Buying your first Lotus Elise Things you must check 

I didn’t want to go through the hassle of a check list, so I simply skipped buying my first Lotus Elise and went straight to buying my second one.

A layman can gain a decent understanding of cars here, thanks: great presentation

What a superb video. Your camera angles were great, lighting was great, and you were clear and comprehensive. This is a valuable resource to anyone considering this car. Thank you for taking your time to put this together.

Good instructional video. Much of what you said here can be applied to the purchase of a vehicle in general. Not just the Lotus.

When I buy an Elise in 3 years I'll come back to this video

Just bought 2005 Elise. BEST video I’ve seen. Thank you!!! Huge service to all who are considering or own!

“Now watch me suffering getting out” Proceeds to smoothly exit Lotus.

15 minutes in, and already a good video. It's a good watch, thanks!

Thanks for making this. About to view my first lotus in a few days. Made me feel much more comfortable!

What an amazing video. This really helps and inspires confidence on how to find a good 2nd hand Elise!

Even though I'm a Corvette owner, I'm a total car enthusiast. And I've always had this closet admiration for Lotus cars. Even though I'm not in the market for one, I found this video supremely interesting. All the hidden things about buying a this specific Lotus. Brilliant!! Much in this video applies to buying a lot of sports cars....Enjoyed it.

hi D3Sshooter - your one of the most knowledgeable person I have met on this great car. I appreciate all your videos and have learned much!! Your honest assessments and insights are really good. Thank you!

Well, I am somewhat overweight. And I find it surprisingly comfortable, even for long motorway drives.

That was a fantastic video. Thank you for putting the time and effort into making it and sharing your knowledge.

Great video, thanks for taking the time to put this together. Hoping to get an Elise soon!

Oh also on the Toyota engine you should have the Cams checked. The 2zz engine is a vvt engine and the secondary Cams can get worn and cause valve wipe.

thanks Steve great vlog can't wait for the next one :)) from the UK

Outstanding. All buyer’s guide should be held to your video! Though, and informative! Thank you.

Amazing video! Well explained and easy to follow! I learned a lot.

Thanks for doing this...really prepared me to look an Elise over!

Many thanks from the UK, I am 1.82m and 120Kgs was wondering about the fit. Having said that I learnt so much about buying a used car. For me, I know that anyone who irons creases in their jumpers is going to be thorough about everything!

Thanks for providing this very informative and educational video of the Elise.

What an education! I'm not planning to buy one but I couldn't help but watch all of this as it was quite interesting and would recommend anyone to watch, especially those that think they know ;) Thanks.

That is by far the best "before you buy" car video I've ever seen. The level of knowledge displayed here is second to none and it's presented in a clear and understandable way. Kudos and thanks for helping me in my potential future purchase.

Excellent video. Thank you for making it!

Great video. Excellent detail and camera position showing all the parts to look at.

I have enjoyed the video from the beginning to the end. Hat off, a really good video about a car,:actually the best I have found about a car, at least on youtube. Thank you. I am going to check the remaining 🙂

This is very informative thanks you sir for time making this video I've always loved the lotus Elise and hope to get one soon thanks for all the tips

Tell you mate I love the elise but can't afford to by one, but I still thought I'd watch What a fantastic video! Really in depth nice one mate👍🏼

If you drill 3 little holes 5mm in the thermostat it will give you a little water flow from the beginning until the thermostat opens up. This will work on most cars, and will save your butt if your thermostat ever fail. It will take slightly longer for your car to get up to operating temp. But it will stop the sudden water temp fifference when the thermostat opens, it also makes it easier to bleed the water system after flushing water.

Excellent work, definitely a good reference vid

thank you a ton, I'm about to make my first lotus purchase i'll be sure to check these 😁

Thank you very much! Very helpful.

Thank you for this nice video and explanation.

Very informative, thank you for the detailed video!

I saw an Elise when they first hit the US and have wanted one ever since. I am now at the age and place where I may be able to have a weekend car. Thank you for the help;

Fabulous video. I feel now is the time to buy one. Values will only rise especially in the U.S. where this car is a quite rare. It’s the ultimate modern classic. Never driven one, but I’ve sat in an Elise. The driver focused ergonomics gave me all kinds of sensations. I want one bad.

This is the strangest episode of "Law & Order" guys. *_Thanks for making it!_* 🤣😎

Very good video and good advice all around when looking to buy any used vehicle.

Very informative post. A few of these, owned by my friends, are racing and used as road cars in Guyana. New subscriber! They really appreciated this video.

Amazing content! Working on a review video for an Elise SC RGB edition and this helped.

