Buying a Seven - Help!!!

[Andy-M]

This may well be in the wrong area of the site so, if it is, apologies and please point me at the right place!

 

I've been wanting a seven for years and have finally gotten the funds together and decided to take the plunge! So, I've just joined the club and am looking for some help with what I should be looking out for when viewing / test driving.

 

I've pretty much decided that I want an 1800 k series - so I'm going to look at this one on at the weekend -

http://www.woodcotesportscars.com/car-sales/details.asp?StockID=7315

 

It's not done many miles so may well have been sat around for quite some time in the previous owners garage. I understand this can be bad for the car so I'm wandering if anyone knows a bit about this ones history / can tell me what I should be looking for?

 

Woodcote tell me it's just had a £500 MOT - so fingers crossed any issues have been resolved - but since I'm new to this and don't have a lot of background knowledge any help / advice would be massively appreciated!

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Have you looked at the S3 and the wider SV bodies ? I couldn't fit in an S3 ... and my feet covered all the pedals.

 

Whichever one you go for ... you will probably want narrow shoes for driving.

 

Do you have a local pub meet where you can see club members with different types of car. Plenty of experience there

 

Edit ... link to your advert. It hasn't been far in 15 years has it 😳

 

Edited by - Stationary M25 Traveller on 25 Apr 2013 19:20:09

[Andy-M]

I went down to Crawley to look at what they have last weekend, spent some time driving an S3, which seemed ok - narrow shoes are definitely required though! The SV models seem to be more expensive, generally?

Looks like my closest group is the Northants, Beds and Bucks group who don't meet for nearly another month :(

There's a '98 seven at Crawley that's only covered 1500 miles!!

 

Edited by - Andy-M on 25 Apr 2013 19:30:10

[Ivaan]

Welcome to the club Andy.

This is a great place for making friends and widening your horizons.

 

Try contacting your local ARs, who I believe are Peter Griffiths or Simon Hill.

 

I won't put their contact details on here, but if you have a copy of Lowflying, you'll find them in there.

 

I'm sure someone local will be along soon to advise / help.

 

Clive

[Area Rep CoOrdinator]

Hi Andy, welcome to the club.

There is a prototype Area Meetings Map here which may help identify if there are any other groups near you

If you plan to go and look at a car I'd suggest giving the Area Rep of the area where it's located a ring (contact details are in Low Flying, usually a double page spread towards the back), and see if they can suggest a local member who could meet you to look at the car - most members would like a nose around another car, so I doubt there would be much arm-twisting required (alternatively post a request in the Chitchat section, although far from all members use blatchat).

 

Woodcote are closest to Surrey Area, and Crawley is covered by Mid Sussex, and there is quite a high concentration of members in both areas.

 

If you get any problems drop me a blatmail (click the little envelope icon at the top of this post)

 

 

[Andy-M]

Thanks so much for the quick replies all! It turns out that my closest meeting is actually the Herts (2nd Sunday) run, the map was really helpful and worked well :)

 

I've sent an email out to the Surrey group reps about Saturday, so fingers crossed should hear back from them soon :). It's really great to know there are people around who are happy to help out and take a look at cars - I've been really quite worried about managing to land myself with a clunker!

[Jonathan Kay]

Usual advice:

Look at lots.

Don't fall in love with one.

Take a friend: you've got that covered.

 

Jonathan

[MereCat]

Andy,

 

Welcome.

 

Not too sure which end you are for your nearest area (Beds / Bucks) but there is a Penn 7's meet on Saturday if you want to pop along, say hi and pick a few brains. I am sure both AR's (Mark and Carl) will support me when I say you would be most welcome.

 

BM me if you don't have a copy of Low Flying for the address and time.

 

Cheers

Paul

[7TOM]

Look at loads then go back and get the first one you see, worked for me, oh and greens a must

[Markiebabes]

😬 Hi Andy and welcome Penn7's this coming Saturday if you want to chat about cars should be a few to look at there

I'm helping another member collect his car from CCsouth next week fingers crossed

 

I we can help in any way give us a shout

 

 

 

 

 

[Andy-M]

Unfortunately won't be able to make penn 7s :(. My other half has our car for the day so it's trains only for me (yes, a 7 IS the answer!!). Thanks for the suggestions though :).

[Keechy]

Hi Andy-M, welcome to the club, I also live in Bedfordshire, if you want a csr 260 to look at, sit in, or possibly even test drive don't hesitate to contact me if that helps.

[Graham King]

Andy, for what's it worth that looks like a reasonable spec car and from the photos looks in good condition. It is also 6 speed, which on a K-series is a very desirable option, the advert doesn't say if it is a SuperSport engine (140BHP rather than standard 120BHP), so I guess it is standard. Stuart (owner of Woodcote) has been in the Caterham business for many years and is well regarded, I know someone who bought a car from him and was very happy with the way he was treated both during and after sale. I don't think Woodcote would sell a "clunker" so I wouldn't worry about that.

 

If you get stuck on Saturday I am fairly local to Woodcote (about 10 miles away) and would be happy to help if you want. If the Surrey area come back with someone more knowledgeable then excellent but if you get stuck drop me an email.

 

Regards.

 

Graham.

[Andy-M]

@Keechy - thanks, that would be awesome, though I'm pretty sure you're an evil person trying to tempt me into spending lots more money on a CSR :).

