1 reply to this topic

[wildgeoff]

Must be something in the water as I've also decided to test the water and see whether there would be any interest in my VX.

Been a very difficult decision to come to but a lack of money in a wedding fund has prompted this extremely sad state of affairs.

Ad on pistonheasd (with photos - apologies for the poor quality, bad weather has prevented me from getting better ones. If you need anything specific please let me know. Photos show car on both NA and turbo alloys - car will come with turbo alloys fitted and NAs as spares)

Pistonheads ad

I've put the full ad below too.

Thanks for looking

Europa Blue VX220 NA
Current Mileage is 66,800
Car registered in April 2001
Full service history - most recently by Sinclaires (independent Lotus specialist in Romford, Essex) - May 13th 2008
MOT done 29 May 2008
Taxed until March 2009

Exterior
- Europa Blue
- Colour coded hard-top with all relevant fittings and storage bag - immaculate condition as very rarely used and hence lives on the spare bed
- Dark blue soft top, again with storage bag and both roof rails
- Turbo alloy wheels with correct dot code Bridgestones all round - all with decent amount of tread
- McGuard Ultra locking wheel nuts fitted with key and replacement key card.
- Elise S2 windscreen wiper arm and blade fitted. Also spray bar fitted - taken from a Citroen AX, means that a washer fluid actually goes onto the windscreen. (I've also got the original jets working so there is an absolute Niagara of water to clean the windscreen with)
- Always garaged
- Never jetwashed - only ever washed by two bucket method whilst owned by myself
- Upgraded stainless steel undertray fixings - to prevent any corrosion / seized bolt issues / Dremel screwdriver incidents.
- Upgraded towing hook - NB never used.
- New can of tyre weld (May 2008) - original not used but was looking a bit tatty so replaced
- Private registration plate - VX related which will stay with the car (full suite of licence plates - one set legalish with smaller front and artistic spacing which looks better on the VX and one set for the MOT. Never had any problem with the police with the smaller plates though). Worth a couple of hundred quid on its own.
- no misting in either front or rear light clusters

Interior
- Full black leather seats
- New Sony stereo with Ipod connectivity and bluetooth
- remote control for stereo on steering column (also controls Ipod if connected)
- amplifier with quality cabling installed behind passenger seat
- speakers front and back - music is crystal clear even at motorway speeds with the roof down
- Carbonfibre dash plate
- Carpets fitted - side and floor
- Door cards and bolsters trimmed in blue alcantara to match exterior
- Brushed aluminium indicators
- Original VX gear knob fitted but Momo gearknob to go with car if wanted.

Engine
- ITG induction kit (original Vauxhall bits to go with car) - cleaned and oiled at last service.
- Thorneysport Stage 2 remap with dyno maps (http://www.thorneymo..._NA_Power.shtml)
- Upgraded Eliseparts alloy radiator fitted at 51K (another common VX / Elise problem - this all alloy radiator doesn't have plastic end caps like to the OEM one and will not fail)
- Custom exhaust system - Milltek 200 Cell racing cat, Janspeed back box exhaust (original Vauxhall exhaust to go with car too)
- New coolant tank fitted at 57K and a UV cover fitted at the same time, coolant also flushed and changed completely at the same time. Also changed grenade clips to more user friendly jubilee clips.
- only fully synthetic oil used

Suspension, brakes and steering
- Nitrons (1 way adjustable) fitted in May 2008 with upgraded Eibach springs
- Geometry checked when Nitrons fitted and a WASPY (fast road) set up dialled in
- New brake discs (standard VX OEM ones) and Mintex 1144 pads all round fitted just after last service, brake fluid changed at last service
- New Titan quick steering rack fitted at the same time as the Nitrons (Common VX / Elise source of failure)
- New tie rods arms fitted at 58k
- 10.9 hub carrier bolts fitted front and rear at the same time as the tie rods

Servicing and other stuff
- Full Service History - Vauxhall whilst under warranty and then Thorney Motorsports and most recently by Sinclaires (independent Lotus specialist in Romford, Essex)
- all recalls done
- Last service May 13th 2008
- MOT done 29th May - car breezed through, didn't even register on the emissions measurements.
- I have got two large A4 box folders full of receipts and services both for myself and for previous owners - even includes the original sales receipt, an original VX220 sales brochure, all previous MOTs, V5 etc.
- original handbook, service manual, folder
- 2 * front tires and 1 * rear tire - all completely new and never been fitted to the car and correct Bridgestones
- 2 * NA alloys and 1 * rear NA alloy - all in reasonable condition.
- 2 sets of keys and alarm fobs and red code card

