jepo Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I’m interested in opinions anyone has on the best way to sell my car.I’ve decided to sell my R400 as it has been sitting in bits in the garage for years now, and I have to admit that I will never find the time to finish it…My dilemma is whether to try to sell all of the parts that I have as a kit, or break it into individual components.To explain - this car was a 2002 R400 race car. I stripped it down, sent the chassis to Arch to be shot blasted, powder coated, reskinned, and do the chassis mods to fit a hand brake and a few other mods, so that I could build it as a road car.I bought quite few new bits for it as well, but not everything required to finish it.Being an ex race car there isn’t much in the way of paperwork for it, just a few receipts etc. Most importantly it obviously doesn’t have a V05 yet.So it is the lack of paperwork and the fact that I don’t quite have a full kit of parts to build a complete road car that is leading me towards breaking it into individual parts to sell on here. I also have 2 of some parts, where I have bought new.The part that I am not sure about though is the chassis. It is essentially like a brand new chassis, and is the most valuable part, but I guess it is only worth something to somebody looking for a new chassis and I don’t imagine there are many people like that around?Any opinions / advice welcome! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug phillips Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Why don't you try to get local club members to help you build it back up, I bet that anybody who has a kit on order would like to help as well. I has to be worth more as a complete car, and would be easer to sell than 100's of parts.Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty7 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I've just recently purchased what can certainly be described as an unfinished project. A complete chassis plus about 70% of what's necessary to finish the build, so there are people who will take whatever you have off your hands. Certainly though I paid far far less for the privilege of taking everything in one go than I would have had to had the parts been available as seperate lots so if it's bottom line you're after it's surely selling the parts off individually that pays. A lot more work doing that though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul jacobs Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I think the lack of paperwork would be a disadvantage as well. It would have to pass an IVA, and be registered, but because it is an old car, it may get an age related number or even a Q plate [do they still do that these days?] which would devalue the finished car.Selling in bits is possible but so much work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titanium7 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Nick Chan's has a history of 'projects' such as this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverSedlacek Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 You are probably looking at quite a big loss if you sell it as an unfinished project. Buyers are wary of why it is unfinished and of the quality of the work completed. They probably also think the seller has a weak hand, as there must be a compelling reason for selling something that has so much invested in it.Selling the bits would most likely yield more cash, but takes time and effort. How many hours do you think it would take to get the car on the road? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jepo Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 Doug, yes it would be a nice idea to get others involved to help out, but of course I would still have to do the majority of the work, and I’ve found that with work and a family I just don’t have that time any more… I have basically made the decision that I am not going to do any work on it, and will sell it all on. I will always have the option to buy another Caterham at some stage… although it is getting crowded in the garage now with pool table, table football and whatever else makes it into the garage ( / games room…!)Matty I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. If I sell as a kit people will expect, or at least hope for, a bargain. If I sell as parts I could get more cash, but it will be a lot more work. The only bit I’m not sure about though is selling the chassis on its own, and if that doesn’t sell for a reasonable amount, I would probably be better of selling it all as a kit.Paul, yes I agree the lack of paperwork could make it harder to get it registered on something other than a Q plate (or whatever they use these days!). Others who have done similar, have told me it should get a proper registration, but I certainly don’t know for sure that is the case, and it probably wouldn’t be plain sailing.Olivier, I see what you are saying there, people might wonder if I found something that prevented me from continuing with the build. Actually the car is essentially still stripped down though, so it is basically a new looking chassis, with loads of boxes of old bits, and a few shiny new bits like Powerspeed exhaust. So it is fairly easy for someone who knows what the bits are to look through it all.I would certainly prefer to sell as a kit, as it will be less hassle, but a major problem there is pricing it… There isn't anything else out there for me to base it on. If I sell it as bits, I can easily check prices on here so I will know that I am getting the true value of the car. And it would also mean that I will have plenty of visitors for the next few weekends! not sure if that is good or bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Andrew Gilbert Posted July 21, 2015 Area Representative Share Posted July 21, 2015 I suppose the question is what would you feel happy to advertise it at? If you have a figure in mind for the complete set of parts then others may be able to say whether that is too high or (perhaps) not enough. That way you can make the decision on how to approach it.I'd be interested in something like this, although I'm not sure the wife would be too chuffed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jepo Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 Thanks