Cleggy the Spyder Man Posted April 9, 2010 Posted April 9, 2010 wouldnt wanna meet him in a dark alleyway Quote
lippydave Posted April 9, 2010 Author Posted April 9, 2010 Entertaining discussion with some valid views from differing viewpoints. That's why I threw it to the board.... Well I guess I should add a little more info. Car will be largely used on road. Typical use is sub 100 mile (distance not MPH! ) journeys on A and b roads, with the occasional half-hour of motorway droning to be endured... I know that probably the VX220 is the logical choice. It's a better built Elise, (apparently Vauxhall had the RAC independently inspect and reject over 50% of the VX's when they were built at Hethel....) The GTM appeals because it's a little different and not the obvious choice. In as much as any car can be, it has the potential to be a little more individual than a VX or Elise IMHO. Yes I know you can make anything individual/different/better with enough cash, but we're probably talking a sub 10k budget here. Buying a cat D or even a cat C Elise/VX doesn't worry me (done it before), and residual values play a very small part in the decsion. A car that needs a bit of work but is cheap(ish), is more appealing in my situation than a bling-wagen that costs the earth. I like titivating cars and I like something I can play with and make subjective mods and improvements to. Keep your opinions coming folks, good, bad or indifferent. As for hairdressers cars, I'm currently whizzing around in an old Puma, so I'm not unduly worried about image or my percieved sexuality....... Never mind SteveD, yer not the only one, I'm also 18,5 stone 6' 1" and built like a brick ****house...... Quote
lippydave Posted April 9, 2010 Author Posted April 9, 2010 This is a more flattering pic IMHO... Quote
Blatman Posted April 9, 2010 Posted April 9, 2010 QUOTE I know that probably the VX220 is the logical choice. It's a better built Elise, (apparently Vauxhall had the RAC independently inspect and reject over 50% of the VX's when they were built at Hethel....) I know an engineer who used to work at Hethel. I (and he) would be interested in seeing that claim substantiated with some hard evidence... Quote
fatbaldbloke Posted April 9, 2010 Posted April 9, 2010 I had a VX220 turbo from new, loved to drive it and loved the looks, but from my perspective there were a couple of minusses to consider. One was that it is quite small inside, the space between the seats is less than my wide body Westfield. It's very cosy! Also, getting in and out is a real pain. It is impossible to be elegant, it's a sort of controlled plummet out onto the pavement when you get out, and for the fuller figured amongst us, any number of interesting contortions to get in. Quote
lippydave Posted April 9, 2010 Author Posted April 9, 2010 I know that probably the VX220 is the logical choice. It's a better built Elise, (apparently Vauxhall had the RAC independently inspect and reject over 50% of the VX's when they were built at Hethel....) I know an engineer who used to work at Hethel. I (and he) would be interested in seeing that claim substantiated with some hard evidence... I had a couple of mates who were on the Elise programme too, and they reckon this is what happened..... No hard evidence, only hearsay I'm afraid....... Quote
lippydave Posted April 9, 2010 Author Posted April 9, 2010 I had a VX220 turbo from new, loved to drive it and loved the looks, but from my perspective there were a couple of minusses to consider. One was that it is quite small inside, the space between the seats is less than my wide body Westfield. It's very cosy! Also, getting in and out is a real pain. It is impossible to be elegant, it's a sort of controlled plummet out onto the pavement when you get out, and for the fuller figured amongst us, any number of interesting contortions to get in. I forgot to mention, that I have a dodgy disc in my back too..... My pal Spence bought an Exige after having a bike accident and twatting his knee. He used to wear flared jeans so that he could drop in A*** first then pull his dodgy right leg over the sill.... Quote
Blatman Posted April 9, 2010 Posted April 9, 2010 I forgot to mention, that I have a dodgy disc in my back too..... Which one? I had L4/5 removed via a micro-discectomy. L5/S1 gave me gip for years but self resolved. Just waiting for it to pop again Quote
lippydave Posted April 9, 2010 Author Posted April 9, 2010 Just found this whilst waiting to go into my 12 oclock meeting... http://www.vx220.org.uk/content/13/Buyers-Guide.html It conatins this bit, published on the net, so it must be true.... "Build Quality. This one is a press car and as such it is pretty much hand built (which is demonstrated in a range of quirky details - multiple holes in the door to fit the trim for example) but if production vehicles can match this (and according to Lotus they surpass press car builds normally) then the customer cars will be fine. If you're expecting a re-badged Elise then you're in for a pleasant surprise, the rumours that the VX220 has different post production quality control are true, Vauxhall sub it out to the RAC inspection group and this is reflected in the finished article." L4/5 , old injury that flares up more often now I'm old, overweight and still doing stupid things.... Quote
Blatman Posted April 9, 2010 Posted April 9, 2010 Oh, OK, so we're talking about cars off the production line being rejected by QC. Nowt wrong with that. The re-work engineers are usually very good and each car gets bespoke treatment. The engineer I know was a re-work / QC engineer... Quote
lippydave Posted April 9, 2010 Author Posted April 9, 2010 Oh, OK, so we're talking about cars off the production line being rejected by QC. Nowt wrong with that. The re-work engineers are usually very good and each car gets bespoke treatment. The engineer I know was a re-work / QC engineer... Yup, my point was basically that internal Lotus q/c was laxer than Vauxhall's criteria..... Still doesn't put me off either car TBH... Quote
Annie Posted April 9, 2010 Posted April 9, 2010 I know that probably the VX220 is the logical choice. It's a better built Elise, (apparently Vauxhall had the RAC independently inspect and reject over 50% of the VX's when they were built at Hethel....) Well when I picked up the VXR from Hethel on a Saturday morning there was no sign of any RAC person as the nice Lotus people finished building the car (although we did get a full tour of the factory). Since then I can honestly say that the car has been 100% reliable.....ow!, just caught my nose on the laptop screen. Annie. Quote
cast iron Posted April 9, 2010 Posted April 9, 2010 GTM's are great cars A friend of mine who suffers with parkinsons wanted a westy but just couldnt get on with the ones he test drove, hes had a GTM as an every day drive now for 3 years and loves it. Hes done some great underside aero work on it and some supension development. the high speed cornering is pretty impressive There was thread about 2 years a go about the crashed GTM taken for a joyride, the debris stretched 100ds of yards but the cockpit was intact Each to their own I suppose Quote
Blatman Posted April 9, 2010 Posted April 9, 2010 be nice if the gtm website worked. Who owns GTM? Quote
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