Newbie questions

[Meldonte]

Hi all,

I am due to start in my first "proper job" come September and thought what better way to fritter away my disposable income than on a 7 - had a few rides in them over the years and wanted one for as long as I can remember.

Now I am in a position to be a serious potential buyer, I thought the best way to help decide on how "hardcore" I want the spec to be, would be to hire one for a day and see how I get on - but much to my dismay it seems I am far too dangerous to be considered eligible until I have had another 2 years to "mature". Does anyone know the best way to temporarily get my hands on one for a day or two as a 23 year old (3 points - SP50).

The car realistically won't be a daily driver but I plan to use it fairly regularly otherwise why bother? Provisionally thinking second hand 1800K, aeroscreen, tillets and harnesses etc. etc. but may decide its too much for me. Would love to build one from new, and I am sure I will at some point in time but thought it would be better to start on a decent second hand example - budget around 12k Max.

I am based in Warwick but moving to Bristol soon - are there any local meets I could pop along to exchange beer tokens for trips out .

Final question - how much is high mileage and what should a first time buyer be looking for, its rare to see one less than 15 yeara old with more than about 30,000 on the clock which obviously for a tintop would be nothing. I appreciate alot of these miles will be flat out on these cars but with the low weight of them realistically how quickly do things like bushes/balljoints/bearings wear out?

Starting to get excited now although realistically I won't be on the road till spring I imagine.

[dirtbiker]

Both Caterham South and Caterham Midlands were happy to allow me to hire one of their cars despite being only 24 so it's definitely worth giving them a call and asking them to check with their insurers.

Their hire cars have leather S-Type seats fitted and full weather gear but it's a good way of getting a feel for the car without having to commit. I'm planning on test driving a couple of cars with Tilletts and an aerorscreen to get a feel for how hardcore I'm willing to go with it.

Can't help much with the other questions I'm afraid as I'm yet to buy one but I'm in a similar situation to you I guess. Wondering about selling my runaround and using it as my only car but as I'll be moving to Aberdeen in November that may not be the best option!

[grenpayne]

My advice to you would be to buy on condition not age or mileage. Average miles per year seems to be in the region of 3k however the cars are designed to be driven hard and higher mileage is not necessarily a stopper. Also you'll find that most owners will ensure that their cars are mechaically perfect and will replace any items that need it.