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Frederik schreef:for me ... no service book is no go!

Exept the car goes for half the 'normal' price.

I see.
I can get it for 16.5K Euro.
Normal price for 111S with 100K Km and service history is 18-23K euro.

Price is tempting, considering that I have driven the car and the car has been checked by Lotus specialist who confirmed its good condition.

Dilemma...

You can only realy say something about a car when you've spent at last 4 - 5 hours checking all the details in hardware and paperwork. Even then it is a guess. A checkup from a dealer or a specialist gives no more than an indication based on experience and what they see in a limited amount of time.
That said: Also a dealer maintained car can be a money pit. It's a second hand item.
So it's a bit of wisdom and a whole lot of luck!
However if there are now known issues that prevent a new Belgium MOT... That would be a' no go' for me, unless the seller gives you guarantee that any problems will be solved. Guarantee on paper that is...
I wish you wisdom! (and lots of fun)

Got myself a car with full service history and lots of documentation. From a UK based Lotus/Porsche/Bentley dealer. Turned out lots of things had to be done.
A winters work and thousands of euro's spent on parts the car was as it should be. All i have to do now is convert it to LHD before springtime.

A dealer maintained car with fully stamped service book is nice to have but says nothing to me.

I have checked quite a few 111S in Belgium, France, Nederlands and Germany.

I am surprised with the selling price for cars with no ( or limited) service history. Some of these cars have some good upgrades in induction kit, sports exhaust and catalyst, suspension, drakes, interior trim steering wheel + 4point harness ) and despite no service history the sellers ask 18-20k Euro.

This is an indication that many people may prefer the current vehicle condition with the upgrades over history......

I maintain my car myself. So no service history from the dealer.
Does this mean my car is bad? I don't think so. Better yet, I dare to state that my car is one of the best available. If I ever would sell it, it would be in the upper price range (no plans though, I'm still in love with the car )
I do have a huge pile of receipts for all the parts that i bought for maintenance, repairs and upgrades.
So bring somebody whom you know and trust and who has a lot of experience in maintaining and repairing your specific type of car (more than just an oilfilter ) He will know all the niggles and weak points of the cars and knows where to check.

full service book doesn't mean a lot to me, still can be a heavily corroded, trackday toy with worn out suspension.

I've got a nice 111s without service history, but i couldn't care less about that:

http://lotusforum.be/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6354

I my opinion, all depends on the reasons that each individual wants to buy an Elise:
- Do you buy an Elise to enjoy is on nice road-trips and on track and want to keep it in your garage as a nice toy? --> Then you might not pay attention to the history and buy the car based on its current condition. Then you can maintain the car by yourself.

- OR, do you buy it as an investment, to enjoy it for some time and then sell it to make some profit? --> In this case you might want to have a full service history because it will make it easier to get more $$ when you sell it.