New to Ariel Atoms

Herohonda · Post by **Herohonda** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 5:32 pm

Hi Guys, Im looking to make the move to a Ariel Atom as a weekend car/track toy. Il be coming from a background of mainly BMW M3's.

Some amazing cars on the forum and a wealth of knowledge on the Ariels.

Looking to purchase a Ariel Atom, considered Caterhams but the Atoms just seem like a lot more car for the money.

Im currently looking at second hand cars and they seem to be holding their money very very well.

Ive been searching for the perfect spec Atom 3.5, but struggling. Been through many years worth of buying cars, then modifying to suit my needs etc and I end up throwing alot of money at them which will never be seen again.

Also with the Atom 4 out now, realistically how long do you guys generally wait for the car to be delivered from first order date, if I was to order one in my ideal spec?
Il be ringing Ariel and speaking to them, but would like to get a feeler from you guys with first hand experience from when you guys and girls have ordered your new cars.

phil4 · Post by **phil4** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 5:36 pm

Atom 4 is something like a 2-3 year wait at the moment.

There's a few 3.5's out there for sale at the moment what sort of budget/specific requirements do you have? There's a good one here: https://www.ariel.club/forum/viewtopic. ... 51#p300351

Herohonda · Post by **Herohonda** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:00 pm

Hi Phil4, Ive trolled through the sale section, some very tempting cars there, but i am holding out for the 100% right one.

Ideally im after a 3.5 SC, Has to be all black. Has to be black frame, black panels. Aero kit (I can always add at a later date, ideally want one already on). The big one is It would be great bonus if i can have one with a sadev box. This would be my perfect weekend toy and track toy. Budget is sub £50k.

I need to do alot more research and look into exactly how much it would cost to have things like the panels painted/replaced in black, or how much the aero kit would cost me, so potentially can go for a cheaper car to accomodate the changes.

Ideally Id want my perfect spec finished sub £50k. It will be a struggle with the sadev box within my budget but itd be a bonus.

Many moons ago when the EP3 civic type are was out with the k20a2, ive had a supercharged one and a turboed k20. Such an amazing engine so would want one with forced induction.

I also need to look into the the exact changea from the 3 to the 3.5 etc. I am very new to Ariels.

Herohonda · Post by **Herohonda** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:04 pm

Oh, i dont think I have the patients of waiting 2 to 3 years for a atom4

......

phil4 · Post by **phil4** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:42 pm

Hi,

The good news is that almost all atom 3.5 SCs are sub 50k.

I’m not sure there are very many with black frames, but the good news is that new panels don’t cost much from Ariel (as long as you don’t want CF), so you could buy pretty much any atom and then get a new bonnet and intake and job done.

Oh and the sadev cost aroun 20k new, so doubt you’ll get that in your price range.

Also worth bearing in mind that if you’re not cheapskating it entirely, Ariel can retro fit a good many of the options at almost the same price as they would be new... and as they sell at almost the same price it wouldn’t really be throwing money away.

Good luck with your search, but my advice is pick one with as many of your boxes ticked and the take it to Ariel to tick the rest.

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Anon · Post by **Anon** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 7:03 pm

You get my vote with a black car!

With a sub £50k budget I would in all honesty look for an Atom 4, there is one for sale at the moment not black though, asking price of £60k on piston heads I think it is. The sequential is quite a bit more on top.

If you end up going for a 3.5, I would look at fitting a 5 speed Quaife, they are around £5k without the gear actuator for the k20.

Herohonda · Post by **Herohonda** » Sun Aug 02, 2020 7:43 pm

Thanks Phil and Simon for the advice. I wasnt aware that Ariel would supply the extras for list price from new. That really means I can Ask Ariel how much certain bits are and find a car cheaper leaving some money left over in the pot to finish it off.

Simon thanks for the advice on the quaiffe, I will do a bit more reading up on that option. Black frame is a must for me.

Post by **autobackup** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 6:56 am

Herohonda

There are very few sadev fitted Atoms around and most with a sadev box fitted are the very much rarer 3.5R's which usually go for +/- 70K (or more?)

Very very few Atoms are specc'd from new with a black frame but it is entirely possible to strip down whatever you buy and have the frame re-powdercoated but I would suggest that you might consider the 'gun metal' frame which looks great with a black bonnet and air box.

You can check out various frame colours on the Ariel Motors website 'Used' section or in the Ariel Club's photo gallery.

But if you want a really good used 3.5 I would strongly suggest that you have a good look at Graeme's Atom 3.5 that he has just put up for sale (see the for sale section of this forum) as his new Atom 4 is due to be delivered to him early in the New Year - his Atom is absolutely immaculate and would give you much of what you need out of the box - the panels can be cheaply and easily vinyl wrapped in any colour(s) you can imagine!

Post by **hamtt** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:23 am

There's also an Atom 4 on collecting cars at the moment that looks like it's going to go cheap:

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/2020-ariel-atom-4-2

Post by **autobackup** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:57 am

I strongly suspect that, unless there is a last minute bidding frenzy, this Atom 4 auction is not going to make the reserve as it would be a huge loss from its original price - so, in my opinion, it will fail to sell and be withdrawn from sale.

I also think that this car was possibly bought on speculation by the first owner who, if the bids don't materialize, is going to get his fingers singed!!

Post by **Alistairbuchanan** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:37 am

hamtt wrote:There's also an Atom 4 on collecting cars at the moment that looks like it's going to go cheap:

https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/2020-ariel-atom-4-2

What makes u think it will go cheap?

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Post by **hamtt** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:33 am

Doesn't seem to much traction on the listing.

phil4 · Post by **phil4** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 9:36 am

You don't want it going cheap, that'll start devaluing existing Atom 4s.

As [mention]autobackup[/mention] says, this'll likely fail to sell.

phil4 · Post by **phil4** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 1:21 pm

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified ... 501&page=1

Black frame 3.5 for sale.

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