I’m not usually one to worry too much about residuals as I buy a car because I love it, but the amount my S2 Exige has lost in 13 months is unreal…book for the car in px is �22990 at the moment so you would imagine you could get a bit more with a bit of haggling…not a chance…Exiges are not making book and the best the trade (Lotus) will offer is 20k maybe 21k at a push. That’s a massive 12k to 13k loss in just over a year. Glasses knocked �650 of book in October and �750 in November and the chances are it will do the same over the next couple off months, so you should see leggy Exiges for under 20k next year…I know that its that time of year and after the first year prices seem to level out but even so that’s a bit cut throat. Anyone who purchased an Exige with 10%/20% deposit must surely be in negative equity.
I’ve had a number of new Lotus and most have been pretty good but this has to be the worst I’ve owned for dropping value…do you think it’s the knock on effect of new models, NA Exiges are not as desirable as the ‘S’? One thing is for sure I think this will be my last new Lotus, I think I’ll buy used from now on…
Anyway that’s may Friday moan…still love the car though.
Couple of points - the dealer margin objective on your car is at least �4k (nearer �5k) and you would naturally stand a better chance of getting more cash back by selling privately. And you never sell (only buy) any Lotus in the winter. But you probably knew all that?
cars are not an investment. Car prices can go down as well as up. Past performance is not an indication of future performance. Only speculate with money you can afford to lose.
dealers are not making 5k on a second hand exige thats for sure.
I just paid 23k for a 6k miles exige in black with sports pack and aircon and another 12 months warranty from a dealer.
I have no clue to why the exige has dropped so bad, it must be due to option packs and on the road charges.
And lotus are great like porsche at options which add no value to the car but are must haves in tearms of being able to sell the thing later.
a new exige is �29,995 listed which is what dealers and glass guide work on. a low milage 04 exige is say 23k with air con and either sports pack and touring pack. so thats only a loss of 7k in 2 years which is how they work.
A 111R is listed at �27,995 an a 04 is now 17.5k+ so again figures look ok at 10k in two years
12-13k drop is a year is bad enough. My S1 Exige is my best motoring “investment”. Worst was a Merc which lost nearly 20k in 6 months. Teach me to buy a pipe and slippers I guess. Steve
Forget the trade prices guide because with cars like Lotus it’s a stab in the dark for them.
The Exige has never been a winter seller. Your car might be worth � 20k now and you can’t sell it, but in the spring it might sell for � 22k.
The problem with the S2 is that although it’s better than the S1 (Stand Back) They have made far more S2’s than than they did S1’s.
You only have to look on websites like Autotrader and piston heads to see that there are lots of S2 for sale and hardly any S1’s.
By the spring good S1s might become more expensive that some of the S2’s, Although S2 will start moving again.
When I got my S2 Lotus said that they had no plans for a more powerful S2 Exige and everyone felt that in all reality that was what was needed. Low and behold, as soon as UK sale slowed the more powerful versions came out.
If you look at some of the dealers they still have ageing demo cars because people know what their true value is.
I am in the position that that I would like to change car, ether to a Europa and get it tweeked buy Thourney Motorsport or trade in for a Exige 220. But the hit on my current car means I would only just clear the finance.
I also paid extra on the finace so that I would not be in negitive equity. Good job I did because that car lost far more than it was expected to.
The cost to change to an Exige S220 is a lot to get the same car with a super charger on it and colour coded trim bits. Which I had done anyway.
This is one of the reasons why the Forcefed Turbo system is so appealing. Because for what it would cost to change to the Exige S220. I can get several grand change for the same money, convert my car and far more power for my money.
It makes a lot of sense given the depreciation of Exiges at the moment. It also make a lot of sense for people buying Exiges to go used and upgrade than to buy new.
Yep, I’ve lost about 5k in 4 months. That said, I still think the car is fab and the new forced fed turbo package is where I’ll be spending my money next.
no, i just traded… i have done for almost 2 years now, and this is the 1st time ive found out what i was actually given for the old car… think i will be asking in future before i agree