Has anyone ever bought a Kit Car.......

The_Aquapanther

I'm buying a new car and I was thinking about getting something different.

Can anyone give me advice on Kit Cars;

Are they reliable/safe
Are the expensive to run/service
Is insurance high
Anything else I should consider

mrbadexample

I'm guessing here....

Wouldn't have thought maintenance would be much costlier than that of the donor vehicle.
Would have thought insurance would be a pain in the butt to sort out...I'm thinking maybe engineers reports n whatnot, but maybe some classic insurers might do them quite cheaply?

If you've got your eye on one already, maybe ask the current owner how he/she manages?

epninety

The_Aquapanther wrote: »

I'm buying a new car and I was thinking about getting something different.

Can anyone give me advice on Kit Cars;

Are they reliable/safe
Are the expensive to run/service
Is insurance high
Anything else I should consider

Reliable /safe probably depends more on who built it and their budget than anything else. If they did a good job, and didn't cut corners, then a kit car should be as reliable as the donor vehicle - though you'll probably get some 'odd' failures due to the detail differences of the kit car (weight distribution etc. etc.).
Crash safety could be very different, depending on design. It might be stronger or weaker in various areas, and likelihood of injury isn't as simple as stronger or not.

Running costs shouldn't be very different than the donor vehicle(s).

Specialist insurance can be cheaper than 'normal' cars, but your range of insurance co.s is restricted and you might have to work harder to get your quotes - it isn't always as simple as 5 mins on the phone.

There are lots of other things to consider... at kit car is likely to be less well developed than run of the mill models so noisier, less comfortable, cold, draughty etc. etc. They can be harder to get parts for because it's often hard to be certain *exactly* what parts are fitted, and some mechanics will baulk at working on them. It can be difficult to know exactly what you're buying (I'm still finding things out about one that's been my daily driver for 4 years and 80K miles), and it's hard to judge values when buying or selling.

On the other hand, if you don't mind getting the spanners out, you can make it exactly the car you want, and you'll love it like no 'standard' car you've ever owned.

And every time you're in a hurry, someone will stop you on the petrol station forecourt wanting to know all about your car

I think if you just want a 'different' car, it's probably not worth the hassle. If your car is (or is going to be) a hobby, go for it!