Where to start??

[rqy99g]

Hi

I've always promised myself that I would have a Caterham 7... well atleast for the last 30 odd years!

I'll be 50 this year so now seems the right time as I'm starting to have a bit of spare cash (but not tons of it).

I want a fastish car for the road. I've no interest in track days or any form of comp driving but would sooner have a car which is managable, reliable and fun on the road.

Caterham or kit car? (I do like the MK Indy, Raw Striker and Dax as alternatives to a Caterham (also the Sylva Riot))
BEC or CEC?
120, 150, 180bhp?
How do I go about specing a car?
How reliable are kit cars? How reliable are Caterhams?
For depreciation purposes is a Caterham better than a kit car?

Bugger.... too many questions!

Where can I find details of kit car shows in the Northwest?

Regards

Simon

[Snake the Sniper]

Firstly, good choice of toy car! Secondly, Caterhams are kit cars too. It's just that a lot of them are factory built kits. Best bet is to do a search to be honest as this has been covered a lot recently as people are deciding to spend some of their savings on toys. A lot of fun can be had for as little as £2K, maybe even less, but also up to as much as whatever Caterham charge for a new R500 these days.

[rdodger]

You need a trip to Stoneleigh on May bank holiday.

Everyone will be there. Hopefully the Sylva Spectre will be there too!

[Sam_68]

rqy99g said:

Caterham or kit car? (I do like the MK Indy, Raw Striker and Dax as alternatives to a Caterham (also the Sylva Riot))

Very much a personal decision, based on what your priorities are. Caterhams have a certain prestige in terms of image, are nicely detailed and well developed. The geometry of the Triumph front upright that they use seems to give them slightly better steering feel than any of the alternatives I've driven, but you will pay a disproportionate price premium that many people (myself included) find diffciult to justify.

rqy99g said:

BEC or CEC?

Do a search for BEC vs CEC on this forum... it's been discussed to death. If you're not interested in track days, personally I wouldn't even consider a BEC, but there are one or two hardcore enthusiasts who prefer them even for road use.

rqy99g said:

120, 150, 180bhp?

Personal preference again; 120bhp is plenty for fun on the road. 180bhp in the right chassis is mental (and a bit lairy at times). If you want a car that's manageable and fun on the road, I'd be aiming at the lower end of the power range with fairly narrow, tall-profile tyres (look at the specifications of the Caterham 'Roadsport' range for guidance). All other things being equal, higher power outputs tend to be easier to shift when you come to sell, however.

rqy99g said:

How do I go about specing a car?

To big, and too personal a question to answer. Are you buying/building new, or are you buying second hand (in the latter case spec will be limited by what's available). What make/model are you buying... the available specification on a Dax will be completely different to that on a Caterham or a Sylva. What engines do you prefer (if you like K-series, you're pretty much stuck with Caterham; conversely, if you like Pintos - and I know some people have very strange tastes - you'll have to rule Caterham out altogether)?

rqy99g said:

How reliable are kit cars? How reliable are Caterhams?

All are generally very reliable if maintained correctly. They are essentially very simple cars, so not much to go wrong. There are occasional foibles (A-frame bushes and K-series head gaskets on Caterhams, for example, or wing stays on Westfields) or glitches through lack of use, but nothing that would worry a reasonable home mechanic.

rqy99g said:

For depreciation purposes is a Caterham better than a kit car?

No, though many Caterham owners will try to tell you different. If you express the depreciation as a percentage of the cars new price, Caterhams look a little better than Dax or Westfield. If you base it on actual cash depreciation per mile (bearing in mind that the Caterham's initial purchase price will have been substantially larger) the tables are often turned.

Bottom line is that, to be honest, the depreciation costs per mile are actually pretty bad on any Seven, because they tend to do such little mileage.

The Depreciation curves tend to bottom out at quite a high level, though, so that provided you maintain them in good condition, they won't drop beyond a certain point (eg. you won't find a decent Caterham for less than £6.5K or a decent Westfield for less than £4K, no matter how old it is).

rqy99g said:

Where can I find details of kit car shows in the Northwest?

There aren't any decent ones. The only two kit car shows remotely worth attending are at Stoneleigh in Warwickshire (soon - 3rd/4th May) and Newark upon Trent (June).

[Furyblade_Lee]

If you have always wanted a Caterham and have no inclination to get your hands dirty, then i suggest just buy a Caterham. Get a nice comfy one with weather gear and comfy seats for about £10-14K private sale and residuals should not be a worry for that type of Caterham.
But i would seriously try an S2 Elise at that sort of budget too if you genuinly do not want to go near a track, compettetive or otherwise. As much as i love hardcore cars, as you made a point of not wanting to ever go near a track or drive on one then you may find a Caterham a bit of a caged Tiger on our speed limited roads.

Make the effort and get to Stoneleigh, just about every version of "kit car" and Caterham (a kit car also) will be in attendence.

[Furyous]

Sam and Lee have just given you all the information you should ever need really.

Go to Stoneleigh, sit in a few, then go find the owners club and ask what they think.....

[rqy99g]

Thanks for the advice.

I will be at Stoneleigh after what you've all said. It sounds like a good place to view and talk.

My heart says just go with Caterham as that's the car I always dreamed of. My head say you can do better value wise. My gut says if it goes tits up I'll regret not getting a Caterham!

I look at some of the prices secondhand for Caterham's on this site and over a period of 10 years I'm sure that they must have increased in price from their original purchase price!! Or are they just being ambitious?

Like Snake said earlier a Caterham is just a kit car.... and Colin Chapman would have surely approved of cars like MK's, Dax's, Sylva's, etc, even if they do echo his design concept. A reason why I could justify a replica/development of a seven!

Thanks again

Simon

PS Roll on the 3rd of May!!!

[Furyblade_Lee]

A 10K Caterham is not bad value, what will be worth 10k next year, the Caterham or a new £10k copy??

Also, if Colin Chapman was still at the helm of the 7 he sure as hell would have made more of the bike engined phenomenon, he would have not ignored massive power, light weight like Caterham have.

[NeilE]

Just to add my two penneth, in my experience kit car reliability is often linked in with how long they sit in the garage between drives. I've used my Sylva Mojo Mon - Fri for the last 4 years and it has yet to be off the road due to a reliability issue (now covered 25k from new). If cars sit still for months on end, things tend to start seizing and degrading. So the moral of the story is buy something that you will use!

Neil
www.mymojo.co.uk

[rqy99g]

NeilE said:

Just to add my two penneth, in my experience kit car reliability is often linked in with how long they sit in the garage between drives. I've used my Sylva Mojo Mon - Fri for the last 4 years and it has yet to be off the road due to a reliability issue (now covered 25k from new). If cars sit still for months on end, things tend to start seizing and degrading. So the moral of the story is buy something that you will use!

Neil
www.mymojo.co.uk

This is one of the things that puts me off buying a 10 year old car with small amount of mileage. If it were me I'd be using the car frequently! So I start wondering why have they only covered a very small mileage? Is it more off the road than on it?

By the way Neil... nice website!

[NeilE]

Lots of people only tax their kits for 6 months of the year and stick in the garage over winter, so that's one reason for low mileage. Personally, I've had some fantastic drives on crisp winter days, so it would seem a shame to miss those opportunities!

Glad you like the website! I'll be at Stoneleigh if you want to come and say hello, just find your way to the JPSC club area.

Neil
www.mymojo.co.uk

Edited by NeilE on Friday 17th April 11:51