matt80
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 06:50 AM |
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Advice please
Morning. I am totally new to the world of kit cars but have been offered a locost jones special(?). It is registered on a D plate, has a westfield
chasis, a red top 2 litre engine and twin webbers. Seems in very good condition in the colour I want. The guy is asking £5000 for it. Does that seem
reasonable? it has 4 new tyres and the doors but no roof. ANY help and advice would be appreciated! Many thanks
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craigdiver
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 06:57 AM |
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My initial advice would be to check the registration on the DVLA vehicle check website and make sure it is correctly registered as the locost and not
the original donor car.
If it ain't broken, fix it anyway (just because).
Building - BMW powered Haynes Roadster/442E hybrid.
Volvo C30 T5 Polestar
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matt80
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 06:59 AM |
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Many thanks Craig
I have checked the reg and it comes back to a locost jones special. Do you think the money he is asking seems about right?
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CosKev3
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 07:12 AM |
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It's cheap by the sounds of it,although don't know the full spec.
I would be doing some research into it a bit more,strange if it's a Westfield chassis they then registered it as a locost.
Has it got Westfield body work?
Have you checked the chassis number matches the V5?
Get some pics and post them on here if you want more help 
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matt80
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 08:15 AM |
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Here are some more details of the car.... Registered as a Locost Jones special on the log book. Chassis made to narrow bodied Westfield spec. Caterham
front hi-spec brakes with cross drilled discs and new pads, caterham front suspension set up. Height adjustable coil over suspension all round. Sierra
diff and rear brake calipers with drilled discs. 2.0 litre 16v c20 xe (red top) lightened and balanced. New cam belt and water pump less than 500
miles ago. Fully seviced same time.Twin Weber 45 dcoe carburetters. Running in excess of 180 bhp. 5 speed sierra gearbox Alloy radiator, oil cooler.
New toyo proxes tyres.
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CosKev3
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 08:29 AM |
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Ah so it's not actually a Westfield chassis as you stated to start with?
Obviously if it's a home built chassis welding is a big one to check.
Sounds a great spec for the money,but again it depends on build quality.
If you can get some pics and post them on here people will soon spot any issues!
Pics of the front wishbone/suspension area,under bonnet,any areas of chassis you can see,under rear diff etc.
Where do you live?
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matt80
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 08:32 AM |
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No, that was my mistake....
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I live in Worcester park, surrey
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CosKev3
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 08:39 AM |
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Ah right,maybe someone local will offer to cast an eye over it with you.
But as I say ,few pics will help massively
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nick205
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 08:43 AM |
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Some photos (if you have any) may help people on here assess it better. Someone may even recognise the car as well.
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Toys2
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 09:37 AM |
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Sorry to rock the boat, my gut reaction is that it may be overpriced
Everyone on here (including myself) are desperate for their cars to be worth more, but unfortunately ebay sales says otherwise 
I've been following kit prices daily for years, for a home built chassis, it's going to have to be pretty perfect to be worth £5K
With a little bit of patience you'd get a similar spec Westfield or MK for that money, which ultimately will be worth more for resale
Here's some examples from a 2 minute search
Westfield SE 2.0L Pinto Kit Car
Mk indy kit car lke westfield, tiger, robin hood. 1000cc bike engine no px
Lotus 7 Robin Hood Kit Car. 1.6 ford Sierra pinto
1996 TIGER SUPER SIX 6 KIT CAR (CATERHAM, WESTFIELD, ROBIN HOOD, LOTUS 7)
robin hood kit car
The top 2 are the ones that would catch my interest, there's loads more on ebay for much more money, but do they sell?
Back to the car that you describe, the thing in it's favour is a good spec engine, that certainly raises it above cars with more common
engines
Photos on here would be a great help
I'd say a Locost with a red top could be bought for £3 - 5K depending on finish and condition, and also depending on how long you're
prepared to wait and how far that you're prepared to travel
[Edited on 3/7/17 by Toys2]
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Toys2
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 09:42 AM |
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something odd with the hyperlinks on my previous posts that I can't seem to edit out, I'm sure you get the idea!
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matt80
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 09:48 AM |
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Thanks very much for your input
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Toys2
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 09:57 AM |
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I've just read another thread about the MK in my second link, maybe best avoided as it isn't correctly registered
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CosKev3
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 03:58 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Toys2
something odd with the hyperlinks on my previous posts that I can't seem to edit out, I'm sure you get the idea!
How can you open your statement saying you think it's overpriced,then end it by saying it will be worth 3-5k!!!!
Without seeing the car or pics saying it's overpriced is pointless statement imo
Oh yeah and the MK registered as a Triumph TR7 would be a much better buy.........
