Keith's 2nd greatest adventure:
Buying a new Caterham Seven in NC

 
My 1999 Caterham
Super Seven!

This is the diary of my attempt to get a new Caterham/Lotus Seven car. I owned one about 11 years ago, and have decided that I have to have one again. Partly because I miss the fun I use to have, and partly because (being so much older, wiser, and better off financially) I'd like to improve on my previous car and experience.

HERE's a gallery of photos of the car, including my old and new cars

Before this begins, I should point out some things. When I first did this back in 1981, it VERY much was an uncommon thing to do in the USA and there was no Internet (it was Arpanet back then), no world wide web, and no international email to make this easier. To go from a "that's a neat car on TV" to learning what it was and getting one built was very much a pioneering effort. Britians may chuckle at that, but in America this really was an unknown thing. Many Sevens back then were put together from the pieces of other cars, with the body coming from Caterham or older Sevens. From a consumer perspective, there were only 2 or 3 companies nationally known that could help you at all.

This time around, I am expecting things to be a lot better. I'll also me making an attempt to track down my original car to either catch up on its history, or (if it's wreaked) get some parts from it for the new car as a way of paying homage. Unless the CT DMV gives me information, or Sevens and Elans knows something, it's highly unlikely I'll be able to locate it.

Diary

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Sept 28, 2000 I begin by doing AltaVista and Google searches on the internet, and following links from Caterham's web site. I also learn that Sevens and Elans in MA still exists. Both sites have a lot of information, and a lot of photos.

Basically; I perceive there are the following main web sites:

I'm creating bookmarks like crazy. I see that MotoAmerica is in Atlanta, and I'll be there next week. GT-Classics is in VA (about 4hrs away). I send email to both, and to Sevens and Elans. I also find and subscribe to the Sevens mailing list.

Reasons why I think this should go a lot smoother than it did 10 years ago.

  • I have a lot of experience, most of it concerning how to do this in the hardest manner possible. I know much more about the car itself and its history, problems dealing with the DMV, etc.
  • The Seven is a lot more known now, with a lot more information available to the public. A lot more people have them.
  • The internet! Now there are email addresses, mailing lists, and web sites. On Caterham's web site alone there are pointers to USA representitve sites.
  • A company I am familiar with is still in business; Sevens and Elans. Even if I don't buy from them (they are far from Raleigh), they can be a great source of help.
  • Caterham also deals regularly with creating Sevens in the USA market. The car has been updated. New configurations and engine options should make it easier to get registered.
  • I'm no longer in my 20's, living single in an apartment with a high credit card debt. My priorities and financial situation, hopefully, are much better. Unfortunately, all the financial institutions I use to do business with on my first Seven no longer exist, so I'll be starting from scratch there.
Sept 29, 2000

My email from GT-Classics comes back rejected (I learn weeks later that some of the links on their web site are in error). Frank at MotoAmerica responds and recommends I call him. My email to Sevens and Elans returns an "I'm out of the office until next week" reply. I continue to scan the net, trying to see if there is anyone in NC that has a Seven. I send email to every NC address I can find that posted to discussion lists.

I figure out that there are several Sevens to choose from:

  • The Superlight. Meant mainly for racing -- not for me.
  • The Classic/ Ford 1600/1700/1800 Engine. The least expensive and mostly represents what I had before.
  • The 40th Anniversary Special. Came out in 1997 and no longer available. Sure is cool though.
  • Prisoner edition. A current car, but resembles the Lotus from the 60's used in The Prisoner TV show.
  • The DeDion (USA model). Same as Classic, except with Ford Zetec engine and improved suspension. Meets most emission standards.

The DeDion is the one for me; perhaps configured and painted to resemble the anniversary car.

Sept 30, 2000 More internet investigation. I see that both MotoAmerica and GT-Clasics have existing cars for sale. I also notice that there does not seem to be any evidence of a Sevens car club or owner in NC. However, according to the DMV license plate database, both "KAR120C" and "CATERHAM" are assigned already. I wonder how I can possibly track those people down?

I call Frank at MotoAmerica and have a pleasent conversation. Basically, he tells me that Caterham is gearing up to handle Caterham dealerships in the USA directly, and that his company is no longer acting in that role. However, he still tries to help where he can, and referred me to GT-Classics and the place in MD.
Oct 1, 2000 All my email to individuals on mailing lists come back undeliverable except for one. The one person that responds tells me that he never did go get a Seven, but is interested in my results.

