Information needed to decide on a potential purchase.

[L888DER]

Sorry for all the questions but I need help on a potential purchase.

How many Noble M12 GTO 3R and M400 were built and how many are still on the road in the UK?

Does the M400 need anything additional added to it?

How much are the typical interior faults to rectify? Potentially a new drivers seat / pair and any interior wear and tear to be made good. (Difficult to answer i know)

What do people do about severe wear to the Noble door seal where the brand is written? Flat respray?

I get the feeling I am trying to make an unappreciated Noble into a show car.

What mileage is expected from a Nobles lifetime?

Thanks, hopefully I can make a decision after the above are answered.

Sent from my iPhone

[verba1]

Are you looking at the M400 at Blue Dragon Cars in essex by any chance ?

[L888DER]

Was it that obvious? Yes I am

[AMG Merc]

... also a nice red one has appeared at Mole Valley.

[L888DER]

I test drove it yesterday and I'm going back today for a second look

[verba1]

L888DER said:

I test drove it yesterday and I'm going back today for a second look

It's a good price for a m400 , what condition is it in ?

[stevegto3]

Im sure others will add but my thoughts would be...

Anything added to it? Depends what you mean. There are standard parts that should be updated such as oil breather tank, but thats only £165. So depending on condition it could need lots of things if its had a hard life. Performance wise, you are ok.

Interior faults. Hard to guage. 'Trimman' on here would be your man as he did the original interiors. Some have had full retrim (seats, door cards, roof) and that ranges from £1-2k again depends on what you want done.

Door cill. If its just where the noble brand is written the you can get replacements from South west lotus for £40 each.

Mileage. Some owners have 60k miles, but again have sorted alot of issues along the way. Mileage is less important, if its been looked after and serviced regularly.

Steve

L888DER said:

Sorry for all the questions but I need help on a potential purchase.

How many Noble M12 GTO 3R and M400 were built and how many are still on the road in the UK?

Does the M400 need anything additional added to it?

How much are the typical interior faults to rectify? Potentially a new drivers seat / pair and any interior wear and tear to be made good. (Difficult to answer i know)

What do people do about severe wear to the Noble door seal where the brand is written? Flat respray?

I get the feeling I am trying to make an unappreciated Noble into a show car.

What mileage is expected from a Nobles lifetime?

Thanks, hopefully I can make a decision after the above are answered.

Sent from my iPhone

[sundance002]

I saw that car in classifieds on here and thought it a cheap M400,
Apparently it's his mates and priced to sell,
Things to check for are fuel pump and wiring, as the original is not up to the job and can cause car to run lean,
Fuel tank pipe, prone to collapsing,
Exhaust bracket made from chocolate keeps breaking,
Wheels prone to cracking, hoses and wires standard ones poor quality,
Not trying to put you off, but be prepared to spend some money on bringing it up to, a good reliable car.
My interior has just been re covered and new carpets and door cards 1600 total cost keeping all original.
They done a great job .
IMO at that price providing Mech it's sound, you have enough room in the price to fix the things to be done.
Good luck in your search

[AMG Merc]

This one still doesn't make sense to me - priced too low.

[LukeS]

Has Kerridges plates maybe they could assist with history?

[L888DER]

Agreed, and with only 75 M400's made I don't want to miss out on one. Decisions decisions.

[Wavemkr06]

I purchased the Silver M400 you are referring to in Essex. New gear cable, upgrade mod on linkage, camber, tracking, racing pads and tuned properly. That's it so far. Definitely a bargain.
I'll be racing this car in 2016 SMRC and Super Lap Scotland. Motors TV. I also have M12 GTO. Chassis # 002. Love these cars. So few, oww so special. Any m400 under 40k unless it's a smoking wreak is a bargain in my opinion. Never mind how fast they are to 60. Looking at them alone simply wets the appetite for youthfull adrenalin filled thrills. Driving one doesn't disappoint either. Looking forward to my first 2016 qually.

[AMG Merc]

Wavemkr06 said:

Any m400 under 40k unless it's a smoking wreak is a bargain in my opinion.

Agreed, I'd go so far as to say ANY M400 regardless of age, mileage and to some extent condition (and any M12) simply due to existence and availability.

[olliete]

Great to hear!

Sounds like it was the perfect car to be turned into a race car, as (from what i heard) there was some work to do on the appearance of the car.

