Brian Damaged
West Midlands
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 9,555
Club RR Member Number: 33
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Jun 16, 2011 22:38:10 GMT
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It's a combination of things, IMHO.
The Scrappage Scheme did for a LOT of 90's motors. Plenty of decent stuff that was hovering around the £500-£1000 mark disappeared in weeks.
The recession means that a lot of people who, a few years ago, were quite happy to hand over £200+ a month over five years for the dubious privelige of driving round in a soundly-thrashed ex-rental Vectra from Yes Car Credit (or whoever) are now hanging onto what they've got instead of PX-ing it. This, again, has decimated the banger market.
What you're left with is dregs. Gumtree and the like are just depressing places to browse. When I was last looking for a cheapie, I lost the will to live after reading 'grate car short mot no tax needs attention cambelt may have broken' etc etc for the millionth time. At least that's how it felt.
You win some, you lose some. The Cavalier I bought last summer (off here, but not an RR regular) for £300 turned out to be a complete lemon. 900 miles after buying it it knocked the bottom end out. I chalked it down to experience, cashed the tax in and baled it.
The Xantia I bought for £225 in March (again off here) has turned out to be an altogether more satisfying purchase. Especially after I lobbed it in for an MOT at the end of last month and it passed with just a replacement drivers' door mirror glass and an advisory for 'faded front indicator bulbs'. I've done 3000m of trouble-free motoring needing just a couple of pints of oil and averaging almost 40mpg.
My older car days are numbered now (I'm having wifey's 06-plated Fiesta next summer, I just can't be bothered pi**ing about with old cr*p any more LOL), hopefully this one will last me another 12 months. Even if it doesn't it's earned its purchase price already.
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skinnylew
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,632
Club RR Member Number: 11
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Jun 16, 2011 22:40:15 GMT
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Aye been lucky and unlucky recently. Bought a 106 described as ok but no mot or tax. All it needed was a quick engine flush, a wiper blade and it sailed through the MOT. Turns out to be more or less rust free with only a dented bonnet and the odd scrape. On the other hand an Escort I bought unseen off ebay ended up having a very worn clutch, and rotten arch (described as slight rust) along with a spare wheel well full off water!! Still that was punted on after I scraped it through an MOT for £10 profit ;D I am always overly honest where possibly just so people don't waste a journey and so as not to mislead people.
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Jun 16, 2011 22:41:40 GMT
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This leaves me in a pickle if its a nail, as getting home again becomes a major hassle and expense so I tend to buy them anyway. Wanna buy a car? It's mint. ;D It's still possible to buy a cheap car that isn't a heap. My current car cost me £471 with a years ticket, few months tax, FSH, and low (<60k) mileage. No rust, four good tyres, and they even put a bit of petrol in it.
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" East bound and down, loaded up and truckin' "
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Ian
Part of things
Posts: 977
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Jun 16, 2011 22:52:53 GMT
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It depends what you expect for the money. Sometimes the bargains are there and you end up with a great car for not a lot of outlay. The problem I see is that people value their cars a lot more than they are in reality worth. Condition wise there is no excuse for not telling the truth, as I hate to be messed about when buying a car. I had my £300 mk3 Golf gti mot'd yesterday and it sent straight through no advisories at all, I was amazed. Considering my mrs 06 astra was in at the same time she needed 230 quid spending on it!
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TBH, I see nice cars for under a grand. They aren't your late 90s runabouts though. But a damn retro! I've seen some nice clean early -mid 80s Japanese stuff for £500 type of money. Someone on here had a peach of a Mitsubishi Colt (about an 1982?) and had a devil of a job finding a buyer. You can find a Morris Minor needing a bit of welding for the MOT for £600. Saw a scruffy but fairly sound VW Type 3 go for £700, with those scruffy doesn't matter, just call it rat look yo! This is Retro Rides yeah? not, buy a decent second hand family anonymous blob forum!
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,269
Club RR Member Number: 170
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My 306 seemed tidy as does Rob's Acclaim. You do need to search out the cars though these days I have noticed. I agree that a couple of years ago I did actually pick up some tidy cars below £500. A mega tidy 740 I owned was £260, with a tired but sound 740 Auto set me back £150. The 306 was £450 (not retro I know, was from a mate . With an interesting car (retro as an example), things get tricky below £1k IMO. you either end up with a sound car or something that you will spend an eternity at the roadside with in addition to fixing the damned thing everyday. But then something worth having will be worth pennies either which is what most chaps out there forget...
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Last Edit: Jun 18, 2011 10:03:29 GMT by ChasR
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"price of scrap metal" and all that...
plus some cars in the banger terretory now have expensive bits so one particular fault can kill an otherwise OK car. Look at the way Chrysler Neons have evaporated from our roads. Insane parts prices. They are one example. A chap I knew needed a wheel bearing for a Suzuki or some such thing and it was £200 or something mad just for the part. On a £500 banger that's time to scrap it.
