I reckon the first one is worth £200. It only has 6 weeks MOT - and there must be a reason why he's not put it through.
The bloke's already spent a shedload on it (hence the high price in an attempt to get back his money in the mistaken belief that the car is worth what he spent on it), and has probably had enough of throwing money at it. That might make it a bargain for you; or it might not.
Edited by Mapmaker on 17/10/2008 at 17:35
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I reckon the first one is worth £200. It only has 6 weeks MOT - and there must be a reason why he's not put it through.
So you've priced it lower than Parkers have, I wouldn't have even thought about going that low :/
Yeah, he'd have to put it through MOT before I even thought about buying it.
The bloke's already spent a shedload on it (hence the high price in an attempt to get back his money in the mistaken belief that the car is worth what he spent on it) and has probably had enough of throwing money at it. That might make it a bargain for you; or it might not.
Hmm, 2p then :D
I spoke to the other guy, it's a basic spec, everything standard factory installed (so no abs or aircon or any nice extras), so what do you think about that? He said he might be able to bend a little on price...
Thanks,
Luke.
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Rattle
Chin up; there are good cars out there - but only about 1 in 20 at that price. ["Below the tree of the three monkeys is where the lemons grow..." as Confucius probably didn't say. [And that was when 3 monkeys was worth a lot more than today.]
Beware the Autotrader - that's where the trade shifts the dogs. "Oh well; it'll have to go in the 'trader..." is a commonly heard refrain from car fronts. It's also the preferred location of all the "private trader" brigade passing themselves off as private sellers to avoid the law. [And the Income tax...]
Rule 1 - be crafty. The sort of car you're looking for is popular with the elderly; do you know any retirement homes, undertakers or solicitors to track down an executor's sale.... [Bid half of book clean.]
Rule 2 - put the word about. Notice board at work? Shop window cards? Graffiti on a motorway bridge....
Rule 3 - cultivate a professional adviser. Always worth paying a pro for advice - a mechanic can check the obvious stuff, but a dealer knows the trade a lot better.
Rule 4 - back-door trade-outs are seriously cheap at the mo. Ring the big sites and ask what they're trading out. Many will want to bundle the good with the bad; but if they've given a bit much to get a "sticker" shifted, then they may consider a one-car deal. [A trade-out deal is final - NO messing them about - NO comeback - cash only. Take your expert; say little, remember to do the professional inhalation and pay a third of book clean, or two-thirds of trade-in.]
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Thanks so you're saying try the big dealers and see if they have anything they want to shift but they feel is too old to sell retail?
I went to look at this 'exellent condition" Fiesta today (was 12 miles away and a £5 train ride too). The front looked ok, then I got to the back, holes in the parcel shelf and rust all over the wheel. As they were asking £850 I didn't even bother to investigate further, it already had the wrong engine (1.3) and the wrong spec (Encore).
I am holding my guns and seeking out a 1.25LX at minimum or a later 1.3.
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Rattle
Trade-outs are trade-ins they didn't want. To sell a more expensive car, a dealer will often take a trade-in that is too old, too leggy, too tatty - or even blue - to sell on their expensive front with the required six month legal warranty. [Concrete costs big money and must earn it's keep; the profits on these cars won't pay the lease.]
These cars get stuck round the back, or in a dingy yard far away, and are offered to the visiting trade-out dealers as seen - usually in bundles to stop cherry-picking.
Some may have even been prepped for sale before then something better came in. The dealers just want shot of these cars, can't be bothered to ship them to the block and they get bid - and accept - peanuts, often far less than they gave as trade-ins. Many just weighed them in when scrap was high.
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Have you cosidered going for a larger car?
With the sort of miles you're doing, the extra fuel isn't going to cost you much.
A colleague once bought a V8 for peanuts. What he saved on the purchase price paid for the extra fuel it drank for a couple of years!
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Insurance is a major major problem, so it really has to be group 4 or less. Parking is also a problem, I would consider an Astra/Escort/Almera. I would love a Ford Focus but I just cannot afford it.
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Thanks so you're saying try the big dealers and see if they have anything they want to shift but they feel is too old to sell retail?
I tried that, 1 one place said they didn't have any, the other said they did but couldn't sell them to me.
I went to look at this 'exellent condition" Fiesta today (was 12 miles away and a £5 train ride too). The front looked ok then I got to the back holes in the parcel shelf and rust all over the wheel. As they were asking £850 I didn't even bother to investigate further it already had the wrong engine (1.3) and the wrong spec (Encore).
Well, I just went to see red fiesta 1.25, priced too high, turned out it had a lot of rust. The steering was quite stiff considering it's supposed to be PAS. Past another one very similar on the way there. On the way back we checked it out, 1.25 zetec (spec), 24k, V reg, sitting on the side of the road, looked good, good tyres, somethings not right there, so I do a vrm check from 2pass, comes back with no matching DVLA or police records, who knows? But for £1500 they can swivel :D
Thanks,
Luke.
