New member & looking!

[Ansoeb]

I bought from Toybox, great place to gather info and go out in different cars and experience different engines. They also come with a warranty period. 

[Mark19691]

Hi Jimbo,

 

I have been in a very similar situation to you, decided about 6 month ago to commit to a Westy, similar budget. Just purchased a factory sport 2000.

 

I had an idea. I wanted to do a few track days/runs out each year.

 

Set myself a few base lines, wide body, sierra rear, 2ltr 16v engine 200bhp.

 

I would 100% recommend meeting up with the local owners club, not as daunting as you think. Great advise and people.

 

Private or trade.

Trade - Toybox cars look great and well presented, but like any business, they are there to make a margin, and nothing wrong with that if you want the backup. However £13k will not get you a 2ltr zetec seiw.

 

Private - in budget, there have been plenty of well spec'd Zetec cars in the past 3-4 months and a few duratec's both factory and self build. Bit of a cliché but genuine owners will be happy to chat about their cars.

Get to know what to look for and how these cars should feel on the road. Take time to look through paperwork.

 

These cars are not your regular 10-15k mile a year cars, and are usually well looked after and over maintained. Therefore, tatty examples should stand out, and you can negotiate accordingly if you want to put some work in.

 

From just a couple of months ago, the market is quite quiet right now, so don't be in a rush. The cars are out there, but be prepared to travel for the right car.

 

As an idea this looks worth a look 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409144029118?sort=relevance&searchId=ef9f111d-f3ee-459a-a814-3228210c2e4c&advertising-location=at_cars&make=Westfield&page=2&postcode=CW11 3SR&year-to=2024&fromsra

 

 

Good luck with your search.

[Jimbo93]

12 hours ago, Mark19691 said:

Hi Jimbo,

 

I have been in a very similar situation to you, decided about 6 month ago to commit to a Westy, similar budget. Just purchased a factory sport 2000.

 

I had an idea. I wanted to do a few track days/runs out each year.

 

Set myself a few base lines, wide body, sierra rear, 2ltr 16v engine 200bhp.

 

I would 100% recommend meeting up with the local owners club, not as daunting as you think. Great advise and people.

 

Private or trade.

Trade - Toybox cars look great and well presented, but like any business, they are there to make a margin, and nothing wrong with that if you want the backup. However £13k will not get you a 2ltr zetec seiw.

 

Private - in budget, there have been plenty of well spec'd Zetec cars in the past 3-4 months and a few duratec's both factory and self build. Bit of a cliché but genuine owners will be happy to chat about their cars.

Get to know what to look for and how these cars should feel on the road. Take time to look through paperwork.

 

These cars are not your regular 10-15k mile a year cars, and are usually well looked after and over maintained. Therefore, tatty examples should stand out, and you can negotiate accordingly if you want to put some work in.

 

From just a couple of months ago, the market is quite quiet right now, so don't be in a rush. The cars are out there, but be prepared to travel for the right car.

 

As an idea this looks worth a look 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409144029118?sort=relevance&searchId=ef9f111d-f3ee-459a-a814-3228210c2e4c&advertising-location=at_cars&make=Westfield&page=2&postcode=CW11 3SR&year-to=2024&fromsra

 

 

Good luck with your search.

Hi Mark, 

 

Thanks a lot. Yes I will definitely try to attend a local meet up soon, there's so much to learn and only so much you can do from a phone.

 

There's one currently for sale an hour away from me, it's not for me but might be worth asking if I can go and look at it regardless, just to get an idea.

 

Tricky time of year to look I guess as taking one on the road is becoming less & less likely. Andrew at toybox was very helpful on the phone so I think another great way to get chatting and learn from

the experts. 
 

Cheers 

[Euan Hoosearmy]

I purchased mine in early January a few years ago. Made a 3hr drive to see it. Owner was a little wary about going out for a test drive (he drove) as it was lightly raining but we still went out for a few miles and the deal was done. 

