Young'un After First Westie Advice

[ASW]

My first post so here goes!

I'm 25 and currently driving a Megane 250 but since I've done track days, I'm liking Caterhams/Westies as they seem good fun.

My plan would be to sell the 250 and grab a Westie and a just a small run about (I only do 5000-6000 miles a year tops). My first few questions and apologies if they've been answered before but I did search (promise! )

1) My budget would be around 8-10k. I'm thinking 150-200bhp would be good as it wouldn't leave me underpowered on the straights. Does this sound reasonable for the budget?

2) My biggest concern is costs once I've bought the car. Costs like helmet, insurance, tax, waterproofs etc I know about but is there a list of costs somewhere?

3) I'm not a mechanic. I know a bit about cars (diffs, suspension setups, engine mechanics) but first hand fixing is what I lack. For example, if I had an oil leak somewhere, I could probably find it but wouldn't know immediately how to fix it. How much mechanical awareness does one need?

4) I'm thinking a car similar to this would be what I'm after. http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/westfield/all-models/2002-westfield-sei-widebody-2-0-dunnell/548645

Great forum that's friendly and full of good information

Cheers

[D7PNY]

Probably best trying to get a run out in a few cars first to see what you are after.

1.absolutely.Get a great car for that budget.

2.insurance is dirt cheap.I'm about 125 a year (I'm 28)

3.great car to learn on.Kind of what I've been doing and I'm sure most others do to.

You won't regret it either! Mine has cost me a fortune since I got it but its fantastic fun.'normal' cars seem so incredibly dull I'm comparison.

Cheers,

Dave

[M444TTB]

That budget will definitely get you a good car in that power range. Insurance, as a 2nd car with a specialist, is dirt cheap (mine is £135 fully comp @30 year old). Tax is likely £230ish a year. I'm not very knowledgeable on the mechanics side of things but the club is great and local members will help teach you. The cars are perfect to learn.

[Captain Colonial]

Welcome on board! Great first post, sounds like you've got realistic expectations and ideas, which is excellent.

I'll give you the same advice I give to all newbies - get thee to a local meet.

http://www.wscc.co.uk/local.htm

You'll meet lots of members with lots of various types, and get plenty of good advice too. I'm sure members will take you for a blast as well. It really will help you make up your mind on what you want.

Lastly, take your time and be prepared to travel to get the best car.

Ask lots of questions. - we're here to help!

[alexander72]

I'm a newbie - happy to answer any questions - best car i ever bought and I currently have 5 !!!

[Speed Freak]

best car i ever bought and I currently have 5 !!!

jesus-save some for the others!

[ASW]

Thanks for the warm welcome all.

That budget will definitely get you a good car in that power range. Insurance, as a 2nd car with a specialist, is dirt cheap (mine is £135 fully comp @30 year old). Tax is likely £230ish a year. I'm not very knowledgeable on the mechanics side of things but the club is great and local members will help teach you. The cars are perfect to learn.

Good to see my budget is realistic then. "Known" costs seem to be reasonable. Think I need to do homework on tyre and brake wear.

Welcome on board! Great first post, sounds like you've got realistic expectations and ideas, which is excellent.

I'll give you the same advice I give to all newbies - get thee to a local meet.

http://www.wscc.co.uk/local.htm

You'll meet lots of members with lots of various types, and get plenty of good advice too. I'm sure members will take you for a blast as well. It really will help you make up your mind on what you want.

Lastly, take your time and be prepared to travel to get the best car.

Ask lots of questions. - we're here to help!

Time is something I have plenty of (yay for being young? ) and distance isn't a problem. Thinking Thames Valley seems local to me so I'll see if I can prod the right people.

I'm a newbie - happy to answer any questions - best car i ever bought and I currently have 5 !!!

5 Any answers to current questions greatly appreciated.

[Speed Freak]

I bought a westy as a project as I fancied not only the driving experience but also the mechanical too... Id never taken an engine out or anything before, but managed to change engine to a honda s2000 along with gearbox diff etc etc... was an amazing experience.

I owned a mazda 3 mps which has a similar power to what you have. was a nice car... Ive now got a westy running at about 230+ hp, and it is **** scary! Have to be much more precise with clutch control when changing gears... as the back end likes to get happy!

