Caterham in the US

[HCMH]

Hi All,

I am moving to the US shortly and thought about re-entering the Caterham, world so drifted off to the Caterham US website to have a nosey and I'm slightly shocked by the prices to self build minus an engine and for a basic spec.

Is it a case of suck it up or does anyone here have any bright ideas as to how to get closer to the UK pricing. Importing a used one is not an option and I want LHD.

Sourcing the engine in the US is no problem but paying $44k for a very basic spec is prohibitive.

Hoping someone can help or it's time for a rethink.

Cheers,
H

[anonymous-user]

You're right they do look quite excessive, especially if you throw in one of the engine packages. And in my experience, the basic price will go up significantly once the various extras have been added. God knows what a well specced 360 would cost complete.

[BBL-Sean]

Yes, prices of Caterhams here have probably about doubled in fewer than ten years. A used one might be a good option for you. The two main forums are USA7s and California Caterham Club, and both are free to join and participate (exception: if you wish to post in the For Sale sections of the USA7s forum, you must pay a $20 US "membership fee" - all other sections can be posted in freely after registering, for no cost).

Best of luck to you, sir.

[HCMH]

Thank you Gents. I thought when I was looking at the US website initially, they were complete packages due to the pricing. Basic specs are completely out of the market and what should be an affordable build offering value, most definitely isn't. It's a shame to see that this is their strategy, essentially extract the most $ from the die hard followers with no intention of spreading the caterham magic to more customers. I'll have a look at the second hand market but was really looking forward to spending some time in the garage building one. All of a sudden, the Ultima GTR looks very good value for the US but it is a much more intensive build.

Change the strategy Caterham!!!!

Cheers
H

[LostCroc]

Sadly the Caterham USA pricing is ridiculous as Sean pointed out. It gets worse when it comes time to maintain your car as they really are not supportive for parts/etc. - one of these days they may return one of my phone calls looking for parts for both of my Caterhams. So you end up doing long distance phone calls to Caterham UK and other UK suppliers to get what you need - not cheap again plus you pay for big postage costs/Fedex.

So if you are priced out by the new Caterhams and nothing in the used market is appetizing then maybe you look at the brands that have quickly occupied the cheaper and middle of the pricing tiers - Brunton with its Stalker and its new lightweight sevenesque vehickle or a Birkin? The guys there are definitely hungry for more business and very helpful/friendly. Brunton has a big advantage in that all of their parts are locally sourced. No they are not Caterhams but I bet you get virtually the same experience for a lot less money and a bit of extra work assembling.

Good luck with your move to the US!

Cheers
mike

[HCMH]

Cheers Mike,

Appreciate the info and it sounds like Caterham are missing a trick in the US. It seems they have not invested correctly or sufficiently in their US operation, a real shame and a missed opportunity for what could be a superb market for them. There are of course alternatives but it's tough to migrate once you have been a Caterham user.

I need to get settled first but suffice to say, it seems a Caterham is not on the horizon. Plenty of other fun toys out there though!

Appreciate the words of support for the move, I am headed to Dallas which is going to be a big change from NE Italy!!! Can't wait though and time to embrace everything it offers. Yeeeha!

Best,
Henry

[LostCroc]

Texas will be fun - cheap fuel go for a V8! A heads up then - if you don't go for a Caterham then be mindful of the State of TX titling and registration rules on kits cars which have been a bit of a mess lately although they were trying to fix things. Non-replicas have been having issues. Google "Texas title and Ariel Atom" for a taste.

Cheers
mike

[HCMH]

Thanks for the heads up...think I'll scrap the Caterham/ kit idea for the moment - I'm going to be flat out with the new job/ life etc so think the V8 options sounds good! I even found myself looking at ZO6's and F150 Raptors the other day, must be going mad!!! The Lotus itch might have to be scratched once again or go to the 911 dark side.

Whatever happens, the burgers and bbq are going to be good!

Cheers
H

[BBL-Sean]

HCMH said:

Whatever happens, the burgers and bbq are going to be good!

I always liked Angelo's on White Settlement Rd. in Fort Worth. Used to get the sliced beef sandwich, hold the onions.

Edited by BBL-Sean on Wednesday 28th October 20:26