Owning a Lotus Evora is a dream, and I love driving the
car. I have to live within my financial limits though and my Lotus purchases
have cost me a tidy sum.
The Elise cost £44k, and I spent some money on it (carbon
fibre hard top), and then part-exchanged it for the Exige at £32k, so lost
around £14k on that.
The Exige cost £47k, and I got it detailed, a
pre-trackday service (including new rears), then part-exchanged it for the
Evora at £35k, so lost around £14k on that too.
I don’t regret these purchases at all, they’ve been
awesome experiences:
- I learnt from the Elise that you can daily it, but
sometimes you simply don’t want to because you’ll worry about parking (if I’d
bought a tatty old Lotus Elise, this would not have been a problem), and also
the car feels wasted with normal road use, that’s why I took it on track
- Once I’d been on track in the Elise, and having driven
an Exige V6 S before, and loving the V6 engine, I knew I wanted an Exige as a
trackday car. The problem I found was the cost (really, I knew this would be a problem
before I got the car). Keeping an expensive trackday car in storage, so you
hardly see it is a shame, especially when you realise you can’t afford to go on
that many trackdays (if I had workshop facilities - and the skill to maintain
my own car - that would substantially reduce the cost.)
- So, I realised I wanted a V6 Lotus that I could daily
drive if I wanted (and if I know parking is going to be okay). And the Evora is
such a beautiful car. The NA version is an excellent road car. I feel very
lucky to have a Lotus Evora parked outside my house.
In 2019, I need to be more sensible (I simply cannot
afford to keep chucking away money), and the financial reality is that the
Lotus Evora I have now is going to be my last Lotus (unless I win the lottery
or something). If I need the funds to move house in 2020, the Lotus might go. If
I replace the Lotus (say it becomes too expensive to run) it would be down to a
Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ (for financial reasons). I want to enjoy Lotus ownership
as long as possible, so here are my plans for 2019:
1) I’m not changing any cars (unless I downgrade for
financial reasons)! My white Lotus Evora and black SEAT Ibiza are perfect for
my requirements.
2) I’m not taking the Lotus Evora on trackdays (too
expensive) but...
3) SOON: Buying some computer car racing games to quell
any need for speed
4) SOON: I will change the Lotus Evora wing-mirror caps to red
(due to my brush with an underground car park pillar). I have bought some spare
wing-mirror caps, so these will be painted red, and the originals will be black (will
get the passenger side one paint repaired.)
5) MARCH/SOONER: I will change registration plates (not
in a massive rush to do this, have bought registration and plates already)
6) JULY: Lotus Evora MOT/5-year Service will be up at the
end of July. I might get the EV300 upgrade from Hangar 111 and need to get
ball-joint knocking sound fixed.
7) NOVEMBER: I might renew the warranty.
8) 2020: I might wrap the car in Olive Green!
And when the girlfriend comes to England this year, we’ll
go on some trips. There will be other trips too (like AutoSport International
coming up), but I prefer not to over-plan ahead.
So far the Lotus Evora hasn’t cost me a penny** in
maintenance costs (just over 6 weeks and 1’300 miles in). Thet’s see how things
go!
*I have no plans to
supercharge/turbocharge my Evora.
**I have so far paid
for an enhancement detail, spare mirror caps, and personalized reg number and
plates at ~ £1300.
Image: LOGITECH
Driving Force G29 Gaming Wheel and Gearstick Bundle***
***I think £180
spent on the LOGITECH Driving Force G29 Wheel and Gearstick Bundle, and maybe
£80 on a couple of games (Forza Horizon and Assetto Corsa), is a good investment.
Different to trackdays, but a lot cheaper (when one track day might cost £500
or more... 6 trackdays in a year, anything from £3000 to £6000).
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