What do you all think of this?
Seems a bit cheap to me… and I am surprised it’s not been sold.
What do you all think of this?
Seems a bit cheap to me… and I am surprised it’s not been sold.
S3 with S4 tail lights. Something has happened over the years which may explain the price???
All prices are gradually falling in the uk. …Not just the various Elan models and +2, but all classic cars generally. Nothing is worth now what is was two years ago.
Alan
Classic Car Weekly has a cover story this week saying that dealers are struggling to shift cars and that prices need to be cut by up to 25%.
Presumably a consequence of the incentive to switch to electric cars or other non-oil variants.
Yes, undeniably a factor, but we are all getting old, and there is a tendency to buy cars that were ‘cool’ when we were young.
None of us on this forum are getting any younger, and as we age, the number of buyers diminish.
The speculative bubble in a number of manufacturers products is clearly deflating, which is probably a good thing, so it will be interesting to see where this all ends up.
One thing that isn’t dropping is the cost of a restoration. We might soon see more of what was once sold as a “project”, now being broken up for spares. That £17500 would easily become £30k/35k for a car that’s worth maybe £25k at the end of the day.
the price i can see on the above link is £21,000 not 17,500 or have i missed something.
Alan
It’s not a scam, I’ve been in touch with the man some 6 weeks ago + to discuss. The S4 rear lights bothered me more than anything, not impossible to correct, but with S3 lights currently being advertised for £1000 per pair (yes, some on Ebay last week), no history of an engine rebuild or anything else in the drivetrain, needing a complete respray with also some correct badging & steering wheel to be bought, you’d be into almost 30k without doing anything mechanical, that’s if you want a respray that will last. Also it was previously blue, and strangely on the DVLA MOT enquiry website, it is listed as a Lotus Elan DHC Sprint, but curiously not on the main “enquiry” screen, so there’s another anomaly to overcome & be sure about…
At the time I enquired, (13th July, advertised on Ebay), it was priced at £18950, but has been reduced since. It’s right up my street as a very late S3, and I’m sure you could make it into a very good example, but will need too much expense I’m afraid, ending up with more money in it than it’s worth…
It’s pointless looking at the prices of top class cars, most are way overpriced in today’s market, and most have been for sale for months if not over a year in quite a few cases. Today’s value’s are not anything like 2 years ago, but a lot of vendors are hanging on to 2 year old prices because a). they’ve got too much money in the car in stock, or b). they’re hoping the market will come back to the levels of 2 years ago.
I’m looking to get back into an Elan again, but haven’t yet seen anything that I think is worth the asking price so far.
If the engine is tired, add another £5500 / 6000, then there’s the gearbox, then maybe the diff, etc etc.
And the taillight panel would need to be changed to accomodate the S3 lights. Or re-work the
panel fiberglass.
Bill, not quite sure that makes too much sense. We are a long way from a petrol free world.
Tim
101% this…
If you have a fast Ford times are good; just watched a YouTube clip of an Escort Cossie go for £80K… mental.
thanks
Mark
It’s not a scam, I’ve been in touch with the man some 6 weeks ago + to discuss.
That’s good news.
I’m looking to get back into an Elan again, but haven’t yet seen anything that I think is worth the asking price so far.
If the engine is tired, add another £5500 / 6000, then there’s the gearbox, then maybe the diff, etc etc.
I think it’s cheap for a running car. I agree with your point about overpriced restos sitting in dealers; I think that’s always been the case. However this isn’t like that. You could buy it and just run it for now and save the resto for later. I mean, it’s not going to rust is it? As to the engine, well in one of the pictures it is clearly running albeit with a high tickover of 1500-odd RPM, and we can see the oil pressure at ~60 PSI which I think is a good indicator of engine health. Obviously we can’t hear how it sounds or check the exhaust for blue smoke but I think it’s promising. When I bought my S4 a while back it was the cheapest car on the market at £16500 and a non runner. So in comparison this would have been a better deal (if we ignore the non original aspects of this car, as mine is virtually untouched since leaving Hethel). Both cars need a respray and a body off restoration, but at least with this one you could drive it for a while, just to get a feel for it. I had no chance with mine, because the brake calipers were in the boot and the manifold rusted out. As I found out when I managed to start it… my poor ears…
One to watch perhaps - if the guide price is anything to go by.
