Help choosing my first Caterham
Discussion
After doing a Caterham experience day last year at Silverstone i was well and truly hooked. I started making plans to clear the garage and one large garden shed later, sereral trees worse off i now have room for another toy.
Ive been doing my homework and am in a bit of a quandry about the right model to choose. Ill be using this as an occasional track day and blat to work on sunny days car. ive got a budget upto 18k but would prefer something closer to 15.
I dont want a full cage and was looking at something with more go that my 996 c2. I found these two
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...
Both have been on for a little while, so in the first instance any reasons they havent been snapped up? Although the second one has 190hp and i could tune the supersports engine up, am i better off going with something that starts life with more grunt 175hp Zetec?
Thanks
Ive been doing my homework and am in a bit of a quandry about the right model to choose. Ill be using this as an occasional track day and blat to work on sunny days car. ive got a budget upto 18k but would prefer something closer to 15.
I dont want a full cage and was looking at something with more go that my 996 c2. I found these two
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/c...
Both have been on for a little while, so in the first instance any reasons they havent been snapped up? Although the second one has 190hp and i could tune the supersports engine up, am i better off going with something that starts life with more grunt 175hp Zetec?
Thanks
I would say the first one is hanging about mostly because of it's "interesting" colour combination.
It's also got a few odd features such as the painted wheels and engine cover (has the Caterham logo been sprayed over? Hard to tell from the photos). It's missing a heater (really not ideal for a road car). I'm not sure what's meant by the upgraded suspension either - I can't tell from the photos - it looks like the normal Supersport suspension to me.
There's a few spelling mistakes in there, and a few other things he mentions, like "upgraded cool air box" don't really make sense, since that air box is standard on all 140 Sigma models. The advert for my car was pretty poor, but there was a genuine guy selling it and his family made tea and cakes for my other half while I test drove it - we got a good deal too. So if you're interested, give the guy a call and see how you feel
.
The car itself looks clean though, the interior is good and the price is definitely lower than similarly specced cars. There's no mention of a roof or hood though - so that that into consideration.
Non-modified Caterhams tend to reach better prices, so I'd imagine a car of the same spec without the mention of "upgraded" parts and a more standard paint job would be a fair bit more expensive.
With regards to the other car, race cars always tend to be a fair bit cheaper than road only cars. I'm sure someone with more experience of K-Series cars will be along soon to give a bit more information on that one.
As far as power goes, I think 140 is fine for the road. You'll be able to really drive it flat out. Lots of power will mean you'll have to hold back a bit more - until you're on the track.
It's also got a few odd features such as the painted wheels and engine cover (has the Caterham logo been sprayed over? Hard to tell from the photos). It's missing a heater (really not ideal for a road car). I'm not sure what's meant by the upgraded suspension either - I can't tell from the photos - it looks like the normal Supersport suspension to me.
There's a few spelling mistakes in there, and a few other things he mentions, like "upgraded cool air box" don't really make sense, since that air box is standard on all 140 Sigma models. The advert for my car was pretty poor, but there was a genuine guy selling it and his family made tea and cakes for my other half while I test drove it - we got a good deal too. So if you're interested, give the guy a call and see how you feel
.The car itself looks clean though, the interior is good and the price is definitely lower than similarly specced cars. There's no mention of a roof or hood though - so that that into consideration.
Non-modified Caterhams tend to reach better prices, so I'd imagine a car of the same spec without the mention of "upgraded" parts and a more standard paint job would be a fair bit more expensive.
With regards to the other car, race cars always tend to be a fair bit cheaper than road only cars. I'm sure someone with more experience of K-Series cars will be along soon to give a bit more information on that one.
As far as power goes, I think 140 is fine for the road. You'll be able to really drive it flat out. Lots of power will mean you'll have to hold back a bit more - until you're on the track.
Thanks for the advice. You know I hadn't even noticed it was missing the heater, which is a must have for me. I'm still not really sure on the john deer paint scheme. My 4 year old son has an electric jeep like it so he would be most chuffed we had matching cars, although probably not he most convincing argument for getting it.
There seems to be very little private sales coming onto the market at he mo, and trade command a couple of grand more. I know what you are saying with the power, although i was considering getting a 996 turbo as mine doesn't feel that quick any more so am leaning towards a higher powered model.
Decisions decisions, should I jump in now and enjoy all the summer, or wait for something that grabs me and maybe miss out on the fun.
More to think about.
There seems to be very little private sales coming onto the market at he mo, and trade command a couple of grand more. I know what you are saying with the power, although i was considering getting a 996 turbo as mine doesn't feel that quick any more so am leaning towards a higher powered model.
Decisions decisions, should I jump in now and enjoy all the summer, or wait for something that grabs me and maybe miss out on the fun.
More to think about.
I've just brought a 05 Roadsport after starting my search back in November. Yup taken me 6 months to find one.
I didn't want to fork out the the extra £2k-£3k that certain dealers add for the privilege of buying from the trade. In the 6 months I missed out on 4 cars being sold privately, 2 were picked up by dealers, to sell on and the other 2 were sold within 24 hours. So if you see one that you think ticks the boxes , don't hesitate , go and have a look.
Of the two you've posted, both IMO have horrible paint schemes, though you can get the nose cone repainted. I had mine resprayed as it had a yellow nose cone.
I wouldn't bother with a heater, and don't worry about a hood, not many people seem to use a full hood, people tend to 'upgrade' to a half hood.
I'm use to quick cars, and my Roadsport 'only' has 120 bhp but for me that is plenty of power for a novice Caterham owner. I managed to loose a 911 Turbo X50 down some country lanes at the weekend.
To be honest I wasn't 100 percent sure if I wanted a Caterham 7 when I started to look for one. My last experience in one was over 20 years ago, when I did a Catrerham 7 day run by Autosport but I'm glad I brought one. They are fantastic fun, easy to work on, there's a great club, cheap to insure and buy right, zero depreciation .
I didn't want to fork out the the extra £2k-£3k that certain dealers add for the privilege of buying from the trade. In the 6 months I missed out on 4 cars being sold privately, 2 were picked up by dealers, to sell on and the other 2 were sold within 24 hours. So if you see one that you think ticks the boxes , don't hesitate , go and have a look.
Of the two you've posted, both IMO have horrible paint schemes, though you can get the nose cone repainted. I had mine resprayed as it had a yellow nose cone.
I wouldn't bother with a heater, and don't worry about a hood, not many people seem to use a full hood, people tend to 'upgrade' to a half hood.
I'm use to quick cars, and my Roadsport 'only' has 120 bhp but for me that is plenty of power for a novice Caterham owner. I managed to loose a 911 Turbo X50 down some country lanes at the weekend.
To be honest I wasn't 100 percent sure if I wanted a Caterham 7 when I started to look for one. My last experience in one was over 20 years ago, when I did a Catrerham 7 day run by Autosport but I'm glad I brought one. They are fantastic fun, easy to work on, there's a great club, cheap to insure and buy right, zero depreciation .
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