Rough Price guide

[Johnny_Sherbert]

I have been planning on getting a Caterham for many years but I have been put off by the complexity of California registration. I will be looking for a used California registered smog exempt car next year. Preferably a superlight with a modern engine.

What sort of budget will I need and where is the best place to find one ?

Sorry to bombard you all with questions with my first post but roughly how many California registered Caterhams are there ?

Mark

[Roll a 7]

I have a data base of around eighty Lotus 7 type cars in CA and nearby states. Most are Caterhams and Birkins. The actual # of Caterhams might be 35-60, as a guess. The best place to look for a CA registered car is certainly CA (DUH). The modern motors will be Ford zetecs and duratecs. I own a zetec and wish that it was a duratec. Both are good, but the duratec is capable of making more HP and is lighter too.

The best possibility for you would be a car registered under SB 100, which is likely to then be exempt from ALL smog regs. A more recent car like a superlight with a modern 4 valve motor would be a good deal around $30K and could go into the upper $30s depending upon how it is equipped. This site occasionally offers cars in the "for sale" thread and EBAY may also have something. Express your interest in the for sale thread to increase your probability.

If you buy an unregistered car be sure to get a large price discount as you will have some difficulty getting it registered, if you can.

The new Caterham CSR with duratec, inboard suspension and IRS is likely to sticker for more than $60K.

[Ronbo]

Don't be too quick to discount a Seven with a more "traditional" engine, like a Crossflow. You can get the car cheaper, and have fewer complexities to deal with (carbs vs. injection). Still plenty quick, and nothing sounds as good as a pair of Webers at WOT!