IT can be enormously tempting to buy a cheap exotic car, especially when values seem to be trending upwards no matter where you look. That’s certainly the case here with this project-grade 1988 Lotus Esprit SE that the seller describes as a project car that hasn’t run for a few years. It’s clearly a neglected specimen with indications of being modified in poor tastes and littered with numerous cosmetic issues. The Lotus, however, is a rising star in the class of 1980s sports cars that are being snatched up by the next generation of collectors, so it could still be worth a gamble despite its dilapidated condition. Find the Lotus here on eBay with bidding at $7,450 and no reserve.
The wedge shape of the Esprit is impossible to mistake for any other car, especially since the general styling of Lotus’ marquee sports car didn’t change much over the years. One thing to remember if you pick this Lotus project up and find out the taillights are cracked: they’re shared with the Toyota Corolla AE86 hatchback of the same vintage (you’re welcome – I just saved you the only money you’re going to save on a project like this). The Esprit doesn’t appear to show any major dents or dings, but the paint is definitely in rough shape and I question whether this is an original color offered by Lotus – I don’t think it is. The rattle-canned alloy wheels are also an ominous sign of cheap and neglectful prior ownership. The seller notes it also needs new tires.
It’s hard to say what the exact history is, but the listing notes the Esprit hasn’t run in five years and was possibly parked due to a timing issue. You don’t want to wade into owning a car like this with so many question marks in its history unless you can get it super cheap; at the moment, I would not consider $7,000 super cheap, but perhaps the potential buyers are weighing what it will be worth when all the hard work is done. Some of that may include converting the interior back to a standard color like black or beige, as I also don’t recall the Esprit coming with a color-matched interior offering in smurf blue that extended to the door panels. Lotus experts: Is this a one-off or was there a special edition color scheme I don’t know about?
Personally, I think a previous owner just really liked blue paint as the color-matching continues all the way down to the ignition wires. The engine looks complete but dusty, and while the turbocharged mill offered respectable acceleration back in the day, it’s not particularly quick by modern standards. The Esprit has lagged behind its counterparts from Porsche and Acura, but that also means it’s a good value relative to the six-figures a vintage 911 or early 90s NSX is commanding these days. The seller claims to know very little about the Esprit or its history, so you’re going to have to perform your own due diligence or simply roll the dice if you’re hankering to have a cheap Lotus in your garage.
The “timing issue” could be a big one if this is one of the engines where if the timing belt breaks so does a lot of expensive parts inside he engine. Sorry Jeff but beige color might look good on a ’52 Ford 4 door but not on one of these. Could be a good project but too many unknowns for the price.
@bobhess, yeah I came here to say “timing issue” is sleazy salesperson talk for “valves crashed into the pistons”
I don’t think this color looks out of place on this Lotus. While the interior color is not my personal liking it’s not out of place for Lotus to do something like this. They have other crazy color combinations. Do your due diligence and look into what engine rebuilds cost and if the colors are something you can live with it could be a good buy for someone trying to enter the exotic arena and has the ability to do their own work.
These projects are for guys that have acquired experience on customer cars , training or school
You can’t jump into this blindly
Maybe on an old American car
But not on these
Most imports (bmw, mercedes , jaguar,porsche )will suck the blood out of you
Especially if you need to pay for some help …
My imports have always had me swearing but
I dont like to pay shop rates so i eventually figure it out …
I have never driven one of these, but they seem to be nice, terrific handling machines and handling is what gets my blood flowing !
Yolo
These projects are for guys that have acquired experience on customer cars , training or school
You can’t jump into this blindly
Maybe on an old American car
But not on these
Most imports (bmw, mercedes , jaguar,porsche )will suck the blood out of you
Especially if you need to pay for some help …
My imports have always had me swearing but
I dont like to pay shop rates so i eventually figure it out …
I have never driven one of these, but they seem to be nice, terrific handling machines and handling is what gets my blood flowing !
Yolo
Truer words never written than “have this classic in your garage”.It will take up space there, never see the road,til you get tired of the wasted space,then pass it to the next unlucky soul.
Timing issue….LOL
Its on ebay….ebay is the home of the “Play Dumb” auction….
Since DIOC…(backwards) America is doing great at playing dumb.
Price is approaching $12K now. Aside from the crazed paint and door cards coming apart, this doesn’t look all that bad to me. Despite being in Indiana, there doesn’t appear to be rust issues. The interior is manageable with there being no cracks in the dash. I’d believe the 83K miles. If the engine has a ‘timing’ issue, I happier with that and a potential rebuild than if the body were trashed and needed all sorts of work. Mechanical work is easy (like dying); body work is hard (like comedy).
Esprit bodies are fiberglass, so any rust issues would not be evident in the bodywork, only on inspection of the underlying chassis and suspension, though I gather the chassis were galvanized by this era.
The dash is fully upholstered, so there wouldn’t be any cracking typical of molded dashes, though much of that upholstery here appears shrunken/warped and pulling away from its structural substrate.
Lots
Of
Trouble
Usually
Serious
If they are a dealer why did they do nothing with it in 5 years? And 81k miles.
Any Lotus mechanics on this site?
Put the ski 🎿 rack on it
always liked the looks, but man i work on my VW and Audi 1.8t engines, so i can only imagine the same but worse pricing etc to bring this one back, and yea, i bought a TT with a broken timing belt, knowing i would have to pull and repair the head, but ended up buying a used running engine and threw on some upgrades to make it a bit “more” than my daily GTI with upgraded exhaust and suspension……too much $$$$ for me to start that project, but dang it is a sweet looking car
Did Richard Gere blow the transmission?