what should i do buy one or wait ???????????
Discussion
well i thought i hade made mind up , i was going to get a 1600 k series roadsport , however with the new sigma engine coming should i wait , my main reason for wanting a caterham was good residual, easy to maintain and supposedly a fantastic driving car ,it will only be a weekend drive nice double garage to put it in now though the element of doubt has set in .question is will the outgoing k series models start losing money quick and after all it is only a rover who now dont even exist and everybody seems to suffer head gasket problems with mgs who i know . my budget is about 12k i am tempted to wait, advice please before i start having to take time off work through stress
When you look at the number of K's around and then look at HG failures, its not that common, although it is an issue. But if you warm the engine up before giving it big beans, and look after it, then its not a major issue. Without tempting fate, my R300 engine has done 24k with a lot of track work, and still ok.
On the residuals front, don't buy a Caterham thinking your not going to lose money. Building a car from scratch is by far the most expensive way to get into ownership, although some folks want the experience of building their own car. Decide what you want from ownership, in my case after 9 years and two Caterhams, I wanted a car to track with all the toys already on, so cheapest option this time was to buy used.
Residuals, are like everything linked to how much money is around, economy faulters, lots of cars that don't sell, or reach a good price. I would say, now is a good time to get a bargain, although quite a few cars for sale, not many with all the toys on, ie LSD, 6 Speed box etc. Its a buyers market now
Would I wait for a new engine, no, I'd wait until a few people had the new engines and seen what issues there are first.
If I was doing it again, I'd probably save some money and buy a Westfield, as for me its a track car, not so much for posing around in.
On the residuals front, don't buy a Caterham thinking your not going to lose money. Building a car from scratch is by far the most expensive way to get into ownership, although some folks want the experience of building their own car. Decide what you want from ownership, in my case after 9 years and two Caterhams, I wanted a car to track with all the toys already on, so cheapest option this time was to buy used.
Residuals, are like everything linked to how much money is around, economy faulters, lots of cars that don't sell, or reach a good price. I would say, now is a good time to get a bargain, although quite a few cars for sale, not many with all the toys on, ie LSD, 6 Speed box etc. Its a buyers market now
Would I wait for a new engine, no, I'd wait until a few people had the new engines and seen what issues there are first.
If I was doing it again, I'd probably save some money and buy a Westfield, as for me its a track car, not so much for posing around in.
POORCARDEALER said:
Just go out and buy the highest spec 16ss you can find...6 speed, lsd etc, just buy it right and you wont lose too much!
Go and buy a secondhand Superlight.
This one is good
www.213-04.com/T.asp?id=113796
and it's also on PH
www.pistonheads.com/sales/83350.htm
This one is good vfm too, but a bit earlier than the other and slightly less torquey 1.6 engine....
www.pistonheads.com/sales/117793.htm
This may still be for sale too
www.pistonheads.com/sales/103673.htm
Superlights are great cars - all the right bits, probably the best power to handling balance and a recognised "classic". If I were in your shoes, the first car is probbly the best, being a damn good price for a later model with the 1.8 engine. Nice colour too, but then I am biased, having owned 2 Titanium grey 7s in my time!
i must admit i did initially look at westfield you definately get more for your money, BUT my feeeling is I would always wish i had a caterham as they are the ones to have, ok it might be of badge snobbery i suppose. i dont consider and correct me here please if i am mistaken these cars are not expensive to own and run you pay more but then you sell for more so depreciation is the same as and better sometimes than a lot of cars, spares are not outrageous, maintenance is doable yourself and there is strong enthusaist scene. all of this appeals greatly to me.
having had a couple golf GTIs i fancied a corrado vr6 but electric windows, central locking, abs, air con all money when they go wrong thinking about all this put me off, newer hot hatches i believe are unmaintainable yourself , so the caterham ticks all my boxes.
My only hesitation is dont buy the wrong one and the more info i can get off you chaps the better please point me in the right direction. I am not in the market till after christmas as i have a full garage at the moment so it is time for homework and info finding.
I ahve been to caterham and been out in one but havent had a drive yet thats were i am at the moment.
having had a couple golf GTIs i fancied a corrado vr6 but electric windows, central locking, abs, air con all money when they go wrong thinking about all this put me off, newer hot hatches i believe are unmaintainable yourself , so the caterham ticks all my boxes.
My only hesitation is dont buy the wrong one and the more info i can get off you chaps the better please point me in the right direction. I am not in the market till after christmas as i have a full garage at the moment so it is time for homework and info finding.
