Newbie from Caterham

J

jkhamler

New Member
Messages
16
Hello all and greetings from Caterham, Surrey.

I am contemplating a used GTS (4.7 Auto, 2009-11) as it seems to be an incredible machine for the money on the current market (~£25-30k). However I am not at all wealthy and need to go in with my eyes fully open with regards to servicing and running costs. Apologies if I'm asking stuff that's been asked before a load of times, but it would be reassuring to hear it afresh.

Am I right in thinking that the auto is a lower cost option due to it essentially being a very standard and durable ZF6 which won't come with the ticking ££££ clutch bomb of the MC Shift? The car is a heavy cruiser so I assume the auto suits it quite well.

Also do they all come with Skyhook suspension? If not is there a simpler more robust option?

Is it possible to maintain these for vaguely sensible money by going down the indy route, sourcing parts from forums, doing a bit of routine maintenance (e.g. oil changes) yourself? I'm not saying I intend to skimp on a maintenance, but I couldn't afford/justify main dealer pricing for a £500 oil change for example. Can anybody recommend any good indies in Surrey/Kent/Sussex?

Many thanks,

Jon
 
Wanderer

Wanderer

Member
Messages
5,791
GTS is the QP I think, 4.7 Auto as you say. Is it the 4-door you're looking at? There's not many about.

If so, GTS doesn't have Skyhook. I service my non-GTS DS locally, normally cheap af, but there is always the looming prospect of a big bill, clutch for me, but another frequent one is ABS, means the whole hub changing out - 700 quid plus labour.

TBF engine and gearbox (all gearboxes) are pretty bullet-proof, main expenses will be suspension/electronics related, shockers aren't cheap, and for a lot of stuff you'd need an indy with the Maserati/Ferrari SD3 reader.

Having driven both the DS (MC shift on coupes) and autos for me the DS is better, has character and feels more like you are driving instead of being driven, I love mine to bits. No finer feeling than being sat in 5th or 6th, country road, dawdling driver ahead, nice straight bit of road, nothing coming the other way, double or even triple left paddle down, boot it, and for a massive and pretty old car it really, really shifts, really feels effing great!
 
safrane

safrane

Member
Messages
16,829
Via an Indy you should expect between £700/£1000 for a service, could be more or a little less depending on which services are req. It is every 2 years or 24k. Having said that they do have wear items that at the are suggested will be coming up for replacement.

They are lovely but a challange to run on a tight budget, and I would hate to see another buyer feel they were burnt by the experience.

Assuming you refer to a Grantorismo?
 
J

jkhamler

New Member
Messages
16
Hi Wanderer, thanks for the swift reply! My mistake - by GTS I meant Granturismo S, not the 4 door.

I'm a life long manual fan - will I prefer the extra interaction of the MC over the auto? I mean to me without a third pedal they will both feel like autos, so my preference would be for the robust and more economical option (in terms of gearing too - apparently the MC is lower geared so likely to drink even more... not that I'm expecting either to be frugal on fuel!)

I was leaning towards a Porsche 997 but I'm heavily dissuaded by the potential catastrophic engine failures. Plus they are a dime a dozen and don't have that 'feel good factor', which hopefully is where the Maser steps in.
 
J

jkhamler

New Member
Messages
16
safrane said:
Via an Indy you should expect between £700/£1000 for a service, could be more or a little less depending on which services are req. It is every 2 years or 24k. Having said that they do have wear items that at the are suggested will be coming up for replacement.

They are lovely but a challange to run on a tight budget, and I would hate to see another buyer feel they were burnt by the experience.
Click to expand...

£1k every other year is palatable (I expected worse) - and in the meantime I can try to keep on top of small jobs myself (although I'm not pretending that I'm capable of much more than an oil change...)
 
Wanderer

Wanderer

Member
Messages
5,791
jkhamler said:
Hi Wanderer, thanks for the swift reply! My mistake - by GTS I meant Granturismo S, not the 4 door.

I'm a life long manual fan - will I prefer the extra interaction of the MC over the auto? I mean to me without a third pedal they will both feel like autos, so my preference would be for the robust and more economical option (in terms of gearing too - apparently the MC is lower geared so likely to drink even more... not that I'm expecting either to be frugal on fuel!)