With the budget youve got you should be able to get something really sweet.. dont jump at the first one tho, cos there are plenty of gooduns that come up..if you can do it, wait until you can really spend the max possible, as otherwise youll only end up chucking money at it left right and centre afterwards....

a decent setup can be worth more than horsepower aswell... right gear ratios, decent brakes (ap are sweet)-thats the one thing missing for me... im running the standard m16 fronts with golf rears, and its not really upto the job...especially with the power the engines pushing out.. would love some ap 4 pots up front..

think about it, and dont make any impulsive decisions.

all the best

[alexander72]

not 5 westfields - 5 cars... oh and 2 lorries

[leemarkadams]

I live near Portsmouth if you want to have a look at my westie to get an idea?

[M444TTB]

Due to the weight tyre and brake wear aren't the huge considerations they would be on a 1400kg hatch or saloon. It's great!

[tom mcmillan]

I'm pretty new to this club and was in the same boat as you.

I'm 25 and last year had a 2010 Focus RS that i used as a daily runner and on track days. The RS was getting too expensive to run for both so i decided on a Westfield for track and good weather, and bought a BMW 120d as a daily runner.

My Westfield is a Megablade and set me back £10995. It has roughly 130bhp and trust me, its more than enough for a first Westfield. My RS was 350bhp and felt relatively pedestrian compared to the Westfield. The insurance through Adrian Flux is just over £500 a year, tax is £75 for 6 months.

I bought a fibre glass helmet for £50, haven't bothered with the wet weather gear as its got a full cage and aero screen so only gets used in good weather.

I also wouldn't consider myself a mechanic in any shape or form but earlier on in the year my engine went bang. I bought an engine and swapped it on my own with just a halfords advanced tool set. I was a bit scared at first at tackling the job but once i got into it was surprised at just how easy it was. The first time i had ever tried swapping an engine and managed it in one day.

Before getting the Westfield i was a bit sceptical at just how much more fun it could have been than my RS, but trust me, it's in a completely different league.

Do it, You won't look back!!

Tom

[alexander72]

good words Tom

[markcoopers]

I think all your questions have been answered above, but to stress or labour a point the meeting others and seeing other cars to get a feel for them is really excellent advice.

If you plan to do track days, then I personally find it hard to recommend a car without a braced roll protection, and decent 3 inch wide belts.....but that is my personal rather than demanding view.

I found that a set of R888 tyres would last a year with 3-4 track days and probably 3000 road miles. Alconbury handling day used to finish them off. Brake pads likewise, so call it £300 a year? Servicing with an oil change and filt is dead easy althought you will get oil everywhere as a first attempt....but learn, £60 will cover this with excellent oil.

Timmeh's comment about brakes is probably more of a personal choice, the M16 set up was used by Ford to slow vastly heavier cars, and the Westfield components are designed to work together. Fitting bigger callipers and not doing the maths to asses changing master cylinders etc often results in a poorer system....my point is just because it looks good and sounds good, check it that it actually is good.

Lastly and this is a personal favourite of mine, don't get hung up on bhp. It is refreshing to see a newbie having a wide range and a sensible approach, but if you went to see a car and the chap selling said it has 167 for example, how would you know? What you would know is if it felt fit, wiling to rev, fast and acceleration and with no flat spots and hesitations etc..... If all of these were met and the rest of the car excellent for you, then the number on a bit of paper is not that important.

By on condition.....is it well made, quality parts used, attention to detail. If so it will be on the whole cheaper to run, more reliable and a far better car. Oh and ask for a local chap to come and view a car with you.....most people are more than happy to past on experience.

[ASW]

<br />

I live near Portsmouth if you want to have a look at my westie to get an idea?<br />

I may take you up on that if I a local meet is too far away to satisfy my enthusiam and excitement

<br />

I'm pretty new to this club and was in the same boat as you.<br />

</p>

Excellent. Very similar situation to me. Thanks Tom.

I think all your questions have been answered above, but to stress or labour a point the meeting others and seeing other cars to get a feel for them is really excellent advice.

Yes I'd definitely ask a member here or maybe a knowledgeable Westfield AA or RAC mechanic. But yes, appreciate you words there

First things I'm going to do is create a spreadsheet and weigh out all the costs based on info here. Second, look at a meet local to me and do some more research into exactly what type of setup I think I need.