As the garage is pretty full, and wife says it’s time to start working on the house, I’m thinking of selling one - or more - of the cars to fund the work needing to be done.
As the +2 was the last car brought to the fleet, it is normal that it will be the first to go. She says…
But;
I have absolutely no ide of the value.
I know what I paid, and I know what costs I have put into the car.
Living in Norway there is not many potensial buyers, so I am thinking of advertising it in the UK, or on eBuy.
Is it possible for anyone to give a kind of clue what I might expect, from my descripton and some pictures?
The car is a 1971 RHD +2S 130/4, blue all over, and with a webasto sun roof. No leak. All service history and MOT receipts comes with the car.
Interior is OK.
Galavized chassis.
New galavanized sills (from Spyder) this summer, as well as new seat-belt anchorages.
New brake master cylinder, repaired clutch master cylinder, and new brake hoses all round.
New Pirelli tires on newly sand-blasted wheels (chrome missing, though)
Everything working, except the extra/fog lights.
Milage, ca 56000 miles (IIRC)
A few cracks around the right rear wheelarch has been fixed, but some damages to the paint is of course visible.
Not a mint car, but absolutely a good runner.
If the car was in the UK I would see it sell for something around ?4000 - ?5000 on ebay, if the paint damage isn’t too bad, and the interior and engine are in good condition. Any invoices for the chassis change and any engine work from reputable garages could push that up to maybe ?5500 or a wee bit more.
It would retail at a Lotus dealer for ?2000 or ?3000 more that that, or even more, but they would have to fix the paint and give some sort of warrentee.
Any 30 year old car without some sort of restoration provinance is, I’m afraid, going to be pretty much at bottom price when sold privately. Your’s may be a superb example, well maintained and totally reliable. But most punters can’t tell the difference between a good one and one that’s been tarted up for sale and given a ?800 respray.
Bjorn-Anders …just looked at the photos a bit more closely. Was the car originally Pistachio Green? Should have L13 as the paint code on the Vin Plate. I’ve always wanted a Pistachio Green Plus 2
Mark
PS: I enjoyed a nice garage move yesterday, despite -2 celsius, Vrooom WWWWWWWWWZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ… (that’s the sound of the spinning rear wheels, summer tyres on an icy road).
Quite happy the drive wasn’t longer than 10 minutes though. The heater actually worked, though not exactly overly powerful… Now happily wrapped up for the real winter.
Cars are a bit like real estate, location location location. It will be interesting to see what your Lotus sells for, north of the borders…
I’m in the States and +2’s here can vary by thousands of dollars based on location, not condition. The figures bantered about sound right to me, but try and get the most. Years from now, you’ll look back and go WOW, and I sold mine for… these are rare cars.
I’d try eBay first with a moderate to high reserve…a guy just told me there’s a free method to make your listing International(?)
Good luck. Eric
Thor,
Maybe asking a question like that is like asking an englishman “How much money do you have in the bank” or “How many reindeer do you have” to a Norwegian.
hahahaha. No I’m just trying to find out if Bj?rn was ripped off by a certain company with a name starting with “UK” and ending with “Sportscars”, and the likelyhood of getting that money back from a sale of the car now… I paid good money for my +2S after thorough research, ?6450, and am pleased as punch, and don’t mind telling how many reindeer I’ve got either…
The problem is, selling the car in the winter is not a good idea, not until May, and on a sunny day after a good T-Cut, valet and polish… After struggling with the sale of previous two classic triumphs, I know this. And I work with sales! You’ll lose ?1-2K selling it in Norway now… So persevere until the spring and it’ll pay off!
I’ve had a quick view.
It’s hard to tell, as the car is in a dark carport, but it looks to me that the paint code is L013 - so it obviously sometime in the past was “ugly green”…
Should have been BRG, at least…
I thought there was a Pistachio car lurking under the temporary disguise of blue paint…but 'Ugly Green??
The only other cars of the era brave enough to use this colour were the Lamborghina Muira and Lancia Stratos…pretty posh company. I expect that many of them have been repainted a more conservative hue as well.
I realise that I am in a very small minority liking this colour…something to do with mis-spent youth in the 60s and 70s I expect
Mark
It appears to me that Lotus did not sell many +2 S130 versions in the states. This is not based on fact, only because I cannot locate any through the internet. Does anyone have any sales figures for LHD cars imported to US?
I am thinking of importing a LHD , which are hard to find but I have not seen any comparables for sale in the states. Pricing guides in the US typically only show the standard +2 for valuations. Any thoughts from people experienced purchasing in the states?
(that’s the sound of the spinning rear wheels, summer tyres on an icy road).
