My first Caterham - advice on prices

[F1RWL]

I am just about to purchase my first Caterham 7 and really need some advice on pricing. Having bought many cars over the years, it has been pretty easy to tell whether you are paying a reasonable price based on model, year, mileage and condition.

This doesn't seem so straight forward with Caterhams. I have spent many hours looking at various models on PH and other sites and the prices seem to vary hugely. I guess my question is ' How do I tell if it is a fair price?' My heart tells me that if I am happy with the price of the car then why worry but my head tells me it isn't that simple.

Is there any kind of guide and is there anything else I should be aware of? By the way, I am planning on spending between £12k and £18k.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[anonymous-user]

F1RWL said:

My heart tells me that if I am happy with the price of the car then why worry but my head tells me it isn't that simple.

A quick trawl through the classifieds will give you a general idea of what you get for your money but if you see what you like, and it seems reasonable, go for it. No two cars are the same so making a genuine comparison can be difficult and be aware that no matter what you get and matter what you pay, there'll be a long list of follow-on posts saying you could've got it cheaper, or you got a bargain, it's under-powered, over-powered, the wrong colour, got the wrong wings on it or whatever.
Whatever you get, if it's your first Seven you won't be disappointed.

[F1RWL]

Thanks for this.

Underlines what I thought and you're right - I'm sure I won't be disappointed!

[Tango7]

F1RWL said:

Is there any kind of guide and is there anything else I should be aware of? By the way, I am planning on spending between £12k and £18k.

That's quite a spread of budget and will cover standard 1600k series cars / HPC's with VX engines / Superlights / sigma / Superlight R's / fireblade / blackbird / R300 and even the odd R400! For Caterhams, buy on spec and condition and the history. Mileage is less important although a lot of these cars don't do many miles per year (less than 3k pa). Join the club (www.lotussevenclub.com) and you can ask questions on the club forum (www.Blatchat.com) which will give you a lot of very helpful information. You can approach the club's area representative or other local members for help or even to pop along to view cars with you which can be very helpful to prospective owners.

What do you intend to use the seven for? There is a good argument to say buy a fairly cheap car around £10k (standard 1600k series) to use for a year and then to sell it on and buy a better spec'd car when you understand the marque and what options you really want. If you buy a clean standard 120 bhp k series car for £10k and keep it in similar condition, you should be able to sell the car for the same money in 12 months time which can't be bad.

If you buy from Caterham, their prices carry a decent margin for them. They are a business and have to provide everything that means (warranty, support, service department etc.) so its not a problem as long as you are aware of it. There are plenty of new owners who have bought their first Caterham from Caterham Cars as they feel more comfortable spending this level of money with a business and the warranty back up it provides than buying privately. This needn't be the case if you ask for assistance and get someone local with a decent amount of knowledge to help you out.

HTH

T

[ghibbett]

^^^ Excellent advice that.

[CraigyB]

Got my car just over 3 years ago from John at Millwoods. Very happy with the service and the car is still in top nick, and no urge to replace it. It's a 1.6K supersport

[F1RWL]

Thanks for this, really helpful.

The spread of budget is due to not really knowing how much to spend. I plan to use the Seven for weekend fun and the occasional track day. I'm very lucky to have a 911 Carrera S as my everyday transport and wanted something a little more 'raw' and basic.

Great advice re local knowledge, I will definitely join the club.

[anonymous-user]

Tango7 said:

That's quite a spread of budget and will cover standard 1600k series cars / HPC's with VX engines / Superlights / sigma / Superlight R's / fireblade / blackbird / R300 and even the odd R400!

.....not to mention mint Crossflows.

[thevillage idiot]

F1RWL said:

wanted something a little more 'raw' and basic.

Expect something considerably more raw than a 911. Hugely more raw in fact

[framerateuk]

Have you thought about hiring one first to see how you find it?

Caterham will hire you a Sigma 125 for the day. You can then decide if that's enough power for you and work out your budget from there.

[SidewaysSi]

I would echo what's already been said re. hiring one for a day. A modern 911 is not really in the same league in terms of rawness and you need to be clear and comfortable with what you are letting yourself in for!

I have been driving 7s for over 10 years and there are aspects that still annoy me which you take for granted in a "normal" car - lockable doors, dryness, not going sideways everywhere, ability to drive in the winter and when the roads are salted etc. Whilst they can be endearing at first, there are aspects of Caterham ownership that can become wearing quite quickly.

Saying that, I love my car and will never sell it! Recently bought an Elise as my practical everyday machine which should definitely be considered if the 7 is a bit much...

[renmure]

F1RWL said:

I'm very lucky to have a 911 Carrera S as my everyday transport and wanted something a little more 'raw' and basic.

I would second (or is it third?) the idea of hiring one before committing to buying one unless you are sure of what you are getting.

I changed a Porsche Turbo S for an R300 because I wanted something more raw and basic. Funnily enough the Caterham went off with its new owner today after 18 months and not that many miles driven. Reality of the situation was that the idea of raw, back to basics motoring was more appealing than the actuality of it. Great cars tho. No doubt about that.

[F1RWL]

Thanks, will definitely consider hiring before buying. I may not have been clear, the Caterham will be in addition to not instead of the 911. I can't imagine my daily 140 mile round trip commute to work in a Seven that's for sure.

One other thing that's clear I need to consider is my size. I'm 6'2" and 12st 7lb. Will I need an SV? I've also read about the lowered floor option. Is this something that needs to be specified up front or is there a conversion? How much would this cost.

Learning loads from the Forum so thanks for the continuing advice.

[dalongbloke]

Hi F1.... you probably don't actually need as SV, but you will be more comfortable in one.

I am 6'3 and considerably heavier than you! When I had a windscreen fitted, the top was exactly at my eye level. Lowered floors help this a lot. I hired an SV and was amazed at the increase in comfort, but I could not fund the larger car.

Lowered floors can be retrofitted... I would gusss £3-400 each side fitted?

Good luck in your choice... Andy

[Tango7]

I'm 6'2" and a lot (lot!) heavier than you and I fit into an S3 fine. I have had lowered floors retrofitted and they worked out at £500 all in (buy panels and had them fitted by a mate who now charges £120 for the pair to be done)

[robmlufc]

6'2 14 (and a bit) stone here, I fit fine in a normal S3 with lowered floors Feet are more of an issue with normal trainer things, I just got some Puma Driftcats that give my flippers a bit more room to move.

[angusfaldo]

dalongbloke said:

Lowered floors can be retrofitted... I would gusss £3-400 each side fitted?

Reading this post reminded me I had an old invoice for my car from the previous owner. In Sept 2010 Caterham charged £380 plus VAT for a lowered drivers floor on an S3 R400D.

They also charged £0.08 for a rivet

[Dr Slotter]

I've written a bit more in BigCol's thread but it is really in width (i.e. driver shoulder to passenger shoulder) where the SV wins out.

[Citrus7]

Last few cars have been an Atom 3 245 bhp, and 911 (997) GT3. Bought a Caterham 6 months ago and love the car. A real drivers car, with excitement at sensible speeds.

At your height yes you need lowered floor. Width wise you'll easily fit in S3.

Do it

[BigCol]

I went along to Caterham South so I could try out the options and whilst I could squeeze into a standard S3, the lowered floor made things better but the SV with the wider GT seats was by far most comfortable combo for me (6'3", 15st 8lb ish)