Is an R300 more saleable if.....
Discussion
Returning to 7 ownership after 31/2 years away has not been quite as rewarding as I expected. I feel nervous driving it at speed without a cage as I live in an area where "deer strikes" are not uncommon. A deer in the face cannot be a nice way to die. The roll cage provides some protection in this regard.
I'm going to spend some money on my K R300 which is currently an aeroscreen equipped R300 in Dayglo orange. The car is getting that it needs paint as it is starting to fade, so I am looking for some opinions, on other changes I may undertake at the same time.
The car is a track orientated spec, although it has hardly seen any track action - 4 or 5 days in its life. So it has full carbon, kevlar Tillets, LSD, 6 speed, Caterham dry sump.
If I leave the Caterham as is, it will be the second car I have with no weather protection so touring given the UK climate, can really only be accomplished during a drought period. For this reason I fear the Seven may have to yield to something a bit more practical.
These are either fitment of SLR cage to make it a balls out road/track car. Repaint, in bright but not flourescent colour.
or
Removal of the aeroscreen and fitting a full screen and weather equipment (optionally with a double D roadsports cage) Repaimt in sober colour scheme.
So, is a low mileage (8000) 2002 R300 more attractive to the used market as:
Bright aeroscreened thing with a full SLR roll cage
Sober conventional colour with FIA bar and weather gear and windscreen
or
Sober conventional colour with Roadsports cage and full weather gear and windscreen
Opinions gratefully received.
I'm going to spend some money on my K R300 which is currently an aeroscreen equipped R300 in Dayglo orange. The car is getting that it needs paint as it is starting to fade, so I am looking for some opinions, on other changes I may undertake at the same time.
The car is a track orientated spec, although it has hardly seen any track action - 4 or 5 days in its life. So it has full carbon, kevlar Tillets, LSD, 6 speed, Caterham dry sump.
If I leave the Caterham as is, it will be the second car I have with no weather protection so touring given the UK climate, can really only be accomplished during a drought period. For this reason I fear the Seven may have to yield to something a bit more practical.
These are either fitment of SLR cage to make it a balls out road/track car. Repaint, in bright but not flourescent colour.
or
Removal of the aeroscreen and fitting a full screen and weather equipment (optionally with a double D roadsports cage) Repaimt in sober colour scheme.
So, is a low mileage (8000) 2002 R300 more attractive to the used market as:
Bright aeroscreened thing with a full SLR roll cage
Sober conventional colour with FIA bar and weather gear and windscreen
or
Sober conventional colour with Roadsports cage and full weather gear and windscreen
Opinions gratefully received.
I own a Roadsport spec K circa 150bhp, and really enjoy track days without feeling the urge to change either my FIA roll bar or even swap out the windscreen for aero screen. I feel I get the best balance of road blatting, touring and track day fun. If I was going to change anything it may be the screen to give me more of a racer feel and a little bit more straight line speed. But aim to swap out and put windscreen back on when not on track. Oh and soft bits for 7's half hoods are fantastic for the odd downpour.
Your R300 is obviously more track oriented from the off, with LSD, Tillets etc, but I would still hazard a guess that as soon as you go down a full roll cage, it's value will plummet (opinion not expert!).
As for the paint job, if you are in the market for a Caterham, the right spec (and yours is great) far outweighs the colour, even dayglo options.
As for the deer, I think even with a cage and windscreen, you are in a "dead man driving" lottery with very low survival odds with any approach.
Your R300 is obviously more track oriented from the off, with LSD, Tillets etc, but I would still hazard a guess that as soon as you go down a full roll cage, it's value will plummet (opinion not expert!).
As for the paint job, if you are in the market for a Caterham, the right spec (and yours is great) far outweighs the colour, even dayglo options.
As for the deer, I think even with a cage and windscreen, you are in a "dead man driving" lottery with very low survival odds with any approach.
I don't see why the car needs a sober colour for road use. The brighter the better for visibility and safety in my opinion.
If you already have a car for the track, I would suggest fitting full weather gear and forgetting the full cage.
The safety issue is a very personal thing. It is impossible to make a Seven totally safe. I've been behind a Seven that hit a small deer and only sustained a broken indicator while the deer died. Sometimes you are lucky......
Having said that, I was hit in a Citroen by a scaffolding connector that fell off a lorry travelling the other way. It punched a 6 inch hole in the bumper, if it had hit the screen, most likely I would have died. A full cage can't protect against every thing!
Last summer I drove to Scotland from the SE in terrible weather and reached Edinburgh nice and dry and very comfortable using the full hood.
All my luggage was dry too and I hadn't wrapped it in plastic!
If you already have a car for the track, I would suggest fitting full weather gear and forgetting the full cage.
The safety issue is a very personal thing. It is impossible to make a Seven totally safe. I've been behind a Seven that hit a small deer and only sustained a broken indicator while the deer died. Sometimes you are lucky......
Having said that, I was hit in a Citroen by a scaffolding connector that fell off a lorry travelling the other way. It punched a 6 inch hole in the bumper, if it had hit the screen, most likely I would have died. A full cage can't protect against every thing!
Last summer I drove to Scotland from the SE in terrible weather and reached Edinburgh nice and dry and very comfortable using the full hood.
All my luggage was dry too and I hadn't wrapped it in plastic!
I would tend to agree with Mucus72 that a full cage might not fully protect you against a deer strike. However, the question of fitting a cage (SLR like you) is something that I have considered quite a bit over the last year or so and one I'm still mulling over. I'm not sure if you've searched the Blatchat archives but I specifically asked the question regarding cages and resale values. See here.
