Flying Carrot Steve Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 3 hours ago, GCP17 said: I’m not really comparing used Westfield vs used Caterham - just wondering the economic sense of spending 20k plus on a Westfield kit of parts vs the kind of ready built 7s . I guess to some extent it partly depends if you really love the building process as well. I'm very firmly in the - 'go out and buy a ready made one with as high spec as you can afford' camp. It saved me thousands, probably at least ten! I just have no urge to build one despite having the skills, I just love to drive the damned things! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hunter - Club Secretary Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 3 hours ago, GCP17 said: I’m not really comparing used Westfield vs used Caterham - just wondering the economic sense of spending 20k plus on a Westfield kit of parts vs the kind of ready built 7s . Prices have shifted somewhat in recent years.... The Westfield is still a lower entry when new than an equivalent Caterham. 2022-R-Range-UK-Retail-inc-VAT-V1-4.pdf Add a few options to the base 170 (660cc) Caterham and it's well over £40k for a 85bhp car. If you are 6ft 5" like me, a Caterham isn't a viable option anyway. I've driven a couple and are fantastic cars but I couldn't live with one as they are just too small for me. A base MK Indy RX5 these days is £10k plus donor plus options (normally circa £15k to build from what I'm told). The Cup 200 and K20 engined cars are significantly more (well north of £20k). The Tiger Avon is no longer a "bargain" at over £23k plus options. New-avon-factory-2023prices.pdf The GBS Zero kit now sits between £13k (plus donor and options) to over £30k dependant on engine choice and chassis. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Davis AO - Devon Cornwall & Somerset Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 4 minutes ago, Rob Hunter - Club Secretary said: A base MK Indy RX5 these days is £10k plus donor plus options (normally circa £15k to build from what I'm told) I think that sort of entry level is very reasonable, and would be a good target for Westfield. If they want to engage with the younger generation then an affordable start point for a self build is essential. I have my own reasons for buying my car fully built, but I wouldn’t consider spending £30k or £40k on one to build! As has been said, plenty of affordable and well built cars to buy used, but they don’t help the factory’s sales so I do agree that they need to avoid pricing themselves out of the market. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brack Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Back when my dad and I built our first Westfield 24(!) years ago, we were originally looking at doing a Locost. We’d gathered the steel box section we needed, as well as some of the suspension items. I then saw an advert in CCC for the Westfield starter kit, we contacted them, went on a test drive and decided that the starter kit was a better way to go as despite the extra expense for the chassis, we would always have something that would be worth a lot more than any Locost we built. The factory really engaged with us (it was Holly, Richard and Simon mainly at the time), we were invited to open days and new model launches, and we really felt part of something. We collected the starter kit with a view to sourcing other parts ourselves, but ended up with the vast majority coming from Westfield anyway. Nevertheless, we at the time would never have been able to afford to go down the module or full kit route, and the low price of the starter kit pulled us in… they then went on to flog a total of 4 kits off the back of that as they had us in their fold… it was a mixture of the value (rather than the price) and the experience. I don’t see any of that from Westfield any more. The guys down at MK seem to have taken that “old” Westfield (and in “old” I mean the Smith family days) way of doing things and run with it. You only have to look at their engagement with social media. Westfield now seem to be lost in a wasteland between not being seen as a Caterham, and being too expensive compared to MK and others. I hope they find their way back. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Carrot Steve Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, Brack said: Back when my dad and I built our first Westfield 24(!) years ago, we were originally looking at doing a Locost. We’d gathered the steel box section we needed, as well as some of the suspension items. I then saw an advert in CCC for the Westfield starter kit, we contacted them, went on a test drive and decided that the starter kit was a better way to go as despite the extra expense for the chassis, we would always have something that would be worth a lot more than any Locost we built. The factory really engaged with us (it was Holly, Richard and Simon mainly at the time), we were invited to open days and new model launches, and we really felt part of something. We collected the starter kit with a view to sourcing other parts ourselves, but ended up with the vast majority coming from Westfield anyway. Nevertheless, we at the time would never have been able to afford to go down the module or full kit route, and the low price of the starter kit pulled us in… they then went on to flog a total of 4 kits off the back of that as they had us in their fold… it was a mixture of the value (rather than the price) and the experience. I don’t see any of that from Westfield any more. The guys down at MK seem to have taken that “old” Westfield (and in “old” I mean the Smith family days) way of doing things and run with it. You only have to look at their engagement with social media. Westfield now seem to be lost in a wasteland between not being seen as a Caterham, and being too expensive compared to MK and others. I hope they find their way back. That's a well written piece. Only thing I would add is that the new Westfield Chesil set-up is relatively new so it could be a case of more time in the saddle needed to get back to those old ways. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Little (Trevturtle) - Treasurer Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, Brack said: The value (rather than the price) Spot on .. people do focus on price and miss the bigger value picture. Sometimes it's standing back and understanding what the value is for you that's key. