22years old 1st caterham
Discussion
Thinking about getting something fun as a second car.. I've owned a 2010 ibiza cupra for the last 2 years and will continue to use this as a DD. In the meantime ive had a mk1 1.8 mx5 and a mk1 mr2 as 'fun' summer cars but im thinking that a caterham may be a better investment and more of a long term weekend/summer car that i can keep and cherish.
does anyone have any suggestions on what to buy? seems to be loads of different cars within my budget of £8-15k. I know that a live axle isn't ideal and really i would like something with a little bit of power although really fun and trackdays is my main objective with this.
any help or info is appreciated
does anyone have any suggestions on what to buy? seems to be loads of different cars within my budget of £8-15k. I know that a live axle isn't ideal and really i would like something with a little bit of power although really fun and trackdays is my main objective with this.
any help or info is appreciated
I had my first 1.6 roadsport at the age of 20. Had that for a year which was great fun to get into it but always wanted that little bit more power on the track. Although I couldn't find much at normal track days I couldn't get past. Then this year at 21 I bought a fireblade engined caterham which the oil pump failed on so I sold it on.
Now thinking I might get another one. When I was 20 I paid £1400 but at 21 on the fireblade engined car I paid £500 with adrian flux. It is one of the cheapest cars I have insured!
Now thinking I might get another one. When I was 20 I paid £1400 but at 21 on the fireblade engined car I paid £500 with adrian flux. It is one of the cheapest cars I have insured!
Ahh!
I don't know the actual power output but it's a 1.6 K-Series ex-Academy car so I assume 120bhp. The previous owner won Roadsport A and B championships in it and set quite a few long standing lap records so it's a good engine. Either that or he just had bigger balls than the others!
No Academy cars had LSD but mine was upgraded to compete in Roadsport A and B championships. That would've included a few minor performance upgrades (so possibly more than 120bhp but as I don't know that I'm not claiming it) but I'm pretty certain 2006 didn't include a LSD in the upgrade.
Travelling to the US this weekend so not around to check - that's part of the reason for sale. Work keeps me out of the country a lot so not getting the use.
I don't know the actual power output but it's a 1.6 K-Series ex-Academy car so I assume 120bhp. The previous owner won Roadsport A and B championships in it and set quite a few long standing lap records so it's a good engine. Either that or he just had bigger balls than the others!
No Academy cars had LSD but mine was upgraded to compete in Roadsport A and B championships. That would've included a few minor performance upgrades (so possibly more than 120bhp but as I don't know that I'm not claiming it) but I'm pretty certain 2006 didn't include a LSD in the upgrade.
Travelling to the US this weekend so not around to check - that's part of the reason for sale. Work keeps me out of the country a lot so not getting the use.
Edited by Agent Orange on Thursday 10th July 23:18
Thought I would put my 2 pence in.
I bought my first Caterham aged 23 (last year May time) I looked for insurance and Adrian flux were about £450 fully comp £100 excess (This was my car http://www.sevensandclassics.com/showroom/caterham... Second year of insurance with Lancaster insurance was around £350 (though I used it for 22 days and got charged £200 for the privilege before I changed the car)
About a month ago I swapped from the 1.6Vx to a 1.8L vvc K, lsd, uprated brakes, adjustable suspension so a huge increase of BHP (around 60bhp more and more torque) and loads more toys also (£16500). I got the insurance for this including breakdown cover for £450. Some other companies did it about £80 cheaper though the one I have allows me to add on to my NCB where as the others didn't
A lot of companies like frank pickles, lancaster insurance, footman james wouldn't do the second car because the car is over £15000 and I keep it on a drive not a garage. I have been told that your NCB doesn't matter with the policy I have, it is respective to how long you have owned the car for as to what discount you get.
The live axle car I had was so fun and was planning to upgrade it to a Red top but worked out way too expensive. It had a 6 speed gearbox so was a lot of fun, the new one is another beast all together and all I can say is drive them and see what you like.
Hope this helps.
