Buying a totally unoptioned Atom 4?
Discussion
Ive found myself very drawn to the world of Atoms..
A new Atom can be had for £40k although the option list is long and tempting
My question is.....would a Atom4 be any good as standard ?.ie zero or minimal options
Woukd such a car be a pig to resell or would i forever regret not buying certain options...
At £40k....i think im in....
A new Atom can be had for £40k although the option list is long and tempting
My question is.....would a Atom4 be any good as standard ?.ie zero or minimal options
Woukd such a car be a pig to resell or would i forever regret not buying certain options...
At £40k....i think im in....
It's entirely personal, and would depend a lot on what you bought it for, or did with it. (eg. a track car that's on a trailer doesn't need road registration).
If it does go on the road, you need to add something like £650 to get it registered.
There's a few other bits that I'd have thought were nigh on essential, add a little bit to the cost as well:
Limited Slip Diff
Aero screen
Pop those and the registration on and you'll be about £1500 over your £40,000 start point. It's also worth bearing in mind that at over £40,000 your insurer might want a tracker fitted (another £500), and as you won't be driving it all the time, a trickle charger.
You don't even -need- all the above, but those are the really sensible minor extras, and take the cost up to closer to £42,000
As to resale value, I think the first challenge will be the colour. Standard frame colour isn't the silver you've seen, but a satin black. Likewise I think the standard wheels are silver. Leading to an odd look, which will scream "standard". I suspect then this will narrow your market drastically. A lot of people spending a good sum on an Atom will be able to find a few thousand more for a better spec'd car.
That said provided you look after it, keep it clean, tidy and maintained, there will always be a buyer, you just might need to wait a bit longer.
If it does go on the road, you need to add something like £650 to get it registered.
There's a few other bits that I'd have thought were nigh on essential, add a little bit to the cost as well:
Limited Slip Diff
Aero screen
Pop those and the registration on and you'll be about £1500 over your £40,000 start point. It's also worth bearing in mind that at over £40,000 your insurer might want a tracker fitted (another £500), and as you won't be driving it all the time, a trickle charger.
You don't even -need- all the above, but those are the really sensible minor extras, and take the cost up to closer to £42,000
As to resale value, I think the first challenge will be the colour. Standard frame colour isn't the silver you've seen, but a satin black. Likewise I think the standard wheels are silver. Leading to an odd look, which will scream "standard". I suspect then this will narrow your market drastically. A lot of people spending a good sum on an Atom will be able to find a few thousand more for a better spec'd car.
That said provided you look after it, keep it clean, tidy and maintained, there will always be a buyer, you just might need to wait a bit longer.
turboman786 said:
Ive found myself very drawn to the world of Atoms..
A new Atom can be had for £40k although the option list is long and tempting
My question is.....would a Atom4 be any good as standard ?.ie zero or minimal options
Woukd such a car be a pig to resell or would i forever regret not buying certain options...
At £40k....i think im in....
Hi, there is no such thing. The factory have basically supplied a press car which would cost you £60K+ and this has been benchmarked against all comers with the strapline '£40K ' A new Atom can be had for £40k although the option list is long and tempting
My question is.....would a Atom4 be any good as standard ?.ie zero or minimal options
Woukd such a car be a pig to resell or would i forever regret not buying certain options...
At £40k....i think im in....
I think you are correct, options sell. I would contact them directly and ask a direct question.
Not sure off hand what the base spec of the Atom 4 is, but I'd be very surprised if any of their buyers to date have avoided the option list completely.
I managed to limit it to 8 grand on my 3.5
. Some of what I chose might be standard on the 4 though.
They do depreciate very, very slowly though so it's nothing like options on mass-produced cars that are worth a fiver as soon as you drive off the forecourt.
I managed to limit it to 8 grand on my 3.5
. Some of what I chose might be standard on the 4 though.They do depreciate very, very slowly though so it's nothing like options on mass-produced cars that are worth a fiver as soon as you drive off the forecourt.
With some important caveats.... yes.
The most obvious will be that you'd end up paying twice for both parts and labour. So for example if you buy the car on sports brakes, and then move to AP's you'll pay twice for fitting, and have and paid for two sets of brakes. Finding a buyer is less likely for boggo parts.
The other important one is that some things cost a lot more to fit once the car is fully assembled. Examples of this are the handbrake, which requires removal of coolant lines etc, and so take a long time and costs a lot to fit. Baffled sump is another, that used to require the engine taking out... again taking a long time and costing a lot.
