Cranky

One of the biggest questions that keeps coming up about the car is fit. It's an S3, so it is small. I just measured the width of the seat and it is roughly 14" inches wide. If you're curious as to whether you'll fit, build yourself a mock seating area that has walls 14" apart and 6" high. If you can squeeze into that space comfortably, you can probably squeeze into the car. If your hips are too wide for that, they're probably too wide for the seat.

I added some engine pictures. 

https://photos.barbierifamily.org/Other/Caterham-R300/n-R5865/i-D2nTjcw

Oh, and if I sent you my phone number via the message function, please text me before you call. I get several spam calls a day trying to sell extended warranties and so I'm used to ignoring the phone. One prospective buyer called yesterday and his phone number showed up as "Scam likely". Fortunately, I answered it anyway. But texting first will help your chances of not being mistaken for spam.

If you do try to call and can't get through, message me with your number here and I'll call you.

I uploaded a bunch of pictures. The first 17 are old pictures. The remaining pictures are ones I took this morning. I also included a video of a cold start. I just realized that I have no pictures of under the hood. I'll add more later. I put descriptions on a lot of the pictures to provide more context. I've tried to disclose everything relevant - the scratches, the crack in the windshield, and stuff like that.

You can see the pictures and video here: https://photos.barbierifamily.org/Other/Caterham-R300/n-R5865/i-cRMbBxw

Once again, I would like feedback on what pictures or videos would be helpful to prospective buyers.

22 hours ago, Vovchandr said:

One thing thats expected by any modern seller is pictures and lots of them. They don't have to be professional but that surely helps and usually pays for itself even if you have to hire somebody. Plus you get to keep the pictures to look back on fondly after that experience. 

 

 

 

Edit: Could you do me a small favor and measure your front fender width in the center > edge to edge? You have the same wheels I have and I'm troubleshooting my fitment issues in a different thread and looking for more data points. 

 

I'll make sure to take a bunch of pictures. I'm a hobbyist photographer, so that won't be a problem.

I measured my front fender as roughly 9" from edge to edge, so I presume that would be 4.5" from center to edge.

19 hours ago, panamericano said:

If it is registered on a Texas Antique plate, the title probably says something like mine - 1965 Lotus.  I only have the Classic plate which requires annual Safety inspection (no smog), and annual renewal.  The Antique plate gets a 5 year registration at some discount and no annual Safety inspection.  The reason I have not upgraded to Antique is that the application requires an affidavit with conditions on a little restricted use (no one will ever know anyway), BUT you are also swearing that it is not a REPLICA (it is).  A nasty cop might see through that.  Keep your Antique plate when you sell it and deliver it with the title.  The buyer can get a 30 day temp paper plate for about $20 if he needs it to get home and transfer the title.

I think it is registered as a '62 Lotus Seven or something like that. My wife handled all the registration. My intent was to register it as an assembled car or something like that, but when my wife took it in they said that they didn't have any of those plates and gave her an antique plate instead. I believe that I'm only supposed to drive it to shows or something. I've never been stopped, but I'm always prepared to say that I'm on my way to or from a "coffee and cars" or something.

18 hours ago, Vovchandr said:

I also have a wild card alternative if you're even considering an auction site like BaT.

 

 

I thought someone on the forum has been trying unsuccessfully for years to get him to review a 7. I know that he loves odd cars, but I don't think a seven is something he'd be interested in. I'm pretty certain that he's too big to safely fit into my S3 that has a standard (not lowered) floor.

16 hours ago, escondidoron said:

We're presently listing a car on BaT for a dear friend with medical issues.  The BaT lead time is about a month to 6 weeks from the date of application to auction end.  It is not an immediate cause and effect situation like placing an ad on Craigslist.  But then you reach a targeted audience of higher quality buyers.  It also takes some time to put together the necessary materials to support the advert.  In this case we took a few cell phone pics and included them with the application.   We were pretty confident of BaT accepting the application so we went forward with taking the pics in advance.  I spent about a week all-in on the pics; parts of 3 separate days on taking pics, another day shooting video, and the remaining 2 days editing video, down selecting still images and then uploading to Flickr & Vimeo to host.  Or you can arrange photography through BaT using one of their 'preferred' photographers.  For a fee of course.

 

Besides taking pics, you will need to be able to spend a fair amount of time supporting the auction once it goes live.  with 2 days remaining we're presently at 74 or so comments with about 1/3 of those requiring responses from the sellers (myself and my colleague).  Most of the questions come from individuals who are looky-loos at best.  Never the less it is important to deal effectively with all requests for information.  It is critical that your responses be honest, accurate, and most importantly, timely.  Basically, the more attention that you can give to the auction, the better your results will be.  Here's a link to the MGB V8 we're selling to give you a flavor of the commitment required.

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-mg-mgb-gt-31/

 

Best of luck if you decide to move forward with a sale.  Or if you go forward with an auction, as commenters typically say on BaT, GLWTA.

I had no idea that listing on BAT was so involved. That's good info. My challenge is that my wife and I are relatively recently retired and are only home for a 2-3 weeks at a time between travels. That might make it difficult. 

I really appreciate everyone's responses. I'll take a bunch of pictures of shoot some videos. I'll probably start by reposting here and in the local Lotus group Facebook site. If that doesn't work, I guess BAT is the next stop.

I'll miss the car. It was a dream come true to own one and I loved the first few years of having it. Also, this forum has been a great resource. The community really benefits its existence and the help the members provide.

I've got a Caterham R300 (2013) with about 5,000 miles on it. I think I'm going to sell it. I've never done anything like this before. I'd appreciate any help you can give on setting and price and picking a place or places to list it.

