hi i have only just registered with this forum and was surprised to see that my car Y757BSG has been the subject of much discussion and speculation most of it by armchair experts/anoraks whichever you prefer. i have even seen the car described as a cut and shut (by someone who has never seen it). as everyone is so interested i will give you the facts- i purchased the car from norwich union insurance for �13,760 in may this year with light side damage (still driveable) the damage required replacement of the n/s door,n/s sill cover, there was a scrape on the front clamshell and a section cracked on the rear clamshell. upon stripping the car(both clamshells,roof,and sill) i noticed a small dent in the side of the bodytub which until removal of the sill was hidden.as i wanted the car to be restored to perfect condition i set about finding someone who could repair this for me. after speaking to many people in the body repair business i was put in touch with a semi retired specialist aluminium fabricator from blackpool by the name of roy maple(nothing to do with tvr as someone implied in a previous post). to give you some idea of the type of work he does on the day i took the exige he was making by hand a pair of wings for a works austin healy 3000 from aluminium. i left the car with him for a week he checked the alignment of the chassis and repaired the dent in the bodytub which was virtually invisible. i then had the sill cover fitted and the rear clamshell repaired by a friend of mine who is a specialist boatbuilder and is the best fibreglass repair man i have ever seen!! the end repair on the clamshell was unbelieveable it was perfect on the inside and the outside invisible even if you knew where to look. i purchased a perfect secondhand door and then had the car fully re-painted with clamshells etc removed so there was no overspray anywhere and then re-built the car.i have used the car over the summer myself and then decided to sell it. the first time i put the car on e-bay it reached �18200(around what the car stood me at) the chap who bought it had previously bought a lotus elise mk2 from me and was unaware how difficult exiges are to get in and out of due to the fixed roof.by mutual agreement i re-listed the car only for it to sell to a complete timewaster! i tried to contact him but his e-mail was false he never saw the car or contacted me and an hour after the auction finished slated the car and gave me bad feedback(read my previous feedback)then to cap it all i look on here and basicaly see the same thing people who dont know what they are talking about and have never seen the car slagging it off. this forum is supposedly for exige enthusiasts but i think most people would like to see any exige that is damaged simply scrapped instead of re-built and put back on the road. i am so confident in the repair i would be willing to have the car inspected by an engineer and removed from the hpi v/car register as i have stated when advertising it. i have had the car serviced,new rear tyres and i have had some re-call work done at ribble valley lotus(who never noticed it had been repaired)so if any genuine buyers want an exige in the right colour right mileage right price with a/c (working)removed from the v/car drop me an e-mail.
Evosal
I went to see your car on 12th September, & posted my thoughts on this bbs Here
Your colleague quite categorically told me that the chassis had been repaired by your man in Blackpool, who specialised in repairing TVRs. He also said that you had turned down an offer of �18500 for the car.
I suggest that you carefully re-read my comments about the apparent/visable condition of the car at the time. I also recommended that a potential buyer should have the car inspected by an expert. (With respect, the Lotus bonded aluminium chassis technology is somewhat different to the technology of fabricating aluminium body panels). When I saw the car, one of the aircon pipes was broken, but no doubt you have since had it replaced, along with the rear tyres!
So, you’re in the motor trade & you’ve spent around �18K on a car, which you are now struggling to sell, without losing money. Whose fault is that? Sorry, but that’s how things sometimes work out in business, so be a big boy, & please don’t blame the people on this bbs because you can’t shift it!
Evo Salvage
I guess you have photos you can post of the “dent” in the tub ?
Just how does an aluminium fabricator repair a “dent” in a bonded tub so its invisible - details please …
Yes fibre glass is forgiving of patches and repairs … so no worries for a few k miles with that … but you have to detail the tub repairs 'cos that is, and will continue to be your problem …
And this forum is actually full of very well informed, professional people who are most certainly not 20 year old, “green” kids … the average age and experience is well documented on the Elise bbs
Your comments are not going to help you balance the books … the Exige community is quite closed as you have found, not suprising as there are only 5-600 out there in the world.
please stop…
welcome to EVOSAL.
cheers,
Nicolas
EVOSAL
I’m sorry you feel we have spoken out of turn, but if yo re-read the posts where your car is discussed, I don’t really think you can trully say anything is maliciously slagging the car off. Look at it from a buyers point-of-view.