Was at auction in June 2022. Description then: 06.22 at auction the Market: An unrestored but impeccably maintained car that has been in the same ownership since 1984, this French Blue Elan S4 SE is so original that it even sits on its factory chassis. The good news continues with the fact that it it’s a ‘matching numbers’ car with the paperwork, engine and chassis numbers all agreeing. Nice. Appropriately enough for a Lotus of this colour, this UK-registered car has recently been driven back from France where it has been in storage for the last quarter of a century. But please don’t think it was just sitting there abandoned because nothing could be further from the truth: it was stored in a dry garage, under a dust cover, and rested on a set of spare wheels. It was roused from its slumber in April 2022 to undergo an extensive recommissioning process followed by a “spirited” 400-mile shakedown back to the UK, which unearthed a few minor issues, all of which were resolved. While it has never had a full restoration, the Elan has seen a comprehensive programme of work over the years (details in a later section) and it is said to have done “less than a few than a few thousand miles since much of this work was carried out.” It’s important to note that this ongoing maintenance means that the patina it proudly wears is essentially that of an unrestored car, which we like; after all, a car is only original once.
Tim
By the way, you do not have to restore every Elan, as some of the previous posts appear to imply. Get them running, by all means, of course. The more classic Elans on the road, the better.
This years Pebble Beach overall winner was an unrestored, original paint with matching patina Bugatti. It looked and sounded glorious.
My own Sprint has original paintwork, original chassis, original everything (well, almost!), a lovely patina including bashes, chips, scratches, crazing. It’s ownership provenance and all MoTs and tax discs, along with invoices fill a big file. But it is mechanically on the button and provides me with 3,000 miles of wonderful driving pleasure each year. Yes, it had an engine rebuild at 80,000 miles and a gearbox overhaul; it’s electrics play up occasionally and I enjoy tinkering with it, keeping it as it is.
I know, we are all different. Some of us love the driving. Some of us love the restoration process and others like showing off their pristine car. All fine by me. However, I feel we should be encouraging new potential owners to consider other courses rather than just the resto way. After all, we don’t wish to put them off because a car might need a respray and that costs crazy money at Option 1 or whoever. Embrace the oily rag!
Tim
Here’s what ChatGPT thinks about unrestored classics, I think it’s qute apt.
[size=150]The Joy of Wrecks[/size]
There’s something magical about an old car that hasn’t been touched for years. Rust creeping over the fenders, the seats cracked and faded, a faint whiff of gasoline and time. To many, it’s just a junk heap, but to a select group of car enthusiasts, it’s a treasure—perfect just the way it is. Why? Because there’s a joy in the wreck.For these people, the appeal lies in authenticity. An untouched car tells stories. Each dent, scratch, and patch of rust is a chapter in its history, a glimpse into the lives it’s lived. A restored car may shine like new, but it loses the patina of time, the character that only age can give. An original car is like a piece of rolling history—a time capsule that connects the present to the past.
The quirks and imperfections of these vehicles are part of their charm. Maybe the door creaks when it opens, or the engine takes a few extra cranks to roar to life, but that’s what makes the experience real. It’s not about the car performing flawlessly; it’s about the connection you feel with something that’s seen the world, aged gracefully (or not), and still has life in it. It’s a bit like loving an old, tattered book. Sure, you could get a shiny reprint, but it just wouldn’t feel the same.
There’s also a sense of pride in owning something that’s survived. Driving a fully restored classic is nice, but anyone can do that. Driving an original wreck is a badge of honor—it says, “This car has made it this far, and so have I.”
In a world obsessed with perfection and the new, the love for these weathered, imperfect machines reminds us that beauty isn’t always about polish. Sometimes, it’s about embracing the scars and celebrating the journey. And that’s the joy of wrecks.
Alan, wow… that’s really good & so true.