Andrew. I'll go away and do an inventory over the next couple of days and try to come up with a price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comp Scorer Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Are you sure that it has no paperwork, or has it just been lost over the years.Might be worth making an enquiry based on the Vin Number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty7 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I was about to suggest the same thing as Comp Scorer. From my dealings with CC recently it seems that if you have a VIN on the car and were the original customer then they should be able to provide some paperwork. That will solve one of the main problems people may have with it and make it more sellable at a reasonable price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jepo Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 I didn't buy it new from caterham. I bought it from Hyperion Motorsport in 2006. They bought it from one of their customers.It sounds like it would be useful to get a Certificate of Newness, which apparently Caterham can issue, so that it can be registered on a normal plate. I did ask Caterham for what they had on the car a few years ago when I first started to work on it, and they did send me the original quote done to the original buyer but I never got the Certificate. I may need to go back to them again to see what is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jepo Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 I think I might get in touch with Caterham to see if I can get a 'Certificate of Newness'.Does anyone have an idea of what having a Q plate would do to it's value? Assume that it is a fully built, nice example of an R400 road car. Would it drop the value by a lot? or would you think it isn't really worth worrying about?Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stridey Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Not sure on ''q' value drop, but it would put me off buying. Thing is, once on a 'Q' it cannot be anything else...some people do think they can transfer numbers onto Qs but you can't...Id guess around £1000- £2000 less on a fully built car, but I wouldn't buy, so I suspect you are limiting your market too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jepo Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 I guess if it put puts some people off / limits the market, then the value must suffer to some extent as a consequence.So do you mean that you can't get it registered on a 'Q' plate, and then try to get it onto a 'normal' plate at a later date? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Chan Posted July 23, 2015 Area Representative Share Posted July 23, 2015 A Q plate denotes a car of indeterminate age and cannot be transferred or have a cherished mark assigned to it. However, if you can prove the age of the vehicle (or its parts if a kit in which case I think its the oldest main part) I'm sure I have read or seen that the vehicle can be re-assesed by DVLA and a correct age related plate issued. I expect the proof of age is by a document from the manufacturer (certificate of newness) or supplier invoices.Caterham used to offer the archivist service whereby you could give them your VIN number and they could supply you with a copy of their paperwork for a small fee. I'm not sure the service is still available but this would be the best bet to obtaining a copy of the original certificate of newness if one was originally issued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightpayne Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 There was a post a couple of years ago where someone had bought a project and it turned out to be stolen. Not infering for a moment this is the same but might be beneficial to do a few checks or have the route to registration underway.Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Andrew Gilbert Posted July 26, 2015 Area Representative Share Posted July 26, 2015 acording to the DVLA, once on a Q it stays on a Q. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_h Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Not sure you can get a cert of newness back dated that far if it's lost. You may be able to prove its age and get an related plate easier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jepo Posted July 26, 2015 Author Share Posted July 26, 2015 OK well thanks to all for the help.I will be contacting Caterham to see if they can help out with a Certificate of Newness.I do already have a copy of the original invoice for the chassis, which it seems was bought as a starter kit, so I guess I need to find out if there is a record for the engine from the same time.I managed to do an inventory the other day. It was quite good fun sorting through everything, and made me wonder if I should just find time to build it myself… (that wasn’t supposed to happen!) Anyway, once I have the info from Caterham I can decide if I should sell the bits separately, sell complete or build myself...I took a few pics as I was sorting through everything. I missed a few bits that I have just found, but it is most of what I have to work with.Pictures posted here for anyone that can’t get enough of looking at bits of Caterham’s!https://www.flickr.com/gp/133280005@N06/204k17Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_h Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Looks like a nice project to me. Where were all these projects when I had the spare money and time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Wow there are a lot of nice parts there! Looks like you'll have a great car should you build it all up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Andrew Gilbert Posted July 27, 2015 Area Representative Share Posted July 27, 2015 thats looks a great starting point, can't comment on value though but I suspect it would be quite low when you consider the price of a usable 7 today without the need to build it and the cost of the kit from CC. There are one or two around at the moment which are in similar states but both are unsold AND priced quite high. So its a hard market to price.I'd love to make you an offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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