Not!
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ian locostzx9rc2
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 04:25 PM |
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As said if it's a well built car with that spec £5k doesn't sound that unreasonable assuming it's been sva ed and registered
correctly .
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Toys2
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| posted on 3/7/17 at 05:32 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
quote:
Originally posted by Toys2
something odd with the hyperlinks on my previous posts that I can't seem to edit out, I'm sure you get the idea!
How can you open your statement saying you think it's overpriced,then end it by saying it will be worth 3-5k!!!!
Without seeing the car or pics saying it's overpriced is pointless statement imo
Oh yeah and the MK registered as a Triumph TR7 would be a much better buy.........
Not!
read again, I said "MAY" be overpriced.......it would have to be pretty perfect to be worth £5K
Which, is totally in line with my £3-5K comment, ie pretty perfect to be at the top end of that range
I'm the worlds worst for buying the first car I see, I was trying to give the guy a balanced view
It wasn't just a one line comment, I backed it up with my opinion and links to similar cars
A decent Locost, with all the right bits and a 4AGE recently went for £4.5K on ebay, again I think that this is right at the top end for this car
ie.....pretty perfect
Oh and I later said that the MK...TR7 should be avoided 
[Edited on 3/7/17 by Toys2]
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ragindave
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| posted on 4/7/17 at 09:18 AM |
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Homemade chassis scratch built cars can be an absolute lottery for an inexperienced kit car buyer with an untrained eye factory built chassis from a
recognised manufacturer like Tiger, Westfield, Mkindy,GBS would be the way to go.
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Norfolkluegojnr
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| posted on 4/7/17 at 03:56 PM |
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Did the seller weld up the chassis himself? Is he the first owner? Either way, you'll want to be sure the welding is sound - you don't
want a joint letting go at a critical moment.
Engine spec sounds good, C20XE is a great engine, and Webers hold their value well if you wanted to upgrade in the future.
As above, pics are the way forward for us all to help you a bit more, especially of the chassis, wishbone, roll bar etc.
is it a fixed price or will he haggle?
[Edited on 4/7/17 by Norfolkluegojnr]
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matt80
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| posted on 4/7/17 at 04:13 PM |
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Thank you so much everyone. The car is a friend of a friends. I know this doesn't mean 100% trust but it should help. I have just asked for pics
of the welding and wishbone etc. Will load them up when I have them, thanks again.
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SCAR
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| posted on 4/7/17 at 05:07 PM |
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A big influence on the price of this is that its a Locost Jones Special. When you come to sell it nobody will have a clue what that means and I
don't think you'll have many people searching ebay for one of those.
If the chassis hasn't actually been made by Westfield its basically just a locost. Its only worth stating Westfield spec chassis if its been
made by Westfield.
I would guess it needs to be 2.5k to 3K cheaper than a similar spec Westy but without seeing it who knows?
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matt80
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| posted on 4/7/17 at 06:47 PM |
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I have some pics now.....how do I get them on here?! I'm using my iPhone, thanks.
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craigdiver
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| posted on 4/7/17 at 07:00 PM |
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Upload the photos to postimg.org then post the IMG forum link in your post
If it ain't broken, fix it anyway (just because).
Building - BMW powered Haynes Roadster/442E hybrid.
Volvo C30 T5 Polestar
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matt80
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| posted on 4/7/17 at 07:15 PM |
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Toys2
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| posted on 4/7/17 at 08:43 PM |
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My immediate reaction is that it looks tidy and well built
The welds look OK (to my untrained eye)
There's some good indicators of quality, for example the folded aluminium edge towards top left on the second picture and nice detail on all of
the various meeting components on the 6th image
Other observations
The front suspension has been repainted, there is a little surface rust on other components, non issue that could be attended to in the off season
If my eyes don't deceive, the first picture is older as the front suspension hasn't been repainted - does the overall car still look as
immaculate?
All in all, very little I can see that I don't like, personally I would like to see matching seats and being picky, the drivers seat looks to be
mounted a little high, which in turn means that the harness points on the drivers side are low
Do you have any shots of the engine bay and dashboard?
In terms of value, it's so variable, it does look like a good one, I've seen similar sell on ebay for about £4K but that said, it could
probably command close to the £5K asking price on the right day, maybe an offer of around £4,200 hoping to get it for £4,500
[Edited on 4/7/17 by Toys2]
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matt80
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| posted on 4/7/17 at 08:53 PM |
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Brilliant, thank you for your comments. The guy told me he had recently painted those parts. I don't have a pic of the dashboard but as far as I
can see it is from an old ford. He put a bucket seat on the drivers side for himself but his wife wanted the original left for her. The drivers side
is on runners.
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