Infact most of what I just re-read is absolutely accurate when compared to your report above. Sure a few people may have spoken rather assertively (and perhaps misguided) without full facts but nothing much there that you wouldn’t expect from any group of people with an interest, without ALL the facts - it all seems quite relevant to me.
I think its excellent that you have come on here to lay your side down, and if I was interested in your car then everything you say would make me feel better - but I don’t think you should go off on one like we were all talking sh1te. At the end of the day youv’e got an insurance write-off there
It’s true we are all anoraks and probably most of us are arm-chair experts, but we all own exiges and most of us track them and know many of the issues affecting a small production, niche market, bonded aluminium lightweight sports car with a fragile engine and crappy official support net-work.
This is most definately a forum for exige enthusiasts who welcome any one with similar interests. If you need to vent some anger maybe you should start with eBay. So cool off, calm down and don’t ram “right colour right mileage right price” down our throats like some kind of cheap car salesman - you will get much further by sticking to facts and answering legitimate query regarding photo’s and explanations of the damage repairs to your car.
Look forward to your continued contribution. All the best.
It’s true we are all anoraks and probably most of us are arm-chair experts, but we all own exiges and most of us track them and know many of the issues affecting a small production, niche market, bonded aluminium lightweight sports car with a fragile engine and crappy official support net-work.
Hey, I resent that!
(amazing… a few words changed here and there and your description can be applied to marriage as well )
Hey EVOSAL, come back and post some more, probably do a couple of track days before you sell the car and see what this whole thing is about.
But please, use some punctuation marks, it’s very difficult to read all in small letters and in one line.
Cheers
Uldis
Yep Evo you’ve gotta remember this is an Exiges enthusiasts board and a damaged/repaired Exige is gonna generate a lot of interest on here - not many of the lil’ monsters about - no offence meant by any of the posts I’m sure, but we drive the cars and don’t own 'em for profit.
Looking at your photos and posts repairing damaged motors is your business and no doubt you are expecting a profit … I don’t have a problem with that, so please don’t lecture us on our opinions. I have repaired several damaged Loti sitting in an armchair with a warm anorak on
I have repaired several damaged Loti sitting in an armchair with a warm anorak on
and a floppy cap and a pair of slippers on the hearth and awee cup of tea and a smoke of yer pipe…
I, personally, don’t have a problem with a car that has been damaged and repaired and I imagine there are ways of repairing a mildly damaged tub without peeling glue and causing misalignment (I would be interested to know the process). If the car was a track car I am sure that no one would bat an eyelid. What surprised me was the price the car is going for� If an undamaged car is only a couple of grand more then I think anyone would struggle to justify paying this much for an insurance write off which will always be difficult to sell on. It�s great that you have managed to return one of these great cars to the road and stopped it from ending up as scrap metal but I think the price has to be a bit more realistic.
when i bought this car i bought it because i have always wanted one not as a way of making a profit! as you are aware they are rare cars on the road and even rarer as a damaged repairable, maybe i paid a little over the top but at the time good low mileage exiges were fetching �26,000 (and probably still are) which is the figure paid out by norwich union on this car. sure there are cars advertised at the moment for �21-22,000 but all the ones i have seen around this price have done 25-30,000 mls, at this mileage lets be honest they are getting tired, at the end of the day i am not really bothered if i sell it or keep it i know there is nothing wrong with it and if i dont get �17,500 i wont sell ( i would rather track it instead of my cooper s ) i wonder how many exige owners on here can hold their hands up and say their cars have never been damaged, more to the point how many would declare it in full detail as i have when they come to sell ??? as for the dent in the bodytub all the repair people who looked at it for me advised to simply replace the sill cover and leave it, as it could not be seen i realistically could have done this and just never mentioned it to anyone (would have saved a lot of agravation) i know that most damaged chassis on lotus elises/exiges can not be repaired successfully but that is usually where the suspension mounts and fully agree repairing one here especially on the front can only be a cock up job, all i can say is i will probably see some of you at a track day next year so you are welcome to have a look and make your own minds up instead of guessing and speculating.
maybe i paid a little over the top but at the time good low mileage exiges were fetching �26,000 (and probably still are) which is the figure paid out by norwich union on this car. sure there are cars advertised at the moment for �21-22,000 but all the ones i have seen around this price have done 25-30,000 mls, at this mileage lets be honest they are getting tired,
Well I bought mine 4 about months ago at �21,000 with only 6300miles and is immaculate.
Suppose I was just lucky but youve got to remember people will always be put off by a damaged / repaired car and there are quite a few un-damaged ones out there at low prices. Especially at this time of year!
