A Million Questions About Elio, But Here's My Big One.

[Stiffler]

So I've been reading posts on this forum for about 3 or 4 weeks now in an attempt to not ask the same questions twice. Most of my questions have been answered and the rest no one really knows yet (like the look of the final model, how the car will 'feel' between automatic and transmission, other final product things...). My only major concern is the life of the vehicle. Given my experience with other things, the old adage 'you get what you pay for' holds true in most cases. I feel like I know less about the overall build of the vehicle than some people on here, so I'd like to get other opinions on this. Do you think this is something that will fall apart at 80,000 miles or could you expect to see this to the 200,000 limit (given proper vehicle maintenance of course)?

 

[Jeff Porter]

So I've been reading posts on this forum for about 3 or 4 weeks now in an attempt to not ask the same questions twice. Most of my questions have been answered and the rest no one really knows yet (like the look of the final model, how the car will 'feel' between automatic and transmission, other final product things...). My only major concern is the life of the vehicle. Given my experience with other things, the old adage 'you get what you pay for' holds true in most cases. I feel like I know less about the overall build of the vehicle than some people on here, so I'd like to get other opinions on this. Do you think this is something that will fall apart at 80,000 miles or could you expect to see this to the 200,000 limit (given proper vehicle maintenance of course)?

Hi Stiffler, excellent username, welcome to the forum from Kansas. I'll throw out my two cents worth...

I did see EM marketing folks, on a FB question, state that the final look of the car "will have a few tweaks to the front end, and a few more inches of height on the top back to give the passenger more head room inside".

Yeah, the life of an Elio, who knows. We all hope it will be dependable and sturdy and last for 200,000 miles. So many cars made in the last 10-15 yrs by "the big boys" have a good shot at lasting 150,000 to 200,000 miles.

A person can argue one side on the idea that these new vehicles will take some time before they get some bugs and problems worked out, so the first several months of production might not be very dependable. On the other side, with 80% off-the-shelf parts, so as long as the engine hangs in there, it might be very solid right from the start.

 

[Stiffler]

Hi Stiffler, excellent username, welcome to the forum from Kansas. I'll throw out my two cents worth...

I did see EM marketing folks, on a FB question, state that the final look of the car "will have a few tweaks to the front end, and a few more inches of height on the top back to give the passenger more head room inside".

Yeah, the life of an Elio, who knows. We all hope it will be dependable and sturdy and last for 200,000 miles. So many cars made in the last 10-15 yrs by "the big boys" have a good shot at lasting 150,000 to 200,000 miles.

A person can argue one side on the idea that these new vehicles will take some time before they get some bugs and problems worked out, so the first several months of production might not be very dependable. On the other side, with 80% off-the-shelf parts, so as long as the engine hangs in there, it might be very solid right from the start.

The off the shelf parts are a good point. I just purchased a Ranger 2 years ago with 140,000 miles and it's in such bad condition I can't even sell it. The roof leaks, the bracket for the driver side rear leaf spring broke causing a hole in the bed of the truck, the brake caliper bolt is stripped, the rotor needs to be replaced, and a sea of other problems. I hate that thing. But I digress, I just want a vehicle that can get me to and from work for years to come. I'm not looking to take this thing cross country (......or am i.......), but I would like it to be dependable if anything.

Oh and Greetings from Tennessee!

 

[cdurrett]

So I've been reading posts on this forum for about 3 or 4 weeks now in an attempt to not ask the same questions twice. Most of my questions have been answered and the rest no one really knows yet (like the look of the final model, how the car will 'feel' between automatic and transmission, other final product things...). My only major concern is the life of the vehicle. Given my experience with other things, the old adage 'you get what you pay for' holds true in most cases. I feel like I know less about the overall build of the vehicle than some people on here, so I'd like to get other opinions on this. Do you think this is something that will fall apart at 80,000 miles or could you expect to see this to the 200,000 limit (given proper vehicle maintenance of course)?

Well... It's not the car that lasts 200,000 miles it is the parts that last that long. :-)

Most of the parts come from suppliers which also supply the auto manufacturers so I would expect the longevity of the Elio to be "competitive" with that.

I can't get a lock on the engine though as far as figuring longevity. I just don't know but they are working with good people so *probably* it will be fine.

 

[LockMD]

Oh and Greetings from Tennessee!

And Greetings to you from Cali, lot of you on here from that neck of the woods :-)

Welcome.

 

[NSTG8R]

Yep, gotta agree with Jeff on the OEM "off the shelf" parts holding up. The shell is fiberglass...not much can go wrong with that usless you hit something. And as long as there's acceptable corrosion resistant coatings on the chassis (midwest is hell on steel!), she should last a fairly long time. I'm actually curious how many miles I can get out of a set of tires considering it's only around 1200 lbs.

 

[Stiffler]

I'm actually curious how many miles I can get out of a set of tires considering it's only around 1200 lbs.

Anyone on here own a motorcycle that could chime in on this?

 

[skygazer6033]

Good morning and welcome. Born in East Tennessee myself. Properly maintained I see no reason the Elio shouldn't last several hundreds of thousands of miles. I once sold a man an airplane, he asked "realistically how long will it last" my answer " Forever, the real question is how long can you afford to maintain it". Being a very simple design the Elio should be very easy and inexpensive to maintain.

 

[2.ooohhh]

The two biggest things I see take cars off the roads these days aside from wrecks are electrical issues and emissions problems. Luckily the Elio is VERY simple electrically compared to say a new VW or BMW so that is in our favor, emissions wise it's a toss up depending on what they release it with. Legislation currently requires very little for 3 wheelers and motorcycles so I'm hoping the first few model years can slide by nearly emissions regulation free. Now in the more rare high end vehicles you have to also consider the cost of engine/transmission replacement as a 3rd close reason for the cars being taken off the road but I believe the elio will be very affordable in that regard compared to it's competition.

 

[goofyone]

As others have said this is a very simple car using mainly existing 'of the shelf' components provided by experienced automotive suppliers so chances are pretty good this vehicle should last quite a while. Elio Motors has told us the frame will be dipped for rust prevention, as is standard today, and with a composite body corrosion should not be an issue. The vehicles extremely light weight should actually help extend the life of many components borrowed from other vehicles such as the transmission.

The biggest question many have is how will the engine hold up. IAV is a very experienced engine design firm, the engine design is derived from the old Suzuki three cylinders engines, and the engine itself is not doing anything too radical however as a newly designed engine there are always questions. The good news is that rebuilding and/or replacing the engine, should it become necessary, should not be too expensive either.