Rob Mullan

When I bought my car I discussed how I would be using it with the salesman at Gatwick. I have always used my cars winter and summer, so I mentioned this. He told me of a couple who lived in west London and ran a Caterham. Not only did they use it all year round, but they kept it parked on the road outside their house - no garage. In short they are sold as everyday transport, at least to me. The wishbone has been replaced, rusted bolts and other minor components have been replaced, it has new headlamp bowls and other small areas of rust have been rubbed down and touched in. It's now as good as it should have been. It's also for sale. You can criticise me for griping about warranties and Ts and Cs, but if you had been quoted £1485 to replace components which can be sourced for £135, you might be feeling a bit hard done by too.

In my opinion that makes them not fit for purpose. In any case, winter roads are not nearly as salty as they used to be, thanks to global warming. Also, and others may think differently, I don't think this really explains the headlights and grille. These get washed regularly and don't have much in the way of crevices to retain the salt.

I probably didn’t word that comment well-enough. Caterham appear to be denying that Caterham Gatwick was ever their service department. I didn’t mean to say never in history did they have a service department.

What would you class as extensively?

CC are saying they never had a service department.

I was thinking the same. They were Caterham, I can't see why one would think they weren'tm but I'd happily be enlightened! I think this matter is worth clarifying. When I bought my car from Caterham Gatwick I had no reason not to believe they were Caterham themselves. When I collected my car they gave me the attached 'Congratulations!' letter. It has two addresses: 'Head Office and Factory' and 'Caterham Gatwick", but only one company number and one VAT registration number. When Gatwick's service department closed Caterham's marketing suggested a smooth transition, with the servicing moving to HWM. There was no indication that this was anything other than the same operation in a different building. Here is an extract from a contemporary press release, still on the Caterham website: When I contacted Caterham to raise the issues covered in this thread I received an email which opened with this: "Just to clarify, HWM are an authorised appointed Caterham franchised dealer and as with all car dealers in the UK, operate their own business. They are not a continuation of Caterham Gatwick which was the dealer previously representing Caterham in the area, but are there to offer customers sales, service and repair work. Caterham as a manufacturer does not have a service department and Caterham Gatwick operated as a dealership in its own right." I wonder how many other people were aware that this was the case. It is not exactly convenient for me to take my car to Horsham, let alone Gatwick (I live in Reading). If I had known there was no genuine benefit in taking it to Caterham I would have gone to an independent specialist much closer to home. Caterham Ownership letter.pdf

Thanks all for the helpful and interesting comments! Pretty obviously I am in the £40k-for-a-modern-car-should-mean-that-it-doesn't-fall-apart-in-normal-usage camp. I'm really not buying the argument that an old design should mean we accept worse rust than a 1970s Datsun. Cars are covered by the Sale of Goods Act, which requires that goods should be fit for purpose and of merchantable quality. In my opinion this means cars and the components they are made from should be able to withstand the rigours of driving in this country, for some reasonable period of time. Two years is not a reasonable period of time. Several people have said the car should be Waxoyl-ed annually at a minimum. If this is the case then the handbook should make this explicit and the Caterham service should include this work as a matter of course. That this is not the case suggests that Caterham do not think it necessary. Here is Caterham's own view, taken from the owner's handbook. Feel free to laugh or cry as appropriate....

Quite. I originally went to HWM because they seemed to be the continuation of the Caterham service department at Gatwick. I only found out later that a) Caterham Gatwick were not actually Caterham at all and b) HWM are not the continuation of CG and they have none of their service records and only one of their technicians. The press releases put out about the recent changes were misleading, as was the paperwork from CG when they were in operation. Having said that, I'm not really grumbling about HWM (apart from the alarmist investigation and the cost). The work they did was good and Dan the technician is a knowledgable, enthusiastic guy. On the other hand, if they don't fix the fast idle and supply the MoT paperwork I might have something to say.... Rob

I m going to talk to PT Cars in Maidenhead tomorrow as they’re both recommended and reasonably close to where I live in Reading. I’m totally on board with the treat-the-underside strategy, but I can’t do it myself as I have no facility to lift the car up high enough!

I suppose this - 'Quality is at the forefront of what we do at Caterham Cars' - makes no assertion as to the level of quality. Personally I'm not drinking the Caterham KoolAid. Harrumph!

This is what HWM found when they inspected the underside before cleaning it. Quite messy.

Not as bad as I was led to believe.

