Are we being badge snobs?
Discussion
I did a Caterham track day a couple of years ago and fell in love with the car, most fun you can have on 4 wheels. I could not afford one and logostically i could not house it either so i bought a motorbike for fun. Had a bad accident last year so not longer have the bike so thought about the Caterham again as now i have the garage to keep it. I looked long and hard but for what i wanted the car for, weekend hooning maybe 2,000 miles a year i could not reason myself to spend £10,000+ for a Caterham so bought a Tiger at £5000. If i had the money would i buy the Caterham......YES!
However i love my Tiger and it is just as much fun for what i want it for. The insurance was also considerable cheaper, by about £700. I think that there are Caterham owners that beleive they are badge snobs but i also think there are DAX, TIGER, WESTIE and MK owners that believe all Caterham owners are badge snobs.
I am not one of these people!
We all have one thing in common, buying fast, fun totally un-practical cars to go hooning in.
I am going to the Kit car show at Detling this weekend and i gurantee there will Caterham owners there and many Seven replica owners there to enjoy the day.
D
However i love my Tiger and it is just as much fun for what i want it for. The insurance was also considerable cheaper, by about £700. I think that there are Caterham owners that beleive they are badge snobs but i also think there are DAX, TIGER, WESTIE and MK owners that believe all Caterham owners are badge snobs.
I am not one of these people!
We all have one thing in common, buying fast, fun totally un-practical cars to go hooning in.
I am going to the Kit car show at Detling this weekend and i gurantee there will Caterham owners there and many Seven replica owners there to enjoy the day.
D
I hope/dream to own a Caterfield of some description one day.
In my opinion Caterhams are the best looking - theres just something about them, the proportions are spot on (sub-conscious badge snobbery?!) - and they're arguably better built than other cars of this type. So a Caterham is what I'd really like.
Realistically I'll get a Westfield though I expect. As they are much more affordable for the spec I want, deliver the same driving thrills, and look nearly as good. When the time comes I'll look into all the other marques available too.
In my opinion Caterhams are the best looking - theres just something about them, the proportions are spot on (sub-conscious badge snobbery?!) - and they're arguably better built than other cars of this type. So a Caterham is what I'd really like.
Realistically I'll get a Westfield though I expect. As they are much more affordable for the spec I want, deliver the same driving thrills, and look nearly as good. When the time comes I'll look into all the other marques available too.
There is an element of badge snobbery about it but the general consensus if that you get far better residuals with a Caterham than perhaps any other sevenesque car. I have always had Caterhams and tried a friend's westy expecting to be very impressed after hearing lots of comments. Unfortuantely that wasn't the case and my friend has now bought a Caterham as well
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I agree you get more bang for the buck with a Westfield... I had a 230bhp vx tuned by SBD in my westfield all for 10K, but as much as I tried to love it, the looks didnt do anything for me so I sold it and went back to a Lotus Exige. I now have an R300 Caterham as it has all the bits I want along with looks that I like. Its not badge Snobbery as in my eyes its just a better looking car. Also all this crap about Caterhmas being true LOtus continaution cars is crap.. they are just kit cars buildt by the factory after they bought all the rights off Lotus.
One thing I hate is the silly soild axle design... so it handles like an american car. At least westfield have moved the game on with IRS.
One thing I hate is the silly soild axle design... so it handles like an american car. At least westfield have moved the game on with IRS.
there is a 4 grand car for every job
trackcar, taxi, housewifes car, long distance limo
you name it, you can get something good on autotrader for 4k
so if and when you are spending 10,20,30k+ on anything it needs to have a reasonable desireability factor otherwise you're just not going to pull up the readies. You have to be just a little bit in love. And sadly, no matter how many pints i'd have, i could never be in love with a westfield. They are abhorrent, impoverished, unwanted orphans... the most ugly vehicles visible on Englands roads today.
trackcar, taxi, housewifes car, long distance limo
you name it, you can get something good on autotrader for 4k
so if and when you are spending 10,20,30k+ on anything it needs to have a reasonable desireability factor otherwise you're just not going to pull up the readies. You have to be just a little bit in love. And sadly, no matter how many pints i'd have, i could never be in love with a westfield. They are abhorrent, impoverished, unwanted orphans... the most ugly vehicles visible on Englands roads today.
jackal said:
there is a 4 grand car for every job
trackcar, taxi, housewifes car, long distance limo
you name it, you can get something good on autotrader for 4k
so if and when you are spending 10,20,30k+ on anything it needs to have a reasonable desireability factor otherwise you're just not going to pull up the readies. You have to be just a little bit in love. And sadly, no matter how many pints i'd have, i could never be in love with a westfield. They are abhorrent, impoverished, unwanted orphans... the most ugly vehicles visible on Englands roads today.
trackcar, taxi, housewifes car, long distance limo
you name it, you can get something good on autotrader for 4k
so if and when you are spending 10,20,30k+ on anything it needs to have a reasonable desireability factor otherwise you're just not going to pull up the readies. You have to be just a little bit in love. And sadly, no matter how many pints i'd have, i could never be in love with a westfield. They are abhorrent, impoverished, unwanted orphans... the most ugly vehicles visible on Englands roads today.
I like your thinking!
LRdriver II said:
I now have an R300 Caterham as it has all the bits I want along with looks that I like. Its not badge Snobbery as in my eyes its just a better looking car. Also all this crap about Caterhmas being true LOtus continaution cars is crap.. they are just kit cars buildt by the factory after they bought all the rights off Lotus.
One thing I hate is the silly soild axle design... so it handles like an american car. At least westfield have moved the game on with IRS.
One thing I hate is the silly soild axle design... so it handles like an american car. At least westfield have moved the game on with IRS.
You have an R300 and think it handles like an American car! It doesn't have a solid axle, it has a de Dion. Only the Classics in recent years (until they also went over to the K-series) had live axles and even they would outhandle most cars.
And they were kit cars when they were built by Lotus. The chassis are still built by Arch (mostly) and they are assembled by the previous distributors who bought the rights and the tooling from Lotus. If Caterhams don't have the right to be thought of as continuation cars, then what does?
DamienCBR said:
I could not reason myself to spend £10,000+ for a Caterham so bought a Tiger at £5000. If i had the money would i buy the Caterham......YES!
However i love my Tiger and it is just as much fun for what i want it for. The insurance was also considerable cheaper, by about £700. I think that there are Caterham owners that beleive they are badge snobs but i also think there are DAX, TIGER, WESTIE and MK owners that believe all Caterham owners are badge snobs.
D
However i love my Tiger and it is just as much fun for what i want it for. The insurance was also considerable cheaper, by about £700. I think that there are Caterham owners that beleive they are badge snobs but i also think there are DAX, TIGER, WESTIE and MK owners that believe all Caterham owners are badge snobs.
D
Damien, for only a little more you COULD have bought a Caterham. There is one on the L7Club site for £6750, a x-flow with 5-speed and de Dion. And your insurance quote was not good. For my 1600 Supersport I'm only paying £175!!!
But if you love your Tiger, so what? You'll get just as much pleasure from it, I'm sure. I might be a badge snob but I always give a cheery wave to any Seven-type driver, even to MGs on a good day!
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