Would you buy an ex race car?

[RobM77]

I'm having trouble selling my Roadsport A racing Caterham, and I was wondering whether to convert it for road use to make selling it easier. It's in excellent condition for a race car, but would be a bit rough round the edges for a road car.

What's the general consensus? Worth my toil and trouble, or a waste of time? I doubt it'd be worth much more, it'd just be easier to sell.

[BertBert]

well you will certainly have a larger buying public. There is a general view that race cars for the road make good buys (assuming a sensible price) as the assumption is that it will have been well looked after. That may or may not be true in any given case. Less discerning buyers may be put off by cosmetics even with a mechanically well looked after car. Depending on the cost of getting it road legal again (which I assume is minimal), you haven't got much to lose.

Bert

[RobM77]

Thanks. I think the car would need a respray, especially once the stickers come off. It'd also need a set of lights and a proper full width aeroscreen. I've got a seat for it, but I'd need another for a passenger. I think £1,000 is realistic for that lot. I've looked online and it's worth about £1,000 more as a road car Easier to sell though, as you say.

[Epimetheus]

When you know a bit about Caterhams, you realise SOME race cars make good buys. Thing is, race cars are usually lowish spec and the sort of Caterham first time buyers are after. These sort of people tend not to know enough to tell a good car from a bad car so they play what they think is safe and buy what they think is a road car. They don't realise the fact that many road cars have been race cars in the past.
So, to sell a race car for max money to a newbie . .. flog the decent race bits and replace them with stock bits, have a nice screen, weather gear, and interior and make it look pretty. Maybe even try and get a dealer to flog it for you.

[iguana]

Buy an ex racer- well yes ive got one

Of course more market as road car, which is exactly what mine had done, but yours I feel is just down to price, couple of similar spec cars have changes hands at a lot less than folks seem to ask in the classifieds, dropped it £2k 2 months ago & it would have gone by now easily, I got offered car of yr spec for sub £9k recently, & I know of one that went for £8k for fast sale & they had all the road spec stuff with em too.

Edited by iguana on Friday 29th August 12:29

[RobM77]

iguana said:

Buy an ex racer- well yes ive got one

Of course more market as road car, which is exactly what mine had done, but yours I feel is just down to price, couple of similar spec cars have changes hands at a lot less than folks seem to ask in the classifieds, dropped it £2k 2 months ago & it would have gone by now easily, I got offered car of yr spec for sub £9k recently, & I know of one that went for £8k for fast sale & they had all the road spec stuff with em too.

Edited by iguana on Friday 29th August 12:29

Thanks. I'll try reducing the price before I launch myself into a conversion.