Buying options
Discussion
Well I've got my superlight away at last (begining sept) so now I'm in the market to look seriously at the Atom again. With an 18k budget now what are my options?
1.Buy a good Mk1, but coming from a K engined Caterham I have my doubts about engine reliability.Would a 120 or 140 k have as much umph as a 160 Superlight?
I know a couple of the Mk1's appear to be for sale at present, anyone who has had both Mk1 and 2 care to offer me some objective advice.
2. Save/borrow a bit and get a 160 Honda.
Driven both now but hard to relate a 30 minute test with actually owning one?
220 plus would be nice but too much outgoing for me for a trackday toy.
Any advice.
REgards
Cat
1.Buy a good Mk1, but coming from a K engined Caterham I have my doubts about engine reliability.Would a 120 or 140 k have as much umph as a 160 Superlight?
I know a couple of the Mk1's appear to be for sale at present, anyone who has had both Mk1 and 2 care to offer me some objective advice.
2. Save/borrow a bit and get a 160 Honda.
Driven both now but hard to relate a 30 minute test with actually owning one?
220 plus would be nice but too much outgoing for me for a trackday toy.
Any advice.
REgards
Cat
catgreenhorse said:
1.Buy a good Mk1, but coming from a K engined Caterham I have my doubts about engine reliability.Would a 120 or 140 k have as much umph as a 160 Superlight?
I've never driven a Caterham (though would like to ...anyone?!) so can't compare the two cars directly. That said, around Cadwell, my 120 was as quick as the instructor's R300 - and I'm not an instructor! The R300 was a touch quicker in a straight line, but if I got under his bootlid coming onto the back straight, I could just about hold him in the slipstream.
catgreenhorse said:
I know a couple of the Mk1's appear to be for sale at present, anyone who has had both Mk1 and 2 care to offer me some objective advice.
I've had both (Mk1-120, Mk2-220) - and actually sold the Mk2, and kept the Mk1. There's no doubt the Mk2 is a quicker car, but in terms of having fun, the 120 did a similar job ...and for £12k less!
I use mine a lot on the road, and the 120 is a complete hoot! On standard road tyres (Yoko539s), its awesome fun round the twisty bits, and you'll spend hours at your favourite roundabout, guaranteed! The bigger engined cars are possibly a bit less useable - they're more inclined to kill you if you get it at all wrong.
On the track, I think its great, and happily mixes it with Mk2 cars, but you may get frustrated at places with long straights - it simply doesn't go as quick in a straight line as a 220 ...or a GT3 ...or a Radical
That said, I drove mine to the Nurburgring earlier this year, and apart from the long uphill back section, the car didn't really struggle. What it lost on the straights, it more than made up round the twisty bits. A couple of Caterham owners had passenger rides, and for the short periods of time they had their eyes open, they were impressed with what the car could do. Personally, I don't think there'd be much to choose between a Mk1 120 and a Mk2 160 round a track. The question is, how much do you dislike the K-series? There's approximately a £7k difference between the two cars when looking at equal specs, and that largely reflects the fact that the Honda engine is so much more desireable than the Rover.
Having said all that, I simply HAVE to beat the AAOC president at all costs, so I've got a Supercharged Mk2 arriving in a few weeks ...and my Mk1 is one of the cars for sale (the nicer one...), so I'm not sure if I really count as an "objective" opinion!!
If you've got any more queries (which you will have - you're spending £15k on a toy!) you can give me a buzz, and I'll do my best to help!
>> Edited by atom120 on Wednesday 17th August 22:10
If you can then, my advice is to find a bit of extra cash and go for a Honda engined one.
Alternatively, if that would really be stretching it, go for a second hand one and save some of your 18k, run it for a year, look after it and sell it to upgrade to a Mark 2 once you have more cash available (ideally to go for a 245).
The other thing is that next year there may well be more 220/245's available second hand as people upgrade.
Cheers, Ross.
Alternatively, if that would really be stretching it, go for a second hand one and save some of your 18k, run it for a year, look after it and sell it to upgrade to a Mark 2 once you have more cash available (ideally to go for a 245).
The other thing is that next year there may well be more 220/245's available second hand as people upgrade.
Cheers, Ross.
I have a Mk1 car and love it. I have given some thought to upgrading but mine has a lot of the options fitted which when added to a new Mk2 would make the delta much bigger. If I was a bit more serious about the whole trackday thing I might think again but for now the Mk1 is fine.