I ahve been to caterham and been out in one but havent had a drive yet thats were i am at the moment.
Any Superlight at this price range is going to be very decent value and hold its price remarkably well. Residuals on the secondhand cars (if you buy at the correct price) are going to be far stronger than if you buy new as with any other car. Running costs are excellent for the K series car with their decent mpg and slightly worse for the Xflow and VX variants. Servicing is simple and a lot of owners carry out their own with neglect to cars very easy to spot.
I saw Howard's car (the first one Rubystone refers to) on Saturday and it offers excellent VFM
I saw Howard's car (the first one Rubystone refers to) on Saturday and it offers excellent VFM
I wasn't trying to put you off buying a Caterham, hey I've had two over 9 years. The point I was making, is, decide what you want to do with the car. If your just tracking it, then you will get a lot more car if you buy Westfield, if you want to own a bit of heratige and do loads of club stuff, then get a Caterham.
If your set on a Caterham, join the L7 Club and post on Blatchat.com, loads of info there, but just be aware, since the site went members only, some of the advice, can be a bit shallow, IMHO, as a load of people who had loads of good stuff to say, left as they didn't want to join the club.
So ask your questions, but browse a bit first and then you will see who actually knows what they are talking about, as oppose to those that think they do
If your set on a Caterham, join the L7 Club and post on Blatchat.com, loads of info there, but just be aware, since the site went members only, some of the advice, can be a bit shallow, IMHO, as a load of people who had loads of good stuff to say, left as they didn't want to join the club.
So ask your questions, but browse a bit first and then you will see who actually knows what they are talking about, as oppose to those that think they do
casbar said:
If your set on a Caterham, join the L7 Club and post on Blatchat.com, loads of info there, but just be aware, since the site went members only, some of the advice, can be a bit shallow, IMHO, as a load of people who had loads of good stuff to say, left as they didn't want to join the club.
So ask your questions, but browse a bit first and then you will see who actually knows what they are talking about, as oppose to those that think they do
With all due respect that's a load of twaddle. Tango 7 will corroborate my statement. The vast majority of dissenters, Noger and Simon Scott included....
have rejoined. Even BOSS rejoined after sulking... 
. I do think that it has been diluted by people playing silly buggers, but some of thir postings are amusing... The real reason why you may not find all the advice that you expect is that the same questions are being asked, time and again. The "regulars" do eventually become tired of answering the same questions on AO21s versus AO48s or K Series head gasket failures....All the enquirer needs to do is to make use of the excellent search facility on the site and he'll be able to answer his own questions.
In all due respects, that's your opionion. I still believe that a lot of posters now, talk a load of twaddle, and yes the search facility is the best form of knowledge.
And my point was, do a bit of research via the search facility and see if the chap or chappess posting does actually know what they are talking about, and if the cap fits wear it
And my point was, do a bit of research via the search facility and see if the chap or chappess posting does actually know what they are talking about, and if the cap fits wear it
Was in a similar situation to the OP a while ago. I went for another Westfield in the end but I fully understand why you'd prefer a Caterham so based on various questions on Blatchat etc... This is what I discovered. For £12k (and this is based on the assumption that values haven't moved much since) the car I was recommended was the limited edition 1400 Roadsport. Comes with most of the Superlite bits but values are a little lower. Only a few BHP down on a standard superlight as well. If in future you wanted more power, the swap to an 1800 block is fairly straight forward, I've been led to beleive. Another option, if you're after a road legal track weapon is the Roadsport A cars. Again, they come with all the right bits plus some track biased option (cage etc...).
casbar said:
In all due respects, that's your opionion. I still believe that a lot of posters now, talk a load of twaddle, and yes the search facility is the best form of knowledge.
And my point was, do a bit of research via the search facility and see if the chap or chappess posting does actually know what they are talking about, and if the cap fits wear it
And my point was, do a bit of research via the search facility and see if the chap or chappess posting does actually know what they are talking about, and if the cap fits wear it
I bet you didn't rejoin/pay to be a member....
the car you are recommending looks really nice unfortunately i am not going to look at anything till after xmas as i know i will fall in love with something and not have anywhere to keep it .I think joining the club looks like a must as it appears that you seem to have a good network based around it, knowledge wise it appears essential.
so a superlight is that much better than a 1600 ss?
surely 140 hp in 500 kg is enough for starters?
so a superlight is that much better than a 1600 ss?
surely 140 hp in 500 kg is enough for starters?
