R3/400 for sale at PT Cars

[McBreadhead]

Hi all and hope folk have had fun blatting today. 

I've become feverish and fitful with level 3 withdrawal symptoms and need to get into a 7 again. 

Does anyone know this car here? It sounds a bit tatty from a previous post and seems it has had a history of losing power which doesn't inspire confidence but could form the basis of a sound car. Did anyone on here own it? 

McB

[Temple Cloud]

I've had a look at the PT site and their other cars and frankly many of them look a bit tatty and poorly presented internally and engine wise. For me that's a not a great sign. My own view is go and have a look and get a general vibe of the place. I always think the car will speak to you once you sit in it as will the dealership in general. But dealers who are happy to present and take photos of their cars that have obviously not been prepared well are to be avoided imo...

[TomB]

‘Stunning’ - no. The engine bay wiring is shocking, no idea what’s going on at the battery. The front track rod is obviously rusty, front wishbones and wing stays need cleaning up. All could be sorted with some effort, but it’s not stunning. That’s said it looks in nice condition on the outside and cockpit. Just the details let it down. But it’s a lot of car for the money - RBTB, Dry sump. 

This car looks much better, it’s a genuine R400, for more or less the same price

https://www.ptsportscars.com/car/2003-caterham-r400-superlight/

[Guy Lowe]

Do a search on PT, some threads you might want to read. 

[Nick Bassett]

The PT guys are a friendly, helpful bunch when I've met them at the various events they've put on over the years, but... the cars they have up for sale always look like they've had a hard life and as others have said... a bit tatty! That shouldn't be a problem if the price reflects the condition, but they are always up for strong money...

Maybe it's because they are mechanically well maintained (like race cars should be), but cosmetics comes 2nd place?

You pays your money and all that...

[McBreadhead]

Thanks all for your comments.

I visited PT for the first time today and it's clearly a thriving race prep operation - Ian is a very knowledgeable and helpful guy. It appears they sell many cars on behalf of customers who want rid with minimum investment in bringing to showroom condition. So while the R3/400 has had its engine refreshed, it hasn't been set up on the rolling road which means no test drive until that's complete. Any buyer will need to specify the state of tune they want and commit with a deposit and the rolling road will follow plus cosmetic improvements. It's got a great spec but probably too great a leap of faith for me at this point.

Note: while I was there they took delivery of Superlight R #76  which is being put up for sale if anyone's in the market.

[SLR No.77]

Consecutive numbered stablemates ... tempting 

[TomB]

It not on your register either  

[Blackmamba]

I'm not sure that their website is kept up to date as a number of those cars have been for sale for months (if not years). I saw the R400 they have advertised at a track day at Castle Coombe a couple of weeks ago - recognised the rather good number plate!

[chrisr1718]

They've even got two different engines bays in the photos. The R400 and a 420R, even different colour cars!

[Tom Scanlan]

I viewed this car at PT in May 2020 as I was interested in buying it. However on a compression test two of the cylinders were found to be low and they decided to get the engine rebuilt. I followed this up at the time but did not get any response so ended up buying something else. The photos in the advert look like the same ones that were on their website at the time.

.

 

[TomB]

Sounds rife for a cheeky offer  

[McBreadhead]

Re #11 I bought a xflow engine which had similar characteristics. Once rebuilt it turned into a cracking engine. 
 

Re #12 indeed it is. I can easily see £5k required to bring that car back to reasonable condition as it needs repairs and a full repaint. And I haven't been underneath it yet.....

[TomB]

Potentially much less than that - front end rebuild with new or reconditioned wishbones, steering rack arms cleaned up & some time and £50 spent with Polevolt would elp sort the engines bay wiring out. But I'd just buy the R400 for the same price that looks much nicer!   

[foggy996]

I bought my Superlight from Ian at PT and very happy indeed. The car was described very accurately over the phone to me and I got a bloody good deal! (And I'm a car dealer)! They're a large set up with a successful race team and always happy to give advice when needed. I have no connection or affiliation with them either.    

[Ed White]

I've had dealing with Ian at PT a couple of times too. Very helpful, very straight, no issues.