Two new bowls and rims on order - thanks Jody! Rob

Benton, Not nearly as bad as HWM first said. There are small areas of rust on the front wishbones, by the shock absorber mountings, and on the shocks themselves. Also on the diff ends of the driveshafts, although this is apparently normal for all Caterhams. See photos. It passed its MoT in this condition. Rob

Steve, You're quite right: LED units from Caterham. They will not sell anything other than complete units. Rob

Nigel, My car was first registered in December 2020 and I bought it second-hand in November 2021. Rob

Jonathan, These came with the car. Rob

Stu - I like these, but they're even more expensive than the Caterham units! Rob

Dear All, Thanks for your kind and helpful comments! Some more history: I bought my car second-hand as a 'Caterham Select' vehicle in November 2021 from Caterham Gatwick. At this stage it was less than 10 months on the road. I only noticed the rust emerging earlier this year as the paint began to fall off. However, looking back at old photos I can see the rust on the headlamp rims back in September 2022. I can also see the milky marks on the grille where the edge of the coating is starting to lift. In September this year I took it to HWM (yes - the one 'not charging AM rates', Nigel Blandin) for a service and MoT. I had a short list of matters to look at, including: a tendency for the engine to fade after heavy acceleration; really heavy wear on the front tyres (on a car that has not seen a track in my ownership), a couple of minor dings in the aluminium and the aforementioned rust. The day after I dropped it off I received a Vehicle Health Check identifying: (Apparently) extensive rust on the suspension (front and rear), as well as the areas already identified; The front tyres were bald on the inner edges (after 3,500 miles of road usage); The oil catch tank was not properly plumbed; The spare tyre gel was allegedly out-of-date (despite me having replaced it only a year ago); The exhaust support bobbin had failed (I replaced this about 18 months ago); Paint on the wiper arms had flaked off almost entirely; Wiper blades showing signs of perishing (these were new from Caterham and had only been on the car just over two months); Oil leak at front of engine; Missing cam cover bolt; Engine rubbers starting to drop; Roller barrel throttles dirty and needing a strip and clean; Front wing trims falling off and carbon fibre water stained. The total cost to rectify these faults (including the service) came to almost £6.500, a sum of money that a) I haven't got to hand and b) is ridiculous for a £40,000 car less than three years old. The bulk of the cost was in the replacement suspension parts (c £2,500) and the headlights (c £1,500). I was advised that the suspension rust could mean an MoT failure. Further investigation revealed a split oil hose from rubbing on bodywork. Also the lambda probe had failed, causing the throttle fade problems and also making the engine run rich so the plugs were sooted up badly. These items added a further £550 or so to the bill. In the end I agreed a reduced scope of work, leaving out the rust and flaking paint issues, with a cost of just over £2,500. I felt that the extent of the rust meant that the process had been going for some time and, having found photos showing that the rust had started emerging during the one-year parts and labour warranty period, was of the opinion that this was a quality issue that should be dealt with by Caterham. HWM raised this with them, and they (Caterham) point blank refused to accept any liability. I then obtained contact details for the Aftersales Operations Manager at Caterham and wrote to him directly. He advised me that as warranty issues have to be raised during the term of the warranty, Caterham were not liable. I asked for a copy of the terms and conditions (I only have a letter that says my car benefits from a '12 months' parts and labour warranty' as a Selected Caterham vehicle), which he has refused to provide. I also pointed out that the failed powder coating was indicative of components that were not of sufficient quality, regardless of the warranty. This was denied, on the basis that the lights were still working, so they could be considered to have failed. Also cam cover bolts fall out as a normal feature of Caterham life, exhaust bobbins are a consumable and the wiper blades can be replaced if I provide proof of purchase (despite me buying them from Caterham). The matter is now unilaterally closed. The whole thing makes a mockery of "Quality is at the forefront of what we do at Caterham Cars", a comment that appeared in the first response from the AOM. As a point of interest: the AOM has never taken the trouble to inspect my car himself. Perhaps Caterham ownership is not all it's cracked up to be....

I have noticed extensive rust has formed on my radiator grille and headlight rims - see photos. I don't really expect to see this on a 21st century car. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? I keep it in a garage when I'm not using it (a condition of my insurance), although I obviously can't guarantee it's going to be dry all the time. Every other vehicle seems to be outside all the time and doesn't end up remotely like this! HWM quoted me in excess of £1,500 to replace the headlights, although they did a good job of sprucing up the grille. Any helpful comments appreciated! Rob

Excellent help, thank you! The dipped beam pattern certainly looks flat-topped to me.

We will be driving through Europe next week (ending up in Italy). Does anyone know whether beam masks are needed on LED headlamps? Garry at Caterham says there is no internal adjustment that can be made. Rob