Lotus Exige S240 / VIN : SCCLHHWCXAHC10521 / No. Plate : W** 4971

Previously from the Lotus Owners Malaysia Club (LOMC), you could be sure that I am lawfully and awfully passionate about Lotus rides. These rides are not just for anyone and everyone- you must be really passionate about it, in order to stand climbing in and out of the high door sills, visiting the chiropractor after few hours riding in it, and lots more of such adventures.

Recently, I was asked by a friend if he should buy a pre-owned Lotus Exige S240 for the fun of it. His budget towards the acquisition was around RM130k.

Now, the Exige was basically similar to my Elise but factory-modified with a hard-top, fitted with a 2ZZ engine (as opposed to Elise's 1ZZ), and more track-driven. Va va voom... He forwarded me a few adverts that he had in mind, with priority towards this yellow example from Public Auto Sdn Bhd.

For starters, let's check on the market valuation on similar year made for such a model. A few quick calls to car insurance companies and online clicks, and we now know that the ride should be insured around RM119k.

So you now know that there's plenty of room for a price negotiation. The advert painted the Exige as the purr-rect example. Being a former member of LOMC, another few quick calls and online clicks revealed the following :

So this Exige that Public Auto Sdn Bhd advertised as the perfect ride maintained in tip-top condition by its owner, was technically un-true. This was a stolen car that was a total loss to the insurance company; and thereafter sold vide an auction to the highest bidder whom would then repair and resell the car. The used car dealer probably paid not more than RM60k for the car.

Since this was a Lotus ride and not a car that could be easily repaired by your mechanic under the tree, I would be wary about buying such a ride unless the full repair was done by Lotus Malaysia, with receipts to prove the works.

Look at this example of a crashed Exile. Do you think your regular mechanic could put it back in order in a jiffy?

The thing about these used car dealers was that they were willing to lie between their teeth, in order to get the cars out at a profit. If they were willing to lie about the history of the cars, then one would wonder what else was they lying about in order to make the sale?

If you want to get a Lotus, your best choice would be Toycarz Private Garage (012-3176606). Trust the guys from Lotus Malaysia- they know what they are talking about. Or call En Iqbal Sofian from Lotus Sales Malaysia. He also informed that it was a bad car.

Continue to Part 2 : https://allaboutrides2017.blogspot.my/2018/01/lotus-exige-s240-vin-scclhhwcxahc10521.html