 

I used Shipley to bring it home as it had a few features, like a >20yr old cam belt, that made driving it back unwise. Once home and with new tyres and cam belt. It got used!! Wrap up warm, put the heater on and go for a blast!! if only for 20-30 minutes, it gets you used to the car and more prepared for when the weather warms up and the grip levels improve. 

 

It's winter, prices are soft, make the most of it.... If we get a decent warm spring, watch those prices firm up....

[Jimbo93]

3 minutes ago, Euan Hoosearmy said:

I purchased mine in early January a few years ago. Made a 3hr drive to see it. Owner was a little wary about going out for a test drive (he drove) as it was lightly raining but we still went out for a few miles and the deal was done. 

 

I used Shipley to bring it home as it had a few features, like a >20yr old cam belt, that made driving it back unwise. Once home and with new tyres and cam belt. It got used!! Wrap up warm, put the heater on and go for a blast!! if only for 20-30 minutes, it gets you used to the car and more prepared for when the weather warms up and the grip levels improve. 

 

It's winter, prices are soft, make the most of it.... If we get a decent warm spring, watch those prices firm up....

This is awesome! Really excited to find something 😀

[SXRORY]

Think it's all been covered but my view on the mileage thing, mine had a good few more than most I was looking at but my theory was more miles meant it must of been reliable and peeps used it and had fun. The build quality was great on viewing tidy electrics and well thought out. Bought in January -2 3hour drive home with an aero screen. 😁 Crikey I was cold. Good luck with the hunt 13k will get you a lot of Westfield in these times. Patience is key but be ready to pounce good ones don't hang around 

[Kingster]

Up the budget a tad and buy this one. Very well known car in the club, great build and great spec. 
 

 

[Nige_T]

13 minutes ago, Kingster said:

Up the budget a tad and buy this one. Very well known car in the club, great build and great spec. 
 

 

Hi @Jimbo93.  Welcome to the group.  You wrote that you're looking for mostly road use and maybe getting started with track days.  Well, this little beauty would tick both boxes.  The cage maybe gives the impression of being a track-only car, but I've had an Exocet and two other Westfields with 'roll bars' which were effectively cosmetic, and having the cage on the road just gives much more confidence.  Also, the chap who set the car up did an amazing job and the suspension is adjustable with a few simple clicks.  It's literally like flipping a switch between 'track mode' and 'road mode'.  We got into track days via 'Novice' days, where there are no experienced super-fast drivers out there, and everyone's put into one of three groups that go out separately, 20 minutes each hour, so there are far fewer cars on track than normal, while you're out there.  Also, this Westy is so well set-up, really well balanced, super grippy, very forgiving, and I think would be great to get started in.  Happy to take you out for a spin if you'd like.  We're in East Sussex.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

21 hours ago, Jimbo93 said:

Which factors determine the cars value? Is vehicle age less important due to build dates & registration etc?

 

Factory vs Home built 

Performance parts 

Quality of build

Tuning 

Mileage - not so much ? 

 

Thanks all 

 

 

 

Some good answers already, but just to add...

 

Age is almost bottom of the list, importance wise. A pampered, well looked after 1994 car can be way better condition wise than an abused unloved 2024 car!

 

Factory vs Home. factory builds are a compromise*, but do mean you know what you're getting. But only if you're the first owner, picking it up fresh from the factory. Soon as it gets into it's owners hands, it may or may not evolve and change over the years.

(*factory builds, are essentially built to a standard good enough to be safe, work properly and to pass an IVA test, for the minimum man hours of time necessary to produce an acceptable quality). So they're reasonably consistent.

 

Home builds on the other will range from the frankly worrying, thank goodness we have IVA to filter them out, through to the stunning, most fastidious beautifully finished cars, packed with ingenious home engineered solutions.

 

Quality of build is king, when it comes to kit cars. The more cars you see, the more you'll get an idea of what a good, tidy build looks like. One quick tip though, is to have a real close up look behind/inside parts of the build you don't normally see; under the scuttle for instance, under the back of the boot box area and so on. If the build is still neat and tidy in these areas, with things properly mounted and secured, you know the builder will most likely have taken that much care throughout. 

