pickles Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Hi Looking for some advice and wisdom Have always fancied building a Caterham 7 since I was a teenager…why a Caterham ?…well originally I am from the UK and have a friend who built one there, so slightly biased to towards this particular build. I think coming from the UK is my biggest problem, in that I am accustomed to the UK price of the car and where it fits in comparison with other vehicles in terms of this pricing and value. In the UK the base price of a 360 is just over $30K…whereas here it is approaching $60K…nearly double the price. I know that there are other factors to consider such as shipping costs … but this would nowhere near justify this price difference (When I moved here to the US, I used a shipping container that would fit 4 or 5 Caterhams in it and this was only about $3K) Looking at some ‘new’ / older cars on the Caterham USA website I also am not understanding the USA pricing situation:- For example a ‘new’ 2014 360…which I have found a previous listing for, was originally for sale as a complete car for $49K … now it is 53K for just the rolling chassis…so effect circa a $20K price hike. Given the above pricing has anyone any input on importing a kit directly from the UK (obviously minus the engine) ? If I told the ‘other half’ I was thinking of spending 60K on a Caterham, she would rightly have a fit and beat me all the way to a local Corvette dealership to spend that sort of wedge on a more practical car J Any input greatly appreciated. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 I have no idea, but I can't wait though to hear the answer from other more knowledgeable folks. The Caterham is an automotive treasure but is so unrealistically priced compared to other cars that it has an unsustainable business model. IF I were going to spend $100K for a new high end Cat, I might just get a Lotus Evora 400S. Or a new 'vette-and a Prius for the wife:), etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBe Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 PM sent. The "classic" acquisition cost of a Caterham was driven by the distribution model and nominal currency exchange rates. Both have dramatically changed. We have taken orders for new Sevens over the last several months, and clients have been pleasantly surprised. Cheers, -Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian7 Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 I heartily concur, pickles. I built and sold 2 complete Caterham's back in the 2000's for less than a rolling chassis costs today. Makes zero sense to me, as (engines aside) virtually nothing has changed in decades. Purely an impression, others will add facts if available, but roughly since Superformance came along, it appears to be a profit grab. Exchange rates were higher years ago, and that affects stock on hand, but why the cost of a new car today hasn't dropped 20% eludes me. I briefly toyed with the idea of a direct import, knowing full well there'd be (justifiably) no support from the locals, but my guess is CaterhamUK wouldn't talk to anyone with a USA shipping address. Hi Looking for some advice and wisdom Have always fancied building a Caterham 7 since I was a teenager…why a Caterham ?…well originally I am from the UK and have a friend who built one there, so slightly biased to towards this particular build. I think coming from the UK is my biggest problem, in that I am accustomed to the UK price of the car and where it fits in comparison with other vehicles in terms of this pricing and value. In the UK the base price of a 360 is just over $30K…whereas here it is approaching $60K…nearly double the price. I know that there are other factors to consider such as shipping costs … but this would nowhere near justify this price difference (When I moved here to the US, I used a shipping container that would fit 4 or 5 Caterhams in it and this was only about $3K) Looking at some ‘new’ / older cars on the Caterham USA website I also am not understanding the USA pricing situation:- For example a ‘new’ 2014 360…which I have found a previous listing for, was originally for sale as a complete car for $49K … now it is 53K for just the rolling chassis…so effect circa a $20K price hike. Given the above pricing has anyone any input on importing a kit directly from the UK (obviously minus the engine) ? If I told the ‘other half’ I was thinking of spending 60K on a Caterham, she would rightly have a fit and beat me all the way to a local Corvette dealership to spend that sort of wedge on a more practical car J Any input greatly appreciated. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comley Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 I found myself in a similar situation a while back. I'm also from the UK and grew up seeing Caterhams on the road over there. I'd wanted a Caterham forever but wasn't able to fund a project at that $ level even after living in the US for many years. YMMV but finally after a lot of soul-searching I concluded it was more important to me to have something Seven-like near-term, rather than a Caterham in the potentially very long-term. That realization helped and I pulled the trigger on a Stalker build last December with some 'personalizations' to get my Seven to be what I wanted. -Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBe Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 I heartily concur, pickles. ...but why the cost of a new car today hasn't dropped 20% eludes me... Who have you most recently received a quote from? Per my earlier response, the landscape has changed. -Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedwagon Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 My 2 cents, as a superformance owner, I say get a quote from this man with a history of support. during this rebuild I will likely remove the superformance label to prevent embarrassment. car is ok-- needs much sorting and some redesign (and a fab shop for replacement parts) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVP66S Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 How much are you willing to build and what's your building skill level? You can get a new Westfield kit from Manik for $14,500 plus the donor car (200 HP Honda S-2000, 140 HP Miata without the turbo, Hayabusa, etc) but it's a lot more work to assemble than a Cat. http://manikllc.com/brochures/Sport_Miata_Component_kit.