I was leaning towards a Porsche 997 but I'm heavily dissuaded by the potential catastrophic engine failures. Plus they are a dime a dozen and don't have that 'feel good factor', which hopefully is where the Maser steps in.
Click to expand...
MC/DS still only have two pedals - clutch is electronic/robotised the, F1 actuator does the clutch pedal work and the electronics protect you from breaking it - ie won't let change down if the engine won't like it, or change up if the engine will lug.

Forget the fuel! They're not too bad but it's 12/13 in town, 22/23 motorway, maybe 26/27 in vicar's wife mode.

And Safrane is right - last service before I took ownership of mine was nearly £9k. Mine isn't worth a button now but is still as solid af, so I use local chaps for servicing, eBay for bits, 120k coming up but no leaks, no oil/water lights or leaks, feels tight as a drum to me, have parking sensor failure (cant be arsed fixing, bumper-off job), TPMS (two modules in, both failed, living with it) and now I have rear number plate light out waring light - easy fix that...
 
B

bigbob

Member
Messages
8,965
You had me excited till I remembered Caterhams are built in Dartford.

I've been running a GTS Auto for the last nine years so am bound to support your quest. Some of the above posts are scary and some people do spend lots maintaining them. The real issue is the cost of parts, largely suspension arms/bushes and brakes. You don't need to use a main dealer as there are lots of good independents in the south but its hard to get round the parts cost but anyone signing off on a bill over £5k needs to think about other options before committing - main dealers are keen to extract maximum cash especially now that Ferrari are on service inclusive purchase pricing and will recommend replacing parts earlier than you might really want to. You just have to learn to say no!

The GTS Auto came as standard with Skyhook. FWIW mine has not gone wrong and I don't believe it is a known weak point. Some will have had Skyhook deleted - this was an option - but not many and you can't tell without a drive or a look at the dampers.

The regular GTS came as standard without Skyhook but many people cost optioned it back in. Obviously you will find one of these without it but then you have clutch cost replacement at some stage. Better just decide which gearbox you prefer and let that drive the choice.
 
schell70

schell70

Member
Messages
314
Don't be put off - I've had an early (2008) GT Auto for 10 months and apart from having the Variator Cap mod (which I'd budgeted for on purchase) it's not cost me that much. Wait 2 months and I will post a '1yr in report'. It's no garage queen either, even in lockdown I've managed 4k miles.

I guess I'm lucky in that it doesn't have Skyhook, TPMS or a tracker because it's an early model.

Make sure you get one inspected by Matt or similiar and watch out for Subframe rot which is hard to see unless on a lift with the wheels off.
 
J

jkhamler

New Member
Messages
16
Thanks for the feedback! I actually prefer the cleaner look of the early cars the but I thought in terms of reliability and resale value a slightly later 4.7 might be a better option - perhaps I’m wrong. I’m not a speed demon, I’m just attracted to the ‘feel good factor’ so maybe I should be looking at some 4.2s. Let’s face it, the infotainment in a 2011 machine is going to be almost as hopeless!
 
Wanderer

Wanderer

Member
Messages
5,791
jkhamler said:
Thanks for the feedback! I actually prefer the cleaner look of the early cars the but I thought in terms of reliability and resale value a slightly later 4.7 might be a better option - perhaps I’m wrong. I’m not a speed demon, I’m just attracted to the ‘feel good factor’ so maybe I should be looking at some 4.2s. Let’s face it, the infotainment in a 2011 machine is going to be almost as hopeless!
Click to expand...
They are all pretty reliable, resale value, well forget that for 10 years currently it's all dropping.

However keep it fettled and it might be a goldmine - I saw a 1982 Toyota Celica Liftback 2.0ST like mine, I paid 2.8k for it, this one was 28k!. I reckon in 10-15 years if looked after the Maser day in the sunshine will come......
 
philw696

philw696

Member
Messages
25,377
jkhamler said:
Thanks for the feedback! I actually prefer the cleaner look of the early cars the but I thought in terms of reliability and resale value a slightly later 4.7 might be a better option - perhaps I’m wrong. I’m not a speed demon, I’m just attracted to the ‘feel good factor’ so maybe I should be looking at some 4.2s. Let’s face it, the infotainment in a 2011 machine is going to be almost as hopeless!
Click to expand...
There's a well know forum members 4.2 for sale on here at the moment and that would leave you a very healthy war chest.
Good Luck in your search.
 
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