Luckily all I lost was my time as I had a weekly bus ticket, I did get a train on the way back and walked via my old university for the past two miles before getting a bus from the city home so I made sure I at least salvaged something from the wasted trip.
In future I should always ask more questions :). The car was being sold with 1 years warranty but it would have been one of them worthless insurance jobs. On the journey there I had geared up the fact it would be a waste of time, I was just shocked by the sellers attitude and the lies. I've seen plenty of other sheds but in those cases the seller never lied they just failed to mention the rattely timing chain or oil in the coolant.
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The 1 year warranty would have been useless. You won't even get the 6 months on an £800 car.
When looking at adverts beware of expressions like "drives superb" "first to see will buy" "lady owner" these are all trader terms.
I once went to look at a used Sierra which was supposed to drive superb, the dealer told me it was reliable and that he had gone to London in it yesterday. The brake discs were rusty, it hadn't moved for weeks, when I told him he said I was a TW (time waster) He was def one of your crooks! I walked away.
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Buying a decent car under £1000 whether you are trade, private or whatever is one of the most difficult buying task you can try.
There are decent cars out there but they are difficult to find. ebay is quite a good source for cheap cars but auctions are expensive. To be honest I find private sellers by far and away the most willing to lie.
Dealers won't be that keen to deal either as used prices are on the rise, they know it, so won't be that bothered if you take or leave it. It also has to be said that most dealers who specialise in this sort of stuff are of, how can I put it, a certain type. You want to find a dealer who deals in better quality cars and just has a couple of cheap px's to shift they haven't moved on in the trade as they're nice.
As for "warranty" you must be joking.
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I spoke to my local Ford dealer who told me they have a high turn over of Focuses in my budget. They have another Focus 1.4 CL in with 57K on the clock for £2k, I don't know any more about it but it seems like its a car which may be worth a look at.
They told me they tend to resell the better older cars and offer a good warranty on them where as many dealers will now not want to sell anything around £2k.
With private buyers lying I think with my last one he did tell the truth he even voluntered info about a slightly dodgy coolant leak repair he did I just think he did not quite realise how much work it needed doing, otherwise like me he would not have bothered MOT'ing it as it would have cost him a small fortune to get through and the story all added up.
With my dad I think the woman selling it was lying through her teeth for various reasons such as it overheating just two days after we bought it (was the thermostat so not a real problem).
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On a 1 grand car never, ever, ever, ever, ever buy on the strength of the warranty.
Some shonky dealers try to sell the 'warranty' as a safety net where the lowest end of the market ones are practically worthless.
You're better off buying your own warranty from a company such as Warranty Direct if you must, and use the Sale of Goods Act sort out the unfortunate early or hidden disasters (see MG ZR thread). A decent warranty company will only cover a car that has been serviced - this gives them some redress if a dealer has missed a blindlingly bad problem.
If it looks straight, drive straight, feels straight, and the paper-trail is straight, then you will 90% likely have a good car.
Ignore low-end warranties.
90% is as good as it gets unless you know the full provenence of the car.
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I just dont see why anyone would buy a car from a trader at this end of the market, id be buying private everytime. I worked for a trader who sold cars at this end of the market and it was unusual for him to pay anything more than £100 for a car he sold for under a grand.
There are some bargins in the trade but most of the time is just some old junker nobody wants and some fool thinks buying from a dealer will net them a decent car.
Cherished private cars are where the value is as you have a chance of buying a well cared for car. You may even pay a bit more than you think its worth BUT if it has had ongoing maintainance, service records and belongs to someone who looks like they can afford to look after it, that nets a bigger long term saving.
I bought an Escort Saloon 1.6 LX for £400 with 70k - belonged to a solicitor I know, Ford main dealer history, short MOT but went straight through a few months later and gave me 10k of service. I then sold it on 6 months later for £800. Didnt cost me a penny in repairs.
Such cars do exist and make a sensible purchase, still, I await the result of this car hunt :-)
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>They have a Focus 1.4 CL in with 57K on the clock for £2k ..
Rattle, you can clearly now find rotten sills on a car. If you feel confident enough to suss out other problems, I reckon you should be able to get that Focus with change out of £1500, as you have no part-ex (right?) and you can waive any warranty included in the price, which should save quite a bit. Just make sure they service it, then take it as is. You can do all the valeting to your own standards and polish it up. Much more fun than paying someone else who may skimp it.
