Selling a dead or damaged Lotus Elise

If yours is parked with a leak, a dead engine or damage you won't fix, you can sell the whole car as it sits. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, with free pickup anywhere in the US.

How the Elise got to the US

Wikipedia says US approval needed NHTSA to step in. The agency gave the car a three-year exemption because it failed US bumper and headlight rules. US cars used the Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine. The 2011 was the last Elise offered for street-legal sale here, because the waiver to sell cars without smart airbags ran out in August 2011.

EPA lists the car from 2005 to 2011, under the name "Elise/Exige". Wikipedia lists an Elise built from 2001 to 2011 at Hethel, Norfolk, which covers all of those years.

Complaints and recalls, 2005-2011

2005-2007: most of the complaints

The 2005 alone holds 46 of the 72 complaints. Of those, 28 name engine and engine cooling, 4 name the power train and 3 name visibility. Two report a crash and one a fire. The 2006 has 17 complaints, 11 of them engine and engine cooling. The 2007 has 8.

Two recalls cover these years:

• 05V571 (2005): on cars with the 6-speed manual, the gear lever may break. Dealers replace the lever. The campaign lists 1,740 vehicles, a total that might take in cars besides the Elise.
• 11V510 (2005-2007): the oil cooler line may come off its fitting. Dealers repair it free. The 5,041 vehicles in the campaign include the Exige.

2008-2011: few complaints, more recalls

Only one complaint is on file for these four years, a 2009 about the hydraulic service brakes. The recalls:

• 13V041 (2007-2008): the oil cooler line again. Dealers replace the fittings and the whole lateral oil cooler hose. 451 vehicles, Elise and Exige.
• 14V280 (2008-2011): dealers replace the oil cooler hose fittings. Its 860 vehicles include Exige and 2011 Evora cars.
• 09V179 (2009): rear hub flange bolts may be under-torqued and work loose. 87 Elise and Exige cars.
• 11V541 (2011): the turn signal module did not meet the federal lamp standard. 78 cars.

Complaints and recalls by model year

Tallied from NHTSA's complaint records through Oct. 10, 2026. The recall column counts a campaign once for every Elise year it reaches.

Fix it or sell it?

1. Look up recalls by VIN on NHTSA's site. An oil leak near the cooler line could be work a recall covered.
2. Engine dead? The Elise is mid-engine, so ask for the engine quote in writing and compare it with a working Elise of your year. The blown engine guide walks through that call.
3. Left in a garage since its last drive? Stale fuel and cracked tires stack onto the bill. See sitting for years.

Selling it whole

1. Write down your Elise's VIN, its miles and the problem.
2. Get an offer online, or call (877) 421-6008.
3. Tell us where the Elise sits and if someone can push it. An Elise rides low, and the driver should know that before arriving.
4. Leave it whole: soft top, wheels, engine. Flag anything already pulled off.
5. Our driver takes the Elise's signed title and checks your ID. What happens to the Elise's plates is up to your state; after you sell lists them.

Other Lotus pages: Evora, Emira, Elan, Esprit, or all of Lotus.