This is the originally listing from back when I bought the car:

Quote

*** ONLY 5 MILES *** BRAND NEW! FRESHLY BUILT CATERHAM SUPERLIGHT R300! $59,500 IN PARTS ALONE BEFORE LABOR! WHY WAIT TO BUILD ONE - AVAILABLE TODAY! SAVE $15,000. FORD DURATEC 2.0L 175HP ENGINE! LIMTED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL! FULL SCREEN & WEATHER EQUIPMENT! MOMO STEERING WHEEL! 5-SPEED MANUAL! Finished in Viper Blue Metallic with bonnet and nose stripe in white. Caterham sport racing seats with 4-point racing harness. Leather wrapped 3-spoke Momo steering wheel with Caterham aluminum short shifter. 15” 10-spoke graphite finished alloy wheels with full size spare and carrier. Push–button ignition starter. Full screen with weather equipment and tonneau cover. Other features include aero filler cap, limited slip differential, track-day roll bar, exhaust guards with 7” silencer in black, battery master switch and fire extinguisher. All Manuals and 2 Keys. Complete invoices. Non-Smoker. Stunning!

The car has about 4,000 miles on it now (I think, I should check). I made several mods:

1. Added a 5th point to the harnesses
2. Changed out the battery for a smaller lithium battery
3. Added USB ports to the dash
4. Replaced the speedo with a GPS based speedo
5. Added doors
6. Added a half-top
7. Added a rollbar mounted third brake light
8. Added several small chips, a scratch or two, and a small crack in the windshield.

It's registered as an antique vehicle in Texas, although I think my 5 year registration will need to be renewed soon. Also, the tires are original. They look good, but they're getting old.

I was thinking about asking for something in the low $40s, but I don't have a good sense for whether that is too high or too low.

Once again, I'm interested in any advice on how to price it and where to sell it. And if anyone wants to buy it, I guess I'm also open for offers.

I took my Caterham when I sent to get vaccinated the other day. I didn't expect a long, slow moving line. We were in stop and go (mostly stop) traffic for 2 hours. Then the car had enough and stalled out. A quick checks showed that my battery was below 9 volts.

I have a lithium ion battery. When I got the car home, I charged it over night to about 13.5 volts. The charge drifted down to 13.0 volts after 3 days, which is normal. It usually drops to the high 12s after a few days and will hold the mid 12s for months. I took it out for a 6 mile drive near the house this morning and the voltage on the battery increased slightly from the 13.0 initial voltage to 13.5 volts. During the drive, the voltage showed between 12.8 and 14.0 volts.

Am I wrong in concluding that things are working fine and that the problem was that my alternator doesn't put out enough amps at idle to sustain the car for hours, especially when having to run the radiator fan? Or am I missing something. I thought my next trip would be in the 20-30 mile to give it another test.

Couldn't they just use parking boots on them? Or just let the air out of the tires instead of vandalizing them? It doesn't seem like a good way to handle a situation in which the cars are very likely to be owned by innocent people.

Amazing! Thanks, guys. I never would have found it.

I've got this old picture of my father and I'm trying to identify the car. Any ideas? The picture was probably 1956 +/- a couple of years. The car looks like a Cadillac to me, but I can't find any images of a similar Cadillac. Any guesses?

I own a 2013 R300. It's this car: http://www.chariotsofpb.com/chariots/inventory/details/SDKLDK3NS11070411. I bought it many years ago. It's pretty much the same only I've sorted out several issues (with a lot of help here). I think the only significant changes are the addition of a third break light on the rollbar, adding a half-top and doors, and replacing the battery with an Li battery.

I'm not interested in selling it, but I'd like to have some really rough estimate of it's current value. It seems like Sevens trade so infrequently and are so different that I have no clue what a reasonable value is for it. Anyone care to put a guess or to give advice on how to make an educated guess?

The carpet is coming unglued from my tillets. Is there any particular glue I should use to reattach it?

That's gorgeous!

Thanks for all the feedback. I ordered one of the Wisamic lights. It is definitely cheap enough to be worth experimenting with.

I'm considering switching out the headlights on my Caterham S3 with their newer LED headlights. It looks like its about $800 for a new pair. Has anyone done it? Is it worth the cost and bother? I don't drive at night often, but when I do, the headlights are appallingly dim.

Ruthless People - This could very well be the stupidest person on the face of the earth.

"k" is kitchen. Grease fires and such.

My wife had a full right hip replacement. She doesn't drive my Caterham very often, but it hasn't impeded her use of it as a passenger. We took a 3-day weekend trip in it recently and she had no issues with it at all. That was four months after surgery. She's very glad that she had the operation done.

Any recommendations for a tunnel bag for an S3? I'm going to start taking some longer drives and thought it would be handy to have a place to put my phone and a few other random items.

I live up in The Woodlands. I think Paul Kwan arranges some LOST (Lotus Owners of South Texas?) stuff from time-to-time.

Inertia switch for the win. I did the starting fluid test and confirmed that it was a lack of fuel. Then I searched for the "black rubber button" and found it on the passenger side of the firewall under the bonnet. One push and I was good to go. Thanks!

I drive a 2013 R300 with a Ford Duratec engine. I was driving home and hit a hole in the road. Immediately after that, my power dropped off and the car stopped. I can crank the engine, but it doesn't catch.

It's been a long time since I worked on cars (my 1982 Civic). I know that I'm probably lacking either fuel or spark. Where do I start? Any way to check to see if fuel is getting to the injectors? Where is the fuel pump(s)? The spark plugs have fancy things on the end that are screwed into the block. Can I take one off to see if it is sparking?

Any help would be appreciated.