Owning a Lotus Elan M100]
Andy Barber, Diss, Norfolk
‘I’m Norfolk born and bred, so my dream was always to own a Lotus,’ says Andy Barber, who bought his 1992 SE in 2013 and used it as his wedding car. ‘The majority of components are General Motors, so it’s a good idea if you need to replace anything to check the part number to see if it has a GM stamp on it, and see if a Vauxhall specialist has one – a Lotus dealer will charge a lot more. Bespoke Lotus bits like the roof are hard to get hold of and don’t fit well – most Elan owners carry towels with them if it rains.
‘But other than the roof, they’re bulletproof. The engine is the most reliable unit ever fitted to a Lotus. That said, the brakes aren’t brilliant, and are marginal at every MOT. Pop-up headlights are notorious for jamming open or closed, but it’s usually degraded nylon bushes at £25 each.
‘I have mine serviced ever year at a Lotus specialist, but running costs are on a par with a Vauxhall Astra. There tend to be two types of M100 owner – daily and weekend. The daily drivers are more likely to suffer chassis and suspension corrosion; weekend cars tend to be garaged. Mine is Waxoyled every year and I’ve had no problems.’
Nick Walker, Halifax, Yorkshire
Nick has owned his Elan for 13 years, although he admits he went about buying it the wrong way. ‘I got one in very poor condition;
I was just excited that I could afford one, but after taking it for its first service I realised how much work needed doing,’ he says. ‘Both front and rear wishbones were corroded, but luckily I got a used set very cheap, taken off a car in Italy. The brakes needed refurbishing, which cost £600. New coolant hoses and an aluminium radiator was another £600. The heater valve always goes, but you can get them from Lotus Elan Central club group for £20. I’ve had to replace the plug leads and coil packs a few times now – a common occurrence resulting in a misfire.
‘I’ve recently had it resprayed for the third time. Not everyone knows how to deal with the Elan’s combination of plastic and glassfibre panels, and the final respray ended up being £9500-worth.
‘Watch the weather seals. These were the first things Lotus applied to the structure when building it, so if they need replacing they need a full stripdown. But once the you get it sorted, these cars make a fantastic practical classics. I commute to work in mine in summer, and the boot will swallow a whole camping trip.’