A friend said he once had a Lotus (Elite I think) - he worked on it himself for cost reasons and said pretty much any mechanical work needed the engine removed, and lots of parts were proprietary and needed special tools.

He said he used to chat to the mechanic at the local dealer and the chat time used to be added to whoever's car was being worked on!

Basically, he has owned a *LOT* of cars since (on average, more than two a year) and said he wouldn't even entertain the idea of owning another Lotus.

Gareth