Very good reply from Ian, so not much to add... I went through the 'TKM newbie' process last year so I'll add my advice.
Go for a popular make of chassis (you need to turn up and be nosy, see what people are running). At Whilton it's JKH and Tonykart. This will make it easier to get spares and copy setups. Sooner or later you'll break something you don't have a spare for; if it's a popular chassis, you can just pop into Spellfame and have it back up and running before the end of the day.
Definitely try to get a retirement package; as Ian says all of those little bits and pieces will be chucked in that would cost a fortune to buy new.
Go for something less than a few years old. It'll probably have had less crashes (though no guarantee) and be in better condition, and easier to get spares for.
Go for clutched. As a novice the most important thing is tracktime, and losing that because you got punted on the first lap and couldn't get it push-started is very frustrating (I know, I tried it). Also, it's basically free to convert a clutched engine to DD should you want to. It's not economical to convert DD to clutched.
Also on engines, anything on low to mid bore (say 54.45 or less) is fine. That will leave you plenty of rebuilds and some margin in case you blow a piston. The bore is stamped into the top of the piston so you can quickly check this. Also have a look at the barrel and make sure you can still see the cross-hatches. If not, it's probably due a rebuild. A full rebuild (excluding con rod) sets me back around £350, which is more than the cost of most s/h engines, so it's not worth buying anything in need of a rebuild.
Whilton is a good place to get started; you can practice every Wednesday and there's a permanent on-site shop for when things go wrong. I think I made several trips to the shop per day on my first few practice sessions! Just avoid school holidays.
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What to look for when buying a kart? by 'ross' (21 Feb 2010 @ 12:59)
