Decided Against Elio

[Trusting]

I'm not concerned about "giving up on the Elio", I'll stick it out until I get one. My problem comes after it arrives. My wife is convinced it will be unsafe, people won't see it and run over it, be too hard to get in and out, it's going to ride to rough, etc. etc.... Being she's a woman reason doesn't work.

One reason I'm buying one it to try to save money. She drives much more than I do and using the Elio instead of the SUV would save a fortune in gas... but only if she uses it. It will also cut down on the wear and tear to the SUV and help postpone her crying for a new one. I'd rather spend $7000. on the Elio than $25,000 on a new SUV.

 

[AriLea]

I'm not concerned about "giving up on the Elio", I'll stick it out until I get one. My problem comes after it arrives. My wife is convinced it will be unsafe, people won't see it and run over it, be too hard to get in and out, it's going to ride to rough, etc. etc.... Being she's a woman reason doesn't work.

One reason I'm buying one it to try to save money. She drives much more than I do and using the Elio instead of the SUV would save a fortune in gas... but only if she uses it. It will also cut down on the wear and tear to the SUV and help postpone her crying for a new one. I'd rather spend $7000. on the Elio than $25,000 on a new SUV.

My wife doesn't get-it either. At this point she's taking my word for it.
Hard to convince her that size doesn't mater. It's the accident rate, and injury rate that matters. But that's only available after a year+ of production.
Before that's it's crash testing results you rely on.

IMHO, I think one thing the Elio does better, while the view of the front is a bit narrow only at the top (still triggering an opposite driver's response), once an object clears the front wheels, there is less left to hit at the middle and back. I think this will mean some number of hits will become near misses instead, lowering that future accident rate just a bit.
Same goes for rear impact, there is still a good profile to view, but less to actually hit. So you know how when the freeway stops-dead, and cars dive for the shoulder or between lanes? The Elio will leave some extra space there, right?

Anyway, we'll all know for sure soon enough.

 

[Jeff Porter]

I hear you. I have an elderly friend who can no longer drive selling his '96 Deville sedan with 33k miles for $5750. I'll start driving 120+ hw miles per day starting next week so it is rather tempting.

Wow, a '96 with 33k miles, amazing. I did some research, and it really is a fair market price for these older, low mileage Caddy's. It's double the blue book price, and then some. But...

I took the plunge on the '01 Deville with 37,700 miles. The selling couple said the car was owned by the wife's father who passed away in March, and her mother now has 3 vehicles, so they wanted to sell the Deville. It was the late dad's baby, was his "drive to church" car, and he didn't take it out in the snow. Car was like new, extremely clean under the hood, in the tail pipe, and in the interior. Was too good to pass up, bought it for $7400.

Still hoping and cheering for the Elio as the 'and' car, but now I have a vehicle that should last 8-10 years or longer.

 

[roadtrippin2016]

As I've mentioned before I wasn't going to wait forever for any car and I have ordered a 2016 Subaru Legacy with the premium package.. Does it get 84MPG? Nope it gets 36+MPG and that's a midsize 2.5 liter engine car with AWD and loaded with options.. Rides beautifully and handles well and rated 10 out of 10 for safety plus I added the Eyesight package.. For everyone here I wish you the best as I have officially forfeited my $100.00 all-in deposit and I have no regrets.. Good luck everyone especially Z

Understand where you're coming from...I NEED a vehicle now and joined last year with a $250.00 "All In" commitment but,still waiting and hoping the ELIO comes through because the mileage I'll drive every month is substantial. If I don't see Elio starting to hire workers (at least a skeleton crew) by May 2016...then the production slated for mid 2016 will probably mean another postponement and depending how long that postponement is will help me to decide adding an additional $750.00 in to obtain maximum cash benefit or walking away from $250.00 and buying a turbo-diesel VW Sportswagen...that gets 50+ hwy. mileage !...meanwhile, haven't jumped the ELIO ship yet...but, I'm know the way to safe harbor if she looks like it hit a financial sandbar !...just sayin'

 

[Jim H]

I hear you. I have an elderly friend who can no longer drive selling his '96 Deville sedan with 33k miles for $5750. I'll start driving 120+ hw miles per day starting next week so it is rather tempting.

PipSquak, Welcome to the Elio community where your opinion is welcome

 

[Reid3400]

Wow, a '96 with 33k miles, amazing. I did some research, and it really is a fair market price for these older, low mileage Caddy's. It's double the blue book price, and then some. But...

