10 GRAND TO SPEND ON FIRST 7
Discussion
IM going to buy a 7 and have a max budget of 10K........mostly road use with an odd track day thrown in,(2 a year max) must be quick and reliable, and with good resale.
Am I wasting my time with a Caterham (as it will be really old), or would I be better with a Westfield??
Cheers
Matt
Ps Im 6 ft and 17 stone will i fit in?
>>> Edited by poorcardealer on Saturday 14th August 21:55
Am I wasting my time with a Caterham (as it will be really old), or would I be better with a Westfield??
Cheers
Matt
Ps Im 6 ft and 17 stone will i fit in?
>>> Edited by poorcardealer on Saturday 14th August 21:55
You'd be better saving a couple of grand more 
Any Caterham at this level will hold it's value pretty well - don't thiink I've ever seen a runner for sale at less than 7k. So even if the worst happened...
Just like any car though, you'll have to make compromises at this price point and perhaps get into something with a less desirable spec. Which can make them slow to sell when you want to get out of it (the market's been poor for a little while now, so a good time to buy but less so to sell).
A couple of Zetec engined cars went for around this mark recently. Think at least one was live axle. XFlows are also available at this price point. Just make sure you have a tiled garage floor for the oil it'll drop
As for your size, at my peak I was 6'4" and 18st+ and could just still squeeze in. You'll probably need a car with bench seats (not the hassle it would sound like - for big people they're extremely comfy), but you may also need a deDion suspended car as they have a bit more room in the cockpit.
You really must try a few for size though. Our shapes all differ a lot and depending on your proportions you may or may not be comfortable.
Small steering wheels and moving the pedals can also make a massive difference, so don't dismay if the first car doesn't look like it fits straight away.
Westfields are undoubtedly a lot cheaper. Try some out as there'll be more available at this price point. Personally though I'd spend more to get a Caterham.
Generalising a touch (as before anyone starts bleating there are well made Westfields, Locusts etc), but the Caterham is usually the better quality product by a good way. You get what you pay for.
Also, make sure you take a good look on www.blatchat.com. It's still pretty much the best resource for (Caterham) 7s out there. Westfield have their own site - think it's www.wscc.com or something (I don't use it as I might catch something ).
Any Caterham at this level will hold it's value pretty well - don't thiink I've ever seen a runner for sale at less than 7k. So even if the worst happened...
Just like any car though, you'll have to make compromises at this price point and perhaps get into something with a less desirable spec. Which can make them slow to sell when you want to get out of it (the market's been poor for a little while now, so a good time to buy but less so to sell).
A couple of Zetec engined cars went for around this mark recently. Think at least one was live axle. XFlows are also available at this price point. Just make sure you have a tiled garage floor for the oil it'll drop
As for your size, at my peak I was 6'4" and 18st+ and could just still squeeze in. You'll probably need a car with bench seats (not the hassle it would sound like - for big people they're extremely comfy), but you may also need a deDion suspended car as they have a bit more room in the cockpit.
You really must try a few for size though. Our shapes all differ a lot and depending on your proportions you may or may not be comfortable.
Small steering wheels and moving the pedals can also make a massive difference, so don't dismay if the first car doesn't look like it fits straight away.
Westfields are undoubtedly a lot cheaper. Try some out as there'll be more available at this price point. Personally though I'd spend more to get a Caterham.
Generalising a touch (as before anyone starts bleating there are well made Westfields, Locusts etc), but the Caterham is usually the better quality product by a good way. You get what you pay for.
Also, make sure you take a good look on www.blatchat.com. It's still pretty much the best resource for (Caterham) 7s out there. Westfield have their own site - think it's www.wscc.com or something (I don't use it as I might catch something
).poorcardealer said:
Thanks for the reply Murph, sensible thing would be to buy an Elise, but who wants to be sensible!
That would not be the sensible thing. If you're in the market for a 7.
Lovely cars as they are, I'm afraid the Elise is a different type of car to the 7.
The 7 is much quicker round a circuit and, IMO, more pleasurable to play with on track.
For a little bit under £10k you could buy a W reg 1.6 VX. IMO this is a great first 7 and the best VFM. Unless you are an experienced track driver much more than this is a waste.
The other option would be a Westfield and you may find this will accomodate you a bit better. Plenty to choose from for that sort of money
MikeW
The other option would be a Westfield and you may find this will accomodate you a bit better. Plenty to choose from for that sort of money
MikeW
murph7355 said:
And if ANYONE knows anything about dodgy colour combos, it's Ruby.
He's had raspberry purple, white cabrios with red interiors and yellow rimmed cars for God's sake.
He's right though.
Glad you posted the latter Murph
By the way, my 911E started life in Cockney Brown - by the time I bought it it had been changed to white (naturally).....
Matt
You can have my Caterham for £9,500. Genuine 155bhp, every performance/handling mod you can imagine (all done by the se7en workshop - one of the best Caterham garages in the business), 2 previous owners, £38K worth of invoices. Quicker than a superlight and 5 grand cheaper! See it on Pistonheads (Estoril Blue and alloy).
cheers Finlay
PS Maybe do you a P/X if you have a mint (trade price) high miles 993 or 996??
>> Edited by finmac on Tuesday 17th August 22:26
You can have my Caterham for £9,500. Genuine 155bhp, every performance/handling mod you can imagine (all done by the se7en workshop - one of the best Caterham garages in the business), 2 previous owners, £38K worth of invoices. Quicker than a superlight and 5 grand cheaper! See it on Pistonheads (Estoril Blue and alloy).
cheers Finlay
PS Maybe do you a P/X if you have a mint (trade price) high miles 993 or 996??
>> Edited by finmac on Tuesday 17th August 22:26
Finmac
That looks like a well sorted car, however I have decieded Im going to get a R500 or something similar. Im sure Id have loads of fun in a cheaper less powerful Caterham but having read about flames from exhausts etc its going to have to be a R500. All I need to do now is find one at the right money!!
I have Porsches coming and going on a weekly basis and I will keep you informed if I get anything suitable for you, I would of course take your caterham in p/ex anyway.....by the sounds of it you are looking to spend 27-28K would that be correct??
Why don't you get a fat-boy Westfield?
My lodger has just bought a thin-boy 6yr old Westie with a blueprinted 1.6, twin webers etc etc, full wet-weather kit (which works better than the missus' MX5 and my old elise) and about 1 mile on the clock (okay a slightly exageration) for about £8.5k
My lodger has just bought a thin-boy 6yr old Westie with a blueprinted 1.6, twin webers etc etc, full wet-weather kit (which works better than the missus' MX5 and my old elise) and about 1 mile on the clock (okay a slightly exageration) for about £8.5k
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