Some thoughts from those thinking about buying a kit....

[greenwoo]

Buying a kit is a bit different to a 'tintop', if it's going to be your 1st 'kit' then there are some general points to consider ahead of getting into too much detail.

a kit will generally be more raw than a tintop, as such they can generate a feeling of speed, your lower to the ground, wind in your face - 'wow this is quick'.....actually that isn't always the case, do try and get a few passenger rides in a kit if you can before seriously looking at any to buy.

Have as clear an idea what you want from the car before settling on what you are searching for. IE/ are you going to potter down to the pub with 'wifey', or enjoy driving for drivings sake with some new pals, or do some touring or track days.......
intended use will have an impact on what you 'need' to buy, there's little point in worrying about the weight or a car, its overall performance if its never going to see a track, nor be driven 'in anger'.

Beware spurious arguments/advice, take a step back to reality. We often see well meaning folks say things like ' oh i wouldnt buy one of them they're heavy' - reality? yep that car may be 30kg's heavier than another, but if we're going down that route we ought to watch what we eat and we'd all the the size of jockeys!

Practical......yep a weird one this. Depending on your likely usage think about how practical the car may be....and what is a red herring. Does it have a bit of storage ( tools/spares), is the weather gear of any real benefit ( ie/ could you really drive it with the hood up......

So now you've found a car advertised......what to consider next......

1/ Is the car correctly registered on the V5, if its a Tiger it should say its a Tiger!
2/ When was it registered and when was the kit bought/started - the reason for asking this question is to get a feel as to whether the car was built over a protracted period by 1 guy or perhaps started, abaondoned and started again by another. That isn't to say the car will be 'wrong' - but could provoke more questions - what did you have to do to it to finish it off etc
3/ Build history - does the seller have a wad of receipts and piccies from the build ( may give you confidence that new parts have been used, that you can see care and attention has been paid)
4/ photos'''''' ask for as many photos as practical, as for honest appraisal of condition, or of things that the seller might have changed if he'd had time.....explain that you're travelling x miles and dont want to waste his or your time.
5/ mot's and usage. contentious this one. this has been discussed here before, personal opinion i'd rather buy a car that has done more than a few hundred miles each year and has never really been used. Pottering to the mot station annually is not likely to show up potential issues. i'd rather buy a car that has done some work - reliability is likely to be less of an issue.
6/ professionally built or 'homemade' - be wary of claims about 'built by xyz' - it may not be as much of a selling point as you think, but still an interesting question to ask.
7/ how long has the guy owned it, what's he done to it himself, try and get a feeling as to whether he's invested time or money in the car....there's a fair few folks who know nothing about teh cars and are happy to throw it at a garage to get things done - which can't be bad can it?
8/ how tall/wide/fat is the seller.....relevant cos if he's 6'2 and you'r 5'5 and the seats arent on runners you will prob have to sort that to be able to drive it! ( gives a clue as to whether you'll physicaly fit in the car).
9/ beware 'upgrades'.....or the need/desire to upgrade AFTER buying a car. If you know that what you're buying isn't going to be quite right but you might want to change zyx - cost those things out first. Often it can be argued that spending more to start with and buying the car that has those things done already will prove cheaper......changing brakes/seats etc is not a cheap hobby.
10/ same with tyres....some crappy old tintop type tyres that have been on the car for years may well want changing to something fresher - a cost to be thought of.....
11/ when actually viewing a car:
a/ take a pal along, its easy to go for the 1st shiny one
b/ take a good look at the overall presentation, alarm bells may ring when seller says ' oh it needs a couple of new xyz' ( when xyz are dead cheap and easy to fix...may indicate that other things have gone past their sell by date. Same with engine bay etc - clean/tidy, do you get the impression that the seller is the sort of bloke who has looked after the car......
c/ if you're really sneaky, ask him if he's a member of any owners club - and what his username is. That way assuming its a free site to join you could possibly do a quick search on his posts, that may give you any idea if he's had any issues with the car, or it may confirm that he and the car are 'good 'uns'

[Rallyreason]

Great advice and write up.

[BillG]

Wise words !!!

[florin metal works]

A very good write-up Mark; may I add that the owner/driver also needs to ask himself, is he a good/fast driver? No point in having 300bhp/ton running on rubber bands if his ability is more in tune with Touring, it will be like so many listed for sale with "delivery" mileage only.

[Crunchie Gears]

Mark

Good advice. Even if I had read it before I bought, I am not sure it would have made any difference. I did go with a mate and viewed two cars. But we both knew which one we wanted before we arrived to see the car!

[hearntd]

I did go with a mate and viewed two cars.:

You mean you dad? :lol:

[Nick]

I did go with a mate and viewed two cars.:

You mean you dad? :lol:

[gunner]

Some useful info here, never thought about seat runners being fixed in a position that don't suit you...

[steve m]

Some very good words, not that I plan on buying or building another car

On the registration iva/sva front, cars that were put on the road before August 1999 were pre IVA/SVA, and thus exempt, and if this can be verified by the owner, as in paperwork Mot's etc, the V5/Log book may not look correct , and have the original vehicle details, (as mine does)

However if the V5 states Dutton, and its a cobra, its a ringer, and unfortunately, there are a LOT of cars out there that are misrepresented or downright illegal, so care must be taken on purchasing such a vehicle

On Marks tyre comment, I fell foul of that very point a few years ago, when I span on a roundabout in full view of others, and on film, my rear ditch finder tin top tyres were about 16 years old, and were never suitable from day one!

steve