I'm thinking of a Caterham, low servicing priority
Discussion
I tend to have a second "fun" car and the Caterham would fit this role.
My last but one fun car was a Boxster but, given that it only covers a few thousand miles a year it worked out very expensive per mile because needed to be serviced annually by a specialist which was often £1k with a few bits and bobs). I did a few events with it too (hillclimbs, sprints and autosolos) which used a lot of tyres which then cost the best part of 1k a set. For a modern car it held its value very well but still lost 3.5k in 4 years.
I also had a Midget rally / hillclimb car which was great but too unreliable. In fact most of the Boxster's competition events were standing in for the MG when it broke. However, the MG gave me a taste for winning trophies which I didn't realise I had till I won one! MG was sold for what I bought it for, though it there was lots of time and money spent in the middle!
Currently I have a Mk1 Golf GTI wihch was going to be a rally car but is too good to do that with and anyway, I haven't really bonded with it. The good thing is that I can leave it for 2 months, charge the battery the night before I want to use it and know it will start the next day. This wasn't always the case witht he MG.
So I'm thinking of a Caterham. I was thinking a crossflow. I could do a bit of sprinting / hillclimbing and autotests, it should hold its value as well as the MG but be more reliable and is sufficiently simple for me to service (I can change oil, filters, set tappets and change heads gaskets on push rod engines but am scared of cam belts / chains and twin carbs). I am Colin Chapman sized and quite like the idea of a car than other people won’t fit in and prefer the look of the older cars. Also the older cars probably have cheaper tyres.
However a K-series or Sigma car would be more competitive more reliable and won’t need re-tuning once its been set-up.
Questions:
Will home servicing impact the value?
Which Caterhams depreciate the slowest?
Do the carbs go out of tune over time or with miles – i.e. would I need to have them set up annually or every x miles which it might take ten years to get to.
I’d want a good cage or at least a study roll over bar – might I be better off just starting with a modern car as they often seem to have them?
Is there any difference in water-tightness in old or new? I might need to do a couple of runs to work every few months and ideally don’t want to arrive soaked.
Thanks!
My last but one fun car was a Boxster but, given that it only covers a few thousand miles a year it worked out very expensive per mile because needed to be serviced annually by a specialist which was often £1k with a few bits and bobs). I did a few events with it too (hillclimbs, sprints and autosolos) which used a lot of tyres which then cost the best part of 1k a set. For a modern car it held its value very well but still lost 3.5k in 4 years.
I also had a Midget rally / hillclimb car which was great but too unreliable. In fact most of the Boxster's competition events were standing in for the MG when it broke. However, the MG gave me a taste for winning trophies which I didn't realise I had till I won one! MG was sold for what I bought it for, though it there was lots of time and money spent in the middle!
Currently I have a Mk1 Golf GTI wihch was going to be a rally car but is too good to do that with and anyway, I haven't really bonded with it. The good thing is that I can leave it for 2 months, charge the battery the night before I want to use it and know it will start the next day. This wasn't always the case witht he MG.
So I'm thinking of a Caterham. I was thinking a crossflow. I could do a bit of sprinting / hillclimbing and autotests, it should hold its value as well as the MG but be more reliable and is sufficiently simple for me to service (I can change oil, filters, set tappets and change heads gaskets on push rod engines but am scared of cam belts / chains and twin carbs). I am Colin Chapman sized and quite like the idea of a car than other people won’t fit in and prefer the look of the older cars. Also the older cars probably have cheaper tyres.
However a K-series or Sigma car would be more competitive more reliable and won’t need re-tuning once its been set-up.
Questions:
Will home servicing impact the value?
Which Caterhams depreciate the slowest?
Do the carbs go out of tune over time or with miles – i.e. would I need to have them set up annually or every x miles which it might take ten years to get to.
I’d want a good cage or at least a study roll over bar – might I be better off just starting with a modern car as they often seem to have them?
Is there any difference in water-tightness in old or new? I might need to do a couple of runs to work every few months and ideally don’t want to arrive soaked.
Thanks!
I have a K and a Sigma, fairly minimal servicing issues to be honest and a lot of people do their own servicing without adverse impact later on. I know a few people with crossflows and yes they do need a bit of carb fiddling now and then.
