"Sevens For Schools" cars........any good?
Discussion
Caterham sells unregistered "Sevens For Schools" cars. I understand these are supplied to schools and technical colleges, built by the students and returned for retail.
Generally they seem quite good value but are there any likely disadvantages, such as inferior build?
I've been assured they're thoroughly checked and are sold with a 12 month warranty, so surely there shouldn't be any problems?
Generally they seem quite good value but are there any likely disadvantages, such as inferior build?
I've been assured they're thoroughly checked and are sold with a 12 month warranty, so surely there shouldn't be any problems?
For what it's worth, I looked at an unregistered 'school built' car at CCMids and there were signs of carelessness in the build, particularly with dings to the aluminium skin. While that may be the exception rather than the norm, I believe a group of students will naturally be more relaxed about stuff if it's not going to be their car at the end of the project.
I have one of these – my first Caterham, bought back in April.
I was thinking about buying a kit or getting something second hand, so went to test drive a couple at CC Crawley and see what spec I wanted. I decided that a S3 Roadsport 125 was right for me, and they had a “schools” car in stock in the spec I was after (once I’d added harnesses and a nose-band), at a price that was too good to miss. My logic was that I’d get it on the road far quicker than a kit, and probably more quickly than I’d find a second hand car in the right spec; it had been run through the factory post-build and it came with a full warranty; and it was priced very well.
Since I’ve had it, the speedo has given up the ghost (not an uncommon problem, it seems) and the clutch failed (at almost the same time). Caterham came to pick up the car, fixed those problems and brought it back. All I paid for was the 1,000 mile service it had while it was with them. There are a couple of messy rivets and very slight dents in the aluminium (which I didn’t notice when I got it, so may have done myself), but definitely no more that I would have ended up with had I built it myself.
Caterham after-sales can be a bit hit and miss, and I did get frustrated with the communication (or lack of) when waiting for the car and trying to get the speedo and clutch sorted, but they came good in the end.
Would I do it that way if I had my time again? Probably (although Callum and the team at Sevens & Classics are getting great write-ups on here, so I’d probably go to them too)
I was thinking about buying a kit or getting something second hand, so went to test drive a couple at CC Crawley and see what spec I wanted. I decided that a S3 Roadsport 125 was right for me, and they had a “schools” car in stock in the spec I was after (once I’d added harnesses and a nose-band), at a price that was too good to miss. My logic was that I’d get it on the road far quicker than a kit, and probably more quickly than I’d find a second hand car in the right spec; it had been run through the factory post-build and it came with a full warranty; and it was priced very well.
Since I’ve had it, the speedo has given up the ghost (not an uncommon problem, it seems) and the clutch failed (at almost the same time). Caterham came to pick up the car, fixed those problems and brought it back. All I paid for was the 1,000 mile service it had while it was with them. There are a couple of messy rivets and very slight dents in the aluminium (which I didn’t notice when I got it, so may have done myself), but definitely no more that I would have ended up with had I built it myself.
Caterham after-sales can be a bit hit and miss, and I did get frustrated with the communication (or lack of) when waiting for the car and trying to get the speedo and clutch sorted, but they came good in the end.
Would I do it that way if I had my time again? Probably (although Callum and the team at Sevens & Classics are getting great write-ups on here, so I’d probably go to them too)
From my experience, the pupils become really passionate about the build and are really keen to get it right.
The Caterham for Schools scheme is really a great thing, and has had a big impact on the career choices of some pupils. I hope that Caterham keep it going (and people buy the cars).
The Caterham for Schools scheme is really a great thing, and has had a big impact on the career choices of some pupils. I hope that Caterham keep it going (and people buy the cars).
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