It becomes obvious to me that if I'm going to start talking about this to a lot of people, and if I have any hope of Sevens and Elans remembering who I am, that I should post the story and existing photos of my original Seven up on the web. So I do just that.

Also; I will have to make one or more of the following decisions VERY soon:

  • Do I buy an already built car, or have one built for me? I really would like to have a car where it does not have a lot of history prior to my ownership. I also would like to paint a raw metal car. It's also easier to finance and if the car is already registered, it becomes much easier to deal with the DMV.

  • Have one built for me. I get to do exactly what I want, but I have to wait 3-6 months for it, plus have to figure out how to finance something that doesn't exist and isn't titled, and deal with delivery and registration.

  • If it is to be built, then which company should build it, What engine should it use (that decision affects the engine mounts ordered), and what color should it be (because the fenders and nose need to be ordered).

Unless I am very blessed to find an already built car that's ideal, it is likely that I will want to have the car built and I need to decide on the details.

Oct 2, 2000 I finally contact a Jim at GT-Classics. They sound like a good bunch of guys. I ask about the one for sale. It's an unpainted DeDion that they built, in perfect condition, already registered in VA, leather bucket seats, and has less than 2000 miles on it! This all surprises me because it sounds exactly like what I want. Less than 2000 miles and only one owner -- the dealer? cool! The downside is that this is going to be that it's more expensive than buying an older Seven.

I also learned that Sevens now come with a hydrolic clutch as standard (yeah), and the Zetec engine includes a catalytic converter (yech). Unfortunately the owner, Chip, is out until next week. Even worse, I'M out of town next week, so the earliest I can meet with him is in 2 weeks!

I still need to go to the NC DMV and find out what they require for registration of a home built vehicle.

Oct 4, 2000 Several interesting events:
  1. The latest issue of Hemmings Motor News shows someone selling a Caterham Seven in Burlington North Carolina! I left a message. Maybe they also have the "KAR120C" plate :-)

  2. I spent over an hour at the DMV getting information on registering kit vehicles. They gave me a book of stuff that the the standard inspections look for -- nothing specific to kit vehicles. Basically, the rules are not as well defined as they were in CT, which means that I have more freedom. BUT, when it comes to emmissions testing it's worse. They test based on the year of the engine or chassis -- whichever is NEWER. So a 1972 engine in a 1999 chassis must meet 1999 emission standards. Errrr. Pretty much limits me to old (pre-1972) cars, or the Zetec engine.

  3. GT-Classics is letting me visit their car this weekend. Woo hoo!

  4. My attempts to track down my original car are going nowhere. I called NE Classics, and they say they do not keep records that far back. I posted a message on the sevens-mailing-list -- we'll see if there are any responses. My only other chances are if the CT DMV will tell me if/where the car is registered, or if I attend a Sevens and Elans event and the car happens to show.
Oct 6, 2000 Drove to Burlington and met the person (Frank) advertising a Caterham for sale in HMN. The car looks VERY cool. Nice red car with bucket interrior and chrome rollbar. Good shape, except that the wing signal lights are operating as parking lights instead of signals, and the highbeam flasher switch is broken. Still a great buy at about $25k with only 6000 miles, BUT I cannot figure out a way to own this car and get it registered and emissions tested because it's a 1991 without emission controls. Frank doesn't have to worry himself -- he's a dealer with dealer plates to use on it.

I basically tell Frank I'll get back to him if I can figure out what I should do, and that even if I buy a different Seven we should still get together for drives.

Frank also tells me about a race track called VIR in Virginia. It's about 90 minutes from my house and does both competition racing and casual club events. The British car club he follows holds events up there and for $20 they let you drive your car around the track behind a pace car. Sounds like fun.

Oct 7, 2000 Today I drove 4 hours to Stanardsville, VA to visit GT Classics. Even though the car owner, Chip, is away, another owner/employee (Jim) shows me the car. The car is a 1999 Caterham, fully equiped, 1600 miles, unpainted with Green fiberglass parts. This is the quickest Seven I have ever driven, so I guess the Zetec engine is a good performer. Except for the color (which is easily changed), this car is exactly what I'm looking for. Have to wait until Chip gets back to talk exact price.

Oct 12-14, 2000 I finally got to talk with Chris at Sevens & Elans and Chip at GT Classics. Both pretty much tell me that having a new car built is about a 3 month wait, and between $38-$42k, I also learn that the price of the GT Classics car is about $35k. After looking around, I determined that $35k is a pretty good price for a new, low milage car with no previous owner, but it's $10k more than I have in funds so I would need to get a bank loan.

