Am I being pathetic?

[Randolph]

Hello all, saw a car for sale through the official Caterham website, seemed to be everything I wanted. Then I saw this video:

https://youtu.be/1RtMwoaCr-8

Can’t help thinking this is a touch poor, do many used Caterhams get this sort of running in? Seems like a high risk marketing strategy given these you tubers are shall we say a little punchy?

Just after thoughts really!

[Caddyshack]

He seems a bit of a geezer but that would not put me off the car....they can take loads of abuse and you could drive it like you stole it all day long and it would be fine.

People often big up uk press cars...look at how the press get 0-60 times.

[Randolph]

Possibly, but then he did manage to actually break it.

[Caddyshack]

As long as it is fixed I would not worry.

Looks like an awesome machine.

A lot of cars get abuse, not all of it is on YouTube.

Have you found an alternative?

I used to have a 7, it was great fun.

[Randolph]

I’m fairly sure that other Caterham adverts make it clear when a car has been used as a hire car, seems sensible to me and I’ve little doubt that if I asked them they would tell disclose it as a ‘press’ car but it’s just a touch galling to see it thrashed and get it’s sump broken.

Think I’ll keep waiting for the right one!

[mickrick]

I got to 2.50 and couldn't stand monkey any more. I want to knock monkey´s shades off his empty head.
Did he really say "power steering reservoir"?
Walk away, and find one that's been treated with respect by a loving enthusiast.

[Gulf7]

Buying an ex demonstrator would mean checking everything. I don't think people always treat cars they don't own as well as their own. I was watching the great unwashed climb in and out of the Caterhams at C4RFEST South - kids were using the exhaust as a step and by day two the windscreen on the 310R was cracked

[Smitters]

He's obviously an acquired taste, but clipping the sump is an occupational hazard with a 7. He knows he's done something, pulled it over and there's still oil coming out. Could be worse. Could be some spanker with no appreciation who razzed on and seized the thing solid.

[Caddyshack]

Smitters said:

He's obviously an acquired taste, but clipping the sump is an occupational hazard with a 7. He knows he's done something, pulled it over and there's still oil coming out. Could be worse. Could be some spanker with no appreciation who razzed on and seized the thing solid.

Yes, I split the sump on mine...went off a yump and landed a bit hard.

[Kenty in Weardale]

I bought the ex press fleet 270S SV direct from Caterham. I feel the deal I got was good and, several niggles down the line, (usually bits shaking loose, roads in this part of the world can be "interesting) feel that I have a very good car that will have been serviced to within an inch of its life, has been very highly specced and never broken down

[anonymous-user]

What a load of crap! Monkey certainly lives up to his name, what an idiot.

I don’t know of a 7 anywhere that would ever have been treated like that by an owner, just steer clear of ex demos, especially when some emotional retard has had it.

Having said that, they’re not totally bulletproof. You can push them hard but regular maintenance, spanner checks and fluid changes are important for reliability. Of course, all very easily done.

Ground clearance is quite low but a little care on unknown roads is all that’s needed, IME.

[BertBert]

My first one was an ex-press and demo car and I didn't give it a second thought. Yes blokey is a bit of a tt, but I'm sure he's not the first person to have lit up the rears on a Caterham.
Bert

[johnwilliams77]

BertBert said:

My first one was an ex-press and demo car and I didn't give it a second thought. Yes blokey is a bit of a tt, but I'm sure he's not the first person to have lit up the rears on a Caterham.
Bert

Wouldn’t bother me too much either but looks like he is sitting with his foot on the brake and the throttle?

[Caddyshack]

johnwilliams77 said:

Wouldn’t bother me too much either but looks like he is sitting with his foot on the brake and the throttle?

Yes, typical burnout way of doing it, the drag strip cars do it all the time and with something as light as the Caterham I don't think it would do much harm...certainly not as a one off.


Many Caterhams will have done track days and that would probably put them under similar stress. We used to slide a friends R300 around all the time at Bedford and it never missed a beat and when we all shared it the car only ever stopped for fuel for a whole day at a time.

[johnwilliams77]

How many miles did you get to a tank on track?
8-10mpg?

[Caddyshack]

johnwilliams77 said:

How many miles did you get to a tank on track?
8-10mpg?

It was a while ago and it was my mates R300 so I wasn't the one putting in the jungle juice but that engine was pretty low state of tune and it is a light car so I would expect a bit more mpg. My 911 was stripped but a lot heavier and I used to get around 10mpg on track (84, 3.2)

We used to do about 100 miles before having to fill up but not sure on the tank size.

[anonymous-user]

johnwilliams77 said:

BertBert said:

My first one was an ex-press and demo car and I didn't give it a second thought. Yes blokey is a bit of a tt, but I'm sure he's not the first person to have lit up the rears on a Caterham.
Bert

Wouldn’t bother me too much either but looks like he is sitting with his foot on the brake and the throttle?

And it’s a Sigma. They have trouble keeping oil inside the sump when they're molly coddled let alone treated like that.

There've also been widespread issues with LSD plate wear and diff leaks, none of which would be helped by the sort of treatment shown in that video.

I agree the weight means that the drivetrain isn’t as loaded as it might be, and my car has done several TDs with no issues but I wouldn’t want a car that had been mindlessly abused like that.

[Tom 7]

REALIST123 said:

What a load of crap! Monkey certainly lives up to his name, what an idiot.

I don’t know of a 7 anywhere that would ever have been treated like that by an owner, just steer clear of ex demos, especially when some emotional retard has had it.

Having said that, they’re not totally bulletproof. You can push them hard but regular maintenance, spanner checks and fluid changes are important for reliability. Of course, all very easily done.

Ground clearance is quite low but a little care on unknown roads is all that’s needed, IME.

I treat mine worse! Racing a Caterham will be much harder on the car than a YouTuber doing a burnout! When me and my dad shared his car for hill climbing we’d both aggressively spin the wheels before runs to warm the tyres at least 4 times each a day and his car never appeared to suffer for it! If you are happy with the overall condition and spec I wouldn’t let that video put you off. They are tough cars mine has done over 20000 hard miles on track and it’s still going strong!

[coppice]

My first was an ex motorshow/press car and over 50k miles she was a honey , with very few hissy fits.Better to buy one used than some over polished treasure which gets driven for an MOT every year and not much else.

But an annoying little tic , innit ....

[BertBert]

REALIST123 said:

And it’s a Sigma.

I didn't pay too much attention, but isn't it a 360 Duranail?