Suzuki Vitara SWB (1988 - 1997) - What should i do with it?

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Tue 27 Nov 2007 13:21
What should i do with it? - mark830_1
I have a swb 1994 M Reg Vitara estate (not a soft top) with 92K on the clock. Was given to me by my brother 6 months ago when he traded up to a brand new Vitara and i needed a second car desperatly. It has FSH half of which Suzuki then independents. Every receipt is there. It's mot runs out 06/01/08 and tax end of 2007. No advisory's were issued on it's last mot.

Condition is poor by normal standards, superficial rust almost every where, sills/Arches and at least one nasty blister. One of the rear seats is locked in the folded position which is ireally inconvenient.
Drives fine by Vitara standards and is in daily use with a 20 mile round trip commute.
Two new front tyres will be needed by the MOT i fear.
I don't want the car anymore, and can see it costing me money to get it's mot, at least the tyres and cost of MOT.
Everything works, electric windows/mirrors/heater/stereo etc.

Seems to young to scrap, reckon £200 to get through mot. Should i Ebay it with short mot? If i am honest about it's condition would it fetch much. Do people buy cars with rust as a working vehicle?

Want to replace it with a likely £500 ebay bargain so PX unlikely.
It's about as far removed from a hairdressers Vitara as you will find with its dark blue paintwork, rusty stell rims etc.

Your advice as always welcome

Mark W
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Tue 27 Nov 2007 13:25
What should i do with it? - OldSock
Ebay sounds like your best bet - just be honest and include lots of pics.
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Tue 27 Nov 2007 13:31
What should i do with it? - Falkirk Bairn
Clean out the tat, oldnewspapers, crisp packets, coke bottles etc.

Power wash it, hoover the inside, polish the windows, spray the inside with neutradol.
Top up the water bottle, radiator, oil etc, new set of plugs, give the battery a charge if it is a slow starter,

It might be worth £200 dirty but with 2 hours work it might look £350 worth!
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Tue 27 Nov 2007 14:44
What should i do with it? - Altea Ego
With a years fresh ticket it will fetch 3-400 quid as easy as pie on ebay. Invest 40 quid on an MOT, if it fails on just the tyres, get them changed, flog it and pocket the profit.

If it fails expensively, flog it for scrap at 50 quid, and buy yourself a mcdonalds on the profit.
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< Ulla>
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Tue 27 Nov 2007 14:58
What should i do with it? - normd2
my last MOT was £50 :( but the local breakers give £100 minimum :)
I'm with the others - scrub it up and ebay it, maybe someone will want it as a winter project.
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Tue 27 Nov 2007 15:00
What should i do with it? - Screwloose

It might be an idea to have a long, hard, look at the grubby bits before spending £50 on an MOT.

By the time that they're looking tatty on the surface, they're usually as rotten as a pear underneath.
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Tue 27 Nov 2007 21:59
What should i do with it? - retgwte
re MOT hows it gonna pass the rear seatbelt test if one of the seats is stuck?
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Tue 27 Nov 2007 23:53
What should i do with it? - mark830_1
Good point re seat belts. I am sure can demonstate that safety belt is operational independently of if seat is up or down. Would this suffice?

Put it through a car wash tonight, looks better than i imagined it would, in the dark!

looks to good to scrap, might pay for a MOT to find out the worse or not if the case may be.

Seating issue, poor ride and especially handling, not special on mpg either, makes me think i have got to replace it with something more conventional.

Thanks all the advice

Mark W
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