Even if i'm not on the market to buy, it's a really good video with coherent advices

10:00 - Of course the water circulates on an inner-loop before the start opens - this typically includes the heater-radiator. If you let the engine warm gently for the first 10 mins, so the block warms through along with the head, you will have no problem. Driving hard from cold will warm the head more than the block, and stress arises. I love the KSeries, and have on in my MG MIdget and S2.

Im just about sorted now thanks to you videos. Last thing I did was remove the driving lights and fitted a full length grill. My 5 year old Grandson now says its a happy car , because its smiling.

Great video sir...thank you

Great video 👍 very detailed and informative

Excellent video . Thanks

Very useful informative video, thanks for taking the time to make it!👍🏻

Hi Steve, Lotus revised the cambelt change frequency in line with Rover recommendations. It's now every four years/90,000km, whichever comes first, and an inspection at the midway point.

Excellent video!

He aprendido mucho con tu video, Gracias, gran trabajo...

This video helped me so much... Thank you ✌️

brilliant video well done!!!

Fantastic information

This man is a real mechanic!

Very informative, thank you sir.

Superb video. So much information presented in such a calm and engaging manner. Dissapointed to learn that, at 6' 4" (1.93m), this car is unlikely to be for me, as it is the most beautiful car I've ever seen.

As others have said great informative video. Just a point the rear toe links shown are uprated ones as the OEM ones don't have shear brackets. Beautiful 135R you are restoring, please more content on it.

Thank you so much for this video. It's so informative! I have a question: should you use 98 ron gasoline in these lotus elises? It are just rover/toyota engines and aren't tuned or have forced induction. So will you be alright just using 95 RON gas, or is 98 required/recommended?

Great video, thank you!

Would you recommend checking engine compression? I always do to check cylinders about same. Another huge consideration for a car like this is to see any sort of rust or corossion to see if it was winter driven... More likely probably on a Miata a cheaper version of this hehe

Thanks for this video. Got my Elise yesterday for -500 eur. It was a 2002 K-Series in grey. Price beginning was 21.000 eur. Everything had to be done, -10% means 18.900 eur and then he let me take the car to our diagnostics professionals for one total day. Everyhing had minor problems, even the hardtop had some scratches. Bearings, differential, clutch, balljoints, toe links, springs, dampers, gearbox 5th gear problem, radiator, temperature constant 89 degrees Celsius, tires worn unregularly, window not closing totally, Rust and breaking not straight, car geometry not good, electric problems, battery worn out, driveshafts full of grease and the aluminium wisbone attachment had some cracks, best was the tuned pipe and engine tuning from 122 Pa to 140 Ps (I put minus 2.500 eur on my list). After 11 hours of checking the car, my friend working as a mechanic at Lotus told the owner that he should be lucky to only give us 500 euros that we take this heap of junk out of his courtyard. Ps: this was total fiction. Amazing video to buy a Elise, destructive video to sell one :-)

Have you finished the Elise yet? I was looking forward to seeing the end result. Hope you’re well!

Thank you so much for this video

Great video !!!!!!!!!!!!

Very helpful, thanks a lot

Great info!!!

Nice video :) But getting in is too easy on the S2, with the lower sill, I took my S1 out for a spin yesterday, and oh boy, I'm about to sell it because I don't use it enough, but as soon as I get in... Well, I guess you know that feeling... ;) And BTW, it's a very bad idea to use the windshield to help to get in, Lotus did use the lighter (and thinner) they could find, and as such, they're prone to cracking...

I'm 6' 3". Getting in and out is no joke, but once you're installed there is tons of leg room and my head doesn't brush the ceiling. I actually fit.

anyone seriously considering buying an elise has refined taste.

This is good info thank you for making this vid. What would a front end replacement cost when it's wrecked up to or just before the frontwheels? Thanks in advance

Excellent.

I actually found the suspension in an S1 no harder than my gt86. They ride pretty well. I keep getting temped to buy one to replace the gt86, but the 86 is bomb proof (and suprisingly handles almost as good) and the potential costs of the Elise scare me off :d

Hello Sir! I bought my first Lotus An Elise S2 from 2008 with only 16.500 km on it a few weeks ago. I have a few questions that I wonder if you could help me with. Firstly, could you recommend a good workshop manual for the Elise? I want the correct torques and so on for all bolts and nuts. Also, I think you mentioned in one of your videos that you had got a complete set of new hardware from somewhere. Could you please give me a link if got that right. I love your videos, they are fun to watch and very instructive. Cheers Poul

Great video..I have a VX220 looks identical with the clams off...

