Hi Guy’s - first post so please be gentle with me!
Having just sold by beloved Caterham 7, I’m planning to purchase a secondhand Exige (after Christmas as I’m currently rebuilding my garage)
I fancy an normally aspirated model, hopefully one with a sports pack.
My only real concern is that my budget is limited so I’ll be looking at the bottom end of the market. This means I’ll be looking at cars with around 40k miles on the clock.
I’m guessing that as long as the car hasn’t been abused, the Toyota running gear should be OK at that mileage.
My worry is I’m not sure how the rest of the car (suspension/brakes/seats/trim/bodywork/electrics/locks etc)have stood up to the higher mileage.
Assuming I find a tidy 2004/2005 car with 40k miles - what problems/faults should I be looking out for and what sort of work can I expect to have to do with regards to getting the car up to scratch?
I guess that’s a bit vague a question but I’d appreciate your experience.
NA (Way to go fella ) well the engine should be fine, maybe cams could be an issue depending on how much track use. OEM radiator is a ticking bomb on all cars, see if it’s been changed for Pro-Alloy or Forge, a good thing. Maybe bushes, maybe tow-links, consider changing tow-links if tracking the car. Gear box should be fine… Suspension depends on storage in or outside, it’ll rust much like the wishbones. Brakes depends again on use and expense is variable, 2 pot less than 4 pot upgrade. Heater resister pack fails, check for upgrade and see if it works, same goes for AC, may need regas. Clam respary I’ve paid �350ish for at times. Not sure about seats but my 05’s were uncomfortable compared to newer cars at the time. May of had cam change/remap down from 6200 to 5750rpm. Minor mods (exhaust/air filter) may cause MIL light, but not really an issue but worth a read to clarify. Long list but 6 yo car, good luck and welcome to exige.com.
Hi and welcome !
I bought a 38k miles Exige 4 years ago and still have it ,in my case the only mileage related problems I had was that 3rd gear synchro was slow when cold.
I’ve also had to adjust the drivers window that wouldn’t shut correctly cos it dropped .
Apart from that its been fine.
Go for it , a higher mileage could be had for a great price at the moment.
Don’t listen to Jonnyfox tho cos he now advocates LSD
Ps. Me+Jonnyfox once had a blazing row over a Limited Slip Diff fitment hence the reference cos he now has one too !! Top bloke tho is Jonny
As has been said. Look out for rusty wishbones and uprights. My 11k mile 2008 car has surface rust on the wishbones and uprights
Crash damage is the other one. Make sure you give the bonded on front suspension mounts a good look over. Ideally take someone with you that knows what they are looking at, or pay one of the specialists to view the car and do a proper job for you.
Standard early cars had no oil coolers, with one of the packs adding a pair. Then they decided that one was a good idea as standard, with the second being part of one of the packs.
Don’t buy one without AC, and make sure it works. The sill pipes are alluminium, wrapped in foam to stop them rattling. The downside is that the foam traps the moisture and corrodes the pipework. Its pretty expensive to replace with the later rubber hoses.
just in the process of selling my car at the moment, and i shall be joining you in the search. we could be after the same cars as we are looking in the same price bracket…hopefully i shall be sooner rather than after xmas…
) well the engine should be fine, maybe cams could be an issue depending on how much track use. OEM radiator is a ticking bomb on all cars, see if it’s been changed for Pro-Alloy or Forge, a good thing. Maybe bushes, maybe tow-links, consider changing tow-links if tracking the car. Gear box should be fine… Suspension depends on storage in or outside, it’ll rust much like the wishbones. Brakes depends again on use and expense is variable, 2 pot less than 4 pot upgrade. Heater resister pack fails, check for upgrade and see if it works, same goes for AC, may need regas. Clam respary I’ve paid �350ish for at times. Not sure about seats but my 05’s were uncomfortable compared to newer cars at the time. May of had cam change/remap down from 6200 to 5750rpm. Minor mods (exhaust/air filter) may cause MIL light, but not really an issue but worth a read to clarify. Long list but 6 yo car, good luck and welcome to 