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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i've lost count of the amount of times i've been to see things described as mint that have gaping holes in them. worst ones were a mk5 cortina in bristol with a hole in the door, and e30 in southampton with a hole in the wing, and dodgy coloured panels.
If it's over 50 miles away I don't bother anymore...it's not worst the hassle.
On the flip side - If you are 100% honest about cars you seem to put a lot of people off. when i sold my 318i on eBay - one guy came to see it, and said it was better than expected, and went home to up his max bid!!
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nofrills
Posted a lot
my wings are made of Steeeeeeeel!!!
Posts: 1,243
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I paid £425 for my marea estate 2.0 20v with a flash sony cd player, so sold the cdplayer on for £30, got it home, engine was ok, had a leaky rad, needed the cambelt doing but had a years mot and 2 months tax, so i changed the rad for one of a car a friend was breaking, replaced the fuel cap with a spare i had already, got the cambelt done, and it all it needed for the mot was new rear pads, I have had it for almost 2 years now and been all over the place in it and never once let me down, i love my bargain bucket lol
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Lex
South East
日本車 <3
Posts: 2,404
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I bought a Civic Sedan for £350.. had 150k miles on it but all the receipts / mots had been kept etc, interior was really clean.. exterior was just a bit faded.
That turned out to be a complete load of rubbish and broke down on the way home. Cost me about £110 extra from AA to get it trailered and when they left it on the drive they bent the bumper and snapped the number plate.
However I now have a Colt, cost £520, has 18,000 miles on it and is the most incredible car ever.
I think its almost down to luck these days when you find a car for sale, but there are some out there!
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Resto-UKal
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dungbug
Posted a lot
'Ooligan!
Posts: 2,852
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Jun 17, 2011 11:32:37 GMT
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As others have said, it does take time to find a 'clean' car thatmeets your expectations. On the flip side I'm always of the opinion that anything sub 1 grand will have defects to body, trim & so on, hence the price. Are there any car auctions near to you? chances are that's where the stuff you're looking at has been brought or they're px stuff from local dealers. Perseverance is probably the only advice I can give, I've rarely been in a position where I can pick and choose what I buy & drive but I'll always try & get the best I can for my budget at the time. Like I say, it sometimes take's a while. If you're buying it for weekend/occassional then play the waiting game.
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Past: 13 VW Beetles from 1967 - 1974 Bay Window Campers (1973 & 1974) Mini's (1992 Cooper lookalike & 1984 '25 Anniversary) MK2 Polo Coupe S (1984 & 1986) MK2 Polo Breadvan (1981 & 1984) MK4 Escort (1989) MK2 Granada Based Hearse (seriously) Fiat Uno 60S (1986) Punto 60S (1998) Cinq (1997) 1998 Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat 2003 Ford KA
Current: 2004 Ford Focus (barely alive)
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Jun 17, 2011 11:34:54 GMT
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Well he's just driven off into the sunset in my astra
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1977 datsun 810 180b estate
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Jun 17, 2011 11:35:53 GMT
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Ive had one good one not quite as good. The first was the TR7, bought very cheap (£700) of a trade enthusiast (he has about 7or8 TR7/8's) and I knew it was not going to be perfect. Got there and the rust as depicted in the photo's was as advertised, it ran and got me around for 6 months. It had a knackered engine (cheap?? ) but it still ran until the coolant problems started. Overheating, and generally peeing itself. I then exchanged it for my Acclaim, the dealer who bought it quickly sold the TR7 on afterwards, and it changed hands again before (i think) being scrapped. He described it as having 'no history of cooling issues' The Acclaim on the other hand was as good as described and for £700 (exchange for the TR7) (and 49k on the clock!) its done at least 6k miles in 6 months and all I have had to do is a new rad and thats doing 40+mpg as well! There are some good cheap cars out there. Ran and still does just about perfectly, will probably need some work doing at MOT though.... Who knows Looking at £400+ for new suspension and anything else means its more than the cars worth! Some older cars as mentioned are suffering from expensive parts!
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dungbug
Posted a lot
'Ooligan!
Posts: 2,852
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Jun 17, 2011 11:40:50 GMT
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Well he's just driven off into the sunset in my astra 'As described' then. ;D
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Past: 13 VW Beetles from 1967 - 1974 Bay Window Campers (1973 & 1974) Mini's (1992 Cooper lookalike & 1984 '25 Anniversary) MK2 Polo Coupe S (1984 & 1986) MK2 Polo Breadvan (1981 & 1984) MK4 Escort (1989) MK2 Granada Based Hearse (seriously) Fiat Uno 60S (1986) Punto 60S (1998) Cinq (1997) 1998 Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat 2003 Ford KA
Current: 2004 Ford Focus (barely alive)
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Jem45
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,021
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Jun 17, 2011 12:25:35 GMT
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it occured to me the other day that I've always had a budget of "sub-£1k" when buying cars. Looking around I was getting peeved with the stuff on offer and then I though hang on, your budget hasn't changed for 25 years!!