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickles Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 Hi Well knock me down with a feather !! I went from a “Caterham…No way can I afford it !! Have to move back to the UK” person , To a “Holy crap I have an order in!!!” person, within the space of a couple of days. Many thanks Bruce at Beachman Racing (And of course this fourm) Still don’t think ‘her indoors’ is that happy but compared to the price I was leading her to believe it would be, now I am approaching saint-hood (She still wants a Corvette…but what’s a guy to do) For all of the skeptics whose only source of pricing was the US Caterham website (Me included a week ago) Please reach out to Bruce… Trust me, you’ll be a lot happier…not sure about the wife :-) All the best Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 (edited) Congrats!!! What are the specs? Color etc. Edited December 6, 2016 by yellowss7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bball7754 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Are they only available as rolling assembled chassis, or can you still purchase as a kit and assemble yourself? Seems like the kit option went away with Superformance. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickles Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 Hi I went the kit option, rather than the rolling chassis...a 360s in balastic orange. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I just love how this forum helps enable men be assertive over their wives and buy their dream! Congratulations! I think you will be very happy. Just allow enough budget to buy a nice scarf to protect her hairdo and some regular time at the hairdressers. What type of lead time is on the kit delivery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Off Road SHO Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Back when I wanted to spend a small fortune on an off road car, I placed an old copy of the Trade-a-Plane want ads on the coffee table with a few Cessnas circled in red. Then casually mentioned that I couldn't decide between a sand buggy and a plane. She was all for the buggy. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBe Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 (edited) I just love how this forum helps enable men be assertive over their wives and buy their dream! Congratulations! I think you will be very happy. Just allow enough budget to buy a nice scarf to protect her hairdo and some regular time at the hairdressers. What type of lead time is on the kit delivery? It seems that kit lead-times are shorter than rolling chassis orders right now. Caterham is enjoying a robust year in terms of orders, and most buyers opt for a complete vehicle (UK and ROW), or a rolling chassis here. A kit order we placed in mid-October had a build "slot" of week-12 in 2017. A rolling-chassis order we took a few weeks later was assigned a production slot of week *38*. I've been told that the demand for kits vs. rollers is cyclical - folks want to build a kit during the rainy/snowy winter, but want to simply enjoy a car once the weather improves. Given that, I would guess that the order queue for kits will start to build further, once the scheduled production slots for kits start approaching next fall. Another point to consider - Caterham has three payment milestones, and the schedule is very much financially back-loaded. For us, a US$3500 deposit will secure an order in the system and *reserve* a production slot. A buyer may tweak and modify the vehicle spec until 12-weeks prior to the car entering production, which is also the second payment milestone. We get periodic updates on the production schedule as well. Cheers, -Bruce Edited December 7, 2016 by BruceBe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Very interesting. Thank you for sharing that Bruce! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taber10 Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Pickles, Congratulations on your purchase. I suggest you do not let the wife purchase a "Vette": At least here in Florida, during the heat of the summer, it was very hard to jump in the Cat 7SV with the Vette parked there beside it. BUT if you ever get to the Panhandle, I can let her drive a 2015 Convertible.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky dawg Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 I had a 2004 Corvette for almost eight years until getting my CSR. The best bang for the price, but a very different experience. Compared to a Caterham, the vette is almost like a grand touring car. It is much more usable year round, but you miss much of the sensory experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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