Bad Points
- Crack in the passenger door about 80mm long, difficult to spot unless pointed out
- Scuff to driver side rear wheel arch
- Minor stop chips to front clam (respray at 51k)
- Normal rubbing damage to driver's side seat bolster due to entry / exit
- Minor bubbling to the rear clam over rear wheel arch, has never got any worse during the 18 months I have owned car.
- Chip in the windscreen on passenger's side - smaller than 5 pence coin so passed MOT without issue

Exhaust and induction kit make the car sounds superb - a real low down rasp with agression which burbles and pops on the overrun. The car sounds like a Spitfire on a low level strafing run but if you drive on a partial throttle the sound does rein back to acceptable levels so you can drive on the motorway in reasonable comfort. Tunnels are absolutely mind blowing and are never long enough…..

All the recalls have been done - the spare rear NA alloy is the correct heat treated one. And the Eliseparts alloy radiator will ensure no overheating issues at all. Changing the front hub carrier bolts to 10.9 was probably another overkill but I wanted to car to be perfect. The Nitrons were a worthwhile (but very expensive) upgrade to the stock suspension. A real night and day transformation which has made the car a lot more driveable, enjoyable and predictable. They are adjustable for both ride height and damping rebound; current ride height is about 20mm below standard which is low enough to make the car look just right but not low enough to cause any issues with any sort of speed bump, car ferry ramps or car park ramps. But Nitrons are height adjustable if you found the ride height to be too low. Similarly you can play around with the damper settings to keep yourself occupied on trackdays - adjustment is a 30 sec job.

I have absolutely loved this car - the mileage has really crept up because it is far too tempting to take the long way home rather then the boring straight roads. For 18 months this car has been my only car, the car is perfectly useable on a daily basis without any problems. No issues with the car at all - mechanical, electrical, whatever and the car is perfectly fine in all weather conditions. It always starts on the button every time without fail.

And the geo set-up means that the car is predictable in the cold and wet, i.e. a progressive transfer rather than a sudden snap from under to oversteer. The combination of the stereo and the working heater means that even in the depths of winter, the car is still reasonably comfortable. Car has been all around the UK and around Europe without any issues - luggage space is not as limited as you might expect although bag selection is critical. Have managed to pack for several days away without problem, just needed squashy bags and supplementary carrier bags. Similarly a big supermarket shop is possible as well ( best to avoid ice-cream though)

As stated mileage is on the high side but both myself and previous owners have spent a lot of time and money maintaining and upgrading this car. I spent a long time finding this car and this car has been owned by VX220.org forum members for the past five years. There is very little (within reason) that is left to be upgraded on this car. As you'll be able to tell I've spent a small fortune on the mechanical side in the past six months so whoever buys this car is going to reap the benefits of that and not need to spend a penny for a long time - essentially entire suspension, steering system have been replaced and since the engine is essentially a Vectra lump, there won’t be any problems with this car. Exterior wise, the car could do with some time and attention to get it upto the standard of the rest of the car and I've reflected this in the price. It wouldn't take a lot but I just don't have the time to get the exterior upto the mark.

I have been in two minds as to whether to sell it for the past couple of weeks but the reason for sale is I've got a wedding to plan / pay for next year. And I need to be less selfish and get a car that my partner can actually drive / I am willing to let her drive. But eventually I will be back in a VX / Elise sometime in the future - I have tried out every idea / trick in the book to avoid selling this car but I simply cannot afford to run two cars and save for a wedding. So unfortunately my misfortune could be your lucky day. Plan will be to get a shed for the next year so if you have something suitable feel free to suggest as P/X

Proof of full and comprehensive insurance on THIS car will be necessary for any test drives but I'll be happy to take any serious potential buyers out for any test rides.

Please feel free to ask any questions or to ask for any extra photos (apologies for the poor quality of the photos - bad weather has prevented me from getting some decent ones - pics show both turbo and NA alloys which will come with the car)

The price is open to a negotiation and it would be possible to reduce the price by selling the car without the hard-top, stereo, registration, spare tires etc.

Best contact is via email during the day (or phone in the evening) - my mobile reception is a bit patchy in my office block. I live in East London but work out in Essex so car can be available for viewing at either home or work.

[ElizP987]

UPDATE:

Price lowered to £7750 – hard top, Nitron suspension, upgraded stereo equipment, spare tyres all no longer included in sale