Some are stupidly obvious, like if you opted to not have side panel tabs on the frame at build, adding them then requires welding re-powder coating, and if done properly, the whole car stripped to do that.
Not all are quite as obvious but hopefully that shows that while not impossible, it can cost more if delayed. If you have things you're considering it's best to discuss with the factory as they'll be able to give you a better idea of retrofit costs.
The most obvious will be that you'd end up paying twice for both parts and labour. So for example if you buy the car on sports brakes, and then move to AP's you'll pay twice for fitting, and have and paid for two sets of brakes. Finding a buyer is less likely for boggo parts.
The other important one is that some things cost a lot more to fit once the car is fully assembled. Examples of this are the handbrake, which requires removal of coolant lines etc, and so take a long time and costs a lot to fit. Baffled sump is another, that used to require the engine taking out... again taking a long time and costing a lot.
Some are stupidly obvious, like if you opted to not have side panel tabs on the frame at build, adding them then requires welding re-powder coating, and if done properly, the whole car stripped to do that.
Not all are quite as obvious but hopefully that shows that while not impossible, it can cost more if delayed. If you have things you're considering it's best to discuss with the factory as they'll be able to give you a better idea of retrofit costs.
phil4 said:
With some important caveats.... yes.
The most obvious will be that you'd end up paying twice for both parts and labour. So for example if you buy the car on sports brakes, and then move to AP's you'll pay twice for fitting, and have and paid for two sets of brakes. Finding a buyer is less likely for boggo parts.
The other important one is that some things cost a lot more to fit once the car is fully assembled. Examples of this are the handbrake, which requires removal of coolant lines etc, and so take a long time and costs a lot to fit. Baffled sump is another, that used to require the engine taking out... again taking a long time and costing a lot.
Some are stupidly obvious, like if you opted to not have side panel tabs on the frame at build, adding them then requires welding re-powder coating, and if done properly, the whole car stripped to do that.
Not all are quite as obvious but hopefully that shows that while not impossible, it can cost more if delayed. If you have things you're considering it's best to discuss with the factory as they'll be able to give you a better idea of retrofit costs.
The chassis tabs for the side panels are standard on the chassis unless you ask for them not to be, which I think you said I was just making it clear. My view on this is you can barely see them so even if you don't plan on adding panels, it makes sense to leave them on especially if you plan to sell the car at some stage.The most obvious will be that you'd end up paying twice for both parts and labour. So for example if you buy the car on sports brakes, and then move to AP's you'll pay twice for fitting, and have and paid for two sets of brakes. Finding a buyer is less likely for boggo parts.
The other important one is that some things cost a lot more to fit once the car is fully assembled. Examples of this are the handbrake, which requires removal of coolant lines etc, and so take a long time and costs a lot to fit. Baffled sump is another, that used to require the engine taking out... again taking a long time and costing a lot.
Some are stupidly obvious, like if you opted to not have side panel tabs on the frame at build, adding them then requires welding re-powder coating, and if done properly, the whole car stripped to do that.
Not all are quite as obvious but hopefully that shows that while not impossible, it can cost more if delayed. If you have things you're considering it's best to discuss with the factory as they'll be able to give you a better idea of retrofit costs.
The handbrake is standard when purchasing the AP Racing brakes, you cannot buy the AP Racing brakes without the handbrake. If I remember correctly the stock brakes also comes with a handbrake.
A couple of notes on the chassis colour. The free colour is satin black as mentioned which is not all that bad, in fact I think it looks pretty nice better to me than silver. If you want gloss black or gloss any of the other standard colours, this will add an additional ~£700 to the build cost. Satin black is OK, especially if you will have it PPF protected. I have gone for gloss black just because it is easier to clean and I prefer it.
I would say the absolute minimum options you need for this car without any question is this:
1. Limited slip diff
2. Aero screen
3. Baffled sump
4. Black colour wheels (to match stock chassis colour) - stock tyres which are Avon ZZS tyres
5. IVA test and road registration
That would bring you to around ~£42,300 and that would be a good car. Of course then if you sold it or you could upgrade various parts later, including; the body work to carbon or different colours, add wings, better brakes, better adjustable suspension, power upgrade, sequential transmission etc.
I do think at ~£42k it is unbeatable. There is nothing else as good if you are looking for a pure drivers track car that you can drive on the road. Of course you have a Lotus Elise, Caterham 420R, BMW M2, BMW 340, BMW Z4 etc at this price or there about.
Gassing Station | Ariel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff