SPADGE

Ehhhh

Anonymous

Indeed, wasnt on about the LO's, only the LC's

Anonymous

if its a left hook, its not an original lotus carlton, and wont say lotus carlton on the logbook, and hence is of a lower value in this country so of little relevance

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

Exactly. 950 Lotus CARLTONs, the difference was made up of Lotus OMEGA's (which were built on a completely different production line (which we did the installation work on ) ).

Stealth Bomber

OMG! £25,099 with 4 hours to go.

The highest bidder has 0 feedback, and joined eBay today

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-SIERRA-RS...QQcmdZViewItem

SPADGE

I'm sure it has Lotus Carlton on the V5 but will check
If it doesn't and has Omega is this not just the name for the Carlton in other countries other than the UK? And it is still a Lotus Carlton regardless is it not

Anonymous

If it says omega then its an omega not a carlton, they are different cause one is LHD and one is RHD

Put the two up for sale in this country and you will see a disparity in price because of this.

You can get the omegas for absolutely silly money

SPADGE

Some very dodgy bidding going on there imo
The 1st bidder bid 20k then came back and bid 24,999 just a pound short of the reserve lol!
If that car changes hands at the end of that auction i'll eat my hat

SPADGE

Regardless of whether they are lhd or rhd they are both the same car are they not

Ryan

oh look a person with 0 feedback is winng at 25k+

there's a suprise

Stealth Bomber

So how difficult would a RHD conversion be????

Anonymous

not to a LC bufty.

its like saying regardless of if a rs500 has a T4, that and a 3 door are the same car are they not?

what is written on the logbook effects the value, and being LHD puts lots of people off too (although not me personally, i dont mind left hookers)

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

Spadge,
LHD ones are Omega's and badged up as such, and RHD ones are Carltons and are badged up as such.

You are right though, they are what the British public would call a Carlton, but in Europe, they wouldn't have a clue what car you were on about, as it is called Omega over there. When the shape changed to the last generation, the Carlton was dropped and it became Omega for both Europe and UK. It's why they changed Marathon to Snickers etc - for commonality .

When importing a European Lotus Omega and registering it in the UK, I don't know if it would get called a Carlton or Omega on the log-book? But technically it is an Omega and will be badged up as such, purely because it wasn't intended for sale in this country .

Anonymous

No harder than fitting RS500 spec bits to a 3door, and likewise it wont make it worth the same money.

SPADGE

Chip i'm not fooking stupid i do know a fair bit about motors you know
Regardless of whether it says Carlton on the V5 or Omega they are the SAME car appart from the steering wheel being on the opposite side yes! As for the RS500/3 door difference that is entirely different.
I am not talking about values its you that keeps harping on about them

SPADGE

I know all of the above Mike cheer though
Its Chip that wants to split hairs as per....

SPADGE

Probably very easyas most of it is Carlton stuff inc the shonky steering box! Couldn't believe they didn't use a rack and pinnion when i looked

Anonymous

Im not splitting anything, i agree they are the same spec car.

Just in terms of effecting the rarity or value of LC's by importing them (what the thread was actually about pages back) it doesnt make any difference.

SPADGE

I think you will find it was actually about an RS500 and not a shonky Poxhall

MWF

Why would a Lotus Omega be worth less in this country? I can understand it being worth less to an individual who wants to actually drive the car but surely to a collector of rare cars it makes little odds?

In fact in some circumstances could be rarer and worth more?

Anonymous

They sell for less, as to what the exact reasons are in each case, you have to ask the individuals paying more for the Carlton i guess?

I think the LHD drive is the main reason though, and then once converted it would be down to the "originality" thing as obviously its not an original car any more once you change the dash etc.

rsnissan

iTrader: (9)

as chip and Mike have said

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

MWF,
They are simply worth less in this country due to being LHD - same as LHD Ferraris and Porsches etc - just the way it is. A RHD LC of equal condition will always command a higher value than a LHD LO purely for that reason alone in THIS country. I would imagine that in other countries where they drive on the other side of the road, that it may even be the same for RHD cars there.

