The Lotus Saga

The Car Pages

: Saga | History

The Story

So you want to know how I ended up with a Lotus? Well for years I have wanted one. It has always been THE dream car for me, ever since I was a kid. Of course, I figured it was just that... a childhood dream. Afterall, how am I going to afford a $90,000+ car? Well...in April of 2003 I went to the Jacob Javitz Center for the auto show and outside they had a bunch of Loti parked under a tent. I was in heaven and drooling all over them. While I was drooling over a real sweet 1995 S4s, this guy comes over to me and introduces himelf as Alex Lee and lets me into the enclosed area where all the Loti could be found. He told me about the Lotus, some history, and even let me sit in the S4s I was drooling over. It was wonderful. Oh, so nice. It turned out to be his car! So I asked him to start her up and he obliged. Music to my ears. We talked a bit more and it turns out price isn't too bad. No more than I would pay for a new car. Not too bad. So now I am thinking I might be able to do this. That was it. All his fault. I need a Lotus now.

So here I am sitting at home, surfing the web for Lotus information. Talking myself into buying one. Even my girlfriend told me to get one. I had a lot of backing from friends and family. Nothing to hold me back but me. So I peruse the want ads, lay down a couple bids on some cars on eBay, check out Autotrader and the various online classifieds and actually get in touch with a seller from Connecticut. After a week of going back and forth through email, we settle on a price and decided to meet up for me to inspect it and possibly buy it. I surf for more information on what to look for in a used Lotus and come across the Lotus bible, the Esprit Fact File, and a bunch of other sites. I found a couple mailing lists as well so I joined them and met a couple people from CT who were willing to tag along for an inspection! What an amazingly friendly bunch of people these Lotus owners are! I also found a local Lotus club called LEO of NY/NJ and the guy who runs it happens to live a couple towns over from me! So I email him, showing interest in the Lotus, introducing myself and such. He replies back and we start talking. He invites me over to check out his Lotus and to start my Lotus education. His name is Atwell Haines. He is a great guy and has a beautiful 1988 Esprit. We talk shop for a bit, get to know each other and he tells me about the Lotus and what to look for in a used one. After a while we go out for a ride in his Lotus and again I realize how much I want one of my own. Just when I think it can't get better, he pulls over and lets me drive it! I can't believe it! Wonderful. Simply a wonderful car and a great xperience. Now I MUST have one! We get back to his place and talk Lotus for a while. He arms me with a good base knowledge of what to check on the car I am going to see. Now I am psyched.

A couple days go by and I take off work to head up to Connecticut to check out a white 1994 Lotus Esprit S4 with 42K miles on her. I meet the owner, real nice guy, and I immediately start checking out the car. Off the bat, I notice the pictures I have are not of this car. This car has a lot of issues... way too many to list and way too many for me to buy her. A wasted trip, and a long one at that. Close to 7 hours round trip. I go home empty handed and upset, but the search continues.

A couple more weeks go by and I find another car. A red 1995 Lotus Esprit S4 with only 17K miles on her. This one is located just an hour away. Who'da thunk it! maybe 9,000 total in the USA and one is for sale by me! I get in contact with the owner, talk turkey and decide to meet up. I get there and, again, come to find a very nice owner whose name is Rich as well! So I check out the car. Beautiful car. Very well kept and looks fabulous inside and out. Looks great so far and now I am excited. Go for a test drive but for some reason he drives and I ride shotgun. Not happy about that. Not at all. When we return I continue to check out the car and the compression test yields poor results. Not good. He tells me he will have his mechanic check her out and get back to me. A couple days later, he tells me the car checks out and that he will drop his price. Well it is still too high for me and while his mechanic may say one thing, I know what I saw. I respectfully decline.

Well while I was in contact with the red Lotus owner, I am contacted by an owner in Washington DC. He has a 1994 silver Lotus Esprit S4 with 52K miles on her. He has done all the maintenance that a Lotus with that many miles requires as well as some extras. Close to $11000 worth of work. Kinda weary about that, but it is defintely worth a look as all the high maintenance items are taken care of already. Car sounds great from what he tells me. He sends me a bunch of pictures and the car looks amazing. We come to an agreement on a price and a date and time on when to meet. I take off work and have a good friend do the same so he can drive me to look at and hopefully buy the car. That morning, my friend tells me his starter is dead. Not a good start to the day. I bring him by a spare and that doesn't work either. We try to jump start it. Nothing. Pop start it and nothing. We head to a friends house and get a spare from him. As we are getting ready to put it in, he notices a loose connection. Plug it back in, starts right up! Gotta love the DSM! On our way. We get there in 5 hours and the car is gorgeous! Owner is a great guy, again (see a trend here? Might be me since I am so used to the import crowd), and the inspection begins. It passes with flying colors. It neds rear brakes, the temperature contorl knob ixed and the AC charged, but it is otherwise awesome. I end up buying it and driving it home! I now own a Lotus!!! the ride home was wonderful. Of course 30 minutes into the trip a rock cracks the windshield. Put a damper on things for a minute... just a minute. Then a couple minutes later I go to turn the light on and the switch falls off in my hands! OK.. what is going on? I tape it back together for he ride home and continue. I was in sheer bliss moments later. The car is THAT good. Got home around 1AM. Parked her in the garage and went out for a celebratory beer. I ended up getting home at 3AM and spent from 3AM to 4AM staring at the car. I finally have my dream car. THE exotic... THE ultimate... Lotus.