Chris also tells me that if I ever want to join his annual event at Lime Rock, I MUST buy a car from him -- it's limited to only his customers. I have mixed feelings on this because his events were the most fun I ever had in my Seven, BUT I now live over 13hrs away and it's not likely I'd ever go to CT for such an event now. On the plus side, Chris also tells me about another Seven owner in Ashville NC.

Chip tells me that his company trains people to race, and he rents Seven race cars, to.... VIR! Apparently, VIR was a popular track that was closed for years and has reopened in the last year. It hosts SCCA and other racing events, as well as other things.

Oct 15, 2000

Caterham announces a corporate effort to support the US market. The Rocky Mountain dealer has now become Caterham USA -- the official USA distributor for Caterhams. With this comes the launch of the USA web site, and the announcement of a new, wider Caterham Seven (called the "SV". People in Britian have nicknamed it the "Fat Bastard").

Sounds like I'm getting into this at just the right time.
Oct 16-21, 2000 OK, lots of things happened this week:
  1. I spent an hour at the DMV and learn a bunch of things about registering kit cars in NC. Asking 10 different people got 10 different answers, but eventually I was able to form a picture. Basically; I confirmed it's harder than it is in CT because CT had a Composite car program to follow, while NC has nothing. In NC, you can register a kit car, and the safety inspection is easy, but the emissions testing will get you. You have to pass the requirements matching the year of your car. The year is determined by either the assembly completion date, or if that is in question it's the year of the engine or chassis -- whichever is newer. In most Caterham Sevens, that would be the chassis. That means that a 1991 chassis with a 1972 engine in it must meet 1991 standards. So I'm to register a Caterham or Lotus in NC, it either has to be a very old (pre-1972) car, or have a new Zetec engine put in it. It looks like I MUST get a Caterham that's got a Zetec in it because it's too difficult to do otherwise in NC. SO MUCH FOR ALL THIS BEING EASIER TO DO THAN WHEN I WAS IN CT!

    Purchasing and installaing a Zetec to an existing car would add $5k-$8k more to the cost. According to Chris at Sevens and Elans, a Zetec can be put into most Sevens, so this is not a technical showstopper. He even makes a 2" shorter bell housing for a better fit than Caterham provides. However since I really want a DeDion car, and a good used Seven plus the additional Zetec costs is getting close to the price of a nearly new Seven with a Zetec already in it, it looks like I'll be buying a new car. The advantage is also that I pretty much will never have an emissions testing problem in the US for the life of the car.

  2. I talked with the Seven owner (John) in Ashville NC. He has a Seven he built and races (at VIR! Seems everyone but me knows about this place). He has an older engine in it, but he lives in an area of NC where they do not yet perform emissions testing (they will by 2002). His NC plate is "CATERHAM", so that's one of the 2 plates I wanted to track down :-).

  3. I talked with the Caterham dealer in MD. The car they had was sold back in June.

  4. I talked with GT Classics some more. Apparently Caterham is getting better at the USA market. They issue an MCO with the chassis, and if you buy from an authorized dealer the car comes with a complete VIN number. In other words, since a Zetec is the only engine allowed now in the USA market, a Caterham dealer buys a car, puts a new Zetec in it, and the VIN referring to the chassis and engine already exists. Cool. This is much nicer than before. This resembles the old days when car dealers would order the car and engine separately, put in the engine (usually a higher performance engine than stock), and the customer had a dealer special. If you buy from a Caterham dealer, you tell the DMV/insurance/finance company that you are buying a car built by the manufacturer and use the VIN number. Don't mention that it's a kit car, and if asked just report that the car is available as a kit but you are not buying it that way.

At this point, it's obvious I'm going to buy a new car from a Caterham dealer, and that means the existing car at GT Classics is my first target. It's the only one already built I know about for one thing. I tell Chip of my intention and plan my visit to the bank for the loan.
Oct 23, 2000 I visit my bank, Wacovia, to get some sort of preapproval for a car loan. Most of my unknowns in buying this car are now financial. I supply all the necessary info, photos of the car, etc.

