New to Caterhams

[rubystone]

Bund said:

This has just come up and looks good and close to the money i want to spend but it such a long way away.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/230015.htm

also love the colour on this but not the R

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/224455.htm

Bear in mind that modifed cars are not worth as much as the originals, but the yellow car is well priced and worth the trip. I'll be willing to bet you'll buy it. Cheapest SLR I've known to sell for in the past year is £17k ish, so this one is not out of order.


The R300 spec car is R300 money though!

[Murph7355]

Some more cars that look decently priced/spec'd:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/175815.htm - needs nicer seats really. 1500GBP or so new, cheaper if used.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/215024.htm - bit newer. Might look expensive, but the trailer and 2 spare sets of wheels is going to be worth at least 1500GBP, possibly more. Doesn't mention dry sump, which is needed on track (costs ~1100GBP depending which way you go).

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/197691.htm - left field choice. Home brew, but they're no worse for that No dry sump either, but rest of spec looks good. And being a '92 car, needs no cats etc...And less than 13k!

All prices are sticker prices

Ruby's right on values. The factory spec cars will hold better (e.g. the 2nd one above). But they may not be better cars. As with all cars, you lose your money when you buy

Couple of nice Superlights too, but suspect these won't quite have the straight line go you'll be used too...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/128262.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/211036.htm

[Tango7]

For the money, this is a an SLR that I would go for http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/223601.htm I saw this car at Oulton Park last month and its in excellent condition and one owner from new.

Definitely go for the SLR/R400 series cars rather than the Sl/R300's as I suspect you will soon want the 200+BHP power considering your recent cars. Fully specc'd SLR/R400's will have carbon front & rear wings and nosecone and tillet seats, although these may have been de-specc'd to save money when built new or replaced with cheaper GRP if damaged at all. Otherwise, the other desirable (read expensive) items to have with your new car are LSD, 6 speed box and dry sump. The stack dash on the R400 is nice to have but I actually prefer the traditional layout myself.

Otherwise, for real bullet proof motoring consider an HPC with the 2L 16v VX engine in. These are superb engines with masses of power and torque and make formidable road or track cars http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/194162.htm

Cheers

T

[Murph7355]

Tango7 said:

For the money, this is a an SLR that I would go for http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/223601.htm I saw this car at Oulton Park last month and its in excellent condition and one owner from new.

Saw that one too, but on paper it looks a bit expensive compared to the others.

Of course in the metal it may well not do and would be worth a look

[Bund]

Thanks a lot everyone, these seem to be in the short list!

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/223601.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/215024.htm(murph, looks like it does mention Dry sumped 1.8)

And this one for the cheaper non original and id buy new seats.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/175815.htm

[rubystone]

Bund said:

Thanks a lot everyone, these seem to be in the short list!

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/223601.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/215024.htm(murph, looks like it does mention Dry sumped 1.8)

And this one for the cheaper non original and id buy new seats.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/175815.htm

If that last one is a genuine SLR I'd go and look at it. You can buy s/hand grp tillets for circa £400 the pair (Tango 7 did have one or two sets hanging about recently). the only thing that worries me about that car is that is states "SLR spec"...is it therefore "just" Superlight number 72 with an SLR engine?..If so, I personally would want to pay no more than £13k for it.

If Tango 7 says that the blue car is good and he's seen it himself, I'd definitely stick that on the list - he's a good judge of cars.

One final note,some fools specced R400s without carbon. If you find an R400 (or SLR) without carbon front and rear wings and nosecone, you should budget at least £1,500 for those items - without them, the car will not be easy to sell on (at least to people who know the spec of these cars)

[Bund]

Ruby i have just emailed the last cars owner to find out if it is a SL with the SLR engine. Also at this time of year(not that its been a great summer) what kind of money would be good value for the blue car? Murph said it looks a bit pricey compared to the car with wheels and trailer?!?!?

[rubystone]

Bund said:

Ruby i have just emailed the last cars owner to find out if it is a SL with the SLR engine. Also at this time of year(not that its been a great summer) what kind of money would be good value for the blue car? Murph said it looks a bit pricey compared to the car with wheels and trailer?!?!?

