Hello everyone, I'm in a bit of a financial corner at the moment. The MoT and RFL on my '97R Escort are fast approaching their expiry date (31 March) and I can't afford the repairs needed for the MoT, even though the parts are likely to cost less than GBP50, plus the cost of the test itself and then the RFL all in one go.
This means my GBP400 car (on a good day) is worth at best GBP200 now, realistically more like half that amount. I work 13 miles away and start work too early to commute by bus, so I need to find a car with at least a few weeks' RFL and MoT to use until I can afford something better. Changing jobs is not an option either, I live not far from Twycross Zoo and I gather there's something of a demand/supply imbalance in the jobs market at the moment.
I've called some of the local motor dealers and asked after part-exchanges but drawn a blank. I don't want to take the risk of buying a car at auction for pennies that probably won't make it to the end of the street and I've scoured the local papers and eBay but there's nothing under GBP250 with legs (or wheels).
Are there any other likely sources I can try? I'm not trying to hoodwink anyone or promote my own car, I've been a contributor to the BR for the last six years and I'm hoping the collective knowledge of its members may be of help in my situation.
Many thanks in advance,
Dave TD.
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This end of the market is inflated atm, and unless you can find a 500,000 mile 6 cylinder Volvo with two duff valves for £1 it is going to be hard unless you know somebody that is selling.
If you can afford to insuire something with a big thirsty engine then you might get lucky, but don't expect a cheap to run road legal car for anything like £100.
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If it's only for while and with the better weather, lighter nights / mornings coming, what about a scooter or something ? Cheap as it gets to run and you could always keep it as a back up when you do get around to getting your car fixed or replaced.
Edit - young guy across the the road has one and commutes 22 miles each way on it to his job as a chef. I expect he gets a hot bacon butty when he arrives though !
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 17/03/2009 at 22:50
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If you speak to someone from the Lada owners club or web forum ( do a search ) they often have cars changing hands for pennies. i was offered a Samara 1.1 on a P reg with lots of T&T for less than £150. Drove ok too, for a Samara that is!
To get anything running, it must be totally unloved and generally battered.
Cheapest ive bought was a '86 Mazda 323 with 3 m T&T for 200 quid - low miles to0 and drove excellently.
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I punted a perfectly decent Volvo 850 estate through auction last week. Over 200k on the clock but went OK, MOT to May, taxed to the end of the month, starter motor overran a bit but worked, engine sounded and drove like it did when new....went for £200. Perfectly servicable car to drive away legally. It is possible.
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You're on a bicycle for the next little while. Get up earlier. It'll take less time than the 'bus. The weather's nicer now, too.
The money you save on fuel and a months road tax will pay for the bits 'n' bobs.
Edited by FotheringtonThomas on 18/03/2009 at 07:33
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Agree with FT - it's get fit month for you!
The other cheapy that I like is the Skoda Favorit - totally unloved, though they are almost all VW underneath.
Any car with a couple of months tax and some MoT is going to be worth £150 unless it's a shed and patently going to a) attract the Law and/or has no hope of passing another MoT.
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tinyurl.com/d5e3z5
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That ain't going to go for £100 - it's £200 right now!
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Looks good but tax expired and no mention of a current MOT so some extra expense possible! I think the idea of OP getting a scooter or pedal bike is tops!
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 18/03/2009 at 09:37
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Another option would be to lift share, or borrow a vehicle, if the latter is possible without paying for anything but fuel and a present.
Edited by FotheringtonThomas on 18/03/2009 at 09:41
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MOT expires Dec 09
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I sold my fiesta for £250 as spares and repairs, did have some MOT left but it needed a lot of work done to it, it probably not road legal but that is open to a big debate. The brakes did work perfectly but the pipes could have burst due to rust.
How is the Skoda Favourit VW underneath? It came out before VW even took over and the engines were based on earlier Skoda designs. That said they are probably better cars than the Lada Samara or FSO Polenez.
Some people in my position would say I needed a car, I go to premises to fix computers and yes it can be a pain at times when it takes an hour to get back from a place 3.5 miles away but its not impossible.
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have you tried asking the nice folk at twycross zoo for some help, maybe they have a spare monkey bike you could borrow?
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Keep an eye on www.cheltenhamtradecentre.co.uk. They often have 100 quid bangers with tax and test.
I am not associated in any way with this company.
I just had a quick look on autotrader for Volvo 340s (my favourite banger of all time, apart from the Volvo 360) as they can often be found road legal for very little money, and there's one on there going for £2000! No, I have not put one too many zeros on that. The seller is clearly insane.
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Suggestions. These are generally cashflow suggestions rather than addressing your actual question.
1. I don't understand how you can afford £100 - plus the costs of getting there and of changing the insurance - for a new car, but not a similar amount for the old car. You'll only get a couple of month's tax for that sort of price at best.
2. Sell something on eBay. Do you have old books? Unwanted clothes? CDs? 99p listings are free iirc at the moment = free money and no risk . Or at a car boot sale.
3. Buy the parts and fit them, buy the road tax, and forget the MOT for a week or two. Provided you don't park on the road, you're not going to be towed. The penalties are small (provided the car is roadworthy) and you probably won't be caught.
4. Will your employer give you an advance? Presumably you are vaguely valuable to him, and if a £50 advance will get you to work, then...
5. Go work in a pub for a few evenings.
6. Mummy? Granny?
7. Car loan? (I really don't think that's a good idea.) Overdraft? Cash advance on a credit card?
8. Any other assets you can sell? Premium Bonds for instance? Shares? ISA? Savings account? - it sounds as though that rainy day has arrived.
