Is this possible?
Discussion
I would like to buy a kit car for around 5000 in june, possibly a tiger or old westfield... then use it for the summer... and sell it in september/october for around 4800?
Insurance would be about 250- if I could get short term insurance?
Running- how much work is needed on these things... I dont have much mechanical know-how and am really just looking for something to give a caterham 7 type fun. would a budget of 100-200 cover it for 3 months (i dont intend on modifying any of it)?
How easy would it be to sell for nearish however much I bought it for after three months? Are these things very hard to sell?
Thanks
Insurance would be about 250- if I could get short term insurance?
Running- how much work is needed on these things... I dont have much mechanical know-how and am really just looking for something to give a caterham 7 type fun. would a budget of 100-200 cover it for 3 months (i dont intend on modifying any of it)?
How easy would it be to sell for nearish however much I bought it for after three months? Are these things very hard to sell?
Thanks
Yes, it's possible, but the resale price and speed of sale are down to how well you choose the car when you buy it and an element of luck.
Mechanics and electrics are as simple as it is possible to get (with the possible exception of a ride-on lawnmower), so if you get a well built car, it will be reliable and easy to maintain. Obviously a badly built or maintained car will need de-bugging before it becomes reliable, but they really are very easy to work on.
Mechanics and electrics are as simple as it is possible to get (with the possible exception of a ride-on lawnmower), so if you get a well built car, it will be reliable and easy to maintain. Obviously a badly built or maintained car will need de-bugging before it becomes reliable, but they really are very easy to work on.
Don't think the manufacturer will make a great deal of difference to either insurance or reliability; a Seven is a Seven, broadly speaking. Both Westfield and Tiger are well respected marques with good quality components and chassis.
Insurance will be down mainly to value and type of engine fitted (with tuned engines of any type costsing more)
Reliability will depend more on age of car, quality of build (and how well it has been maintained) and type of mechanicals (particularly engine).
If you are only running it for a few months, a car which is thoroughly checked over and found to be in a good state of health when you buy it isn't likely to give you many problems over just a few thousand miles. You might be unlucky and have a catestrophic engine failure that doesn't give any prior warning symptoms (cam belt failure or dropped valve, for example), but other than that, the chances are that any faults that develop will be niggling electrical or fuel system problems that are cheaply and easily fixed.
Insurance will be down mainly to value and type of engine fitted (with tuned engines of any type costsing more)
Reliability will depend more on age of car, quality of build (and how well it has been maintained) and type of mechanicals (particularly engine).
If you are only running it for a few months, a car which is thoroughly checked over and found to be in a good state of health when you buy it isn't likely to give you many problems over just a few thousand miles. You might be unlucky and have a catestrophic engine failure that doesn't give any prior warning symptoms (cam belt failure or dropped valve, for example), but other than that, the chances are that any faults that develop will be niggling electrical or fuel system problems that are cheaply and easily fixed.
how much depeciation should i expect?
would it be cheaper to hire a caterham for a few days?
how much is it to do this, and would they let me, a 17 year old do it? (i have got away with being under the age requirements for caterham drift days etc, so the experience of these might sway them?)
the thing is after the drift day i really REALLY want a 7, such incredible fun.
would it be cheaper to hire a caterham for a few days?
how much is it to do this, and would they let me, a 17 year old do it? (i have got away with being under the age requirements for caterham drift days etc, so the experience of these might sway them?)
the thing is after the drift day i really REALLY want a 7, such incredible fun.
LotusNova said:
Bear in mind September/October is not the best time of year to sell any open-top. You may find it depreciates more than that
More likely to be difficult to shift at that time of year, certainly, but there are always a few people hunting for late-season bargains or a car to prep for competition for the next season (in which case the Westfield or a Sylva would be a better option - Tigers are a bit heavily built, hence aren't as popular as competition cars).
Obviously the 'depreciation' often comes down to how quickly you have to sell it. There is a certain dealer who has been asking a truly absurd amount of money for a Zetec engined Sylva Striker, who has had the car in stock for well over a year...maybe he'll get lucky eventually and some fool will offer him the asking price, but as a general rule, the cheaper the car is compared to similar cars on the market at the time, the quicker it will sell.
the996turbo said:
would it be cheaper to hire a caterham for a few days?
Hell no! I doubt you'd find anyone willing to hire you a Caterham anyway, at your age, but it would be several hundred pounds a day, regardless.
We really can't tell you how much depreciation to expect, because these cars are way too specialised to have 'book' values. It's not like looking up the price and spec of a Ford Focus in Glass's guide and ending up with a trade/private figure adjusted for mileage and condition.
