Caterham 7

mjt · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:31

Would this be a really stupid thing to do?
After having messed around in one on Saturday, these things are epic fun.

****ing away over £10k on what is effectively a weekend toy is stupid, isn't it?

FWIW, sourcing one in the UK and importing it is far too much faff. Belgian homologation rules are idiotic.

Talk me out of it, people!
Long-term means selling the BMW and getting something like a Panda 100HP

Is there anything to look for in particular? I guess it helps that everything is pretty much on show already.

phil675 · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:39

I'd love one but I wouldn't want to if it really meant I'd have to drive around in a nasty car for the rest of the time!

Dave M · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:43

How often will you be able to track it in belgium? I could do a track day once or twice a month in the summer months and I've been seriously considering it (it would seem a caterham on the right brian james trailer will fit in my garage nicely.

mjt · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:46

Telescopi said:
How often will you be able to track it in belgium?

Very, very rarely. There's Zolder and Spa and that's about it.
I wouldn't get it as a track ****. It'd be set up for road use anyway as it'd fail the MOT with track suspension.

sigma · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:47

Seems a bit pointless if you can't take it to a track.

Dave M · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:48

mjt said:
Very, very rarely. There's Zolder and Spa and that's about it.
I wouldn't get it as a track ****. It'd be set up for road use anyway as it'd fail the MOT with track suspension.

If I couldn't regularly track it I wouldn't bother, they're for throwing around and having fun and I wouldn't dare push those limits on the road.

phil675 · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:49

I'm sure they have country lanes in Belgium..

Dave M · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:51

phil675 said:
I'm sure they have country lanes in Belgium..

Complete with tractors, tourists on the wrong side of the road and animals.

Steve JL · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:51

Get a Westfield you know you want to

mjt · 16 Nov 2011 at 19:54

Telescopi said:
If I couldn't regularly track it I wouldn't bother, they're for throwing around and having fun and I wouldn't dare push those limits on the road.

Zolder has track days quite often by the looks of it, and Spa does now and again. I'd be stupid not to track it.

Steve JL said:
Get a Westfield you know you want to

Impossible to MOT over here, unfortunately. Makes more sense really as they're half the price.
I could always just keep it on UK plates and hope the police never stop me

Caterham residuals are pretty solid though, aren't they?

Wayne~ · 16 Nov 2011 at 20:23

mjt said:
Long-term means selling the BMW and getting something like a Panda 100HP

I love my Panda 100HP, could be worse

Dave M · 16 Nov 2011 at 20:33

mjt said:
Zolder has track days quite often by the looks of it, and Spa does now and again. I'd be stupid not to track it.

Spa's great, quite a few UK trackday organisers do days out there, just wish it was closer.

Thinking of spa, isn't the nordschleife and Nürburgring quite close? I'm thinking you've probably got a lot of tracks within 2 hours?

I think for me a road legal 7 for sunny days on local back roads and a trailer to get to more distant tracks in comfort would be perfect.

s0ck · 16 Nov 2011 at 21:15

They're epic fun (I've only been a passenger and it was awesome) and they hold their value pretty well too.
10k is a lot of cash for something you can't use that often though and my mind started to turn to s2000s et al.

Darryn · 16 Nov 2011 at 21:19

Don't rule out Auto-Testing, that is if you enjoyed the Caterham Pursuit event, I really enjoyed that and have also been researching Caterham clones and local auto test organisers.

mjt · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:09

That one's got a crossflow with twin 40 Webers. Bet it sounds nice..

sigma · 16 Nov 2011 at 22:31

mjt said:
Very, very rarely. There's Zolder and Spa and that's about it. I wouldn't get it as a track ****.

mjt said:
I'd be stupid not to track it.

Make yer mind up.

mjt · 17 Nov 2011 at 07:54

sigma said:
Make yer mind up.

I've changed it now

It still wouldn't be a track ****, but Zolder is less than an hour's drive, and they do track days quite regularly by the looks of it.

Gibbo · 17 Nov 2011 at 09:04

phil675 said:
I'm sure they have country lanes in Belgium..

There is one thing you don't want to do in a Caterham on the road, thats crash as you will be severely hurt or dead.

They are track toys, on the road they drive poorly unless the roads you drive are smooth and great quality otherwise they are most enjoyed on a track where you can explore the limits and have lots of fun doing so in safe surroundings.

-Ad- · 17 Nov 2011 at 09:12

They arn't that good, just fun due to being soo raw and the constant 'Danger Feeling of Impended Death' factor

Get an EM FREE, WIV XENONS !!!!!

mjt · 17 Nov 2011 at 09:48

Gibbo said:
There is one thing you don't want to do in a Caterham on the road, thats crash as you will be severely hurt or dead.

They are track toys, on the road they drive poorly unless the roads you drive are smooth and great quality otherwise they are most enjoyed on a track where you can explore the limits and have lots of fun doing so in safe surroundings.

Hmm. I'll give that guy a call and if he's around this weekend it'll be interesting to see just how poorly it rides on normal roads.

-Ad- said:
They arn't that good, just fun due to being soo raw and the constant 'Danger Feeling of Impended Death' factor

Get an EM FREE, WIV XENONS !!!!!

Yeah, but I want fun. Something that puts a smile on your face is totally worth it. Unfortunately the M3 has prohibitive insurance premiums. €4k pa, no thanks.