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Yep I don't intend to spend £2k for it as I need a bit back for the repairs etc. I have not even seen the car yet so it might not even have any history though most main dealer cars do. I think I am ok spotting engine problems because you can usualy spot smoke, hear rattles or spot early signs of HG failure, suspension problems though I find hard to diagnose but hopefully anything like that will be fixed. I just want a basic warranty, e.g if I have any major problems with the first month I can reject the car or get them to repair it. A month should be more than another time, after that its just down to luck.
I can't see myself getting it for £1500 as even private focuses sell for this money round my way and car prices are going up too. I would be happy to pay £1800 all it depends on the car. You can clearly see on the pic it needs a good valet as you pointed out it is something I can do for myself and its fun :).
I know there are some good cars for under £1k and yep with trade sales I am beginning to see its just waste of time at this time of the market. There must be a reason why all the cars we have bpought have been private sales even though we never actually set out to .
Edited by Rattle on 10/02/2009 at 23:43
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Rattle, Hope all well with you. With a bit of care yu can pick up a good car on ebay. Read between the lines, find someone who describes all the faults as well as the good points. There are folk like this out there.. I bought an L reg Astra Diesel from a seller in Stafford unseen and his ad was perfect.. He only mentioned 2 faults, small crack in screen and a tyre coming up for change. He gave a good reason for sale and everything was spot on at a buy it now of £280 taxed and tested. Sailed through it's next test. Only scrapped it after scrote tried to nick it and caused a lot of damage . Picked up a P Citroen zx Diesel estate cheap cos it had a different colour tailgate. No MOT but passed with no advisory. £180. Got two years til head gasket went.....they're out there mate.
Ted
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Thanks Ted :) Its been two weeks now since I got shot my Fiesta and still no major rush so if I do take my time hopefully the right car will come up. Will offer £1650 max for the Focus to tomorrow and I shall just see what happens, that is assuming I am 100% happy with the car.
One of my mates always used to take the mick because I am very fussy about cars, now he is looking for a car in the same budget as me and he now realises how hard it can be, finding most cars are not as described. There is a good honest Focus on ebay atm but the insurance is just too high on the 1.8
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Rattle, if you'd like a bright yellow Proton Compact 1.5 limited edition for very cheap (T plate) let me know. Step-son selling. Email me if interested. Some extra details can be provided. Not perfect but went round Europe last summer :-)
Sounds better than what you're looking at and it might be cheaper than you think... No warranty mind.
Rob
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Worth noting that the insurance on Protons is high - the 1.5 is group 8. Decent car otherwise.
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>>I just dont see why anyone would buy a car from a trader at this end of the market,
>>id be buying private everytime.
Depends. If you're buying something that the trader has taken in as a p/x then you can do quite well. My first W123 came from a garage: Can't quite remember, but iirc £500, including 6 months tax and a tank of fuel & 6 months' MOT. Cool.
I'd be looking for something like eBay item 180326969096, a tidy looking car, no history, unknown mileage but at that price, who cares... if the cambelt snaps, as you never go more than 20 miles from home you'll be fine. Get hold of a second-hand exhaust from somewhere.
Actually, I cannot believe somebody paid over £300 for eBay 140296281143 - with only 6 months test. 5 years ago I paid (over the odds paying) £200 for a similar motor with 12 months' test. I guess the high price of scrap over the last 2/3 years has meant that a load of older cars have been scrapped rather than kept running.
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Yeah the insurance quotes on a lot of older eastern cars are very expensive. The thing I like about the Focus is for some reason the quotes are cheaper or the same as a Fiesta. The 1.4 Focus will cost me the same to insure as my Fiesta did fully comp.
Mapmaker I sold my car for £250 on ebay with the following:-
Spares of repair
Needs new brake pipes
Needs welding
Needs new mix and back box
Two brand new tyres with less than 100 miles on them.
4 months MOT
2 months tax
The bodywork was fairly tatty with a few minor dents, the interior was a mess. It had 9 previous owners and no history.
Map I don't really want another complete banger as I never felt I could even trust my old one, at least with a 2k Focus is I have to spend money on repairing it it won;t feel like dead money as the car has some value to be worth keeping on the road.
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Rattle, one thing you will have learnt is not to buy any car with 9 previous owners - in other words look at the V5, and if you can't, go elsewhere. That number must be bad news?