I think subliminally I was still expecting the same quality of motor for the same price. My head is inflation proof.
Bottom line is that sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't but for that kind of money I'd still want roadworthy and clean. And there's still plenty out there.
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Carbs 'n chrome
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Jun 17, 2011 12:47:59 GMT
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Look at the way Chrysler Neons have evaporated from our roads. You say that like it's a bad thing? Still plenty cheap cars around providing you don't expect the moon on a stick. I typically pay less than 500 quid for my cars and will spend what is needed come MOT time unless it's cheaper to replace the car, going on the principle of 'better the devil you know'. If you're after a load lugger there are plenty of slightly tatty Mondeo/Vectra/Peugeot/Volvo estates around for well under a grand. example There is a certain amount of luck involved as Brian says, but then I've known plenty of people buy lemons for several grand. Personally, if I'm only spending a few hundred quid I avoid dealers. They need to make a living and a £500 car from a dealer is a £300 car privately. My current Mk1 Mondeo diesel estate cost me £300 to start with and about £200 for the last MOT, £100 of which was labour because I didn't have time to fix it myself. It's done 30,000 miles in the last 18 months, including a trip to and round the Nurburgring, and apart from the MOT welding and bottom arms (the latter are consumables anyway) it's needed a starter motor, clutch cable and stop solenoid. Other than that, I've changed the oil once (long overdue now), put tyres on it and fuel in it.
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Jun 17, 2011 16:08:09 GMT
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Well he's just driven off into the sunset in my astra If my memory serves me correctly, it was raining when I left your house! Thank you very much for selling an honest car. I've got exactly what I expected, for a reasonable price. This is what your Astra looks like after it had a good wash!
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.
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dungbug
Posted a lot
'Ooligan!
Posts: 2,852
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Jun 17, 2011 17:13:16 GMT
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RR community = happy ending. ;D
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Past: 13 VW Beetles from 1967 - 1974 Bay Window Campers (1973 & 1974) Mini's (1992 Cooper lookalike & 1984 '25 Anniversary) MK2 Polo Coupe S (1984 & 1986) MK2 Polo Breadvan (1981 & 1984) MK4 Escort (1989) MK2 Granada Based Hearse (seriously) Fiat Uno 60S (1986) Punto 60S (1998) Cinq (1997) 1998 Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat 2003 Ford KA
Current: 2004 Ford Focus (barely alive)
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Jun 17, 2011 18:06:45 GMT
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"price of scrap metal" and all that... plus some cars in the banger terretory now have expensive bits so one particular fault can kill an otherwise OK car. Look at the way Chrysler Neons have evaporated from our roads. Insane parts prices. They are one example. A chap I knew needed a wheel bearing for a Suzuki or some such thing and it was £200 or something mad just for the part. On a £500 banger that's time to scrap it. the truth ^ "probably because most of the decent well maintained older cars were traded in and scrapped under the scrappage scheme all the people who could afford a new car would have also afforded to maintain their old car too" not from my experience! "couple of dealers I know cant get hold of any decent older cars only old wrecks are offered in a p/x s " maybe they just ain't very good at it !
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Last Edit: Jun 17, 2011 18:28:03 GMT by Fiat Daft
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Jun 17, 2011 18:43:39 GMT
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just over 2 years ago for various reasons I told SWMBO to pick a car, we hadn't got much money, £1200 tops. Anything she wanted (within reason). Straight away she wanted a KA, ok, she wants a KA, KA shopping it was! OMFG! I know exactly what u are talking about, i was looking at 11 year old KA's with more rust than 22 year old Fiesta's still being descirbed as mint! Long story short after several rusty, over priced and rattly KA's i took her to a dealer i knew of with two 3 door Civic EK9's. She wasn't keen at First, but after a test drive she was well and trully sold on the one he had (the one we now own). He had it up for £1000, i managed to knock him to £800. Honest car, 128k miles but 2 owners with FHSH, tiny rust scab, blown tail light bulb and few stone chips on the bonnet. It's now on 146k, all it's had have been pads, tyres, backbox and bulbs and i cant fault the car! Total gem after looking tons of rust KA's for £100's MORE! I feel like a got a damn decent bargain and glad we never got a KA afterall!
Last year i was looking at getting a Volvo S60 D5 for my self, did all the reserch, looked at a few and just got fed up, maybe I'm too picky but for £3000-£4000 i'd like all the expensive things to work! The one that stopped the search was when i drove 100 mile round trip to view a £3000ono car. To find a bust central locking motor (Common, not a problem, but would have been nice if he could have told me on the phone). Rattly drop links (again common, maybe he did/didnt know). Then find the "ono" bit of the price wasn't.... he wanted £3000 dead, no room to bargain considering it needed about £250 spending on it. A week later it was back on ebay (Classified), same price but with "Noisy drop links" in the description.... door lock fixed now?
I stuck with my £50 Sierra, which turned out to be a diamond!
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