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Yeah best avoided, there are plenty of good cars out there. As you probably know from 2pass I did see an Ibiza but that too turned out to be a shed, no rust but needed a new cambelt, was just too noisy (top end sounded a bit of a mess), exhaust blew and a hose was missing.
PS on Fiestas the steering wheel feel heavier than modern cars, the steering on the MK4 is perfectly balanced, but the downside is it will feel heavier, it should certainly feel assisted though if you get what I mean.
I am doing more car hunting tomorrow so no doubt you will be reading some where about my antics. I think the entire internet knows about how hunting problems by now :D.
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Rule 1 - be crafty. The sort of car you're looking for is popular with the elderly; do you know any retirement homes, undertakers or solicitors to track down an executor's sale.... [Bid half of book clean.]
Wouldn't want to give the elderly a reasonable deal now would we. We'll all be old one day you know.
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Screwloose will the sell the car to the public? If I said have you got any trade outs won't they just tell me to f off trade only?
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Rattle
A trade sale can be made to anyone who asks for one - in theory. If you'll pay what they want....
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Screwloose:>>A trade sale can be made to anyone who asks for one - in theory. If you'll pay what they want....
Absolutely not true. It is not possible to make a sale to a private individual without coming under SoGA (Sale of Goods Act) and all other consumer protection legislation.
Never.
No matter how many times you write on the invoice "trade sale" "sold as seen" "no warranty". It is not possible to take a consumer's rights to protection away from him in the contract for sale of goods.
Ever.
You may find a garage who is prepared to take a chance, or doesn't realise this. But mostly you won't. But... Jeremy Clarkson bought a car for £50 from a dealer - no; the BBC bought a car for £50 from a dealer. A business-to-business transaction, so outside consumer protection.
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Wouldn't want to give the elderly a reasonable deal now would we.
As they'd be already dead for it to be an executor's sale; then it would be the beneficiaries that would[n't] get the money. Anyway; a deal is an agreement between two [or more] satisfied parties.
[I am old - and there's no point in getting old without getting crafty...]
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And on the other foot...selling privately can be hell also.
I consider myself trustworthy, honest and reasonably savvy, so I almost always buy/sell privately. My last Legacy GLS estate took 6 months to sell. It was priced well under book, FSH, excellent condition with genuine reason to sell, and I live in rural North Yorkshire.
My current car (to be sold within the next 4 months) will almost certainly be difficult to sell...SWMBO (and myself actually) fancy a newish MX5 with the folding hardtop. Rather than put up with idiotic offers and timewasters, its almost worth virtually giving it to a family member who will appreciate its reliability, practicality and lack of road presence...1998 626 2.0 petrol.
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>I consider myself trustworthy, honest and reasonably savvy, so I almost always buy/sell privately. <
Those were my thoughts until a few years ago. Now it is dead easy to buy, but hard to sell privately, unless you have a car that is almost unique. So I have only disposed of two cars this century, both for cash to backstreet dealers who specialise in particular makes - one car was SWMBO's, the other daughter's who was moving abroad. My own cars are now 9 and 19 respectively, and I aim to keep them running.
Edited by Webmaster on 18/10/2008 at 00:53
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Rule 1 at this price range: be ruthlessly, uncompromisingly unfussy.
Put all of your preconceptions to one side. Don't like Fiat? So what. Think Daewoos are tinny rotboxes -- back of the mind. None of that matters.
I keep being told that my Primera is worth about £600. Which means I'd only get £500 on a private sale. My car is in no way a shed. There must be others like it.
Plenty of 2000/01 Accents out there, especially in northern climes. Reliable if unfashionable transport. Well under £1000. Only things really that you have to look for are transmission-related -- and these only relate to the clutch (juddery) and gear linkage (clicky) -- both are immediately noticeable and won't stop the car moving in any case.
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My impression too is that there are a lot of more or less worthless cars that aren't sheds.
But Rattle seems to have a beagle's nose for really horrible ones, and is even prepared to travel to look at them. Why is this? Is it something to do with Fiestas? I know some recent ones are supposed to be all right but I've never liked them myself. Perhaps you could check out a few Escorts? I can recommend them, and they have the added advantage that HJ thinks they are archetypally chav. That alone will make me sad when I have to get rid of mine.
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As mentioned before the Accent has a high death rate in accidents after a crash, a lot of the far eastern cars of this age do, it is one of the reasons they are cheap.
I am thinking of an Escort, but the 1.3 is far too underpowered, the 1.4 CVH still old fashioned and have the hassle of cambelts, the 1.6 Zetec is a great engine but insurance will be pricey. I would have to find a fairly new Escort 1.6 for around £400 to make offset the insurance cost.