Can't wait to see how you get on - how's the other M12 going?

[Wavemkr06]

Had the GTO on track few weeks ago. 60laps straight, no issues nothing but smiles all round. I still can't quite believe I got a M400 never mind at a bargain price too. I doubt we will ever see another m400 under 40k. I think that was the last one lol.

[jamie g]

Wavemkr06 said:

Had the GTO on track few weeks ago. 60laps straight, no issues nothing but smiles all round. I still can't quite believe I got a M400 never mind at a bargain price too. I doubt we will ever see another m400 under 40k. I think that was the last one lol.

I think the M12 keeps the M400 prices down, it seems as though a popular budget for nobles is sub 35 to 40k max, so selling even an m400 above that is dificult. Buyers have to be tempted in with a 42k bargain.
The 3R is so close to an M400 in most respects anyway, especially after some mild tweaks.

[mgbond]

jamie g said:

Wavemkr06 said:

Had the GTO on track few weeks ago. 60laps straight, no issues nothing but smiles all round. I still can't quite believe I got a M400 never mind at a bargain price too. I doubt we will ever see another m400 under 40k. I think that was the last one lol.

I think the M12 keeps the M400 prices down, it seems as though a popular budget for nobles is sub 35 to 40k max, so selling even an m400 above that is dificult. Buyers have to be tempted in with a 42k bargain.
The 3R is so close to an M400 in most respects anyway, especially after some mild tweaks.

Although that's true it isn't about how similar they are. No matter what you do to a 3R its still a 3R and an M400 has the rarity factor hence the price will always be more by a bigger margin than you would expect.

[V1DL3R]

mgbond said:

Although that's true it isn't about how similar they are. No matter what you do to a 3R its still a 3R and an M400 has the rarity factor hence the price will always be more by a bigger margin than you would expect.

I get a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this whole debate. The Noble is a car for car people, not poser or people who lock them up because ...'in 5 years I might of made 10k on it as long as I don't drive it'. It's a bit of a two fingers up to the Ruperts in their Ferrari's as we power past them. The M400 is essentially the same as most of the 3R's out there now and most of the enthusiast owned 3's are at that spec give or take. I don't think a M400 should command a much greater price because Noble finally fixed (most of) the weak points and then hit troubles and stopped production. With the greatest will in the world it's a parts bin car (I wouldn't have it any other way!), a go cart with a reg plate. It is bought by a certain kind of person and in my eye's that person isn't the kind of person who lock's them away or pays stupid prices for a limited run car. It's not what I thought the brand would ever become. I think there is some truth in the 3R keeping the prices down for exactly this reason.</rant>

[AMG Merc]

jamie g said:

I think the M12 keeps the M400 prices down, it seems as though a popular budget for nobles is sub 35 to 40k max, so selling even an m400 above that is dificult. Buyers have to be tempted in with a 42k bargain.
The 3R is so close to an M400 in most respects anyway, especially after some mild tweaks.

Reasonable dedection. Agree.

[macky17]

V1DL3R said:

mgbond said:

Although that's true it isn't about how similar they are. No matter what you do to a 3R its still a 3R and an M400 has the rarity factor hence the price will always be more by a bigger margin than you would expect.

I get a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this whole debate. The Noble is a car for car people, not poser or people who lock them up because ...'in 5 years I might of made 10k on it as long as I don't drive it'. It's a bit of a two fingers up to the Ruperts in their Ferrari's as we power past them. The M400 is essentially the same as most of the 3R's out there now and most of the enthusiast owned 3's are at that spec give or take. I don't think a M400 should command a much greater price because Noble finally fixed (most of) the weak points and then hit troubles and stopped production. With the greatest will in the world it's a parts bin car (I wouldn't have it any other way!), a go cart with a reg plate. It is bought by a certain kind of person and in my eye's that person isn't the kind of person who lock's them away or pays stupid prices for a limited run car. It's not what I thought the brand would ever become. I think there is some truth in the 3R keeping the prices down for exactly this reason.</rant>

I don't see what there is to 'rant' about. Look at it the other way - as M400 values rise, they will pull the values of 'lesser' cars up behind them. If you had an M400 sat in the garage you wouldn't have typed any of that

I'm sure you could take an F430 and mod it until it was identical to a Scuderia - it still wouldn't be one.