What should be my first Caterham????
Discussion
I really want (need) the thrills of a Caterham. The Fireblade is highly rated for fun factor and so far appeals the most.
Im looking to spend under £7000 probably. I really need sub 5-second to 60mph ie. oh-my-gawd acceleration!!!
To give a taste of my driving level... limited in rear wheel drive but did learn to drive at the age of 10 and in a BMW 320 for the next 7 years. Thereafterafter nothing too exciting but everything else I drove was put into the most bizarre situations possible in 2 dimensions...with occasional wanders into the 3rd dimension!
I am a restrained driver but i learn fast and quickly find the limits and respect them, so a dont think fireblade will be too much of a jump....beside the sequential box is too good to miss!
I'd appreciate comments/advice guys, cheers.
Im looking to spend under £7000 probably. I really need sub 5-second to 60mph ie. oh-my-gawd acceleration!!!
To give a taste of my driving level... limited in rear wheel drive but did learn to drive at the age of 10 and in a BMW 320 for the next 7 years. Thereafterafter nothing too exciting but everything else I drove was put into the most bizarre situations possible in 2 dimensions...with occasional wanders into the 3rd dimension!
I am a restrained driver but i learn fast and quickly find the limits and respect them, so a dont think fireblade will be too much of a jump....beside the sequential box is too good to miss!
I'd appreciate comments/advice guys, cheers.
your first caterham should be.....
a locost.
do it cheaper faster better
ok so a blade locost isnt as quick as any of the superlights,and better well i would have to say probably not.
but they are cheap(something you cant say about a caterham)
infact any of the cheaper 7alikes will do you well(not robin hoods as they are made of heavy toffee)
and look at the later yam r1 as a power unit its light has good power it revs like a bastard it has taller gearing than a blade(a good thing in bike engined cars)and because its not a hyabusa you can still find them at sensible money.
but even a blade locost will put you in the 4 sec 60 bracket
>> Edited by accident on Wednesday 13th August 00:21
a locost.
do it cheaper faster better
ok so a blade locost isnt as quick as any of the superlights,and better well i would have to say probably not.
but they are cheap(something you cant say about a caterham)
infact any of the cheaper 7alikes will do you well(not robin hoods as they are made of heavy toffee)
and look at the later yam r1 as a power unit its light has good power it revs like a bastard it has taller gearing than a blade(a good thing in bike engined cars)and because its not a hyabusa you can still find them at sensible money.
but even a blade locost will put you in the 4 sec 60 bracket
>> Edited by accident on Wednesday 13th August 00:21
www.findit.co.uk has been good for me in the past. Normally a good selection of cars on there.
Yeah, I've seen quite a few on there too, trouble is I always wonder how old the ads are on there, I get the feeling a lot of the cars have already been sold. I've also emailed people asking for photos and either got no reply or a mail delivery failure notice.
Still, half the fun's in the hunting!!!
BTW, my budgets anything up to 5k, if that helps?
Still, half the fun's in the hunting!!!
BTW, my budgets anything up to 5k, if that helps?
£7k for a Caterham is rare but then quality does cost a little more. Caterham themselves offer finance and £7k could be used as a deposit for something which is paid off over a few years. Because of the residual value of Caterhams this is a REALLY good way to buy.
Don't even compare a Locost and a Caterham they are very very different. Cheaper yes Faster debateable BEtter NO WAY! A Caterham is a far superior vehicle to a Locost and you will have to work hard to find a badly built Caterham. Locosts have to have a lot of work done in the build to make them half decent. Consequently a lot of them are a joke in terms of quality.
Don't even compare a Locost and a Caterham they are very very different. Cheaper yes Faster debateable BEtter NO WAY! A Caterham is a far superior vehicle to a Locost and you will have to work hard to find a badly built Caterham. Locosts have to have a lot of work done in the build to make them half decent. Consequently a lot of them are a joke in terms of quality.
Jeez you Caterham boys do get defensive dont ya 
I dont think anybody is really saying a Locost is better, but they ARE better value. My Locost blade can easily outstrip a Superlight on track, handles brilliantly, is just as reliable as any other Caterfield, and gives me just as many smiles as a Caterham would, all for a total cost of £7k to build.
I know Caterham owners bang on about residuals, but buy a Locost 'blade for £5-6k second hand and you'll lose very little, if anything on it over a couple of years of use.
Yes, Caterham build quality is obviously better on the whole, but if you are buying a £7k Caterham its gonna be at least 10 years old, so I wouldnt mind betting that there are some nicely finished virtually brand new £7k Locosts out there that would put many £7k Caterhams to shame.
Im not knocking Caterhams at all, if you've got the money then thats great, they are the best example of this type of car, but just because a car costs 1/4 that of the equivalent Caterham, doesnt mean its 1/4 of the car by any means! In addition, putting £7k down as a deposit then hamstringing yourself with £300 monthly payments is a lot different to paying £7k and owning the car outright, so I dont think you can seriously suggest that anyone with £7k burning a hole in their back pocket would be better off financially by getting a Caterham than the Locost.
cheers
Chris
>> Edited by ChrisGamlin on Tuesday 16th September 22:30
I dont think anybody is really saying a Locost is better, but they ARE better value. My Locost blade can easily outstrip a Superlight on track, handles brilliantly, is just as reliable as any other Caterfield, and gives me just as many smiles as a Caterham would, all for a total cost of £7k to build.
I know Caterham owners bang on about residuals, but buy a Locost 'blade for £5-6k second hand and you'll lose very little, if anything on it over a couple of years of use.
Yes, Caterham build quality is obviously better on the whole, but if you are buying a £7k Caterham its gonna be at least 10 years old, so I wouldnt mind betting that there are some nicely finished virtually brand new £7k Locosts out there that would put many £7k Caterhams to shame.
Im not knocking Caterhams at all, if you've got the money then thats great, they are the best example of this type of car, but just because a car costs 1/4 that of the equivalent Caterham, doesnt mean its 1/4 of the car by any means! In addition, putting £7k down as a deposit then hamstringing yourself with £300 monthly payments is a lot different to paying £7k and owning the car outright, so I dont think you can seriously suggest that anyone with £7k burning a hole in their back pocket would be better off financially by getting a Caterham than the Locost.
cheers
Chris
>> Edited by ChrisGamlin on Tuesday 16th September 22:30
I'm with you on this one Chris, I don't think anyone was seriously suggesting that a Locost can rival a Caterham's quality but from my point of view I've got 3 choices:
If I won the lottery tomorrow I would buy a Caterham not a Locost but at the moment I don't want more saving, I want a bloody quick car!!!
P.S. Sorry for hijacking your post a bit BigAir!!
- Put a deposit down on a newish Caterham and spend the next 3 years paying off a car that I'll lose at least a couple of grand on before its all mine.
- Spend another couple of years saving up another 4 or 5 grand on top of what I've got now to buy a Caterham in poor condition while continuing to 'enjoy' the Escort.
- Or I can end 5 years of dull, unchallenging motoring and get myself a cheap 7-esque car like a Tiger or Locost that'll still get to 60 in 6ish seconds and lose virtually no money at all!!
If I won the lottery tomorrow I would buy a Caterham not a Locost but at the moment I don't want more saving, I want a bloody quick car!!!
P.S. Sorry for hijacking your post a bit BigAir!!
theres a stolen/recovered xflow caterham on ebay at the moment around 5.5k. didnt look at it too much but it looks ok if all the paperwork can confirm the cars history. best bet would be to check www.blatchat.com (seven owners club) to see if anyone knows the cars history
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2433554273&category=2192
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2433554273&category=2192
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