Well so far with my car 87,500 miles nothing worth worrying about .but there are a few things that cause problems.

1: The C.A.S. the cam angle sensor.(£180)

2: Rear Wishbones..rust badly........(£1000)pair.fitted...

3..Gear Change Cables fall apart.....(??????) In my pile of paperwork my car has had two new sets....

4: Electric windows give problems....but really easy fix...I did mine..(its normally a 4mm screw works loose)

5:Rubber seals on roof and pillar seals are flimsy.and perish.(easy to replace).

Thats about it really...My car already had the C.A.S ....the Rear wishbones(galvanised ones) and new gear change cables..Before i bought it...lucky me....

I had to repair the drivers electric window ...and the glove box lock....Its not so much of a panic if you get a stone chip..on the car cos it aint exactly going to rust.....Although the body is fibreglass and the chassis galvanised..the suspension parts seem to suffer from rust .so check in this area.........

Engines..last 200,000 if looked after and regular oil changes. with fully synthetic oils..gearboxes last 200,000 ..turbos last well ..clutches last high mileages for a high performance car....A slight leak on the exhaust system can make the turbo completly over boost and cause the engine management system to shut the engine down...(orange light on dashboard)..when the managment system decides theres nothing wrong ..it gives you your engine back....This happened to my car...slight pin hole in the exhuast..so i replaced it with a nice stainless system...

 

Lotus Elan 1989-1992