You might be lucky and sell it for a profit (I have, with several of my cars), or you might end up not finding a buyer at all for months on end...it really does depend on your skill (and luck) in finding the right car at the right price to start off with, and the right buyer at the right time when you come to sell.
>> Edited by Sam_68 on Saturday 15th April 13:43
um, where are plucking the figure of £250 for short-term insurance from when you are only 17? there aren't many companies who do short-term insurance either, the only way would be to cancel your policy which attracts a hefty premium anyway.
I hate to bust the bubble but I don't know of any insurers who look at anyone less than 18 and the price is somewhat fanciful, even on a limited mileage policy. At 19, on a car which attracts lower premiums, I was still paying £600 tpft...
I hate to bust the bubble but I don't know of any insurers who look at anyone less than 18 and the price is somewhat fanciful, even on a limited mileage policy. At 19, on a car which attracts lower premiums, I was still paying £600 tpft...
kit cars are surprisingly cheap to insure, im speaking to a guy now whos had a quote of 1800 tpft on a lotus 7 rplica with a 1.6... now il hav 9 months expereince, a bit of experience driving quick cars, il be second driver... so it should be around 800 a year.... therefore about 300 over a long summer.
Sorry 996, unless you know of an amazingly friendly insurance company I've not heard of, "short term" insurance is only feasible if youv'e already had a policy with a company and for example you're waiting to sell the car, or you have to cancelthe policy in which case the last one to lose out will be the insurers! They want your money for a year so they can invest it and so on - hence insurance via direct debit costs more.
Depreciation is an unknown, unless you buy something so cheap to start with it doesn't really matter, Try a Robin Hood, there seems to be no shortage of people willing to pay £2-3k. I bought a 20 valve Toyota engined Striker, and doubt I'll be getting back even the modest sum I paid. Having said that, its performance and handling are off the road car scale....
Depreciation is an unknown, unless you buy something so cheap to start with it doesn't really matter, Try a Robin Hood, there seems to be no shortage of people willing to pay £2-3k. I bought a 20 valve Toyota engined Striker, and doubt I'll be getting back even the modest sum I paid. Having said that, its performance and handling are off the road car scale....
the996turbo said:I know that, I ran a Marlin Roadster for 2.5 years before it all went up in flames at Christmas (not my fault either), but when I was trying to get insurance on it, it was nigh on impossible to find companies prepared to quote for someone under 21 never mind under 18...
kit cars are surprisingly cheap to insure, im speaking to a guy now whos had a quote of 1800 tpft on a lotus 7 rplica with a 1.6... now il hav 9 months expereince, a bit of experience driving quick cars, il be second driver... so it should be around 800 a year.... therefore about 300 over a long summer.
On top of that, 9months experience is a) not a year, b) not experience in kit-cars... Before considering buying, why not try ringing insurers and see where you get? I may be completely wrong, but I doubt it somehow...
with 9months experience, that must mean that your 18th birthday is at most 3months away, why not wait until then - it'll open up a raft of other options!
The other question, is why go for something like a Caterfield? I know they offer great bang-for-buck, but they are also getting expensive to insure, why not try something different? Something like my old Marlin Roadster for example which looked like a Caterfield but with full wings - it was slower, but just as much fun I'd bet. Then you have things like GTM Rossa, Coupe or K3... Don't just limit your thoughts to whats popular, pick up copies of Which Kit and Kit Car, which despite their failings do have a reasonable ads section at the rear
The other question, is why go for something like a Caterfield? I know they offer great bang-for-buck, but they are also getting expensive to insure, why not try something different? Something like my old Marlin Roadster for example which looked like a Caterfield but with full wings - it was slower, but just as much fun I'd bet. Then you have things like GTM Rossa, Coupe or K3... Don't just limit your thoughts to whats popular, pick up copies of Which Kit and Kit Car, which despite their failings do have a reasonable ads section at the rear
the996turbo said:
I would like to buy a kit car for around 5000 in june, possibly a tiger or old westfield... then use it for the summer... and sell it in september/october for around 4800?
Insurance would be about 250- if I could get short term insurance?
Running- how much work is needed on these things... I dont have much mechanical know-how and am really just looking for something to give a caterham 7 type fun. would a budget of 100-200 cover it for 3 months (i dont intend on modifying any of it)?
How easy would it be to sell for nearish however much I bought it for after three months? Are these things very hard to sell?
Thanks
Robin Hoods are cheap and easy to come by. Be warned though, selling a specialist car (particularly one "built in a shed" as many will see it) isn't easy and you can't gurantee how much you'll get back for it, especially if you aim to sell just as most people are laying up their summer car!
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