Rubystone, don't know what I did to rattle your cage, but if you are as bright and as knowledgeable as you make out to be and a regular poster on Blatchat, you should have worked out by now, that I have been a member of the L7 Club for some 9 years and I post on Blatchat with the same nickname as I use here 
Now as I'm sure this is not really helping the original poster decide on which car to buy, but just to show everyone, how mature L7 Club members really are, I'll leave you to your own opinions!
Now as I'm sure this is not really helping the original poster decide on which car to buy, but just to show everyone, how mature L7 Club members really are, I'll leave you to your own opinions!
Edited by casbar on Monday 11th December 19:19
Apologies Casbar - that's what comes with using nicknames to hide your identity . Glad to see you're a club member 
We had a spate of BC members coming on here to whinge about the BC charges and I didn't want to see it dredged up again!
To answer the most recent question "jasgti" posed - in your orignal post you talked about residuals - my reason for recommending a Superlight was (a) good residuals and (b) good chance of a quick sale if required. FWIW, there's little wrong with 138 (135) bhp and 500 KGs...but a Superlight has all the right bits and weighs less than 500 kgs.
. Glad to see you're a club member We had a spate of BC members coming on here to whinge about the BC charges and I didn't want to see it dredged up again!
To answer the most recent question "jasgti" posed - in your orignal post you talked about residuals - my reason for recommending a Superlight was (a) good residuals and (b) good chance of a quick sale if required. FWIW, there's little wrong with 138 (135) bhp and 500 KGs...but a Superlight has all the right bits and weighs less than 500 kgs.
Gosh - it all happens on here when you are not looking ;-)) Almost like Blatchat!! For my tuppence worth, I think the more serious posters are still lurking in the background on BC and will occasionally post when the need arises, but as Rubystone says, I think people get a little tired of answering similar questions. Thus saying that the search facility is excellent and its free to anyone to use whether a member or not and you can always blatmail people through their profile.
Anyway back to the point. I reckon Caterhams are offering tremendous value for money right now with a massive selection out there for this budget or only a slight amount more. With a choice of Westfield or Caterham, I think I would always choose a Caterham and not just because of the heritage (although this is a good point to remember) but mainly because their residuals are still so good. If you buy a 1600 K series Caterham for £12k with a reasonable spec, good condition and decent miles, I would expect it to be worth only a little less in a year or two's time when upgraditus takes a strong hold and you may consider changing the whole car rather than a few bits. Superlights will probably be still around £14-15k for good examples with R300's a couple of grand more still.
I can't see the same happening with the Westfield market. I have never owned one but I have met several lads who have and the general consensus is that they would have bought a Caterham if funds had allowed at the time and in every case they have migrated across to a Caterham at a later stage. In fact a friend from work has just managed to buy a well used Caterham with a superb spec and he has an excellent condition and very low mileage Westfield (3 or 4 years old and just 2k miles on the car!) too. Whilst he likes his Westfield, he appreciates that its value has dropped considerably since he built it and yet the Caterham will either be static or maybe even increase in value as he has bought it at such a good price.
If you are thinking of a Westfield and want to spend a fraction of your budget, then I can certainly put you in touch with him as he is thinking of selling and it is a very nice one - even to my biased point of view ;-)
T.
Anyway back to the point. I reckon Caterhams are offering tremendous value for money right now with a massive selection out there for this budget or only a slight amount more. With a choice of Westfield or Caterham, I think I would always choose a Caterham and not just because of the heritage (although this is a good point to remember) but mainly because their residuals are still so good. If you buy a 1600 K series Caterham for £12k with a reasonable spec, good condition and decent miles, I would expect it to be worth only a little less in a year or two's time when upgraditus takes a strong hold and you may consider changing the whole car rather than a few bits. Superlights will probably be still around £14-15k for good examples with R300's a couple of grand more still.
I can't see the same happening with the Westfield market. I have never owned one but I have met several lads who have and the general consensus is that they would have bought a Caterham if funds had allowed at the time and in every case they have migrated across to a Caterham at a later stage. In fact a friend from work has just managed to buy a well used Caterham with a superb spec and he has an excellent condition and very low mileage Westfield (3 or 4 years old and just 2k miles on the car!) too. Whilst he likes his Westfield, he appreciates that its value has dropped considerably since he built it and yet the Caterham will either be static or maybe even increase in value as he has bought it at such a good price.
If you are thinking of a Westfield and want to spend a fraction of your budget, then I can certainly put you in touch with him as he is thinking of selling and it is a very nice one - even to my biased point of view ;-)
T.
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