FWIW my car is a toy used mainly for road-based blats and the odd trackday. So much so that I sold my windscreen, hood and doors and I've got half doors and a carbon aeroscreen fitted permanently. My spec is pretty much identical to yours and when I set out to buy a Seven, I knew exactly what I wanted and hence bought my particular car. So if you keep the car exactly as it is you will most likely still sell it, depending upon what the buyer wants. I also agree with Downsman that Sevens (and especially R3/4/500s) should be as bright a colour as possible!
To answer your question though, if you really want to sell, I think just buying a screen, doors and half hood and including them with your car as is, would attract the most buyers. But then again in that guise it sounds like you would then be able to use it a little more, negating the need to sell it
FWIW my car is a toy used mainly for road-based blats and the odd trackday. So much so that I sold my windscreen, hood and doors and I've got half doors and a carbon aeroscreen fitted permanently. My spec is pretty much identical to yours and when I set out to buy a Seven, I knew exactly what I wanted and hence bought my particular car. So if you keep the car exactly as it is you will most likely still sell it, depending upon what the buyer wants. I also agree with Downsman that Sevens (and especially R3/4/500s) should be as bright a colour as possible!
To answer your question though, if you really want to sell, I think just buying a screen, doors and half hood and including them with your car as is, would attract the most buyers. But then again in that guise it sounds like you would then be able to use it a little more, negating the need to sell it
rubystone said:
I would bolt a VX red top into it and junk the K Series lump, paint it dayglo yellow and annoy Brits who live in France with it. Oh wait a mo....
You mean like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq2mSx7zjKs&lis...Or this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiqZE3-LDIg&lis...
:-)
And up to Grenpayne's very informative post, it was all going so well.
In 1994 K2RUM had a scuttle with a JPE screen and a scuttle with full windscreen. I believe this was the first time anyone had modified the front bulkhead so they could be interchanged. How I fear history may repeat itself. Funnily enough, K2RUM was at that time the same colour as the R300...
In 1994 K2RUM had a scuttle with a JPE screen and a scuttle with full windscreen. I believe this was the first time anyone had modified the front bulkhead so they could be interchanged. How I fear history may repeat itself. Funnily enough, K2RUM was at that time the same colour as the R300...
Mr W, thought this one was meant to be a keeper? Why not just do what you want to do (you usually do 
)
The right spec'd car at the right price will always sell, but if you want to appeal to the masses then a 'plain' colour, windscreen and weather gear will surely attract more buyers, but also have more competition in the market place....
I'd be surprised if you don't just go for a bright colour and SLR cage, but I guess it depends on what you're really going to use the 7 for this time round?
)The right spec'd car at the right price will always sell, but if you want to appeal to the masses then a 'plain' colour, windscreen and weather gear will surely attract more buyers, but also have more competition in the market place....
I'd be surprised if you don't just go for a bright colour and SLR cage, but I guess it depends on what you're really going to use the 7 for this time round?
"I wouldn't feel safe driving a bike on the road without a roll cage tbh" - it's all about what level of risk you're prepared to accept. I've used a Caterham as a daily driver for nearly 10 years with plenty of "adventures" and have never been in a situation where a roll cage would have been any benefit. I'll admit that the only deer I've seen were a family of Muntjac trotting down the road where I live.
Mind you Arnie may have a point regarding deer the probability of being killed by a deer is rising all over the country http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-2071...
"about 350,000 deer are culled each year, while up to 74,000 are killed on the roads but, say experts, populations of the six species are still increasing"
"about 350,000 deer are culled each year, while up to 74,000 are killed on the roads but, say experts, populations of the six species are still increasing"
Edited by Toaster on Wednesday 2nd January 12:14
1 Speccing a car for the next owner is the kind of stuff Audi drivers do when choosing their next lump of diesel powered grey. So don't do it
2 if you are used to the mental comfort of having a cage then fit a proper SLR cage otherwise you won't enjoy the car
Oh and if you want the VX feeling back i have a few concrete blocks you could put in the nose cone :P
2 if you are used to the mental comfort of having a cage then fit a proper SLR cage otherwise you won't enjoy the car
Oh and if you want the VX feeling back i have a few concrete blocks you could put in the nose cone :P
A good question indeed Mr R. A question which almost answers itself....
I am in no hurry to sell as the "other project" is still some way from completion. What I have decided however is that they cannot co-exist if they are both totally unsuitable for touring. The Caterham has more luggage space by some considerable margin, and can be fitted with a roof.
A Roadsport cage is obtainable, and allows a windscreen, hood etc to be fitted. It'll also put me in better stead if Bambi comes up the bonnet, in comparison to a carbon aeroscreen alone.
Really, the question now has boiled down to will the fitment of (or the holes left by) a Roadsport double D cage do considerable damage to the resale value if I sell it a year from now?
I am in no hurry to sell as the "other project" is still some way from completion. What I have decided however is that they cannot co-exist if they are both totally unsuitable for touring. The Caterham has more luggage space by some considerable margin, and can be fitted with a roof.
A Roadsport cage is obtainable, and allows a windscreen, hood etc to be fitted. It'll also put me in better stead if Bambi comes up the bonnet, in comparison to a carbon aeroscreen alone.
Really, the question now has boiled down to will the fitment of (or the holes left by) a Roadsport double D cage do considerable damage to the resale value if I sell it a year from now?
I don't know how far along you are on your other project, but experience and observation indicate if you estimate about one year remaining to go on it, then it will likely be about four years remaining - many of us have seen situations similar to this pfore, and 4X tends to be a good ballpark average. Four years is a lot of blatting.
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