Messages - Sandgroper
1
Lotus / Re: wanted: Lotus esprit under $20k
« on: Wed, 16 Feb, 2011 - 14:49 »
Import your own, it's not that hard if you can be bothered.
I imported an excellent 88 Turbo recently, searched the UK for the best sounding cars I could find then had a local Lotus specialist check the car out thoroughly before committing myself.
After purchasing, had the car delivered to the Lotus specialist (Pure Lotus in my case) and had them complete a C serivce and required upgrade top the air conditioning.
Car has complete history from new and every receipt , MOT and pictures of all parts replaced or refurbished in a file, car is in superb condition (one of the best Esprits of that era Pure Lotus had seen)
If you have a limited budget, look for a really good UK car, they are out there, but do your homework very well.
The only issues in the whole process were
1. I got screwed by the Department of the environment, because I had the air conditioning modified to run on R134a gas, I had the system charged before it left the UK, because I did that (which is what is implied on the CFC form you download from the net) I had to obtain a ozone licence at a cost of $400.00 (even though it is exactly the same gas we use here, so anyone looking to import a car into OZ, don't charge the system after modifying and save yourself a lot of money.
2. The guys at the wharf in Freo told me that the car arrived on the ship without the keys, so I trailered the car home (getting it on the trailer was a pain in the a*rse with the steering lock on) only to be told later that afternoon that they had now found the keys (another two and a half hour round trip to the docks to collect)
3. Some moron broke the internal glass panel (the one that site directly behind the seats) annoying but a cheap fix.
I imported an excellent 88 Turbo recently, searched the UK for the best sounding cars I could find then had a local Lotus specialist check the car out thoroughly before committing myself.
After purchasing, had the car delivered to the Lotus specialist (Pure Lotus in my case) and had them complete a C serivce and required upgrade top the air conditioning.
Car has complete history from new and every receipt , MOT and pictures of all parts replaced or refurbished in a file, car is in superb condition (one of the best Esprits of that era Pure Lotus had seen)
If you have a limited budget, look for a really good UK car, they are out there, but do your homework very well.
The only issues in the whole process were
1. I got screwed by the Department of the environment, because I had the air conditioning modified to run on R134a gas, I had the system charged before it left the UK, because I did that (which is what is implied on the CFC form you download from the net) I had to obtain a ozone licence at a cost of $400.00 (even though it is exactly the same gas we use here, so anyone looking to import a car into OZ, don't charge the system after modifying and save yourself a lot of money.
2. The guys at the wharf in Freo told me that the car arrived on the ship without the keys, so I trailered the car home (getting it on the trailer was a pain in the a*rse with the steering lock on) only to be told later that afternoon that they had now found the keys (another two and a half hour round trip to the docks to collect)
3. Some moron broke the internal glass panel (the one that site directly behind the seats) annoying but a cheap fix.
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