It seems to be a buyer's market for sure. To my mind, an SLR of 1999/2000 vintage ought to be circa £17,500. Arguably, now that the peak season is coming to an end, I might be looking to pay no more than £17k for one of these cars (although I really believe that they ought to be priced in the £15k bracket - see my Superlight pricing paragraph below for reasons why).

But let me put this into perspective. I sold my last SLR (a 1999 car) in about 2003...for £17,500. So in that time these cars have hardly moved at all in price....so factor that into your purchase and you'll see that even if you have to pay a little over the odds to secure the right spec car, you're hardly gonig to lose bundles.

Tango 7 recently bought a car almost identical to my old SLR in colour and spec...but it had an Emerald and dry sump, which mine didn't. I won't tell what he paid for it, but suffice it to say that the purchase price is aligned with the pricing structure I have outlined above.

By comparison, I nearly bought a 1999 Superlight in 2001 for £15,000. At the time the right price for these cars was £17,000. The same car would now fetch perhaps £14,000 on a very good day, £13,000 on a bad day and £12,000 any day of the year (including Christmas Day).

So why has the SLR held its money?...and indeed the R400....probably because not that many were made....and few seem to come on the market in any great number. Why?...because to my mind they offer the best bang for your buck and are the most exhilarating example of Caterhams this side of an R500 or CSR....It would seem that their owners agree with me...why else would there be so few for sale?

[Bund]

This is what the owner wrote to my question about it being an original SLR-

HI
No it was built as an SLR, I think, the car vin plate states it was an
VHPD.

He sounded sure then backed off i thought?!?!

Can i ring Caterham and ask what it was at the begining? Do i say car number 72 in 99?

[jeremyc]

rubystone said:

So why has the SLR held its money?...and indeed the R400....probably because not that many were made....and few seem to come on the market in any great number. Why?...because to my mind they offer the best bang for your buck and are the most exhilarating example of Caterhams this side of an R500 or CSR....It would seem that their owners agree with me...why else would there be so few for sale?

MonkeyBumPink man - he speaks sense.

Edited by jeremyc on Wednesday 29th August 18:59

[Murph7355]

Bund said:

This is what the owner wrote to my question about it being an original SLR-

HI
No it was built as an SLR, I think, the car vin plate states it was an
VHPD.

He sounded sure then backed off i thought?!?!

Can i ring Caterham and ask what it was at the begining? Do i say car number 72 in 99?

If the VIN had VHPD on it, then I'm pretty sure it's a kosher SLR.

You could call Caterham though

As for ruby, his pricing estimate's are spot on I reckon. For once (he always wants to pay 20% less than something is actually worth - it's a protection mechanism to avoid him spending money. He then tells his mates that things are 20% less than they actually are, gets them to buy and has a go in theirs. Can't fault the logic ).

FWIW, 17k for a good SLR is a good buy IMO. And you shouldn't lose buckets (I reckon that even if you needed to shift a car at that price quickly you'd still lose less than a set of tyres and a service on your "everyday" current motor ).

Mind you, I still think the blue car at less than 13k might be worth a look.

[Bund]

Murph7355 said:

Bund said:

This is what the owner wrote to my question about it being an original SLR-

HI
No it was built as an SLR, I think, the car vin plate states it was an
VHPD.

He sounded sure then backed off i thought?!?!

Can i ring Caterham and ask what it was at the begining? Do i say car number 72 in 99?

If the VIN had VHPD on it, then I'm pretty sure it's a kosher SLR.

You could call Caterham though

As for ruby, his pricing estimate's are spot on I reckon. For once (he always wants to pay 20% less than something is actually worth - it's a protection mechanism to avoid him spending money. He then tells his mates that things are 20% less than they actually are, gets them to buy and has a go in theirs. Can't fault the logic ).

FWIW, 17k for a good SLR is a good buy IMO. And you shouldn't lose buckets (I reckon that even if you needed to shift a car at that price quickly you'd still lose less than a set of tyres and a service on your "everyday" current motor ).

Mind you, I still think the blue car at less than 13k might be worth a look.

Blue car @ 13k wheres that one then? Let me have a look.........

[Bund]

ok found it....