Since a bank will own the title, I also have to get full insurance coverage. I contact Liberty Mutual insurance and get a quote for a "Caterham Seven" car. They find it (after some searching) and give me a figure. So far so good.
Oct 24, 2000 Bank approves my loan! Woo Hoo! They say come get the check tomorrow. However, later in the day I get something that proves to be the biggest stumbling block to this whole adventure. I received an email from Liberty Mutual saying that in NC, they do not insure kit cars and turn me down. I also call GEICO, and explain to both that this is not a kit car, that it's built by the manufacturer and has a VIN. Doesn't matter. They are all willing to insure me for liability (in fact, they have to by law), but not collision/comprehension. If I wasn't financing this by a bank loan, this would be enough to legally register and drive the car, but the bank needs car coverage to protect their investiment.
Oct 25-26, 2000

OK, I figure. I'll have to use one of those specialized insurance companies. This won't be a problem, right? It just may cost me a lot for the policy. Everyone watches Tim Taylor build cars in his garage so this must be possible, right? Heh heh..

I start calling companies like Parrish, Hegarty, and other places that routinely insure exotic/classic/antique cars. Many of these are listed in car magazines and Hemmings. The phone conversation always starts the same way... "Sure, we know the Caterham Seven very well. We insure it all the time. No problem. We know how important the car is to you. Wait -- you live where? NC? Sorry, we can't help you". Even internet sites giving instant quotes on their web pages come back with a "sorry, we are not able to quote for NC at this time". After calling 10 companies, this becomes serious! Apparently, there are two reasons for what is going on here:

  1. You must be registered to conduct insurance business in NC. I later learn that many speciality companies are not.
  2. Most of these companies insure cars like the Caterham as a "classic" (not an antique). However in NC, you can not do this unless the car is over 25 years old. In other words, they are not allowed to conduct business in NC unless the car is 25+ years old!

Supposedly, this is to stop some sort of insurance fraud. In situations where you are insuring a kit/classic/exotic type car, the value you insure it for (because it's not on any books) is pretty much what you and the insurance company agree it is. NC wanted to stop people from insuring such cars at inflated values and then collecting on them with a profit. I have no idea why this is, but it's also screwing everyone with a real need.

Chip calls the NC Insurance commissioner, but he says there is nothing on the books that prevents companies from insuring Sevens in NC, so this must be an under writers decision.

I call John in Ashville NC to find out how he solved this for his Seven. He also encounted this problem and learned that most people in NC insure their exotics for liability only -- as he has done. This is not possible in my case.

I now start calling the traditional insurance companies, being careful not to mention "kit car" because almost all of them have clauses that state they do not do kit cars in NC. Finally, I am able to get an insurance company to agree to cover the car (I am withholding the name because I don't want anyone else to ruin this for me). BOTTOM LINE: IF YOU LIVE IN NC AND WANT TO INSURE A CATERHAM SEVEN, YOU WILL ONLY GET LIABILITY COVERAGE (EVEN IF YOU USE YOUR HOME INSURANCE COMPANY), SO MAKE SURE YOU USE CASH OR EQUITY LOANS FOR YOUR CAR PURCHASE. NO BANK LOANS.

The insurance company tells me to wait until Monday to be sure the application has been completely processed and assigned a policy number so there are no further surprises. At least the price is reasonable.
Oct 27, 2000 The insurance company calls to tell me that the system has process my request, and the underwriters have assigned a policy number. Woo hoo! Back in business!
Oct 28, 2000 I drive up to VIR to meet Chip for the first time. GT Classics is there with their racing Sevens. I update Chip on my insurance progress. He also takes me out on the track in a Seven (as a passenger) and races. This car passed everything on the track -- porches, ferrari's, vetts. A bit scary tailgating people within inches at 90mph and taking hairpin turns at 45mph, but what an experience! First time I ever saw what this car can really do.

Here are photos from that day
Oct 30, 2000 I attempt to call the bank, but my loan manager is out for the day.

I make a formal offer to Chip for the car -- it's accepted. Wee -- we're moving forward again.

Oct 31, 2000 I make arrangements with the bank to pick up the check tomorrow morning. The plan is that I'll send half to GT Classics right away, then the rest in about 2 weeks. I need that 2 weeks to get the personal part of the funds from my financial account.
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Nov 1, 2000 I sign the bank loan, send the deposit to GT-Classics. Woo Hoo! Almost done. Still have to figure out how to transport the car in 2 weeks.

I get email from other insurance companies saying that they cannot cover the car in NC, and one comes back saying they will, but at a cost of $2000 a year! Glad I solved this already, however I plan to pay this loan off at 2x the pace so I don't get caught by this situation a few years from now if the insurance company changes its mind. This seems too fragile for my tastes.

