Looking for my first.....
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm hoping to get into Caterham ownership in the next 6-8 months or so (realistically going to be closer to 8 I expect) and I'm looking for some, (actually lots) of advice.
Ideally (having read many posts etc) I would love to buy a new 7, but I'm not sure my budget will stretch that far. If I spec the car I'd like then I seem to end up at £30k ish, with either a Superlight or Roadsport 175, both with a few extras.
1) I could maybe afford this on a PCP finance deal. - Have any of you bought 7's on a PCP. Do they work well as 7s generally seem to have good residuals or not?
2) Is a Superlight/Roadsport 175 a bit high powered for my first seven, or would people suggest going for the highest spec you can afford?
3) If I go down the 2nd hand path, and put a maximum budget of circa £15,000 in place, what would you recommend/avoid? - I've been having a look through the classifieds and there is such variation in engines for example, any I should avoid, really go for?
I guess this then runs through the whole spec of the car....Am I unlikely to find a 6 speed seven for this budget?
Apologies if this is a slightly vague and open topic, but hope you experts can help!
Cheers,
Mark
I'm hoping to get into Caterham ownership in the next 6-8 months or so (realistically going to be closer to 8 I expect) and I'm looking for some, (actually lots) of advice.
Ideally (having read many posts etc) I would love to buy a new 7, but I'm not sure my budget will stretch that far. If I spec the car I'd like then I seem to end up at £30k ish, with either a Superlight or Roadsport 175, both with a few extras.
1) I could maybe afford this on a PCP finance deal. - Have any of you bought 7's on a PCP. Do they work well as 7s generally seem to have good residuals or not?
2) Is a Superlight/Roadsport 175 a bit high powered for my first seven, or would people suggest going for the highest spec you can afford?
3) If I go down the 2nd hand path, and put a maximum budget of circa £15,000 in place, what would you recommend/avoid? - I've been having a look through the classifieds and there is such variation in engines for example, any I should avoid, really go for?
I guess this then runs through the whole spec of the car....Am I unlikely to find a 6 speed seven for this budget?
Apologies if this is a slightly vague and open topic, but hope you experts can help!
Cheers,
Mark
Hi Jonny,
The car would be mainly for road use, with hopefully a couple of trackdays a year. Possibly race a couple of years down the line.
Re. the residuals, if I loved the car then I'd keep it a long time I would think, maybe 4-5 years providing I don't outgrow the performance of whichever car I end up getting!
Mark
The car would be mainly for road use, with hopefully a couple of trackdays a year. Possibly race a couple of years down the line.
Re. the residuals, if I loved the car then I'd keep it a long time I would think, maybe 4-5 years providing I don't outgrow the performance of whichever car I end up getting!
Mark
Edited by bongotvr on Wednesday 26th August 00:01
bongotvr said:
3) If I go down the 2nd hand path, and put a maximum budget of circa £15,000 in place, what would you recommend/avoid? - I've been having a look through the classifieds and there is such variation in engines for example, any I should avoid, really go for?
For £15k I'd go for a Superlight. More than quick enough on the road, ready for the track and still a nice shiny factory package that'll be relatively civilised and easy to resell.Due to the extraordinary residules Caterhams probably make more sense new than most cars, but you'll still get a better deal second hand. Plus, because they're reasonably well screwed together and usually owned by people with a degree of mechanical understanding, they seem to be a safer secondhand buy than many specialist cars.
I know I'm biased, down here at the pauper end of the spectrum, but I'd say £15k will buy you all the Seven you'd ever need. I can understand why you'd indulge yourself with more, but don't assume you have to.
Good luck.
If you need a high residual to keep your payments down on a PCP I'm going to have to disappoint you...
Whilst the 2nd hand cars are still demanding good prices (to the degree I'm now thinking of getting a new one rather than a used one) the finanace houses have got nervous and now treat the caterham like a 'normal' car - so the 'balloon' is not as high - eg I was looking at a 20k car, 3 year residual was 7ish...
Won't go into pros/cons of finanaces as I'm no expert and thats a personal decision....
Whilst the 2nd hand cars are still demanding good prices (to the degree I'm now thinking of getting a new one rather than a used one) the finanace houses have got nervous and now treat the caterham like a 'normal' car - so the 'balloon' is not as high - eg I was looking at a 20k car, 3 year residual was 7ish...
Won't go into pros/cons of finanaces as I'm no expert and thats a personal decision....
Hi Mark,
Personally I’d try and get the most bang for your buck. And in my book that means buying second hand. For 15k you should be able to get a good 1.6 SLR.
If you want to buy shiny new; then in my opinion go for say a 175 with a few options rather than a 125 with many. (I actually did a spreadsheet with all the list prices and a) all the options I’d want, b) all the options I’d like, c) all the options that I wouldn’t mind having e.g pearlescent paint). And work out that you can afford. Remember, if you are good with spanners and the like then you could potentially build your own “saving” the 3k.
Either way (new or second hand), you can always upgrade at a later date. For instance if your monthly is say £300 at the end of the term, you could then potentially save for 2 months and buy tillet seats.
Have a look through www.blatchat.com and look through www.lotussevenclub.com for meets local to where you are. Call the ARs (quite a friendly bunch) and pop along to have a gander at the 7s and a chat with the owners. I did this and the chaps were very welcoming and very informative.
On track, in my opinion,
- on straights the 400s and the 500s will leave the 125 or 175 roadsports behind. However, in the twisties, they would be far more closely matched. And in my book twisties is what it is all about.
- Having a “slower” 7 will allow you more time to think about what you are doing and hence may help you improve as a track driver far quicker than a “quicker” 7 where you will always be afraid of the car biting back.
Either way. Good luck
-FatVik
Personally I’d try and get the most bang for your buck. And in my book that means buying second hand. For 15k you should be able to get a good 1.6 SLR.
If you want to buy shiny new; then in my opinion go for say a 175 with a few options rather than a 125 with many. (I actually did a spreadsheet with all the list prices and a) all the options I’d want, b) all the options I’d like, c) all the options that I wouldn’t mind having e.g pearlescent paint). And work out that you can afford. Remember, if you are good with spanners and the like then you could potentially build your own “saving” the 3k.
Either way (new or second hand), you can always upgrade at a later date. For instance if your monthly is say £300 at the end of the term, you could then potentially save for 2 months and buy tillet seats.
Have a look through www.blatchat.com and look through www.lotussevenclub.com for meets local to where you are. Call the ARs (quite a friendly bunch) and pop along to have a gander at the 7s and a chat with the owners. I did this and the chaps were very welcoming and very informative.
On track, in my opinion,
- on straights the 400s and the 500s will leave the 125 or 175 roadsports behind. However, in the twisties, they would be far more closely matched. And in my book twisties is what it is all about.
- Having a “slower” 7 will allow you more time to think about what you are doing and hence may help you improve as a track driver far quicker than a “quicker” 7 where you will always be afraid of the car biting back.
Either way. Good luck
-FatVik
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