechanic, the car is not as much trouble as the other posts would suggest. The thing to remember is you are not buying a Honda Accord, you are buying a de-tuned race car. Just like your boat that needs only regular maintenance with stock power but needs a lot more fine tuning once you start adding horse power, the same goes for cars with big horse power.

P.S For the price of a Lotus you get a great looking and performing car. Set aside some of the money you save for the extra tune ups you'll need.

Gary Anderson

A joke for those who have owned a british car:

Why do the British drink warm beer?
Because they have Lucas refridgerators.

IMHO, british cars may be the only thing that needs more repairs than boats.
Gary

seanclong

Believe me when I say that French cars need frequent repairs too!!! A LeCar was my first car in high school and it would break down on the way home from the dealer after service!!!! It was fun, though. Hell, any car is fun when your 16...

seanclong

What is it they say? Lucas electronics have three settings. Dim, flicker and off...

Iggy

I always thought the Esprit was a cool looking car.
But after owning an MG for a very shrot time I'm not sure I want to again. Lots of expensive maintenence. And the Lucas (The Prince of Darkness) electric system leaves a lot to be desired.

Poked around the web and found what I thought was a good Esprit site. Take a look at their "Problems" and "Maintenence" sections. Lotus Esprit

East Coast B

All those problems and all that maintenance...... Wouldn't be any different than owning a boat!!!!!