Can you make a small hole in the thermostat just to keep some water circulating?

Thanks for this interesting and informative video. I have few questions which I think you have the insight to answer. 1. I am 191cm (Say my legs to torso ratio skews more towards longer legs than an average 191cm person). Do you think I can comfortably drive the car, without hitting the steering wheel? 2. I have worked on some BMWs esp. 3 series myself (relatively advanced) and I think they are well engineered cars, not only to drive, but also to work on (sleutelen). Could you say the same for an Elise?

Very nice video !thanks I heard i have to check the good centering of the exhaust but i don’t understand why..can you tell me? Thanks a lot 🙏🏻

Hi, I just bought a s2 111s with Rover K engine (in Belgium) . Unfortunately without the thermal shock prevention upgrade. Can you please tell me where the upgrade kits are for sale? kind regards, Marcel

I would address the temp surge issue by either getting a lower temp thermostat (less than $20 US) or simply drilling a tiny hole in the one in there so the hot coolant can slowly warm up the engine itself. Is there any problem with these suggestions?

nice video man!! im planning on buying an opel speedster 2.2na. I think its almost same platform. Will you recommend it? thanks for the video, really enjoyed it listening to you

A was very fortunate to own a second hand 240R. Great years messing around. Let me down on only one occasion. Sold on for a reasonable price. After 10 years it has worked out to be my cheapest car ever due to resale value.

I got in at 6'3" 250lb (190cm 113kg) had to take my boots off and loosen my belt one notch. But I did it. And did it well.

I've been seriously considering buying a Lotus Elise. I love the design, and I've heard they're great weekend cars for fun. I really wanted to know if I'd fit in one at 6'4" tall. Well, 3:50 answered that for me. I couldn't fit in a Ferarri 348 at all, and the space in the Elise looks even smaller.

Great ,but I don’t think I would check everything myself that would make the seller loose the plot LOL Im guessing just to send it check at the specialist from lotus or else.

Nice video, its the second time that I saw it in my Life. I'm looking to buy one, but i'm afraid of its possibles problems. I have in mind the toyota 1zz fe engine, because of what i've looked, it's the more "trusty". Do you know any common problems of this cars???

This video is spot on. D3Sshooter is clearly an expert: he taught me more than I ever knew about my Lotus Elise SC. As an overweight, aging Lotus Elise owner who never tracked my never-crashed car, I proclaim this video speaks the truth. While I battle daily with advancing age and against metabolic trends that lend themselves an every-increasing BMI, I love my Lotus Elise and enjoy it every weekend. Blessed with short stature, I have devised what I believe are very agile and graceful techniques to enter and exit the vehicle. In addition to the ultra-stiff suspension, which embosses your spine with a record of every flaw in the tarmac, the ultra-low profile presents certain difficulties that the next buyer must consider: in Texas, pickup truck drivers cannot see your Lotus when you are stopped to their passenger side - as like at a stoplight. In addition, the normal headlight height of standard cars and trucks will blind you once night descends. The Elise driver must exercise advanced, wisdom-infused defensive driving, which consists of using caution, brakes and quickness to anticipate and avoid danger. If you love him, do not buy a Lotus Elise SC for your impetuous son. I love this video because it confirms that my one-owner, low milage Lotus Elise SC remains the gem I dreamt of. Mine has been a happy mating. D3Sshooter armed me with lots of nerd -info that will allow me to maximize any future transaction price.

Very good, Thx!

hi very very very good nice one bob in the uk

Hello Steve ,have yo considered putting all of your videos onto DVD YOU COULD THEN SELL THEN AS A BOXED SET,Melvin,from UK.

Why don’t these cars get more recognition.. there beautiful. Also my uncle daily drives a lotus Elise and he switched the seats out for more comfort

"If you're watching this video you're most likely about to buy a Lotus Elise" Me not even having drivers license: 😐😐😐😐😐

Please explain what the white dots are on the dipstick and what forms them. I understand the circumstances (hard driving with a cold engine) but I would like to understand what happens to cause the white dots and exactly what they are?

How long should the warm-up phase be for a Rover K-engine?

Excellent advice. My issue is to find a vendor letting check all this 😳

D3Sshooter how tall are you? Im 6ft 2 and a half inch young fit and flexible guy. Do you think i will fit inside? Maybe some deep bucket seat will help? I will be grateful for your opinion. Cheers!

How difficult would it be to replace the belt to a chain.

Wish he lived local. I would pay him to check out my next one. Brilliant video for first time buyers.

I need you to do one of these on an Evora S :)

where can I find more information on the cooling modification kit mentioned at 12:20?