Best sub £500 car - help!

Mike Dodd ( snipped-for-privacy@dsl.dot.pipex.dot.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I was following a N-plate 1.7TD Cav the other day - think it was a decent spec (GLS?). The FOR SALE sheet in the back window listed PAS, Alloys, CD and a few other bits - asking £650 with full ticket. Looked in good nick, too.

But it's still a diseasel Cav, at the end of it all...

Yes. You do know what 'about' is, don't you? :-)

I suggest you get your eyes tested..... or maybe you need to recalibrate your mind as your idea of 'about' is completely different from everyone else's.

Hint: An AX is about the size of a Ka, whereas a Tipo is not much smaller than a Focus.

Nick Dobb ( snipped-for-privacy@deadspam.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Yes. In this case, it's utterly wrong.

The ZX/306 were PSA's Tipo-sized product of the AX era - much bigger than the AX - whilst the AX was smaller than the similar age Punto.

I was thinking the same. Tipos are ZX sized.

Richard

I missed the chance to post here, but my constant recommendation here:

Get a Proton.

The old 1.3/1.5 models - the Mitsubishi 80s Lancer - are unkillable and dirt cheap, so £500 will get one in astonishingly good condition. The

1.3 is quick and economical, they don't rust particularly (no worse than Mondeos, way, way better than Cavaliers), are cheap to insure.

I don't know about the Persona, but I got my sister a 1.3 Aeroback GL for £40 with nearly 6 months tax and MOT still on it, 4 new (but cheap) tyres and no mechanical problems. It has run now until the tax is due to expire with NO problems at all, seriously. Her last one was £200 on a K-plate, and did several thousand trouble-free miles of 'new driver' style abuse before she killed it going flat out down the M1 (113mph and she didn't notice the temperature climbing. No sympathy from me at all).

Richard

Well, when I was re-doing the bathroom, I managed to fit the bath in the back of the Tipo, and a few months ago picked up a replacement washing machine from Currys - do *that* with an AX :)

Anyway, keeping it for another year - my welder friend has quoted me 40 quid each side to fix the sills, so here's hoping - it has sentimental value otherwise I'd not be spending any cash on it, but when I took it to him for a quote the other day it was just as much fun to drive as I remembered :) For an 80BHP 1.6, it's got some serious whizz :)

Hellriaser..........>

That's because rust is lighter than metal ;-)

Seriously, though, Tipos are bloody good cars - I doubt there's any other rot worth worrying about as they're pretty well rust proofed - certainly the MkII version was galvanised. Don't know what you've got, though.

I was looking for a TD last year, but couldn't find one, unfortunately.... this year I looked for a 16v, but they're rare as hen's teeth.

It's a 1989 MK1 which is also galvanised - I believe Fiat chose not to galvanise the floorpan (doh!) and instead covered it with gunk.

Hellraiser...........>

Heh. Same story as the Cinquecento, then.

No rust at all on the body, apart from where the floorpans are welded to the sills.

Yep, that's it - the rubber gunk cracks, water gets in but can't get out, so chooses to eat it's way thru the floorpan. Genius :) Think it needs a new CV joint as well as it has been grinding on pull away for the last 12 months, but will get round to it soon.....

Hellraiser............>

I thought all Tipos were galvanised; mine had a bare stonechip on a rear arch for several years without any rust at all.

But, my Tempra 1.8ie suffered a rotten subframe.

(Now, those are surprisingly nice cars. Make an Orion 1.6 Ghia look like the turd it really is).

Richard

Richard - they are, except for the floorpan oddly enough :(

Hellraiser.........>

Yup, I was pretty sure they were - but I know Fiat made a big thing about the improved protection on the MkII.

Heh. I've sort of considered those from time to time - usually when I've seen a tidy Weekend for sale.

113mph from a K-plate 1.3 Proton? I'm impressed. Can I have her phone number?

I cut my driving teeth in an M reg 1.3 Proton GL on Pendine Sands in Wales at the tender age of 15. Could barely squeeze 100 out of it.

We've still got the car now - with 138,000 on the clock it's still going¹, despite 10 years of abuse "No, don't change the oil! If the stuff in there's been fine for the past 100,000 miles, it'll be good enough to get through the next". (My mother has a PhD in False Economy)

For cheap bulletproof cars they're dandy. Safety, handling and style didn't even appear on the "optional extras" page at the showroom, so you won't find 'em in a 10 year old second-hand one either.

John

¹ Yes, it does sound rather reminiscent of a bag of spanners falling down a hill, but the damn thing still eats up the miles and I expect it'll sail through it's next MOT in January.

The message from John Duffey contains these words:

Several on eBay at the moment!

I can't remember if the first one was a 1.5 or 1.3, in fairness ;)

Were they still the wedge-shaped ones on an M?

Style is of course a victim of trend and fasion, but I'd argue with the handling aspect; they're better than an Escort of the same age and really aren't bad at all. And hardly unsafe, especially when compared to other machinery of the time.

Richard

Was that shape ever trendy?

Egads!

Power steering?

The one I drive is without and I frequently find myself thinking "Holy shit... How many more times do I have to turn the wheel before I actually start changing direction?!"

John