I think K series problems start when it is not maintained properly, which should be less likely in enthusiast owned cars such as the Atom, although your Caterham experience may suggest otherwise.
Andy (Atom120s) car is the same spec as mine and came from the same place, I think they are tuned to somewhere beyond 120 but need to go on a rolling road at some point to confirm.
Ben
I think K series problems start when it is not maintained properly, which should be less likely in enthusiast owned cars such as the Atom, although your Caterham experience may suggest otherwise.
Andy (Atom120s) car is the same spec as mine and came from the same place, I think they are tuned to somewhere beyond 120 but need to go on a rolling road at some point to confirm.
Ben
John Lloyd said:You need to read the WHOLE of my post John
So, Atom120, why are you buying 300bhp Atom??
Atom120 said:
Having said all that, I simply HAVE to beat the AAOC president at all costs, so I've got a Supercharged Mk2 arriving in a few weeks
>> Edited by atom120 on Thursday 18th August 09:15
datasafe said:
Ben, are you suggesting the 120 is not a 120 
I am sure the 'normal' 120 is 120 (or 118 I think) but Andy and my cars are far from normal having a different pectel ECU, think of it as the early equivalent of a hondata option.
Other odd features include traction control.
Ben
benyeats said:I'll never buy a normal car!!
Andy and my cars are far from normal
datasafe said:My chassis's due to be despatched from Arch on Aug 24th (subject to them finding the right tin of paint in time!) - and I've booked the car in for Cadwell on Sept 22nd, so it'd best be done by then! I'll probably be back to the factory again at the end of September to have the tyres replaced and a 6000 mile service, so yeah, I probably will see you there!
If you're collecting the back end of September, I might meet you there
datasafe said:I was going to make some comment about his driving being scary enough in a 220 - but my sister's been a passenger to both of us, and commented that she fears for her life considerably less often when JL's driving than when I am!
I reckon JL is gonna be on the upgrade trail soon!
Andy, I tried to g-up the factory by telling them I was planninng to do some track days at the end of September but ominously they advised it would be a bad idea, 1. coz the engine needs to be run-in & 2. Might be some holdups in build!!!
My chassis is due at Ariel 10th Septemeber, a Saturday!
Is the 300 you're buying new? If so, how the heck you gonna clock up 6000 miles by end of September?
JC
My chassis is due at Ariel 10th Septemeber, a Saturday!
Is the 300 you're buying new? If so, how the heck you gonna clock up 6000 miles by end of September?
JC
datasafe said:My Mk1 was insured for 3000 initially, but I added another 1500 for about £160. Yours will probably be less of a hike as your intitial premium's likely to be less than mine. Interestingly, when I had the Mk2, it cost exactly the same to insure as my Mk1.
May I ask what's the insurance premium hike for such mileage. Mines limited to 5000 and I know I'll go over that quite quickly.
Short answer: Raise the extra 2k and go for a Honda 160
Longer answer: Having driven lots of Atoms I like the K series very much. You could probably pick one up from c.£15k and spend £3k on a nice carribean holiday. Then sell it next year for not much less and upgrade if you wanted to.
I guess it depends on what you forsee in the future. What happens to most of us is that we get hooked on the automotive 'crack' that is the Atom and start to want more and more, hence most people gradually upgrading. If that's the route you're going to go, it makes more sense to buy a Honda-powered one as resale will probably be easier. Not saying you can't sell Mk1s, but pragmatically the 'sell' is easier on a Mk2.
However, if you want a hoot hooning around in an Atom for a year or two, then the MK1 is a great way to get that rush for lots less dosh.
Alternatively sell everything and buy a 300!
Longer answer: Having driven lots of Atoms I like the K series very much. You could probably pick one up from c.£15k and spend £3k on a nice carribean holiday. Then sell it next year for not much less and upgrade if you wanted to.
I guess it depends on what you forsee in the future. What happens to most of us is that we get hooked on the automotive 'crack' that is the Atom and start to want more and more, hence most people gradually upgrading. If that's the route you're going to go, it makes more sense to buy a Honda-powered one as resale will probably be easier. Not saying you can't sell Mk1s, but pragmatically the 'sell' is easier on a Mk2.
However, if you want a hoot hooning around in an Atom for a year or two, then the MK1 is a great way to get that rush for lots less dosh.
Alternatively sell everything and buy a 300!
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