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Ford(and other Euro makes) are cheaper to insure than Far East makes because of availability and price of spares.
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4 months MOT
On 12 Jan, you told us it had 3 months MOT.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=71...5
On 14 Jan, you told us that it had failed its MOT.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=71...0
Isn't the fail shown on the online MOT history?
www.motinfo.gov.uk/
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Rattle
You appear to have broken the law.
It is a criminal offence to sell an unroadworthy car - whether you are a private individual or a trader.
tinyurl.com/boos3q {link to www.wigan.gov.uk shrunk to restore page width}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 11/02/2009 at 12:31
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Mapmaker the advert clearly stated it was not road worthy. It said it has just failed an MOT, I stated exactly what was wrong with it. I put on the advert This car is being sold as spares and repair and not as a complete working car.
The advert clearly stated everything which was wrong with it which meant it was not roadworthy. This why I mentioned it had failed the MOT, if I had not mentioned the new MOT failure then yes it would be ilegal. I even gave him the MOT failure sheet!!
Anyway I have eben to see that Focus, it was ok but nothing special and the dealers had a bit of a could not be bothered attitude. The big thing that put me off it was a £2k car, there was a fault with the central locking (thoguh I was told this would be fixed before sale) and it had no service history. Also it only came with a 1 month warranty.
With regard to the MOT it was expried in May. I did have it reMOTed as people will know I felt there was problems so decided to see what the MOT man said, I knew it woudl fail on the brake pipes but it also failed on rust and surprisingly the exhaust.
The MOT inspector told me that the car was safe to drive as it was. The newer owner knows exactly what is wrong with the car.
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And in other news today, Dr Jekyll declaimed "It said it has just failed an MOT". Meanwhile Mr Hyde said that it had "4 months MOT".
Dr Jekyll said "it's failed it's MOT," but Hyde countered that the MOT doesn't matter for it "was safe to drive as it was."
Wha'eve' you like Rattle.
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I look the car early for an MOT, if you don't believe me another member of these forums actually went to the MOT to see how bad it was :). The MOT expired in May, I had the MOT done in Jan. There is no law to say you cannot have an MOT done early!
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I don't believe how difficult you claim it is to find this Focus. For instance, proof that it can be done well within budget:
Sold now, but a 2005 1.4 Focus for £1,900 200301816256 No service history, probably long overdue an oil change, but low mileage and I really cannot believe it will matter if it's only been serviced once in its short life.
A slightly leggy 2003 2.0 for £1,700 280306909900
Autotrader has legion Daewoos and Lanoses, sub 7 years old, sub £1,000.
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I am looking in central Manchester (further out just adds far too many complications) now in cities cars like this tend to be quite expensive.
I know there is one out there, there is several on autotrader for my budget but they have all done in excess of 100,000 miles and it puts me off unless I know the seller personaly and its all motorway milleages etc.
I did miss a good one, £1350 FSH inc itemised listing on all the parts its had replaced inc the cambelt, it was a bit scruffy but nothing which I could have fixed with TLC its sold now but it was an estate and a 1.8, I need a hatch with a 1.6 or less. The 1.8 is a lot more to insure as it has a Zetec E engine and not a Zetec S which the 1.4 is. That said if I do find a good 1.8 maybe I will just put up with a premium of over £100 a month but then why do I need a 115bhp car to nip around the city?
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>>they have all done in excess of 100,000 miles and it puts me off
Why?
I've had 8 cars in my life, and the 7 that had done over 100k were far better than the one that had only done 35k in my father's gentle care.
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OK I might go and have a look at this if its not sold
Focus 1.6 Ghia 102,500 miles, 5 Door Hatchback, Green, Petrol, Manual, A/C, Taxed and Tested all Ghia extras, service history, Drivers airbag, E/M,htd front&rearcreens,Service history,New cam belt at 91k. £1,599 ono.
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Rattle, what about ebay item 290295457376?
This is a seller who I have as a "saved seller" on my ebay from a previous car search but I have never dealt with them so can not vouch in any shape or form.
However I am always impressed with their listings, they always seem to be very honest and descriptive and they have 100% feedback with some very good detailed comments.
Don't know how location is for you etc or even how good a Corolla meets your requirements but its history seems to tick a good few of your boxes!
Just a thought,
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