R500 Values - K v D?
Discussion
Wondered what people's thoughts are concerning R500 values please?
In many ways and despite the more fragile engine I wonder is the K the more "collectible". It did after hold the record for 0 to 100 to 0 back in the early 2000's. Plus it's so light etc.
I wonder if prices will eventually cross over and a mint K will be worth more than a D, a bit like Exige S2 v S3? Or will the D always be seen as the more valuable car given its newness etc?
Intersted in people's thoughts?
In many ways and despite the more fragile engine I wonder is the K the more "collectible". It did after hold the record for 0 to 100 to 0 back in the early 2000's. Plus it's so light etc.
I wonder if prices will eventually cross over and a mint K will be worth more than a D, a bit like Exige S2 v S3? Or will the D always be seen as the more valuable car given its newness etc?
Intersted in people's thoughts?
I looked recently on the pistonheads and a mint K series R500 is worth at least 30K. At last they are going up and so they should do considering there can't be many remaining that have not been shagged or eneded up in a ditch in bits. Still a bargain and more fun to drive then all the modern D cars
K all the way
And the engine - it’s a myth
Yes it needs to be looked after but the Minister requirements ref the rebuilds are all based around race use and Minister wanting to cover their bums because the bottom line is the engine started life as a 1.4in a Metro.
Exercise some common sense when buying and out a few quid aside just in case. I bought one with no formal service history for the previous 4 years which the owner had serviced himself and touch wood after 2 years it’s been great. I had it checked over a few months ago by an ex CC employee who lives locally and he affirmed my comments above.
I expect to get back more than I paid when I sell which I have done with both my previous 7s
And the engine - it’s a myth
Yes it needs to be looked after but the Minister requirements ref the rebuilds are all based around race use and Minister wanting to cover their bums because the bottom line is the engine started life as a 1.4in a Metro.
Exercise some common sense when buying and out a few quid aside just in case. I bought one with no formal service history for the previous 4 years which the owner had serviced himself and touch wood after 2 years it’s been great. I had it checked over a few months ago by an ex CC employee who lives locally and he affirmed my comments above.
I expect to get back more than I paid when I sell which I have done with both my previous 7s
I thought about this carefully before buying my car. Both R500s are great cars. Both have legendary stories and records. Both are nuts.
In the end I went for the Duratec. Two reasons - reliability and I wanted a sequential box. Investment value didn’t come into it as I don’t think there is much upside to any Caterham. I don’t expect it will lose any value, but it won’t be my pension.
As for the driving, I don’t buy any stories about one being noticeably better than the other. They are both epic experiences when properly set up and on the right tyres.
Finally - who could forget the infamous Stig Too Gear lap of the R500. Awesome!
In the end I went for the Duratec. Two reasons - reliability and I wanted a sequential box. Investment value didn’t come into it as I don’t think there is much upside to any Caterham. I don’t expect it will lose any value, but it won’t be my pension.
As for the driving, I don’t buy any stories about one being noticeably better than the other. They are both epic experiences when properly set up and on the right tyres.
Finally - who could forget the infamous Stig Too Gear lap of the R500. Awesome!
Having had 4 K cars, including 1 brand new built to a supposedly superior spec by RatRace, and having had too many engine rebuilds on other cars, I think I would advise anyone to go for Ford power.
Don’t get me wrong, the K cars are fizzy and exciting, but if you want to go out and thrash the nuts off the car to show what a caterham is truly capable or it’s Ford every time in my book when’s the budget decrees you can’t rebuild every 1500/ 2000 track miles.
On the other hand if your buzz is fast road driving you’ll be unlikely to experience problems with K cars and you can relish the the fizz. In parenthesis though if it’s mixed usage it’s goT to be Ford power in my experience.
Let’s face it ultimately it depends on what you want to do with your toy.
Oh I’m Duratec powered now. Still get glitches though
WAHOO!
Interestingly Jonny boy Laroux always advised me to go ford but it took me 2 more cars to understand why. Everything is subjective and thes e are only my opinions by the way.
Don’t get me wrong, the K cars are fizzy and exciting, but if you want to go out and thrash the nuts off the car to show what a caterham is truly capable or it’s Ford every time in my book when’s the budget decrees you can’t rebuild every 1500/ 2000 track miles.
On the other hand if your buzz is fast road driving you’ll be unlikely to experience problems with K cars and you can relish the the fizz. In parenthesis though if it’s mixed usage it’s goT to be Ford power in my experience.
Let’s face it ultimately it depends on what you want to do with your toy.
Oh I’m Duratec powered now. Still get glitches though
WAHOO!
Interestingly Jonny boy Laroux always advised me to go ford but it took me 2 more cars to understand why. Everything is subjective and thes e are only my opinions by the way.
I'm on my 5th Duratec engine now, and probably biased because of that, but I have had K series engines - but not in a Caterham.
I see it this way . . .
The K series was ahead of its time. It pushed boundaries in terms of power-to-weight, and uses some clever ideas that perhaps lacks redundancy in design reliability. To overcome those deficiencies requires top quality components and a degree of skill. As a factory engine, it suffered badly from production issues that its designers did not fully anticipate.
The Duratec has been designed from a different approach. It's evolved from production techniques that were designed to increase reliability. Reliability was the starting point and performance was designed in and around those features. The net result is an engine that is capable of producing a large margin of extra power in its standard form. It's simply a more modern engine design using better production line techniques.
So you take your choice between 20 years of engine development and drive accordingly.
I see it this way . . .