 

@Graham - I asked Stuart about the BHP and he's responded saying it's the 140BHP variant - I presume the SuperSport is the only 140BHP K-Series? (Sorry, I really am very new to this!). I've been finding it difficult to find a useful source of information on the different engines and the terminology around them. Thanks for the information re Stuart and Woodcote - that's very reassuring :). Thanks for the offer, I'll be sure to give you a shout if needed :)

 

For what it's worth I've summarised the additional information I've had from Stuart below:

 

1800 Super sport 140 BHP

3 Previous Owners

First Registered -28/9/98

Just had a £500 service owner sold due to ill health.

By the look of it it's seen mostly road use,

NO stone chips down the sides.

previously stored in garage

heated screen

DeDion car

 

[Golf Juliet Tango]

1 - Do it, in my opinion you will not regret it.

2 - Good advice about Woodcote, there are reasons to deal with a company (and ones for private sale too).

Quoting Jonathan Kay: 

Usual advice:

Look at lots.

Don't fall in love with one.

Take a friend: you've got that covered.

😬 I did none of those. I still have the car fifteen years later!

[Graham King]

Andy, the 140BHP (SuperSport) option was sold as an upgrade to the standard 1.8K 120BHP engine. It cost about £1000, it included different camshafts, an updated ECU map and a different colour (red) cam cover insert, so that's an easy way to tell.

 

That car also has an FIA Roll Bar (thicker gauge and stronger) which was another cost option, I can't tell from the photos if it is widetrack suspension at the front or not but that is another worthwhile upgrade (but can be done fairly easily post purchase). In short that car has most of the nice and costly options already on it so looks like a nice car. All cars have a heated windscreen as they have no heater vents on the screen so have to have a way of clearing it for the MoT.

 

I've owned 2 * 1.8K's over the last 10 years (the current one for 8 years now) and they are a very nice car. If you decide to look at others then from my experience I would say the one option to make sure you have is a 6 speed box, the 5 speed does not match the K-Series that well (I've had both) in my opinion and to retrofit a 6-Speed is costly, the box itself is approx £2500 (available 2nd hand for approx £1500) and that's without labour. A 5-Speed car will be cheaper than a 6-Speed car, everything else being equal. The rest is all doable should you decide you wish to.

 

Let me know if you do need a hand.

 

Graham.

[Andy-M]

Awesome, thanks, I'm learning lots :). Yes, I'm very keen on having the 6 speed box, that and the 140BHP option are pretty much my base criteria.

It's interesting to hear that the Wide Track suspension is a fairly easy upgrade - do you have any idea of the rough cost to get that done? I think I'm already going to have to get the drivers side (as a minimum) lowered, so there'll be some work to be done post purchase unless I find one that already has that done.

 

[I reply to every thread]

If you can fit in a S3 you eally don't want an SV. I find that the SV compromises the driving experience hugely

[Graham King]

Andy, not sure how much the widetrack conversion would cost, to a degree it depends if you could do the work yourself, but I suspect it could all be done for < £1k. I would drop Stuart an email and ask him if that car is widetrack or not.

 

Happy hunting.

 

Graham.

[prangerman]

My first Caterham was a 1998 Supersport and was an excellent entry level car. It had enough grunt to give me the Caterham experience and while I could (and did on occasions) scare the bejeesus out of myself it wasn't lunatic performance for road use.

 

You mention the car you have in mind is 1800. My 1998 SS was a 1600 so worth checking the V5 to be sure you know what you are getting. I almost bought my first 7 from Stuart at Woodcote and he was willing to haggle. (I know others have found him unwilling to do so, but you may be lucky.)

 

Peter

[Andy-M]

Thanks again all,

 

@Peter I'll make sure to check the V5 but it's definitely listed as an 1800 so hopefully that shouldn't be an issue :). Good to know I'm looking in the right ballpark in terms of performance though :).

 

@Graham - thanks again, I doubt I'd be able to do the work myself without a comprehensive guide, and I suspect I'd only mess it up so would probably need to get it fitted professionally :). I'll ask Stuart on Saturday about it I think. It's a nice to have for me and something I can look to upgrade later as opposed to an essential so still worth taking a look even if it doesn't have it :).

[Alan Bowler]

Looks good to me, and has has a good selection of important options ticked (FIA bar/Apollo/adjustable platforms). I certainly wouldn't let widetrack be a deal breaker - didn't make much difference to me after I fitted it.

 

Might be worth checking the diff ratio. Will almost certainly be 3.62 (normal ratio for 6 speed). If its 3.92 (normal for 5 speed) it will be great for accelaration, but may become a bit wearing for motorway/touring.

Advert doesn't mention whether it has an LSD. Again, would be a "nice to have" but not a deal breaker, and gives you something to upgrade later, when the bug hits.

(1.8SS is plenty fast enough for me!)

 

Go for it!

[TIM 5O]

Hi Andy

Welcome to the club

Woodcote is a good place to start as you will see an assortment of cars there and you will find Stuart a real help

whilst there I would also check out the VX engined yellow car which I think is good value

[Graham King]

Agree with what Alan said re widetrack, I suspect the diff will be 3.92, I think 3.62 was only fitted where the 6-speed was standard (e.g. Superlight) or if it was specifically requested, I also very much doubt it will have an LSD but again agree with Alan certainly not a deal breaker, also it's not really needed on the road, nice for donuts though 😳. No real way of telling the diff ratio unfortunately.

 

as Alan says a nice spec for a first Caterham.

[LazerBrain]

Quoting Andy-M: 

I've been finding it difficult to find a useful source of information on the different engines and the terminology around them.

 

Welcome to the club Andy

 

The Magnificent 7 book is a great guide to the various models. This edition has been superseded, but covers all the changes up to around 2001 I think. It's worth looking elsewhere for a copy, or posting a wanted ad in case anyone here is thinking of selling. I read my copy cover to cover when I was 7 hunting...