Opinions on an S1

[Dominic]

Sport 135 sold to the first viewer for the full asking price....search continues

They don't hang around long! When I bought mine, I got in touch with the seller within an hour of the ad going live - went to see it the next morning at 10am, by which point the seller had been bid a few times over the phone. Thankfully Kenny played fair and did the deal with me.

[woody]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... ts/3894000

[tut]

Bite his hand of if it has not already gone.

tut

[StiflerMR2]

Saw that this morning, looks a great price for the spec.

[cardo]

Have left a message regarding the 111S....waiting to hear back.

[douglasgdmw]

Quite a lot more but the mileage is a lot lower:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 99/3942969

George

[cardo]

Spoke to the chap about the 111S....a few things making me wary.
No evidence of a rack overhaul/replacement or head gasket.Receipt for a radiator but it was 8 or 9 years ago.
Carpet set glued down.I would want to remove this,floor could be a shambles....
Top end is noisy...common vvc problem?
I'm looking for a car to use right away rather than one that I'm going to have to start investing time and money in to bring up to scratch.
Not sure if it's the right thing for me.

[douglasgdmw]

The advert I posted for the more expensive car said he did the rack so maybe worth a call?

Don't know your budget but so much easier to sell a low mileage car that one with a higher mileage (although service history is key with these cars)

[Ferg]

Have you seen many cars? They vary massively and none will be perfect. Get some time with some friendly owners at a meet and talk through what they've done to maintain the cars. It will give you a good trigger list and questions to ask. This helped me massively when I was looking for mine.

On some of your points:
A rack only need changed if it clunks. It's not too hard a job either. So budget £150 for parts (if fitted yourself)
The floor should be allowed to breath so glued down isn't good. Needs nothing more that air and the occasional spray with corrosion protection (or WD40).
An alloy rad would last the lifetime of the car. So if its physically there, its a plus. It also means the clams been off so other stuff might have been done.
Paint wise I was turned off by blisters too. If theres something you don't want to live with, it's ok to have a MUST list.

Agree with George on the lower milleage but watchout for cars that haven't moved in ages. Very low miles with all original parts can be just as costly to bring up to date. Again its about what you MUST have, and what you can live with or without.

Where abouts are you? Theres likely to be someone nearish who can show you round a car?

[mwmackenzie]

Yup noisey VVC is common... Mechs can need changing, I had to change mine on my S1 and a Cam when it snapped... sounds dreadful when it rattles! I was wondering why that car hadn't sold as it looks great! Good that the seller is being so open and honest about it all!

[woody]

Going to disagree on the rack, I'd there's any play it needs done. Otherwise what's the point? I've been driven to distraction by play the steering.

As above, vvc noise seems to be common. Is your 7 AK, can't remember? I still can't decide if no hgf fix on a car is a good thing or a bad thing.

Ferg, had cardo out in the 160 last year

[cardo]

Last year Woody was kind enough to give me a good look round his Sport 160 and take the time to point out all the bits that will break,will be broken or will break in the future
I'm conscious of the age of these cars now and happy to accept that they will all carry some faults that will need attention sooner or later.
I'm looking for something that will have performance on par with my Caterham that I can fettle and enjoy.
I probably need to look at more cars back to back,I would rather pay more for something a bit "special" than buy at the lower end of the market and end up spending heavily to bring up to scratch.
There's practically nothing for sale in Scotland though which makes it logistically challenging to view cars.
I'll keep hunting

.....edit....Woody can type faster than me!

Yes,It's a 1600 K

[smoo25]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 03/3845975

[cardo]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 03/3845975

Thanks for the link,definitely an Elise i'm after though

[Ferg]

Cool, Woody's car is s lovely example.

By clunk, I meant the noise you get when's there's play so completely agree, my descriptive powers letting me down. Confidence in the steering is essential. I have many times had one hand on the steering and one hand on the front wheel checking it.