Buying an Atom

[Maxime06]

Hi Guys,

I have joinned this forum only few days ago and i have been reading quite a bit.

I am comtenplating the purchase of a second hand atom, but still have a few concerns,

1) Is it worth it? i am still concerned putting that "much" money in a car that i will get to use only a few days a year.
2) What is best for a newbie? Atom 2 / 3, SC or not?
3) Do you know if it is possible to test drive the car somewhere before going of to buy one?
4) How much do they cost to maintain on a yearly basis?
5) Can you switch the from LDH to RHD on your own (with ambidex Chassis) or does it have to be done at the factory?
6) Track days, How much do they cost (in terms of oil / tyres / brakes)?
7) where do you get to use it (apart from track) UK road are not know for being perfect and with such a low rides, uneven road and potholes might not be very pleasent, moreover living in London where could i enjoy driving this little monster.

Thanks a lot and hopefully see you soon on the roads.

Cheers

Max

[benyeats]

Answers below:

[quote="Maxime06"]
1) Is it worth it? i am still concerned putting that "much" money in a car that i will get to use only a few days a year.

YES.  The residuals are fairly solid, particularly with an older car so you should not lose too much when it comes to selling

2) What is best for a newbie? Atom 2 / 3, SC or not?

Do a forum search, lots of discussion.  Depends largely on your budget.  An Atom 2 160 (the entry level Atom 2) is faster than almost any other car.  I had an Atom 1 with 120 BHP as my first one and never found it lacking in pace on the road although the extra grunt of my current car is useful on some longer circuits.

3) Do you know if it is possible to test drive the car somewhere before going of to buy one?

The factory

4) How much do they cost to maintain on a yearly basis?

Depends how much you use it and road vs track miles.

5) Can you switch the from LDH to RHD on your own (with ambidex Chassis) or does it have to be done at the factory?

Would be a simple enough DIY

6) Track days, How much do they cost (in terms of oil / tyres / brakes)?

Depends on which tyres.  Brakes last ages as the car weighs so little, does not use much if any oil.

7) where do you get to use it (apart from track) UK road are not know for being perfect and with such a low rides, uneven road and potholes might not be very pleasent, moreover living in London where could i enjoy driving this little monster.

Great fun on UK roads

Thanks a lot and hopefully see you soon on the roads.

Cheers

Max
[/quote]

[Alex Brandon-Smith]

Maxime06

It's pretty much as benyeats says but in my opinion the SC is great as a later addition. Get used to the 245 first then add it when you want a bit more.

Services are generally £500+VAT except for some bigger services which are £800+VAT and are I think 1 year or 4000 miles. 1 track miles counts as 4 road miles so yes totally depends on how much you use it and where.

And in answer to whether it's worth it...hell yes. Absolutely brilliant. Loved by everyone and is a real occasion every time you go to drive it. You won't regret it.

[wattie]

Throw out logic........

unique fun-reliably,
attention grabbing,
great driving on road or track,
sensory overload,
SUPERCAR performance on a budget!!!!!

Cheers Wattie

[Maxime06]

[quote="wattie"]
Throw out logic........

unique fun-reliably,
attention grabbing,
great driving on road or track,
sensory overload,
SUPERCAR performance on a budget!!!!!

Cheers Wattie
[/quote]

Why do you not have one anymore then? unless i misread you post, havnt you sold yours?

I find it very hard to value the ones that are for sale, prices vary widely, what is a good / bad deal?

Thanks

[Sam]

[quote="Maxime06"]
[quote="wattie"]
Throw out logic........

unique fun-reliably,
attention grabbing,
great driving on road or track,
sensory overload,
SUPERCAR performance on a budget!!!!!

Cheers Wattie
[/quote]

Why do you not have one anymore then? unless i misread you post, havnt you sold yours?

I find it very hard to value the ones that are for sale, prices vary widely, what is a good / bad deal?

Thanks

[/quote]

Buy from the factory to be sure of what you're buying and eliminate that uncertainty.

[benyeats]

[quote="Sam"]
[quote="Maxime06"]
[quote="wattie"]
Throw out logic........

unique fun-reliably,
attention grabbing,
great driving on road or track,
sensory overload,
SUPERCAR performance on a budget!!!!!

Cheers Wattie
[/quote]

Why do you not have one anymore then? unless i misread you post, havnt you sold yours?

I find it very hard to value the ones that are for sale, prices vary widely, what is a good / bad deal?

