A&Q about Lotus
Q:
if i'm looking at an ECU dump of a car with about 7k miles, what should i consider bad news/good news? and what should give me a clue that it might not be covered by warranttee? Thanks ahead of time.
A:
If standing starts > 0 then beware.
If RPMs were over 8500 then be cautious... if RPMs were over 9000 RPM then be REALLY cautious.
Just look for obvious things. If the car spent 30 hours at over 8000 rpm then you probably don't want to buy it Also if the speed was in the triple digits for any significant time... just things like that.
Better yet, post the ECU dump here.
A:
doesn't look like i'll be able to post it... though i thought of that. I'll likely be standing with the owner at the dealership when it's run. I'll basically get to look at it and then it'll be a go, or we'll have to talk. Thanks for the tips so far.
While i'm at it... any things that are typically not covered under warranttee that i should look out for on buying? Any tell tale places to look for water leaks?
A:
uh yeah, that's right. for all of you that tracked your car, you'll never sell it! Neverrrrrrrr!
Dietrich Out!
A:
Originally Posted by Dietrich
uh yeah, that's right. for all of you that tracked your car, you'll never sell it! Neverrrrrrrr!
Dietrich Out!
these car were built with the racetrack in mind, and I agree here that the ICU will bugger the seller when its time to sell. an ICU can look bad, and the car will be just fine. they were made and designed to run hard. the catch is the friggin lotus warranty which has all these voidable clauses based on the ICU, and "arbitrary " decisions by dealers and Lotus.
I think this will only be resolved for the selllers/buyers of used cars when the warranty period has already expired. then people can actually enjoy the car allot more without the warranty hassle in the back of thier mind. i think the thing i like best about my spec miata for the racetrack is that there IS NO warranty issues to think about, not to mention its bulletproof, and cheap to fix.
Dietrich does have a point in his post though, except i ammend it buy saying you will sell it, but at a lower price than its value should be for a very good tight car.
Fishguy
A:
in all honesty i think it keeps the sellers honest. Everybody says there car just get's driven on the highway and that it was driven nicely. Has anybody ever really seen a car that says i beat the crap out of it? you look at the extrerior and interior and have a mechanic look at it and decide if you think they'r close to the truth or full of it.
All this does is keep people who used their car who drove the hell of it if from trying to sell there car for the same price as someone who really give it an easy life. It's just a better metric than mileage. I'd rather buy a car with 50k miles driven back and forth between LA and SF than a car that's seen 5k miles all on the track. Now the guy that really does just drive it gently can prove it and ask for more, and the guy that only tracked his low miles car can't sell it like it's a gem. I think it'll really just bugger the seller that's hiding how they used it, and benefit someone those who didn't... remember if every car was tracked constantly, they'd all have the same history and the info wouldn't "hurt" anybody because there'd be nothing to hide.
We digress... any other things to look at?
A:
EDIT TO SAY....DO'h!!! Post removed!! I thought this was the ECU dump thread. My comments were geared towards that thread, not the gentleman asking what to look for. My apologies! Now I'm off to find the thread I thought I was posting in and place my post there!!!