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Fighting the bad guys in movies, helped make the Lotus Esprit Turbo a legend, but the sports car could be a costly addition to your collection.

The most iconic James Bond of them all, Sir Roger Moore, had charm, the best adventures and the most stunning cars. In The Spy Who Loved Me, a Lotus Esprit saves Bond’s life. The famous British spy escapes a dangerous chase in Sardinia just to crash into the sea, where he hides from a female villain who tries to assassinate him from a helicopter. In the water, the Lotus Esprit transforms into a submarine packed with cool gadgets, which helps eliminate the enemy. Although Eon Productions released the movie in 1977, even today the chase scene is one of the best. In fact, the action scenes transformed the Lotus Esprit into a cult car. Fast-forward to 1981 and Bond gets another mission in For Your Eyes Only. Even on this occasion, 007 makes a comeback in the storied Lotus Esprit, although this time it is a Series 3. This time, Bond maneuvers the vehicle around the Italian ski-resort of Cortina.

The Bond franchise made the Lotus Esprit so famous that it even enchanted a real-life billionaire like the eccentric Elon Musk. And the actual life story of how the 1976 Lotus Esprit used in the filming of The Spy Who Loved Me ended up with Musk is as intriguing as a Bond movie. In 1989, a couple from Long Island paid around $100 for an unclaimed storage unit, according to CNBC. Inside the unit, they found the 1976 Lotus Esprit from James Bond that they auctioned in 2013 via RM Sotheby’s. The lucky buyer was Musk himself, who paid $997,000 for the car.

Without a doubt, the Lotus Esprit is a legend, and entire generations learned to love this automobile thanks to the Bond franchise. This is especially true for the Turbo model, regarded as one of the fastest-accelerating automobiles during its prime, but even with all of its special characteristics, there are still some reasons to avoid buying this vehicle.

Related: Here's What You Wanted To Know About The Lotus Esprit

Owners of the Lotus Esprit Turbo vehicles frequently ask for help with their clutch and gearbox in social media posts. For example, on YouTube, a Lotus Esprit owner shows how his car is growling. In the video, the driver says that sometimes when he pushes the clutch all the way down, he hears the horrible noise. To be fair, the YouTuber isn’t the only one who had to overcome this issue. In fact, on the Lotus Forums, various users complain about the same problem. GTE_Peter wrote in a post in 2015 that he owns a 1986 Esprit Turbo, which wasn’t used for a while, but he intends to revamp and re-spray it. When GTE_Peter took the car for a ride, he heard “a worrying vibration/noise from the clutch.”

“When I press clutch pedal and then raise the pedal slightly, it causes massive vibrations and grating type noise. It does this whether it is in gear or not. Once moving, it all feels fine,” says GTE_Peter.

Needless to say, that there are other forum posts discussing “how bad the Esprit gearbox is.” However, Esprit supporters have pointed out that several gearbox difficulties got overstated and “Lotus tested the gearbox for endurance many times.”

According to Car and Driver, the final four-cylinder Esprits had different versions of the Lotus 2.2-liter engine, which produced 300 horsepower for the S4S and 264 horsepower for the SE and S4 models, respectively. “Because of this engine’s high-stress life,” says Car and Driver, “owners must replace the timing belt every five years or 25,000 miles.” The online publication also points out that a broken timing belt is extremely expensive. Although this might not sound like a serious issue, the reality is that a malfunction at the timing belt could lead to engine performance problems. On different forums and websites, owners and even mechanics are asking for help with timing belts issues; thus, it seems like the problem is widespread.

Related: Here's Why We Love The Lotus Esprit

While the Lotus Esprit Turbo has a reasonable price, it isn't the same for service and maintenance costs. Car and Driver recommends regular oil changes and new spark plugs that should come with every oil change. The car publication also lists the likely repairs that will be necessary, which include a very costly timing belt replacement, transaxle replacement, clutch replacement, and front and rear brakes, to name just a few. Currently, the labor costs have surged because of inflation, so Esprit enthusiasts need to take this into account when they budget for repair and maintenance costs. Unfortunately, many of the Lotus Esprit parts are difficult to source, and this increases the costs. Additionally, not all mechanics are knowledgeable about servicing the Esprit, making it difficult to locate the correct workshop.

Adina Achim is a journalist with vast knowledge and experience in the luxury industry. She is passionate about luxury car brands, technological trends in the automotive industry, and exotic cars.