On Wed, 11 Nov 1998, Keith Gustafson wrote:
> The problem is, that there is notelling when something will go bad. I f you
> cannot afford to have a "bad year" i.e. water pump, rotoflex, misc
> electrical gremlins, tehn you probably should rethink your strategy.
Some of this would not be outside my competance, like electrical
gremlins(If they are not to bad). But if it get's really ugly I could ship
the car back to Norway, where my father is and has tools, workshop and
better knowledge than me. But I hope to get away some of this by buying a
very good car, If I can't I wont bother to buy an Elan +2 now.
I have just (at least temporarily) "turned down" a fairly nice Elan,it had
some crack's in bodywork that had been repaired with araldite, those has
already cracked up again(a 2 month old paintjob), dashboard is not to
good, and it has a couple of electrical gremlins. Rear indicator, horn.
The current owner is also trying to sort the timing of the engine out, it
is currently not running completely well.
>
> Reliability is in the eye of the beholder. My car rarely leaves me stranded,
> but....
It's still a Lotus. :-)
> I should note, I drive my car, and I drive it hard. I figured out this year
> that i have driven around 9k miles just to LOG's. Some of the things are my
> fault, some just are what they are. A Lotus is many things, but cheap
> transportation it aint.
True.
>
> I don't mean to be rude, but...
> If you plan on buying the car, putting a few thousand miles on it and doing
> no maintenance or repair, do us all a favor, don't.
I won't. I just expect a slightly lower maintenance level on a recently
rebuilt car. Which is what I am trying to find.
>
> If I had bought a Lotus when I first wanted one, I would have ended up
> hating the car, probably destroying it, and never buying another one. When I
> bought my car, I wasn't well off, I was young[21] but I could afford the
> usual ups and downs, and could afford to pay for my mistakes.
I know that Lotuses are good, and I know that they require extra
attention.
>
> Owning a Lotus, IMHO, requires cash and or resources. I sounds like while
> you are in school[like most people at that stage] you will lack both.
> Perhaps you would be happier to wait until you have started your lucrative
> career to get your toy.
That's the sensible way , but I want to point out that I will not be
dependent on the car. The reason I do this is that It is much easier to
get a Lotus here than in Norway(the prices are nicer) the selection is
greater. And it is possible to actually "shop around" without taking a
flight everytime you want to look at a car. Even though I am looking for a
car of my own and are spending my own money, my father is backing me up.
(He is just as nutty as I am) And if the going gets though the car goes
over to Norway.
> Don't wait too long, fun is all too frequently pushed back while dull
> everyday stuff takes up your life.
Why do you think I am trying to get started as a Student? ;)
Tor
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