I bought my first Caterham aged 23 (last year May time) I looked for insurance and Adrian flux were about £450 fully comp £100 excess (This was my car http://www.sevensandclassics.com/showroom/caterham... Second year of insurance with Lancaster insurance was around £350 (though I used it for 22 days and got charged £200 for the privilege before I changed the car)
About a month ago I swapped from the 1.6Vx to a 1.8L vvc K, lsd, uprated brakes, adjustable suspension so a huge increase of BHP (around 60bhp more and more torque) and loads more toys also (£16500). I got the insurance for this including breakdown cover for £450. Some other companies did it about £80 cheaper though the one I have allows me to add on to my NCB where as the others didn't
A lot of companies like frank pickles, lancaster insurance, footman james wouldn't do the second car because the car is over £15000 and I keep it on a drive not a garage. I have been told that your NCB doesn't matter with the policy I have, it is respective to how long you have owned the car for as to what discount you get.
The live axle car I had was so fun and was planning to upgrade it to a Red top but worked out way too expensive. It had a 6 speed gearbox so was a lot of fun, the new one is another beast all together and all I can say is drive them and see what you like.
Hope this helps.
Edited by ajroberts on Friday 11th July 08:50
Glad I'm not the only one in my early 20's considering a Caterham..! I'm 23 and currently have a Renaultsport Megane R26 but using it as a daily driver is making less financial sense as the miles increase. I was thinking of getting a fairly high milage E46 320d as a DD and possibly then investing in a Caterham as a weekend / track toy.
So my question would be; is it worth looking around for a good 2nd hand version or is it better to consider buying new? I'm lucky in that I've got a pretty good job and still living at home so could probably afford the repayments on a new one if I cut down on trips to the pub . Any advice much appreciated!
So my question would be; is it worth looking around for a good 2nd hand version or is it better to consider buying new? I'm lucky in that I've got a pretty good job and still living at home so could probably afford the repayments on a new one if I cut down on trips to the pub . Any advice much appreciated!
I would suggest a 2nd-hand Caterham to start with. Buy sensibly and depreciation will be non-existent, you can have one straight away (ordering new will be 6+ months until delivery I believe) and you can learn all the bits you do and don't like to help with future (new perhaps) purchases.
However, and sorry for being a boring fart, but I'd be putting that money into buying a house/flat (big assumption there that you don't already own one - sorry).
However, and sorry for being a boring fart, but I'd be putting that money into buying a house/flat (big assumption there that you don't already own one - sorry).
ghibbett said:
I would suggest a 2nd-hand Caterham to start with.
Agree... I built mine because primarily, I wanted to build a 7; the ownership was a fortunate by-product. You'll get much more for much less looking at something "previously-loved". Used > self-build new > factory-built newghibbett said:
However, and sorry for being a boring fart, but I'd be putting that money into buying a house/flat (big assumption there that you don't already own one - sorry).
Agree with that too. I only built mine when our mortgage was down to a single digit percentage (still a FOB amount of money but we have been lucky with our house moves and our equity has appreciated astonishingly!)BigCol said:
ghibbett said:
I would suggest a 2nd-hand Caterham to start with.
Agree... I built mine because primarily, I wanted to build a 7; the ownership was a fortunate by-product. You'll get much more for much less looking at something "previously-loved". Used > self-build new > factory-built newghibbett said:
However, and sorry for being a boring fart, but I'd be putting that money into buying a house/flat (big assumption there that you don't already own one - sorry).
Agree with that too. I only built mine when our mortgage was down to a single digit percentage (still a FOB amount of money but we have been lucky with our house moves and our equity has appreciated astonishingly!)House or a Caterham.... I know which one I would have, 'cause I do. A Caterham.
Way more fun and to be honest won't lose much value, I find it cheaper to insure than a tin top car and way more fun as I can over take and out perform friends in 911's, audi's, Bmw's. They all want to swap cars with me.
Way more fun and to be honest won't lose much value, I find it cheaper to insure than a tin top car and way more fun as I can over take and out perform friends in 911's, audi's, Bmw's. They all want to swap cars with me.
I'm currently scouring the classifieds for a 'previously loved' example! Are there any particular things to look out for? I know the K-series engine has got a bit of a reputation. Any recommendation to stay away from previously raced examples? I'll probably mostly be using it for road trips and trackdays.
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