New Sales Model - Caterham in the USA

[CarYenta]

29 minutes ago, Exarkun1178 said:

Right now, my calculator has me at 114 and change
 

They came up with the invoice from the engine. They were adding an additional $800 on for shipping.

 

Do y’all think that the price of shipping for the engine and drivetrain is included in that price or is it normal that that’s extra?

That might be for tax? Fear not, Bruce will know!

 

Mine was shipped in a shared container with another, so engine + car in one box. I paid about $8335 for shipping plus $733 in tax.

[KnifeySpoony]

Not many comps around (ie recently sold modern caterhams), but I wonder how much the used market will start to reflect the steep increase on new prices. 

[Exarkun1178]

Here’s my spec:

plus the cost of drivetrain.  I think it was $27,395

 

i was quoted $4,500 for final assembly and sorting. 

 

Edited March 29 by Exarkun1178

[CarYenta]

4 hours ago, Exarkun1178 said:

Here’s my spec:

plus the cost of drivetrain.  I think it was $27,395

 

i was quoted $4,500 for final assembly and sorting. 

 

$4500 is an incredible deal if you don't want to wrench it yourself. I spent several hundreds of hours faffing around getting mine up and running. There's a lot of specific 620 things that aren't in the manual.

[BruceBe]

Powertrain pricing is FOB to Mountune’s facility. So freight to your door is an additional variable cost.

 

Cheers,

-Bruce

[Exarkun1178]

Bruce 

 

that would mean that Caterham folks are the ones to build / configure the engine, then ship to CA 

 

then the $800 is Mountune shipping the engine from CA to NY in my case?

 

do you know if Mountune does anything on their end with the drive train? 

[CBuff]

1 hour ago, Exarkun1178 said:

hat would mean that Caterham folks are the ones to build / configure the engine, then ship to CA 

I dont think Caterham touches the engine. It's just an agreed spec and, in theory, all the integration with the chassis, gauges etc has all been worked out. You order the car and then Caterham or the dealer orders the built engine from Mountune who then ships it to you. Then dealer arranges to install the engine of thats your plan.

 

That is my understanding.  

 

i got a 420R back in 2023 when Caterham was still supplying the engines. While it was shipped in the same crate it cannot be installed until it reaches the US. So once here the engines are installed. Only difference now is that they are sourced directly from Mountune. But the dealers would know more. 

[CatManDo]

For years the drive trains have been supplied by Seven Motorsports, Caterham's spin off business to supply engines. Seven Motorsports is still making them and shipping to Mountune. I have been talking to Mountune about how this is going to work. Mountune orders a part number from Caterham and ships it to you. They don't plan to touch the engine. I have asked for a BOM of what comes with drive train but have not received an answer yet. Right now I don't know how to order an engine for a specific build as in how do I get wet or dry sump etc.

[Exarkun1178]

When I was at the factory a couple weeks ago, walking the assembly area with Trevor one of the stops was the engine building room and they mentioned that all of their cars regardless of the variant have some engine work done to them more work on the 420 and then a lot of work on the 620. The crate engines they got from Ford,. He mentioned were pretty basic, that to get them to the specs that they had they all needed some work on them.  In some cases, a cam and other small tweaks. For the 620 they said the block is about all that’s left if the original engine. 
 

I was interested in whether or not the catering folks do the work and then ship that engine to California or if California is using their own stock and making those modifications in the US 

 

part of why I’m interested in this, Trevor mentioned that when they assemble the car, they also fit the engine and drive train.  Then disassemble it for shipping to US. 
 

i’m particularly interested in it because one of my fears is if my car gets assembled and the engine and drivetrain get assembled elsewhere when they both arrive what if there’s a fitment issue?  I understand it’s probably unlikely or at the very worst manageable, but it’s something that’s on my mind.
 

I’d feel much better, though, if I knew the engine and drivetrain were fitted in my exact chassis  

 

I had asked my dealer this question but he wasn’t sure at the time

 

He shared,  the new ordering system and process has been a bit of a change and as such, there are a lot of unanswered questions. 
 

I believe I’m his first order of this year so he’s learning it as we go

 

[Exarkun1178]

Yeah, Trevor is mentioning the old system. It was a separate company on paper, but lived inside the assembly facility, and for practical purposes was the same. 
 

 

[Exarkun1178]

This video show the engine room ~3 min mark
 

At the time. Trevor mentioned they have ~700 more engines to go through. 
 

 

 

Edited March 29 by Exarkun1178

[CatManDo]

I know they say they fit the drive train and remove before shipping to US but in practice I don't believe they do. In all of the installs I have done there are no witness marks on any of the bolts on engine mounts or anything else. No marks on any of the painted parts. That being said, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I have not seen any problems yet with basic fitment. The main issues we have had recently are electrical. It is clear they never go power on with the cars and test anything electrical. There have been several miss-wired wiring harnesses that have been a bugger to troubleshoot. 

 

With the new sales model they can't really fit the engine in the car since they now have no information as to what engine you select or if you are even going to go through Mountune to get an engine. One may go an alternative route for a drive train in the new model.

 

I am currently working on a 2.5L Duratec NA 10.5:1  and tuned to ~300hp with Haltec ECU. Should be a kick and way cheaper than a 620 engine at the new prices. 

[CBuff]

2 hours ago, CatManDo said:

I am currently working on a 2.5L Duratec NA 10.5:1  and tuned to ~300hp with Haltec ECU

I know some have destroked them with the 2.5 block and 2.0 head for some more revs.  I am keeping half an eye out for 300hp na option for my 420 down the road 

[Exarkun1178]

I did speak with my dealer on the tariff issue.  He has been great throughout the process.  Chalk it up to managing a sales process I suppose.

Any case.  13% is built in to the current pricing to cover tariffs & port/custom fees.  I do understand that this administration, the current tariff structure could change as quickly and the tides.

Shipping from the UK to the port in included.

 

What’s not, as I understand it – Tariffs over 12.5%.  Port fees etc over 0.5% and freight shipping from the port to the dealer.

 

From there, assembly and final delivery.

The new pricing seems to have be a point of contention, maybe, between Darford and US dealers.

[BruceBe]

The model is intended that shipping FOB <your dealer> is included. For a roller/kit being drop-shipped somewhere, a delta will be calculated and charged. That is how Beachman Racing will handle delivery. And we're the furthest from Dartford.

 

Cheers,

-Bruce