And Yes they might be a bunch of Anoraks (So am I) but Ive got quite fond of em all
I know something, they definately know what their talking about. Every problem Ive had with it so far, Ive been able to sort out with help and advice from these guys
It says something when your local dealer suggested me to look on here for clues when I had the problem starting it!!!
Robbo
Mine’s never been damaged!
Hey EVOSAL, please don’t sound so down. You’ve just bought (as I’m sure you realise) one of the best and greatest secrets on the roads - enjoy it!
We’re a friendly bunch here and I’m sure anything that’s been said is purely about the car, certainly not the owner. I think you’ll find we’ve been much crueler about the new Exige! I wish you all the best with it and do hope to see you on track. If anything, your case is very interesting, should the worst ever happen to our cars; so you’re now a fairly unique member of the clan.
Welcome to the gang, I look forward to sharing thoughts, ideas, stories, trackdays, etc with you.
Ian
ps. As for the Cooper S, pesky little things to catch on track! Even if it does have the draftest thing on any car; that rear wiper! It looks like a puppy’s tail when operating!
I sold my non-crash repaired, 14,000 mile, 190 Exige for �19k a year ago.
Good luck with the sale of your crash repaired Exige for the same amount.
i can,t understand why all the fuss !!! at the end of the day all i,ve done is repair a car (properly), if i dont sell it i will keep it !!! it really is no big deal, the car is worth �17,500 to me so unless i get that i wont sell, realisticaly what can you get for that money with looks, performance, handling to match the exige ??? what i object to is so called experts dogging the car when they have not even seen it. everyone is stating that their cars have never been damaged maybe they are right !! but unless you have owned it personally from new you can,t be sure, even brand new cars get damaged in transit and repaired by main dealers it is common practice (ask anyone who works in a main dealer bodyshop)
so called experts dogging the car
Evo, I think you should re-read the thread, as I have just done, cos I can’t see anyone ‘dogging’ the car…
Calling us armchair experts is not a subtle way to make friends, especially as most of us actually do work on our cars, so we do know a thing or two about them individually, but more importantly COLLECTIVELY we can sort just about any problem !!
Keep the car for a season and come to our trackdays - we are always happy to meet new owners - then, after a year’s hard tracking, the car will become well known, and the quality of the repairs will be self-evident…
If you still want to sell at that time (a big if !!), then fair enough, and you will doubtless have loads of support from us (though we’ll still try to persuade you to keep the car)
Looking forward to meeting you
And Yes they might be a bunch of Anoraks (So am I) but Ive got quite fond of em all
Hmmm, what is an anorak?
Hi Uldis,
I found this on the net,
Anorak, a term of abuse
A.no.rak noun. [Esk. (Greenland) anoraq] a heavy jacket with a hood.
In the UK this form of coat was worn by all children in the 1970s, but worn now only by socially disfunctional adults who still wear the trousers they wore to school (despite the fact they never covered their ankles even back when they were 14 years old).
also
Train.spo.tting verb. [UK] the activity of recording with pen and paper, the serial numbers from the side of railway locomotives.
Trainspotting was a common childhood pursuit of British children in the post-war period, it comes under that category of hobbies that involve collecting. It is possible to buy books listing the serial numbers of all the railway rolling stock in the country and then check off each one as it is seen. Adults who practice this activity are naturally seen as dull, and immature, because the majority of people find other pursuits more attractive once they have passed the legal age for sex and alcohol.
These two phenomena in British society have given rise to a new use for the term ‘anorak’ (an article of clothing often worn by ‘trainspotters’) to mean any dull individual, or someone with a boring hobby. Hence I could be described as a Stone Circle ANORAK.
This seems like a good point to add my personal theory on the excellent film and novel, Trainspotting. The subject of the book is heroin addiction which is a high risk high return activity - something diametrically opposed to trainspotting, which has no risk attached and no experiential gain to be made.
Hmmmm, not very nice then
Steve.
Steve, you seem to know an awful lot about train spotting
I like the film,
Not the standing in the rain with a note pad wearing an “anorak” hobby.(not that there is anything wrong with that, if that’s what floats yer boat)
Oh and to put my 2pence in the pot, any kind of damage on an exige can be un-bolted/un-bonded and replaced with new but as for the Ali tub any damage to that can very seriously compromise the strength of the chassi, And its the strength of the chassis that makes the car handle so well (that’s only my opinion)
Steve.e