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Carrot Steve Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 2 hours ago, Brack said: Back when my dad and I built our first Westfield 24(!) years ago, we were originally looking at doing a Locost. We’d gathered the steel box section we needed, as well as some of the suspension items. I then saw an advert in CCC for the Westfield starter kit, we contacted them, went on a test drive and decided that the starter kit was a better way to go as despite the extra expense for the chassis, we would always have something that would be worth a lot more than any Locost we built. The factory really engaged with us (it was Holly, Richard and Simon mainly at the time), we were invited to open days and new model launches, and we really felt part of something. We collected the starter kit with a view to sourcing other parts ourselves, but ended up with the vast majority coming from Westfield anyway. Nevertheless, we at the time would never have been able to afford to go down the module or full kit route, and the low price of the starter kit pulled us in… they then went on to flog a total of 4 kits off the back of that as they had us in their fold… it was a mixture of the value (rather than the price) and the experience. I don’t see any of that from Westfield any more. The guys down at MK seem to have taken that “old” Westfield (and in “old” I mean the Smith family days) way of doing things and run with it. You only have to look at their engagement with social media. Westfield now seem to be lost in a wasteland between not being seen as a Caterham, and being too expensive compared to MK and others. I hope they find their way back. I've been watching the MK guys for some time and have to say I'm very impressed by what they are doing these days. If I ever sell my Westfield I'd definitely consider an MK. May even go visit them for a nose around this year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brack Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 1 hour ago, Flying Carrot Steve said: I've been watching the MK guys for some time and have to say I'm very impressed by what they are doing these days. If I ever sell my Westfield I'd definitely consider an MK. May even go visit them for a nose around this year. I was thinking the same… they’re a fair way away from me, but when I’m next down that way I’ll be organising a visit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCP17 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 6 hours ago, Brack said: Back when my dad and I built our first Westfield 24(!) years ago, we were originally looking at doing a Locost. We’d gathered the steel box section we needed, as well as some of the suspension items. I then saw an advert in CCC for the Westfield starter kit, we contacted them, went on a test drive and decided that the starter kit was a better way to go as despite the extra expense for the chassis, we would always have something that would be worth a lot more than any Locost we built. The factory really engaged with us (it was Holly, Richard and Simon mainly at the time), we were invited to open days and new model launches, and we really felt part of something. We collected the starter kit with a view to sourcing other parts ourselves, but ended up with the vast majority coming from Westfield anyway. Nevertheless, we at the time would never have been able to afford to go down the module or full kit route, and the low price of the starter kit pulled us in… they then went on to flog a total of 4 kits off the back of that as they had us in their fold… it was a mixture of the value (rather than the price) and the experience. I don’t see any of that from Westfield any more. The guys down at MK seem to have taken that “old” Westfield (and in “old” I mean the Smith family days) way of doing things and run with it. You only have to look at their engagement with social media. Westfield now seem to be lost in a wasteland between not being seen as a Caterham, and being too expensive compared to MK and others. I hope they find their way back. I hope they do too - but I think they need to offer a starter all in self build kit for under 10k. The price of their EV kit needs to be cut in half. Updating their homepage and actually posting regularly on Facebook would help. And are they in touch with their ready made customer base ie us? Where are the weekly offers and discount coupons - Or have I missed something? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff oakley Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 12 hours ago, GCP17 said: I hope they do too - but I think they need to offer a starter all in self build kit for under 10k. The price of their EV kit needs to be cut in half. Updating their homepage and actually posting regularly on Facebook would help. And are they in touch with their ready made customer base ie us? Where are the weekly offers and discount coupons - Or have I missed something? Westfield would be the only ones who could answer that. With the old company you had a lot of people who would pay £30k for a top of the range Westfield as it was cheaper than a Caterham. Also when they bought Chesil, prices increased and they were selling them but even at those prices not making enough profit to survive. Sometimes we conflate our members and their desire to build a car with those who rock up and slap a cheque down. Also how many are serial builders these days, not that many. I do agree they need to move with the times and have social media engagement but again if their market is now more ready built to customers who do not spend time on Youtube they may not feel the need. As I said previously GBS and MK have really upped their game and both produce stunning cars and closed the gap but there is still a gap 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingster Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Westies are cheap as chips - relatively 😁 https://www.donkervoort.com/en/models/f22/ Over £200k 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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