Hi all,
I’ve recently found out that it is possible to import a Series 1 Exige into Australia other than the PI route. My question now is if I’m likely to find one for less than 20k GBP? There doesn’t seem to be many advertise these days so a bit hard to know what sort of prices cars are going for.
Regards
Is the bearing in the AP kit good enough?
Very unlikely unless it needs a bit of an overhaul 
True S1’s are appreciating in value. Anyone know how many S1’s were made?
601, of which 275 were road registered in the UK
Cheers Pesky. Of the 275 uk cars some have been written off and some have been exported so they are becoming a rare model
What I’ve seen for the last two years is that most of the cars were sold by professionals. The rare private sales were re-presented a few weeks later also by professionals. Apparently, it takes time to sell such a car. Perhaps most are swapped at dealers for another model. Definitively, a 10 years old car needs cosmetic and (possibly) mechanical attention (ok, there might be a few examples close to showroom condition). So perhaps possible buyers are now mutating from people interested in a sport car in second-hand condition to real (masochistics ?) enthusiasts burning candles to Saint K 
My advise, nevertheless, is to post a “wanted” ad to Lotus sites, but beeing realistic in the scarse respond it will gender. Be also aware that UK sellers can be cautious (certainly with reason) with abroad potential buyers. Nothing replaces a human meeting and the shake of hands, so do not hesitate to liaise with a local connoiseur to inspect cars for you. Sorry I realize my english can be unorthodox, I will certainly qualify for french-speaking tosser of the month.
Glad you told me that. 
[quote=jean-yves] I will certainly qualify for french-speaking tosser of the month.
[/quote]
Thanks for the heads up guys. I’ll keep my eyes open for one on here and on pistonheads. Anywhere else I should be looking to see if any come up for sale?
…and some have had a transplant and so aren’t proper Exiges any more, lovely though many of them are
[quote=The83man]
…and some have had a transplant and so aren’t proper Exiges any more, lovely though many of them are[/quote]
Aye, but it’s a pity that Lotus didn’t fit a more suitable ie better developed powerplant in the first place. There’s no way I would have enjoyed my car as much/for as long, as I have without going down the conversion path. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved every minute of my 87K mile ownership
I totally agree, albeit for some countries with a long history of in-depth technical control, computers with specs and homologation figures, and of course mind narrowness, it would be (on paper) impossible to register an Honda conversion, unless the car would have been homologated (on one-off basis) by Lotus or its representatives.
Beware rebodied Elises they look pretty authentic and are what the Exige was BUT they are NOT Exiges.
Clive is right. All original factory Exiges have a four digit chassis No preceded by “8” which denotes the Exige derivative of the Type 111. For example my S1 is chassis No 447 and the last five digits of the chassis No are 80447. If it doesn’t start with an 8 it isn’t a factory Exige. Simples.
Mines number 36 so an early one!