Nov 2, 2000 I get email from one of the speciality insurance companies telling me that the reason why they cannot do cars younger than 25 years old has to do with their registration for conducting business in NC. I asked for clarification, but received no response.

My other financial company tells me I'll have the check from my other account in about 5 business days. Once I have that, it's off to pick up the car :-)

Nov 9, 2000 Got my other check on Monday. Tomorrow I pick up the car :-) (hope it doesn't rain!)
Nov 10, 2000 Nice, but cool day. Although she's not feeling well, Cindy comes with me so we can drive the 2 cars back to Raleigh. We leave at 5:30am, and arrive just before 10am. This is the first time Cindy meets Chip, or has seen a Seven in 10 years. Chip mentions that we all forgot about something -- today is a celebration of Veteran's day and the DMV's are closed, so we can't pick up a temporary transfer license plate. BUT... Chip is willing to let me take the car and drive it using his existing registration! Woo Hoo!.

We go though some final checklists, I hand a check over, we drive to a bank to get the title transfer and odometer reading noterized. I make sure I have title, registration, insurance, and bill-of-sale in hand, and we're off! Against Chip's advice, I leave the side curtains off to enjoy the trip to its fullest :-)

Because Cindy does not like highway driving (especially for the next 4-5 hours), we take scenic route 15 all the way back to NC. VERY NICE country drive in a Seven :-). We started off at about 11:00am, stop at a burger joint at 1pm for lunch then continue on. I am also getting cold so I put the side curtains back on. We finally arrive home just as it's getting dark at about 5:30pm. A much longer trip than the drive up, but much more fun too.

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Nov 11, 2000 Saturday. In NC, the DMV is not open on weekends, so today I decide to enjoy my car. The neighborhood quickly learns about it and before the day is out I had to give every adult and child on the street a ride.
Nov 12, 2000 Cindy and I do some driving together. She decides she likes riding in the car after all :-) :-).
Nov 13, 2000 OK, today is the big day. Depending on the outcome I'll have a legally drivable car or an expensive showpiece taking garage space.

9:00am First I go photocopy the title and other paperwork, then to the bank to get the lien information registered. No problems.

10:00am Next I wait an hour at the DMV. I hand over the title, and show proof of insurance. Because this is an out-of-state transfer, the NC DMV charges me a 3% "road use" tax, but they can't find "Caterham" in their database to determine the car's value. No problem (I knew this would happen), I give them a copy of the bill-of-sale. I write a wopping check for $1090.00 and walk out with a shiney license plate and a registration that reads "Cate" (the 1st four letters of Caterham) "Seven" as the make and model of car.

11:30am Now on to the nightmare part -- safety and emissions testing. I stop off at a local station and warn them I'm about to arrive with a special car that will need personalized testing. I show them a picture. They say it should be OK, but I'm dubious.

I return with the car and meet the inspector. A slim man named Joe. Great! He looks over the car and appears to really enjoy himself. It turns out he use to own MG's and TR7's, and although he wasn't familar with the Seven, he was not an idiot either and even had some recomendations for improvements.

After showing him where everything is, he drives the car into the garage to begin the testing. Safety inspection goes fine, but emissions has a lot of trouble. NC has almost no stations using computer diagnostics, so it's pretty much a manual checklist. They also (normally) do not allow the owner anywhere near the testing, but Joe needed some minor help. For example, it took some time to locate a few things (I had no idea where the fuel vapor canister was). Testing at NC is also done using live database connections to the DMV, and they could not figure out how to test the car because Caterham wasn't listed. I got them to agree to test it as a 1999 Ford Escort, but I wasn't sure if this would be a good representation or not.

Then the car failed emission tests -- twice!, so I was very very worried. I have no idea how I'm going to deal with this. They are only allowed to test twice and then send you away. If the car fails, NC forces you to spend up to $200 to get it to comply within 30 days. If it still doesn't, you have to go to a central office for consideration for a waiver. If that is denied, you cannot drive the car and it becomes a costly object of art.

It suddenly occurs to Joe that the safety inspection might have been long enough that the engine was no longer warmed up, so he lets it run a bit and retests. It passes with flying colors!! Apparently the engine cools down quickly, and all the time being taken by the safety inspection was enough to throw the testing. Woo Hoo! All Done!!

12:30pm I drive away -- all legal paperwork and requirements satisfied. A happy end to my adventure.

PART 2 -- Ownership