Thanks

[/quote]

Buy from the factory to be sure of what you're buying and eliminate that uncertainty.
[/quote]

Or just speak to the factory they know all the cars out there so will be happy to advise.

[Rocket Man]

They are realy good fun on the road and yes i have also just sold my car and might even get another yet who knows. Would recomend one, there is one very cheep on pistonheads a 2/160 like the one I had and as said faster than most cars on the road. That car is so cheep you will not loose a penny on it, cheep to run and after all it is only a civic engine so cheep to service

[wattie]

[quote="Maxime06"]
[quote="wattie"]
Throw out logic........

unique fun-reliably,
attention grabbing,
great driving on road or track,
sensory overload,
SUPERCAR performance on a budget!!!!!

Cheers Wattie
[/quote]

Why do you not have one anymore then? unless i misread you post, havnt you sold yours?

I find it very hard to value the ones that are for sale, prices vary widely, what is a good / bad deal?

Thanks
[/quote]
Correct I sold mine after circa 3 years and lots of daily driving fun!! There is nothing else like it....for the money!!

I sold because my car turn on/requirements changed, not because of any fault with the car......in fact I owned the Atom far longer than most cars I've owned...ie my gorgeous Maser.

The 245 was all the Atom I EVER wanted and fulfilled all my needs so an upgrade to the s/c didn't yank my chain.....so time for a change.

Good luck with the search...my old one is up for sale and has been lovingly enhanced and improved by Glen. You could do a lot worse.

Cheers wattie

[Maxime06]

This is what i am looking at for the moment,

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/ariel/atom/ariel-atom3-2012/1505106

@Wattie, i was just joking not being serious about the fact that you sold your car, i saw the one glen is selling but it is too far from me.

any comments or advice?

Thanks

[wattie]

Not much detail on the advert.

Make a list of the features you want on an Atom....compare with the seller and establish track usage etc.

Drive, if u like haggle.

Cheers Wattie

[John Scherrer]

If you contact the factory, they'll set you up an appointment to go for a test drive so long as it's not wet .. -insurance prevents.

If you're serious and take your driving license, you'll get to drive too.

They can email you an Excel configurator that lists all the options and prices - this may help to explain why the cars vary so much in price - there's also hidden options like baffled sump, LSD etc though most of the cars have these ..

I assume you've been on the factory web site and browsed the options listed ..

[Maxime06]

I have the excel spreadsheet from Ariel.
The Car in the ad has quite a lot of options: limited slip, hot country, alcon front & rear, handbrake, aluminium dampers adj, two piece spring, side panel, full roll-over, remote brake bias, 16" wheel package, stainless fixings, full windscreen, high level brake light, locking fuel cap, passenger foot rest, carbon aerofoil front / rear, carbon instrument panel. Very limited track usage (20 km only according to the owner) but one big tour in Europe (almost all of the mileage in one go).

What do you think?

has any of you done the RHD - LHD conversion, someone said a simple DIY, has anyone done it? is there a tuto?

[benyeats]

[quote="Maxime06"]
I have the excel spreadsheet from Ariel.
The Car in the ad has quite a lot of options: limited slip, hot country, alcon front & rear, handbrake, aluminium dampers adj, two piece spring, side panel, full roll-over, remote brake bias, 16" wheel package, stainless fixings, full windscreen, high level brake light, locking fuel cap, passenger foot rest, carbon aerofoil front / rear, carbon instrument panel. Very limited track usage (20 km only according to the owner) but one big tour in Europe (almost all of the mileage in one go).

What do you think?

has any of you done the RHD - LHD conversion, someone said a simple DIY, has anyone done it? is there a tuto?
[/quote]

I have not done it but have taken most of an Atom to bits.  I don't think it could be done in the time the Channel Tunnel journey takes but not miles off!  Having said that I don't think you would bother doing it for the odd trip to Europe but say once a year probably no big deal

I have not seen a tutorial for the conversion.

[speedmachine]

[quote="Maxime06"]
This is what i am looking at for the moment,

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/ariel/atom/ariel-atom3-2012/1505106

@Wattie, i was just joking not being serious about the fact that you sold your car, i saw the one glen is selling but it is too far from me.

any comments or advice?

Thanks
[/quote]

normally I wouldnt bet on these kind of adds with so less info...but the pics seem to say that the owner is an old fart who just might not be any good with computers and this text took him ages...in that case this could be thé best buy for you...right options, slow driver, correct maintainance....I would call the old fart to find out!