9. Car share? Any of your colleagues live near you?
I think the bicycle is the best idea. It's not very far, and you will feel fantastic after a week or so . Spend £1 at the pound shop on a reflective jacket.
A Mk ii Polo with tax and test might be doable for £100 but the problem is, you might just be throwing your £100 down the drain.
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I'd fix the Essie personally. The cheapest way to do this is to do it yourself.
And use the bike in the meantime or occansionally just to keep fit, say twice a week.
cheers
Stu
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I agree with you, and my old car was a bit of a shed, I do wish I had it repaired now as it would have been the easiest option. Any car for £100 will probably need a lot more doing to it than your Escort does.
Also as stated before an MOT does not make the car legal. Spend £200 on fixing youtr Escort you will get 12 months MOT, more than anything else for £100!
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If you decide to hang on to the Escort buy six months tax at the end of March and save up so you can buy 12 months tax in 6 months time. This avoids you getting in the situation where you've got both the tax and MOT expiring simultaneously bringing potential for lots of expenditure at once.
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Try Maestro owners club. See ad. below as an example that I just looked at for £50. Despite what people say a Maestro would get you out the fix you're in at present. I've had a Maestro of one sort or another for years - either as main transport or as a second runabout and it's cheap motoring. And no-one's going to car-jack you for it either!!
Description: J reg Rover Maestro 1.3 LX in BRG. 147K miles, 8 months MOT, reliable and drives well, good tyres, sunroof, new shock absorbers all round, but paintwork tatty, e.g. some rust on arches, doors and bootlid, and laquer peeling from bonnet. I've owned it for the past 11 years. Call Chris on 01562 820567 or email to chrisstrickland@fsmail.net.
Location: Kidderminster £50.
Telephone: 01562 820567 or chrisstrickland@fsmail.net
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The only sensible suggestion is that the OP borrow the couple of hundred quid he needs to get the Escort through the MoT test. That will cost less in money and (assuming the Ford is basically sound) far, far less hassle. He will need a good indy mechanic though.
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I saw this car in the flesh last night - the buyer had bought it earlier in the day on Ebay - it was very tidy outside, and immaculate inside - it's a 94 Mondeo estate 2.0 Ghia with five months MoT and 15 days RFL, and it went for £260.
tinyurl.com/d6yd7z
The reason it was cheap - because it was finishing at 12.00 ish on a working day. For best result finish on a Sunday evening.
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I'd see about getting shot of your escort for a few hundred pounds and buy somehting thats not goign to break all the time, there's lots of cheap cars it's just finding them thats the problem, as has been said the bike thing si great.
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An R reg Escort with no MOT is virtualy worthless though. Escorts are now really only worth their MOT ticket. Having said that he could probably still get £160 for it.
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An R reg Escort with no MOT is virtualy worthless... said that he could probably still get £160 for it.
So not worthless :-)
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Speaking as a bangernomics disciple I'd say cheap cars don't always break, and more expensive cars aren't always more reliable. If the Escort is otherwise in reasonable nick for its age it'd keep it going. I'd also suggest the pushbike option if it's do-able.
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RE HJ comment about possibly needing to be the registered keeper for two years to get the £2k allowance. I thought that and then thought again. The number of people who have the financial clout to go from banger to new or nearly new must be very limited. In that case take up wouild be low and the effect on banger prices might be less than suggested. However if the aim is to get old cars off the road and generate new car demand its possible they will not set any conditions around length of prior ownership and we will indeed see bangers being traded at high prices to new car buyers to use as deposits. Looks like there's plenty of scope for unintended consequences here! The losers will be folks like the OP who can only afford a cheap car and want to buy it to use as a car rather than a financial vehicle (pun intended!)
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two points on this : Car scrappage , it pays for itself as the new car includes VAT on the sticker price , plus all the National Insurance generated for all the people employed in making / delivering / selling it . £2k is a bit generous I think ..
As a regular driver and cyclist , 13 miles on a push bike can be done in an hour on level roads, assuming a decent bike and a determination to keep going...
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There's a tidy-ish looking M reg Cavalier 1.8i Expression on Autotrader this week for £195. That is the cheapest half useable looking car on there. I agree with the other advice - get the Escort fixed.
£250 is about entry level for a running, roadworthy-ish car with MOT.
Cheers
DP
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Get yourself over to W Norfolk - Fiesta with 3 months T&T:
www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=539672
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I've seen remote control toy cars for more than £100, Good luck Sir!
I think you shall need £250 at least.
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How about this:
tinyurl.com/c8j6xp
A bit of MOT and if it goes cheap enough you can afford the tax.
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Many thanks to all who replied. Luckily I've been able to follow Mapmaker's
>> 4. Will your employer give you an advance?
and Lud's
>> The only sensible suggestion is that the OP borrow the couple of hundred quid he needs to get the Escort through the MoT test.
and DP's
>> get the Escort fixed.
advice and have indeed arranged for my employer to get the Escort tested and taxed, after which I can pay them back a bit at a time. Hence the rather daft time of this post, in fact, I've been doing some extra warehouse work up until about 40 minutes ago.
I'm also going to try and follow Soupytwist's wise words
>> If you decide to hang on to the Escort buy six months tax at the end of March and save up so you can buy 12 months tax in 6 months time.
although whether my finances will be in any better shape in September remains to be seen.
Once again, thanks to all for your input.
Dave TD.
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Oh hurrah. Glad to hear it all turned out OK, and that my suggestion was useful.
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