Suggestions after being stuck car-less?

got a 1.6 astra on a N plate if you want it :)

tax end o the month mot sept

Only works if there's something cheap and local on there ending soon.

Bit of a hassle, IMHO. But there are bargains to be had.

Heh.

Nah, waste of money.

Autotrader.

Set it to search within a 20 mile radius, any make, any model, up to 500 quid.

You'll be surprised at how many perfectly good cars there are out there for sod all cash.

Plenty of cars around with tax and test for that price - I know because I've been looking for a first car for my sis.

If I were you I'd go for something I knew so it would be easier to spot problems and you would know what to look for. In my case I'd go for a Pug

Hi Rob,

Might be interested - I've been waiting on a call from a friend who's got a spare Clio all evening and it looks like he won't be calling :-( (he said he wouldn't if I couldn't borrow it).

Any details (and where are you) ?

All of this down to a mad Scotsman who bid a daft amount on my SORN Volvo estate, caught a train from Glasgow, didn't even test drive the car. Then used it to go to Thirsk, collect a caravan he'd never seen that he'd also bought on eBay and tow it back to Glasgow.

Brave man (and even madder since he's restoring Donald Campbell's Bluebird).

Thanks,

David

Tried that. Bought a Volvo estate which I drove all of 10 miles and nearly got killed twice.

Mad Scotsman who bought it drove 300 towing a caravan.

But that probably said more about my driving skills. Since I turned down a day with Vicki Butler-Henderson to improve them ;-O

That's what I was thinking, but if I need to ...

Billy-lots-of-mates when I had a big estate and could fetch or deliver things for them.

Billy-no-mates when I want some help.

Agreed, although my mileage for Monday's paid for.

This is West Yorkshire. There's surprisingly little (apart from a 23k Skoda Favorit for £295).

David

I'm surprised. Even in South Wales I get more hits than that.

Anyway, you'd easily get that Favorit for £250. They're horrid cars to drive, but are cheap, reliable and quite good on petrol.

If that's a genuine 23k miles, then you'll sell that for a profit to someone on the Skoda forum ;-)

Don't laugh, but look for as late as possible Skoda Favorit Estate. =A350-250 should get you an MOTed and maybe even taxed one. Post 92 will=20 have injection so no carb issues to worry about. it will be basic, and it might be noisy above 60, but it is transport,=20 and you can even cut your losses and flog it for peanuts or keep it as a=20 backup afterwards.

--=20 Carl Robson Car PC Build starts again.

Depends on the age, they all prefer the early carbed ones. Seem to be=20 better on petrol and quicker or something. I prefer the simplicity of=20 the SPi. If it aint broke, leave it. It ight be slower than carb coar,=20 but it will keep on plodding. And I would offer them =A3180 especially if= =20 it is that horrible Caribbean green. And then, the Skoda boys will lap=20 it up because they love it.

--=20 Carl Robson Car PC Build starts again.

Depends on the age, they all prefer the early carbed ones. Seem to be better on petrol and quicker or something. I prefer the simplicity of the SPi. If it aint broke, leave it. It ight be slower than carb coar, but it will keep on plodding. And I would offer them £180 especially if it is that horrible Caribbean green. And then, the Skoda boys will lap it up because they love it.

Don't laugh, but look for as late as possible Skoda Favorit Estate. £50-250 should get you an MOTed and maybe even taxed one. Post 92 will have injection so no carb issues to worry about. it will be basic, and it might be noisy above 60, but it is transport, and you can even cut your losses and flog it for peanuts or keep it as a backup afterwards.

I paid =A380 for a 50k Favorit Forum that needed a new windscreen. it was= =20 a carbed one though, not an injection. If you get it, then you are lucky=20 not to get the earlier "brown everything including seats belts" trim.=20 Got to be sick of it after a while.

The Favorit is less comfortable but more eager than an early Felicia.=20 Just need to use the red line. It will appear to have s*it loads of body=20 roll. They do, no ARB, but they do hang on well.

Just make sure you check the sill backs (near the rear wheel arches),=20 and the lower spring mounts on the struts themselves. They are prone to=20 rusting through the spring mount and lowering the car permanently.

--=20 Carl Robson Car PC Build starts again.

Doesn't look bad nick. You might find the offcentre/eccentric steering=20 wheel a bit weird at first. It drops down as it turns to stop the clocks=20 being obscured by the thick lower centre and spokes.

--=20 Carl Robson Car PC Build starts again.

Doesn't look bad nick. You might find the offcentre/eccentric steering wheel a bit weird at first. It drops down as it turns to stop the clocks being obscured by the thick lower centre and spokes.

Deed is done. £150 spent on a Peugoet 309 from eBay:

David

Good underated cars the 309

--=20 Carl Robson Car PC Build starts again.

Good underated cars the 309

David Lane wrote: > I'm planning on servicing > it (basic - oil, plugs, filters) this weekend. >

You may have clunks/knocks from the suspension - possibly arb bushes (~£3 from peugeot), drop links (~£15 ea) or bottom wishbone bushes. Expect rattles from the dash, 'cos they do, but you get used to it :-)

The cv boots are prone to splitting - both of mine went, letting water/grit in and grease out, followed shortly by quite a lot of noise. It's not a difficult/expensive job to replace driveshafts, but it's worth checking the boots whilst you are peering underneath, anyway.

They are affected quite a lot by the choice of tyre, in my experience, and don't really like cheap stuff, but then again, premium brand tyres are only about £30 a corner if needed.

Heaters can get blocked, and are a pig to get out. The heater fan motor bearings are a bit crap, and tend to squeal. Mind you, mine has squealed for nearly 5 years now, and hasn't really got any worse. It's another of the things you get used to.

Leaks into the back seat are probably the rear door seals. Leaks into the boot probably the rear light cluster seals.

Hum. What else? Dunno, not really had anything else go wonky.

Nope - none of those.

I looked, couldn't see, but will look again.

Certainly they've used basic tyres - called Regal, Camac and Passio. Not good then.

All done in 2002 according to the SH

These all seem OK - no leaks.

Engine?

There's some mayo in the filler cap and it looks like a) there's been a big water loss at some point (? overheated) and/or b) the head gasket's gone.

It's not using up water though and there's very little film in the coolant. The rocker cover's leaking a bit though.

Thanks for the advice.

David

No rattles? Must be a fake. All REAL 205/309s rattle.

Well, it can be amusing, especially in the wet. Not good if you don't enjoy oversteering wildly round roundabouts :-)

Good news.

Dunno much about the petrol XU engines. alt.autos.pegueot is not bad for specifics - there's a french chap called GT who knows pretty much everything about the pug engine range.

I guess the mayo *could* be condensation, if there isn't much contamination of the water?

/fingers crossed