A neighbour offered me a car for £100 with 10 months MOT. Toyota Camry but that's not important right now. Obviously it was a bit (well a lot scruffy) but I turned it down cos when I looked in the radiator the water was black and when I stuck my finger in it came out with black oily suds on it. Blown head gasket?
Oh and the oil was nearly off the bottom of the dipstick. Apart from that it started ok but it was for my wife and I don't want her stranded somewhere with the kids in the car.
-- Malc
I'm a peripheral visionary. I see far into the future.... Just way off to one side.
It is odd, but people in general will pay a small amount (like 100 pounds) for a vehicle that obviously has problems, yet a vehicle at about 500 pounds without problems doesn't sell easily.
For instance I have a Metro that I was given. Since I knew it's entire one family history, almost from new, I accepted it and have used it, with only minor maintenance for the last two plus years. During that time it has been driven by many of my customers and family, it has never failed to start and has never stopped on the road. Yet if I try to sell the car at about 400 pounds inc tax and mot, guaranteed against mechanical breakdown (under normal use) No-one will buy it !
Obviously, I am not worried about it as it has cost me very little and I use it most days myself, but I am amazed at the junk people 'will' pay money for, and they don't even complain when the obvious (to me ) old wreckers breakdown !
I know exactly what you mean. A mate of mine, who's only ever got around £100-£150 to spend on a car, bought a Mondeo a while back from a workmate of a mate of his. It was an L reg 2 litre, with a big crack in the front bumper, loads of minor dents and scratches, and a fairly noticeable dent in the wing (at the back of the wing, near the driver's door). It ran pretty well, and the owner had had it serviced not long before selling it, but other than that no history, no knowledge of when the cambelt was done etc, plus the clutch was pretty much knackered (it didn't slip, but only just).
He recently sold it as he got himself a nice Carlton 2.6CDX (still going strong Brian, if you're reading this), and got back the £150 he spent on it, and in the time he had it, all it needed was a little bit of oil topping up, and the front brake caliper sliders greasing as they were a bit squeaky, so it didn't serve him too badly.
But I can't honestly see why someone would pay £150 for a tatty car, that's most likely going to need a clutch doing soon (probably about £200 at least in a Mondeo), and ideally need at least £100 spent sorting out the obvious cosmetic problems (bumper, wing - though he managed to pop out the dent in the wing to an extent), when you can pick up one in much nicer condition anyway, and with a full service history, for about £500, which is going to much easier to sell on for close to what you paid for it anyway.
I suppose there is one reason why people buy them - they might only have £150.
I've just paid £160 for a H plate Nova TD with no history.
It needed a water pump, a CV boot and a mirror, and I had the oil and filter changed.
It then sailed straight through an MOT - the brakes are good (which is a miracle on any pre Mk3 Cavalier Vauxhall), it rides nicely, it goes like stink for what it is and it's quite pleasant to drive.
Used it for work today - mega economical, drives as it should with the only bad point really being it needs the rad re-cored or replaced, as it is obviously not as efficient as it should be, at least when you are motorway speeds that mean the turbo is spinning (80+).
Yes, it has a bit of rot coming through in places, but who cares - should be pretty throwaway at what it owes me, and I reckon it has at least a couple of years of 30k plus left in it, and even then, I reckon it'll be the rot rather than the mechanical bits that will finish it off.
All I want done to it now, just to be sure, is the cambelt.
There are bargains to be had out there, real bargains (even at the sub £500 level)... you just need to know where to look for them, and what to look for.
The point of the post was just to satisfy my curiosity that it was probably a duff car. I only have a couple of hundred to spend and I was hoping to do what I did last year which was to get a car with MOT for 2-3oo and throw it away when the MOT falls due.
Just wish i could find something like this for my wife. Looking at a total budget of £1000, so would spend a little less and have a bit in hand for bits and bobs. Looking at K10 Micras, Polos, and unfortunately she likes Fiestas. Can i find anything decent? Nope. I expect high mileage, but why do they always have dents aplenty and treacle like oil? Jeez...
What shape Micra is the K10 one? Is that the old box shape one? You should be able to get a decent new(ish) shape (bubble shape) one for about that money, going for an early model (they started around K reg IIRC). As for Fiestas, again, look for an early Mk4 (N reg onwards) - you should be able to find one for about a grand no probs - go for the 1.25.
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