Stealth Bomber

I think it's a bit like RS200s for instance, many people would say they are easily worth £50K or more, but put one up on eBay and if it's not sold for £50K in one week then do you say it's not worth £50K??

An LO may sell for good money in this country, in the end...

rsnissan

iTrader: (9)

Its is! you only have to look at RHD converted E30 M3's that are worth less that LHD ones and thats in the UK........................

Its all down to originality, if the car it exists in your country with wheel on the correct side (or not) they it will be worth more then its counterpart.

same can be said for sunnys vs pulsars uk supras vs import LHD escos vs uk etc etc

If There is no RHD equivelent then dont fuck with it as it will be worth less.

SPADGE

Originality being the 'key' word means that RS500 is not worth 25k
A low miles unmolested example such as Terry's with just 9k on the clock wouldn't even cost that but would have half a chance of holding its money over the years!

MWF

Is that 100% fact though Chip or general opinion based on your own experiences with a certain market place?

I just feel when it comes to rare cars you can draw a line down the middle between people who value you them for their original assets and want to experience them, and those who value them for their exclusivity. And those two groups value the cars entirely differently.

Like say for instance, taking you as an example, the RS500 has value to you soley due to the improvements Ford made to that car. A 1.6L made up to what you'd consider a higher spec is worth more in your eyes because it's a better car.

Whereas a collector looks at the value in an entirely different way, to them an RS500 will have appeal purely in it's rarity. so for them something like an original press car or exhibition car is going to have more value.

Anonymous

Based on ive always had an interest in them and have seen what they have gone for over the years and its just always seem to have been the case.

I dare say there are certain examples where thats not the case though.

Anonymous

Definately agree with that mate, although it IS still an RS500 one, its basically a repaired one.

Any car thats been in a bad smash or rotted away and then repaired, no matter what standard its been repared to, is going to be worth less to a collector.

I dont think this car has really sold at that money.

I think its going to be on there again with a slightly lower reserve now he has everyone thinking people view it as 25K worth, then someone buying it at 18K will think its a bargain!

MWF

But do you not think that it's all relative to the rarity of the car in question Mike. Lets say for instance BMW had made 5 right hand drive original E30 M3's, do you not think these would be worth a fortune even in Germany because of there comparitive rarity?

Or how about the example that for some odd reason most people who own Lotus Omegas in Europe drive them into lampost or their garages burn down. Surely then all LO's worldwide soar in price regardless of the country?

I guess in all fairness rhd cars may often have the upper hand of rarity right from the start which could be a major point I've missed. Since if a car isn't going to be sold outside Europe the rhd cars will be made in smaller numbers?

Mike Rainbird

iTrader: (3)

MWF,
You would have to destroy all the RHD models first, as why would people in this country want a LHD one (other than they can buy them cheaper than a RHD one), while a RHD one was still available? While there are still RHD ones in existance, the LHD ones are always going to command a lower price (condition equivalent).

Stealth Bomber

Yep, can't see the Germans valuing a RHD M3 more than a LHD M3

fords4fun

there is a guy in bournemouth with 2 lcs and one rs 3dr dunno if its a real rs500 tho, therefore on his driveway i have come to the conclusion that there are 2x as many lcs as rs500s lol

Anonymous

Well who can argue against statistics gleaned from a representative sample consisting of ONE person

Ive owned a 500 and not an LC, therefore the LC is rarer.

Anonymous

PS

are both the LC's in green and RHD?

If so WHY have two the fooking same

fords4fun

Yeah, He must be an enthusiast, he works for an insurance company and isnt short of a few bob, also has a porsche and various other cars.
i was joking when i stated there must be 2x as many due to that fact thats why i added lol,

dojj

iTrader: (3)

last time one came up for sale the LO made just under £9k

MWF

From what I've read about owning them, if you want to run one it probably works out cheaper to buy two and use one as a parts bin

Anonymous

Stealth Bomber

LoL