I'll answer your questions as best I can -
Will home servicing impact the value? not really, particularly if a slightly older car.
Which Caterhams depreciate the slowest? K series or Crossflows that have had most of their depreciation already (e.g. by a nice K series for 10 to 12 k and in a few years it will probably still be worth similar money. Or the limited badged specials, (Superlight, Superlight R etc) seem to hold values well.
Do the carbs go out of tune over time or with miles – i.e. would I need to have them set up annually or every x miles which it might take ten years to get to. Yes I believe so on cars with carbs.
I’d want a good cage or at least a study roll over bar – might I be better off just starting with a modern car as they often seem to have them? For road use the 'FIA' roll over bar should be sufficient, some race regs might stipulate more. A full cage on the road can be dangerous unless you pad it correctly and wear a helmet all the time.
Is there any difference in water-tightness in old or new? I might need to do a couple of runs to work every few months and ideally don’t want to arrive soaked. A correctly fitted hood and doors should hardly leak at all.
I'll answer your questions as best I can -
Will home servicing impact the value? not really, particularly if a slightly older car.
Which Caterhams depreciate the slowest? K series or Crossflows that have had most of their depreciation already (e.g. by a nice K series for 10 to 12 k and in a few years it will probably still be worth similar money. Or the limited badged specials, (Superlight, Superlight R etc) seem to hold values well.
Do the carbs go out of tune over time or with miles – i.e. would I need to have them set up annually or every x miles which it might take ten years to get to. Yes I believe so on cars with carbs.
I’d want a good cage or at least a study roll over bar – might I be better off just starting with a modern car as they often seem to have them? For road use the 'FIA' roll over bar should be sufficient, some race regs might stipulate more. A full cage on the road can be dangerous unless you pad it correctly and wear a helmet all the time.
Is there any difference in water-tightness in old or new? I might need to do a couple of runs to work every few months and ideally don’t want to arrive soaked. A correctly fitted hood and doors should hardly leak at all.
Will home servicing impact the value?
New cars probably, but mid age onwards most folks know that the owners who generally know their Caterham’s service mechanicals, do a more comprehensive job compared to typical fixed dealership servicing. So possibly, but wouldn’t worry either way.
Which Caterhams depreciate the slowest?
CSRs, Rx00s once about two years old seem to hold faily well.
Duratec and sigma (2.3, 2.0, 1.6 Ford) engines are the most modern/current and very reliable.
K’s next, cross flows finally in my view.
Do the carbs go out of tune over time or with miles – i.e. would I need to have them set up annually or every x miles which it might take ten years to get to.
Go for a sigma/duratec and no carbs to worry about.
I’d want a good cage or at least a study roll over bar – might I be better off just starting with a modern car as they often seem to have them?
Road use get a FIA X type roll-over bar.
Track – FIA X minimum, but better with a cage, only your life after all!
Is there any difference in water-tightness in old or new? I might need to do a couple of runs to work every few months and ideally don’t want to arrive soaked.
Drizzle or light rain – half hood.
Heavy rain – full hood will keep you dry.
New or old.
New cars probably, but mid age onwards most folks know that the owners who generally know their Caterham’s service mechanicals, do a more comprehensive job compared to typical fixed dealership servicing. So possibly, but wouldn’t worry either way.
Which Caterhams depreciate the slowest?
CSRs, Rx00s once about two years old seem to hold faily well.
Duratec and sigma (2.3, 2.0, 1.6 Ford) engines are the most modern/current and very reliable.
K’s next, cross flows finally in my view.
Do the carbs go out of tune over time or with miles – i.e. would I need to have them set up annually or every x miles which it might take ten years to get to.
Go for a sigma/duratec and no carbs to worry about.
I’d want a good cage or at least a study roll over bar – might I be better off just starting with a modern car as they often seem to have them?
Road use get a FIA X type roll-over bar.
Track – FIA X minimum, but better with a cage, only your life after all!
Is there any difference in water-tightness in old or new? I might need to do a couple of runs to work every few months and ideally don’t want to arrive soaked.
Drizzle or light rain – half hood.
Heavy rain – full hood will keep you dry.
New or old.
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