- sometimes, viewing a second hand Westfield is almost as much about assessing the current owner as the car!! 

 

Performance parts/tuning. This is an odd one. They can certainly add a little value, true, but unless the car has physical competition pedigree with a list of podium places under it's belt, usually nothing like the amounts spent!

-what some, "the right" upgrades do though, is make a given car much more desirable.

 

I think Chris mentioned gearboxes - that's a definite plus, expensive and an engine out job to do, if you can let someone else take the hit in the wallet and buy one already done, brilliant!

 

Be aware though some upgrades add as much bling as actual performance - quite a few of the billet aluminium brake conversions fall in this camp. On a road car in particular, they will often add no more performance, and sometimes less. The reason they often initially feel so much better, is that they are frequently supplied with much better performance/competition pads. But try putting the similar sorts of pads into a car with OEM brakes all round, and you'll get many of the same benefits!

 

Track use vs road only use. A bit of a how long is a piece of string question, again the best advice I can think of here is check the owner out as much as the car. A meticulously maintained track day car, doing half a dozen or more events a year, can easily be in way better condition than an abused and unloved road car that rarely see's any TLC.

 

As far as use in general goes, unlike Caterhams, which are a highly developed and honed car, right down to little details, cars like Westfields are only developed so far - far enough to work well, if never getting anything more than regular servicing, but not down to the details and refinements - that's for the builder/owner to continue with, if they wish.

 

So the more use a car has had, in the hands of a sympathetic, hands on owner, the better the car will be; in an ideal world, when going to see a car, you almost want an owner to be proudly showing and telling you about everything they've done on it!!

[Euan Hoosearmy]

Just to pick up one thing on the age front..... know what you are buying. Westfield have not always been that clear about their model designations and changes to bodywork. There's some very useful threads on here that will help you to tell your "kit" from your ZK and FW. 

 

There's nothing wrong with a car with kit bodywork, but...... virtually no-one makes replacement panels for them, so if you break anything, you're into finding used or replacing the whole body with a new ZK or FW set.

[Jimbo93]

5 hours ago, Kingster said:

Up the budget a tad and buy this one. Very well known car in the club, great build and great spec. 
 

 

 

5 hours ago, Nige_T said:

Hi @Jimbo93.  Welcome to the group.  You wrote that you're looking for mostly road use and maybe getting started with track days.  Well, this little beauty would tick both boxes.  The cage maybe gives the impression of being a track-only car, but I've had an Exocet and two other Westfields with 'roll bars' which were effectively cosmetic, and having the cage on the road just gives much more confidence.  Also, the chap who set the car up did an amazing job and the suspension is adjustable with a few simple clicks.  It's literally like flipping a switch between 'track mode' and 'road mode'.  We got into track days via 'Novice' days, where there are no experienced super-fast drivers out there, and everyone's put into one of three groups that go out separately, 20 minutes each hour, so there are far fewer cars on track than normal, while you're out there.  Also, this Westy is so well set-up, really well balanced, super grippy, very forgiving, and I think would be great to get started in.  Happy to take you out for a spin if you'd like.  We're in East Sussex.

Hi guys. Thank you very much and a great looking car! I think to start I'd want something a bit softer and I've really got my heart set on a dark blue or racing green unfortunately. It's hard to tell the cars apart based on what they're equipped with having never been in one, so I really need to do that. 
A novice day sounds brilliant, I'd love to have a go and will certainly look into them when the time is right. 

This car sold today at Toybox and is exactly what I'm after. 

BRG car

Thanks again

[Jimbo93]

5 hours ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman said:

 

Some good answers already, but just to add...

 

Age is almost bottom of the list, importance wise. A pampered, well looked after 1994 car can be way better condition wise than an abused unloved 2024 car!

