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Cheap kit cars - is there such a thing?


CJ

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I am after a second hand car but, second hand cars sell for ridiculously high prices on the island e.g a 1990 Suzuki 1litre is for sale at 1300 euro and will probably sell for almost the full asking price!

 

I would normally buy from the UK and bring one in but the rules (and incredible expense) to register the car with Greek plates (and therefore get proper insurance) makes that a no go too.

 

I then had a bit of a brain wave :idea:

 

If I imported a kit and donor car then I could get round the problem of registering it with Greek plates by building it here. I then spoke to a "friendly" garage who suggested that I could import it built and he would (for a nominal fee) sign documents saying it was built here and therefore get it registered.

 

So, a couple of questions:

 

1. If I bought a kit, what is the cheapest one available? And what would the probable cost be to get all the parts needed?

 

2. If I bought a ready built car, what sort of money would I need to spend and for what sort of model etc?

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Hi CJ, what sort of kit are you after? A Westfield,Tiger etc are all very well for the 'ýounger folks' with flexible bodies to entail sliding into such a car.

 

Do you want a convertible or a hardtop? sporty or functional? how would you feel when the sun is burning the back of your head or shoulders?

 

Do you want to build it yourself or rely on someone else doing the work? can you trust that mechanic to do the job properly?

 

If you imported a turnkey model would the authorities not know of this on arrival thus making it difficult to prove it was build in Greece?

 

If you go to Madabout Kits (or other websites dedicated to kitcars) they have the all the lowdown on every kit on the market with donor costs and build costs too.They also have a calculator for you to see how much it really costs and you can compare one with another.

 

What cars are still in Greece? old Escorts and Cortinas? Opels etc? Most of the kits nowadays are easy to build and you have the fun/satisfaction of '' doing it yourself'' and knowing what has been done! plus all the crappy kits have long since dissapeared so those left all have a good reputation and usually come with a build manual or DVD

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how good are you at fabrication? buy a load of box section and a set of blueprints and go from scratch.

 

thats what i would do if;

i could weld

i could cut straight lines

i wasnt mildly retarded

i wasnt so lazy

 

You sound like a younger version of me! :D

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Hi CJ, what sort of kit are you after? A Westfield,Tiger etc are all very well for the 'ýounger folks' with flexible bodies to entail sliding into such a car.

I wasn't really sure to be honest. I guess it was my perception that these could be bought cheaply and then sneakily slid into the system that appealed.

 

Do you want a convertible or a hardtop? sporty or functional? how would you feel when the sun is burning the back of your head or shoulders?

It would have had to have been a convertable as I would have wanted to use it in the winter too. As I drive / ride a scooter in the summer, I am pretty much used to the burning sun!

 

Do you want to build it yourself or rely on someone else doing the work? can you trust that mechanic to do the job properly?

I was hoping to buy either a part completed or complete car.

 

If you imported a turnkey model would the authorities not know of this on arrival thus making it difficult to prove it was build in Greece?

There are thousands of cars arriving over the course of a season and AFAIK, no official records are kept. Proof of build would have come from the very well respected (and connected) garage owner.

 

If you go to Madabout Kits (or other websites dedicated to kitcars) they have the all the lowdown on every kit on the market with donor costs and build costs too.They also have a calculator for you to see how much it really costs and you can compare one with another.

I have looked and it would now seem to be too costly for me to pursue.

 

What cars are still in Greece? old Escorts and Cortinas? Opels etc? Most of the kits nowadays are easy to build and you have the fun/satisfaction of '' doing it yourself'' and knowing what has been done! plus all the crappy kits have long since dissapeared so those left all have a good reputation and usually come with a build manual or DVD

As I said earlier, I wanted a ready built car to just potter about in and be totally legal. It would now seem that the original idea is flawed due to the cost of purchase and transportation.

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Even if I could find a part completed / completed car for the right money, I am assuming the transportation cost would be horrendous.

 

Does anyone (Jurgen?) have any idea of the cost to get something like that the Greece (Kos)?

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This is superb Col, I was wondering the same about my Tiger and if I could bring it across.

 

Only slight issue would be ride height on those unpredictable Greek roads.

 

I'd suggest contacting the various manufacturers, I'm sure they hear of people abandoning projects all the time. Search out the club forums perhaps?

Just checked the Tiger one, not much on there - good to see second hand prices are quite high. :D

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This is superb Col, I was wondering the same about my Tiger and if I could bring it across.

 

Only slight issue would be ride height on those unpredictable Greek roads.

 

I'd suggest contacting the various manufacturers, I'm sure they hear of people abandoning projects all the time. Search out the club forums perhaps?

Just checked the Tiger one, not much on there - good to see second hand prices are quite high. :D

I'm fairly lucky on Kos as with the exception of some of the tracks, the main roads are all of good quality. I think this is down to the island being much smaller than Rhodes.

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CJ, thinking outside the box, instead of paying £1200+ for transportation why not buy a car and get a 'friend' to drive it over on 'holiday' and just 'leave it with you' - would only cost a few hundred for someone to do that including a weeks holiday perhaps?

 

It would cost a lot more than a few hundred my friend. When you take into account the tunnel, petrol, tolls, overnight accommodation and ferries and then the cost of a return journey it starts to really build up.

 

Cheaper than £1200 I agree, but not by much.

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