I am not just looking at Fiestas, I am looking at all sorts, but many good cars are cheap because people cannot afford to run them, including myself.
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As mentioned before the Accent has a high death rate in accidents after a crash a lot of the far eastern cars of this age do it is one of the reasons they are cheap.
Rattle, that simply isn't true of the newer ones -- 3 stars in the Aussie NCAP test is as good as any older Ford. I've hit one, hard, into a post at 30mph, and walked away with nothing but a light scratch on my nose where the airbag hit me. Can't say fairer than that.
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I know this isn't really a 'sugest a car' thread, but had you thought of a Mitsubishi Carisma? They are super cheap second- hand and would be reliable transport for a good few years. They don't seem particularly prone to rust and as thry are often owned by older drivers, they are usually well-kept and not thrashed. They do 40 mpg, which may help as obviously the insurance will be more than a Fiesta.
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If it has FSH, its in good nick and its very cheap then maybe, although I remember they had bad press when they were new (probably why they are so cheap). They are not supposed to be as reliable as other Mitisbishis are they being based on the Volvo S40.
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The Carisma is fine reliability-wise. The one major fault is that the GDI needs to be run on decent petrol, but any cars that haven't been won't have reached very many miles.
If it has had one owner for the last few years, and has a decent amount of miles on the clock, I see no reason to worry. Again, they're no worse than an old Fiesta or Escort!
Of course, with only three NCAP safety stars you may be concerned about safety lol.
Edited by jase1 on 18/10/2008 at 14:17
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3 stars is fine :). I have looked on the trader and they all seem quite pricey. Cheapest is £1500 with 110k.
Seen a 306 today with 102k, its a 1.9td looked very tidy and the engine sounded healthy, no smoke and 12 months MOT, it was too far away though (was at mates) and it was £1300 so I would have to get price down by £300-£400 - not going to happen.
Just driven my mates MK3 Fiesta (insured to drive it) and, it has just gone through the MOT and had a new front suspension and steerign bushes, I was very surprised how it drove considering the awful reputation those things have. he said I could I have it for £200 but it could be a while before sells it so that option is out.
There is another MK3 for sale with FSH, buit its N reg but its a top spec one its £600 which is too pricey for a mK3 or is it?
I don't mind spending money to keep a car on the road, but I don't want to have to pay silly money to keep it on the road.
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Rattle
1.9 diesel Pugs of all kinds are appreciating quickly due to their simplicity - avoid that TD though, as they crack heads with monotonous regularity.
The only Mk3 Fiesta worth buying is a rot-free diesel. [Everyone hates them; [big biceps needed] but they are awesome as bangers. Cheap to buy; 70+mpg, go like stink and the engine is immortal.]
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It's interesting following the travails of Rattle and others, who seem to happily spend weeks or months arguing about saving the odd hundred quid, while probably spending more than that on phone calls and looking round. Holy Grails are OK, but when so many cars (many decent) can be bought for peanuts, a choice has to be made sometime - unless one really just enjoys window-shopping. You could be labelled as a tyre-kicker ...
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I haven't actually seen many cars yet at all, most of them are either sold, or something is very dodgy (you can tell by the advertiser).
Phone calls cost nothing, I have a nice contract, the only money it is costing me is my time.
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That's good news, Rattle. But thinking about it, it may not be surprising that it is hard to find a real bargain for very little. The owners know their cars won't fetch much, so they don't spend much on them. The exceptions may be long-term owners who give up driving for whatever reason; or perhaps cars which have been heavily used but serviced properly and sold on for image reasons. Look out for those.
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And I've only spent in the region of £60 really.
Luke.
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1.9 diesel Pugs of all kinds are appreciating quickly due to their simplicity - avoid that TD though as they crack heads with monotonous regularity.
I always thought that with the exception of dodgy conrods on the later ones, the XUD turbo was good news. Is this a recent phenomenon?
My brother in law bought an M reg 306 XTdT six years ago as a runabout. Gave it to his sister five years ago. She's still got it and now well over 250k on the clock. It's had a steering rack, a water pump, and a couple of wheel bearings
Cheers
DP
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DP
I've seen dozens of cracked heads on the TDs; the 405s seemed to do one every 80K-ish - but I've seen a 306 with one gone at 55K. As always; far from all fail - but a significant percentage.
As so often; when they blew a perfectly good NA unit, all sorts of troubles emerged. [As you say - the DHY rods saga.]
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3 stars is fine :).
Well with that being the case I don't understand your comment on the 2000- Accent.
Don't buy one because it's boring, too small, too ugly or whatever, but safety is no more an issue on these than it is on the Carisma.
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