 

Factory vs Home. factory builds are a compromise*, but do mean you know what you're getting. But only if you're the first owner, picking it up fresh from the factory. Soon as it gets into it's owners hands, it may or may not evolve and change over the years.

(*factory builds, are essentially built to a standard good enough to be safe, work properly and to pass an IVA test, for the minimum man hours of time necessary to produce an acceptable quality). So they're reasonably consistent.

 

Home builds on the other will range from the frankly worrying, thank goodness we have IVA to filter them out, through to the stunning, most fastidious beautifully finished cars, packed with ingenious home engineered solutions.

 

Quality of build is king, when it comes to kit cars. The more cars you see, the more you'll get an idea of what a good, tidy build looks like. One quick tip though, is to have a real close up look behind/inside parts of the build you don't normally see; under the scuttle for instance, under the back of the boot box area and so on. If the build is still neat and tidy in these areas, with things properly mounted and secured, you know the builder will most likely have taken that much care throughout. 

- sometimes, viewing a second hand Westfield is almost as much about assessing the current owner as the car!! 

 

Performance parts/tuning. This is an odd one. They can certainly add a little value, true, but unless the car has physical competition pedigree with a list of podium places under it's belt, usually nothing like the amounts spent!

-what some, "the right" upgrades do though, is make a given car much more desirable.

 

I think Chris mentioned gearboxes - that's a definite plus, expensive and an engine out job to do, if you can let someone else take the hit in the wallet and buy one already done, brilliant!

 

Be aware though some upgrades add as much bling as actual performance - quite a few of the billet aluminium brake conversions fall in this camp. On a road car in particular, they will often add no more performance, and sometimes less. The reason they often initially feel so much better, is that they are frequently supplied with much better performance/competition pads. But try putting the similar sorts of pads into a car with OEM brakes all round, and you'll get many of the same benefits!

 

Track use vs road only use. A bit of a how long is a piece of string question, again the best advice I can think of here is check the owner out as much as the car. A meticulously maintained track day car, doing half a dozen or more events a year, can easily be in way better condition than an abused and unloved road car that rarely see's any TLC.

 

As far as use in general goes, unlike Caterhams, which are a highly developed and honed car, right down to little details, cars like Westfields are only developed so far - far enough to work well, if never getting anything more than regular servicing, but not down to the details and refinements - that's for the builder/owner to continue with, if they wish.

 

So the more use a car has had, in the hands of a sympathetic, hands on owner, the better the car will be; in an ideal world, when going to see a car, you almost want an owner to be proudly showing and telling you about everything they've done on it!!

Hi Dave, thank you for such an in depth response. Certainly a lot to take in and to get my head round before looking at a car. With regards to studying the owner as much as the car, I know what you mean, I've had photos taken with the new owner of the last two cars I've sold as I was so attached to them 😅.  
 

A lot to learn & I look forward to it! 

[Jimbo93]

5 hours ago, Euan Hoosearmy said:

Just to pick up one thing on the age front..... know what you are buying. Westfield have not always been that clear about their model designations and changes to bodywork. There's some very useful threads on here that will help you to tell your "kit" from your ZK and FW. 

 

There's nothing wrong with a car with kit bodywork, but...... virtually no-one makes replacement panels for them, so if you break anything, you're into finding used or replacing the whole body with a new ZK or FW set.

Hi Euan, so far from what I gather the FW have the modern-looking rear and nostrils up forward. 
I'm not sure I know what you mean by a 'kit' as opposed to a ZK & FW body. I thought they were all 'kits' ? 
 

Edit: found thread on different body types 🤓

Edited November 25, 2024 by Jimbo93
added comment

[Ansoeb]

Not sure how close to you this is but came across it on the Westfield Facebook page.

[Jimbo93]

2 hours ago, Ansoeb said:

Not sure how close to you this is but came across it on the Westfield Facebook page.

Thanks, yeah I did actually spot that. It looks incredibly clean, I was wondering if such low mileage would mean much mechanical work was required. Maybe worth a message 👍