These days (2022), there seem to be more people buying new or used kit cars, rather than building them. A shame but I can understand it...
For what it's worth, this is my take on that decision; should you do it and what to consider.
DISCLAIMER: these are my personal opinions - they may not be shared by others (but obviously, they're wrong).
Why?
1. Style: Kit cars look cool, don't they? You stick out from the crowd, tell the world you're a maverick, a shepherd rather than a sheep - all that marketing BS. And they are completely individual, you will NEVER see 2 identical kit cars.
2. Fun: The wind-in-the-hair feel and low driving position all combine to make it feel like you're doing 100mph at 50mph. And that mis-used phrase, "handles like it's on rails" is 100% appropriate for a kit car - flicking through a series of sweeping bends is a joy.
3. Simplicity: Kit cars are mechanically simple and so can be fixed by amateurs. The parts are also relatively cheap (often second-hand).
Why not?
1. Reliability: They are hand-built, either by an experienced craftsmen in one of the kit car 'factories' at one extreme or by an orang-utan in his back garden at the other. Either way, there are no robots involved and few precision engineered machines to help, so they are MUCH less reliable than a bog-standard car you'd buy from a mainstream manufacturer. They will have issues, hopefully minor but potentially wallet-emptying.
2. Speed: Sure, it's not PC to talk about speed but, let's be honest, we all love it. However, unless you get something with a turbo or supercharger (which increases the risk of problems), kit cars are sadly not as quick as many modern fast hatchbacks. If you are only used to driving a 1.3 Fiesta, sure, it will be a rocket ship but don't swap from your Golf GTi or Scooby - you'll be disappointed. The fact is, most kit cars have 30 year-old engine designs in them and agricultural gearboxes from a Transit van - they can't compete with modern turbo engines, clever electronic diffs and flappy-paddle gearboxes.
3. Comfort: All kit cars are small by modern standards. If you plan to drive alone, that is not a problem but if you have a partner who joins you, they are unlikely to enjoy the experience (unless they are true petrol-heads). The cabins are cramped for 2, the car is noisy, the suspension is always hard and the wet weather gear (if available) is nowhere near perfect. Getting in and out is tricky if you have any mobility problems and downright hysterical (for onlookers) when the roof is up.
So should you?
All of the above is irrelevant if you are not prepared to get your hands dirty, literally. Kit cars will breakdown and have problems and, unless you are loaded, you will not be able to afford to take it to a garage every time, with their £50-£100 per hour labour charges.
For example, as I write this, the windscreen on my car needs some work. This will require me to cut a piece of metal from a sheet, drill some holes into the frame and screw in some self-tappers. The cost in parts is zero (I have them already - maybe £10 if I had to buy them) but it will take me at least an hour. A garage (if you can find one to do this sort of work) may well charge 2 hours labour and £20 for 'parts' because, what do you know?
So, unless you have a lot of money, I would suggest do NOT buy a kit car unless you are prepared to fix it yourself.
Finally, there is one other important factor to consider - time. A lot of kit cars are for sale because their owners did not have time to actually drive them. As I mentioned, it's likely to be only you interested in going out, so if you have a partner/kids who also want some attention, the car will be unused. Ditto if you have another time-consuming hobby (golf, D&D etc).
I love driving my car, despite the issues mentioned above BUT a lot of that is because I built it; I know it intimately, I know any problems are usually my own fault but I also have rough ideas of how to fix it. I also like the fact that I can decide to, for example, change the entire dashboard for something different - not an option in a normal car.
If you just want an open-topped car for fun days out but don't want to be elbow-deep in oil, I would recommend a Mazda MX5/BMW Z4 rather than a kit car; slower but more practical and reliable.
OK, I'm done - hope it makes sense and it helps...happy driving!
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