A mate of a mate has a Rover 214i (the eight valve version)and has offered to sell it to me. He says its in sound nick but has been told that the cam belt and alternator belt need changing????
It's an M reg with 76,000 on the clock. The bodywork is perfect and it drives very nicely. He wants just over a grand for it which is a little more than i want to pay for a first car (i'll probably smash it up) What should i offer?
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Three pints and a kebab?
The car's worth maybe £900 tops with a new MoT. A cambelt and alternator change are probably going to cost you the best part of £500 - almost certainly not less than £300. I'm not sure why it needs a new alternator but if the cam belt fails, it's new engine time, so it must be done. If there's only a short test on it, take another £100-£150 off - which means the car's worth somewhere between £250 and £600 in its current state, depending on the quotes you get.
Have a look in the Car by Car breakdown - these are not the most reliable cars. My father had a K plate 16v which he hated because it was an unreliable piece of junk. They are also prone to head gasket failure and pretty much everything else failure.
As for saying 'I'll probably smash it up' - then why do you think you should be behind the wheel at all? If your driving is that bad, think about doing Pass Plus or an Institute of Advanced Motorists test. Also, where insurance is concerned, get it insured in your own name, not your parents', because the insurance company can refuse to pay up and even if you don't smash it, you'll never get any NCB.
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David, I'm no techie and you obviously know more about these things than me but didn't he say the cam belt and alternator BELT need changing - ie not the actual alternator itself ?
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Ahh.. our messages crossed in the ether !
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[snip]
\"....and as you said in your second post....\"
So you had already read his apology before posting this whinge ?
A waste of time and I\'ve deleted it.
Mark.
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I'd fight shy of buying a car 'off a mate'. If things go wrong - and there's every chance they will - you can find yourself losing that 'mate' very quickly.........
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On the other hand he might turn out to be a good mate and help you out. There are no guarantees and as I understand it you have very few rights when buying privately anyway so I'd choose to buy from a friend over a total stranger anytime, especially if I knew something about the car's history.
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VVM,
My own experience is of selling an elderly (or is that 'classic'??!) Saab 900 to a friend at work for all of £400. Although it had done well over 150k, this didn't stop him doing 90mph+. Hardly surprising that the engine expired quite dramatically, but he felt that I was under some obligation to repair it! Despite having caveat emptor on my side, I had to struggle to say 'that's tough'. He never let up with haranguing me over it until the day he left the company.
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Sympathies LHM - once bitten, twice shy then quite understandably. Obviously in such matters we will all act in accordance with our experience. True, there can be an assumed obligation but, on the other hand, if both parties are reasonable that shouldn't happen and let's face it, any purchaser might decide to turn up on your doorstep demanding recompense if things go wrong.
It's only on my perceived balance of probabilities that I prefer to buy from a known source although there are one or two people I know I'd never sell a car to for the very reasons you've mentioned.
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>'off a mate'
Actually, it's a mate of a mate, which is probably even worse. There must be better cars for this money - my Audi 90 cost that much nearly four years ago...
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Can't help with the valuation but I wouldn't think the belt changes would cost more than a couple of hundred quid, maybe less. Why not ring a Rover garage or good local independent and ask about this and the cost of the next service the car is due ?
Call me paranoid but I always like to buy cars from known sources. Whilst this doesn't eliminate all risk it does mean that (provided your mate is honest of course) the likelihood of a nasty surprise is reduced. Check how long he's had the car and what work he's had done (servicing, repairs etc.), also when the MOT and road tax are due. Also ring around for insurance quotes using the registration number and see what's instore in that respect. You may/may not be in for a shock and this might affect your decision. HTH.
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I misread the alternator belt change as alternator :-( My bad. Depending on where you go, I would budget £150-£300 for both belts to be changed.
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I believe the cambelts should be changed at either 50k or 60k, something like that. If Dave Lacey was here, he'd be able to tell you. But anyway, at 76k the cambelt change is either already done, or very very long overdue. A 214i on the M isn't worth more than a grand, £800 - £900 would be about right. The Honda engined ones fetch more.
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Mac, Like it or not, one day you're likely to need that high horse when the Rover's head gasket goes in the middle of nowhere. I'd be tempted to buy a reliable car first time out.
You'll find endless threads on what's reliable here and yes - it can be done for £800.
Good luck.
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I've said it before here but I've never seen such daft prices asked as those by mates to their mates.
If he wanted to trade this in he'd get £500 if he was very lucky...selling at auction or for cash into the trade about £250-£350.
So why's he asking a mate £1000?
MM
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Mac74
One more agressive, silly, argumentative post from you and I shall simply delete this thread.
Try reading the guidelines which you agreed to when you registered and which are under "The Small Print" on the red menu.
Mark.
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He's no mate trying to sell you such a load of unreliable junk as an M-reg Rover. I wouldn't give anything for it, it will not be worth the hassle.
You may learn quickly about car mechanics, but do yourself a favour & buy a reliable make such as a Nissan or Honda.
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