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/197691.htm


When you say home grown do you mean its been modified a lot? I have no idea what that red thing is on the engine with the trumpets coming out of it? Is this a car thats going to be more hassle than the others? Im not liking hassle!lol Im 5'9 so not exactly a tall driver, so will i be able to see over the wheel? Doesnt look like it has the wider track at the front?

Edited by Bund on Wednesday 29th August 19:37

[CanAm]

Bund said:

This is what the owner wrote to my question about it being an original SLR-

HI
No it was built as an SLR, I think, the car vin plate states it was an
VHPD.

He sounded sure then backed off i thought?!?!

Can i ring Caterham and ask what it was at the begining? Do i say car number 72 in 99?

If it was a VHPD, then digits 8/9 of the VIN number should be 'RD'

[rubystone]

CanAm said:

Bund said:

This is what the owner wrote to my question about it being an original SLR-

HI
No it was built as an SLR, I think, the car vin plate states it was an
VHPD.

He sounded sure then backed off i thought?!?!

Can i ring Caterham and ask what it was at the begining? Do i say car number 72 in 99?

If it was a VHPD, then digits 8/9 of the VIN number should be 'RD'

another non SLR car here.....

http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?Id=137921

Edited by rubystone on Wednesday 29th August 20:50

[rubystone]

Murph7355 said:

[
As for ruby, his pricing estimate's are spot on I reckon. For once (he always wants to pay 20% less than something is actually worth - it's a protection mechanism to avoid him spending money. He then tells his mates that things are 20% less than they actually are, gets them to buy and has a go in theirs. Can't fault the logic ).

Did I mention that Miuras are on the slide....time for a beer methinks...

Oh...still waiting for a drive in the Aston - a car, I hasten to add, that I had no part in your purchasing....

[Murph7355]

Bund said:

...When you say home grown do you mean its been modified a lot? I have no idea what that red thing is on the engine with the trumpets coming out of it? Is this a car thats going to be more hassle than the others? Im not liking hassle!lol Im 5'9 so not exactly a tall driver, so will i be able to see over the wheel? Doesnt look like it has the wider track at the front?

Edited by Bund on Wednesday 29th August 19:37

It looks like a car that started off as a more normal model and the owner's taken it much further (home grown ). Pretty common on these cars (mine being an example!) as it's easy to do, and a fun way to fritter money.

As long as it's done well, and the car has decent usage/servicing history (to prove it doesn't drop dead every 5mins) you could get a bargain. E.g. a car with SLR performance for over 5k less.

Of course it will never actually be an SLR. But then at sub 13k I doubt it will shed value either - the very cheapest Caterhams are around the 8k mark by way of a benchmark.

The red thing with the trumpets is the intake setup for the engine btw. It'd be covered by an airfilter of some description when being run (I hope - if not, walk away ).

[Bund]

Murph7355 said:

Bund said:

...When you say home grown do you mean its been modified a lot? I have no idea what that red thing is on the engine with the trumpets coming out of it? Is this a car thats going to be more hassle than the others? Im not liking hassle!lol Im 5'9 so not exactly a tall driver, so will i be able to see over the wheel? Doesnt look like it has the wider track at the front?

Edited by Bund on Wednesday 29th August 19:37

It looks like a car that started off as a more normal model and the owner's taken it much further (home grown ). Pretty common on these cars (mine being an example!) as it's easy to do, and a fun way to fritter money.

As long as it's done well, and the car has decent usage/servicing history (to prove it doesn't drop dead every 5mins) you could get a bargain. E.g. a car with SLR performance for over 5k less.

If your free at some point and fancy a small(me and you)PH drive to Woking ill buy a few beers for your troubles in that horrible little pub round the corner .

Of course it will never actually be an SLR. But then at sub 13k I doubt it will shed value either - the very cheapest Caterhams are around the 8k mark by way of a benchmark.

The red thing with the trumpets is the intake setup for the engine btw. It'd be covered by an airfilter of some description when being run (I hope - if not, walk away ).

[Murph7355]

Bund said:

...If your free at some point and fancy a small(me and you)PH drive to Woking ill buy a few beers for your troubles in that horrible little pub round the corner . ...

Am likely to be a bit tied up for the next couple of weeks (the drudgery of work), but definitely up for getting another PHer into a 7