I took the plunge on the '01 Deville with 37,700 miles. The selling couple said the car was owned by the wife's father who passed away in March, and her mother now has 3 vehicles, so they wanted to sell the Deville. It was the late dad's baby, was his "drive to church" car, and he didn't take it out in the snow. Car was like new, extremely clean under the hood, in the tail pipe, and in the interior. Was too good to pass up, bought it for $7400.

Still hoping and cheering for the Elio as the 'and' car, but now I have a vehicle that should last 8-10 years or longer.

Good for you. Just make sure the coolant has been changed and there are no head gasket leaks. We found one white spark plug from a tiny coolant leak which turned out to be a head bolt had corroded loose in the block.

I always question the Blue Book Prices. When we purchased the '98 for my son, the dealer had offered the seller $2800 for trade in on a new Malibu. When we turned up at the dealers to do the in/out deal on the Caddy, the salesman took the seller aside and offered him $8000 in trade so we would loose the deal. But the buyer got really mad and turned the tables, demanding they reduce the price of the Malibu by $5000 and we still got the trade. I do not know what they reduced the price of the Malibu to, but the buyer was still fuming when we left with the Caddy. He had been buying all his trucks and cars at this dealership for years. He had spent @ $7000 in the past 2 years on the Caddy on electrical problems. He told us of the problem before we purchase the car. OnStar, remote start, anti-theft, BCM, PCM, batteries, alternator and 12 stack CD changer had been checked and most parts replaced. It took us a year to find the door of the CD changer was hanging open, recycling every 4 minutes 24/7 and killing the battery over a 2 day period. As long as you drove the car 20 miles per 24 hours, it was fine.

 

[raybonz]

Good evening to all of my "old friends" here on our Elio Family Forum! It's been a very long time since my last visit. Main reason is that this forum lost a lot of it's life and passion the day that our beloved Zelio passed without ever taking ownership of the vehicle that she had great love and passion for. Her belief was deep while mine has been weak.

I must agree that the constant "moving of the goal posts" by Elio Motors has not and is not comforting to many. I went ALL IN @ $1000 back at the end of February of 2014. . . . . . . . , many of you were in way before that.

Yes, the waiting game and the uncertainty of this investment have been frustrating, but I long ago decided that this was just a scam and have long since written my money off. Wasted? Hmm. . . . . . Not really. It's been an entertaining year and a half, and in my 70 years, I've wasted much more money than this peddling $1000 dollars on things that I KNEW were a waste. But this one has really caught many of us off guard, and that can anger.

Good luck to all of you that are still here, and I do wish the best to those youngsters that are just getting in. . . . . , but trust me; Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy as well, are ALL GONE!

Maybe a few of us will live to see this thing through to the end; whatever that Amy be.

Should I be so lucky, I will drive my Elio with pride. . . . . . , but I won't be holding my breath!

Wow I didn't know Z passed away! I am so sorry to hear this! I agree she was the best cheer leader and had no idea she was ill.. Was looking forward to her getting the Elio more than anyone! RIP Z..

Ray

 

[Ekh]

Wow, a '96 with 33k miles, amazing. I did some research, and it really is a fair market price for these older, low mileage Caddy's. It's double the blue book price, and then some. But...

I took the plunge on the '01 Deville with 37,700 miles. The selling couple said the car was owned by the wife's father who passed away in March, and her mother now has 3 vehicles, so they wanted to sell the Deville. It was the late dad's baby, was his "drive to church" car, and he didn't take it out in the snow. Car was like new, extremely clean under the hood, in the tail pipe, and in the interior. Was too good to pass up, bought it for $7400.

Still hoping and cheering for the Elio as the 'and' car, but now I have a vehicle that should last 8-10 years or longer.

Good luck replacing all the rubber parts in the first year, plus (perhaps) water pump, alternator, and shocks. Time kills 'em all.

 

[Hotscoots]

Proceed with caution on older Caddys. My son's last car was a one owner , low mileage , mint condition 2001 Seville STS . $4000. Literally perfect luxury in and out . Head gaskets on the NorthStar engine are notoriously sketchy . Because the heads are held on with studs, replacement gasket is approximately $3000 . Drove it as-is and eventually traded in for a new Jeep .

 

[Hotscoots]

One reason I'm buying one it to try to save money. She drives much more than I do and using the Elio instead of the SUV would save a fortune in gas... but only if she uses it. It will also cut down on the wear and tear to the SUV and help postpone her crying for a new one. I'd rather spend $7000. on the Elio than $25,000 on a new SUV.

Same boat . Wife has only seen pictures and is convinced it's not safe for her use . I really can't use it daily and was hoping to spend $7k on the purchase , drop a few hundo on Insurance and fill up 2x per month for her limited use . It's going to be a struggle but there will be an Elio in the driveway .......damnit