The K series was ahead of its time. It pushed boundaries in terms of power-to-weight, and uses some clever ideas that perhaps lacks redundancy in design reliability. To overcome those deficiencies requires top quality components and a degree of skill. As a factory engine, it suffered badly from production issues that its designers did not fully anticipate.
The Duratec has been designed from a different approach. It's evolved from production techniques that were designed to increase reliability. Reliability was the starting point and performance was designed in and around those features. The net result is an engine that is capable of producing a large margin of extra power in its standard form. It's simply a more modern engine design using better production line techniques.
So you take your choice between 20 years of engine development and drive accordingly.
Edited by DCL on Monday 27th August 23:43
hi guys,
i am currently looking for a r500 but cannot make up my mind...
i am currently hesitating between those 2 cars:
the SV duratec
http://www.gpsevens.co.uk/portfolio-item/caterham-...
and the S3 K
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
i loved the narrow body but am afraid of the engine reliability. would u buy the K or would u wait to save 10k and buy the Duratec?
never drove the sv, do u feel the difference with the S3?
thanks for your help/advise!!
i am currently looking for a r500 but cannot make up my mind...
i am currently hesitating between those 2 cars:
the SV duratec
http://www.gpsevens.co.uk/portfolio-item/caterham-...
and the S3 K
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
i loved the narrow body but am afraid of the engine reliability. would u buy the K or would u wait to save 10k and buy the Duratec?
never drove the sv, do u feel the difference with the S3?
thanks for your help/advise!!
The two r500s are not very comparable. I think you have painted a false dilemma. With those kind of budgets, you have a wealth of cars to choose from.
If it was me and I could afford the newer model I'd start there. But I'd go and drive them to see what I actually liked. Fat boy or slim Jim car. Ancient or modern engine. H pattern or sequential box.
Bert
If it was me and I could afford the newer model I'd start there. But I'd go and drive them to see what I actually liked. Fat boy or slim Jim car. Ancient or modern engine. H pattern or sequential box.
Bert
Trgasy said:
hi guys,
i am currently looking for a r500 but cannot make up my mind...
i am currently hesitating between those 2 cars:
the SV duratec
http://www.gpsevens.co.uk/portfolio-item/caterham-...
and the S3 K
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
i loved the narrow body but am afraid of the engine reliability. would u buy the K or would u wait to save 10k and buy the Duratec?
never drove the sv, do u feel the difference with the S3?
thanks for your help/advise!!
Is the K car really an R500, or just a car of a similar spec to an R500? (Does it have an R500 chassis number?)i am currently looking for a r500 but cannot make up my mind...
i am currently hesitating between those 2 cars:
the SV duratec
http://www.gpsevens.co.uk/portfolio-item/caterham-...
and the S3 K
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
i loved the narrow body but am afraid of the engine reliability. would u buy the K or would u wait to save 10k and buy the Duratec?
never drove the sv, do u feel the difference with the S3?
thanks for your help/advise!!
At 2002 it would have had a tunnel mounted handbrake. It looks like it may have the race chassis that was available around that era.
Red Seven said:
Is the K car really an R500, or just a car of a similar spec to an R500? (Does it have an R500 chassis number?)
At 2002 it would have had a tunnel mounted handbrake. It looks like it may have the race chassis that was available around that era.
yes it is, the vin SDKRDKLR510022231At 2002 it would have had a tunnel mounted handbrake. It looks like it may have the race chassis that was available around that era.
thanks for your answers, s3 and r500 suit together along with the K engine... i quickly test drove it, it is a stunning package, well balanced.
my only fear is its reliability.
Duratec is newer but more torquey and find it a bit more difficult to handle. but did not try it.
i will have a thought. Weird the purple is still on sale where the white and the blue are gone! maybe waiting for me
Trgasy said:
yes it is, the vin SDKRDKLR510022231
thanks for your answers, s3 and r500 suit together along with the K engine... i quickly test drove it, it is a stunning package, well balanced.
my only fear is its reliability.
Duratec is newer but more torquey and find it a bit more difficult to handle. but did not try it.
i will have a thought. Weird the purple is still on sale where the white and the blue are gone! maybe waiting for me
So does it have an under-dash handbrake then? An R500 on a race chassis?thanks for your answers, s3 and r500 suit together along with the K engine... i quickly test drove it, it is a stunning package, well balanced.
my only fear is its reliability.
Duratec is newer but more torquey and find it a bit more difficult to handle. but did not try it.
i will have a thought. Weird the purple is still on sale where the white and the blue are gone! maybe waiting for me
Red Seven said:
Trgasy said:
hi guys,
i am currently looking for a r500 but cannot make up my mind...
i am currently hesitating between those 2 cars:
the SV duratec
http://www.gpsevens.co.uk/portfolio-item/caterham-...
and the S3 K
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
i loved the narrow body but am afraid of the engine reliability. would u buy the K or would u wait to save 10k and buy the Duratec?
never drove the sv, do u feel the difference with the S3?
thanks for your help/advise!!
Is the K car really an R500, or just a car of a similar spec to an R500? (Does it have an R500 chassis number?)i am currently looking for a r500 but cannot make up my mind...
i am currently hesitating between those 2 cars:
the SV duratec
http://www.gpsevens.co.uk/portfolio-item/caterham-...
and the S3 K
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
i loved the narrow body but am afraid of the engine reliability. would u buy the K or would u wait to save 10k and buy the Duratec?
never drove the sv, do u feel the difference with the S3?
thanks for your help/advise!!
At 2002 it would have had a tunnel mounted handbrake. It looks like it may have the race chassis that was available around that era.
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