Is this worth a punt?

[jogger1976]

Just interested if anyone thinks that this would be worthwhile, given the high miles and damage. Seems a decent car otherwise and I know somebody who's after one of these in this spec (Fcelift/Euro 3 engine) so possibly worth a look, or a no no?
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/v...

Edited by jogger1976 on Monday 30th November 23:10

[Harding91]

Give it a solid look over/pay somebody to inspect it and if it's only bodywork damage you could have a very good car for not much money.. cant be hard to find a bumper/boot etc in silver?

[mx5ian]

I really like these! Sounds like he has looked after it in the five years he has had it and its had a recent cam belt kit. These can go forever if looked after. Looking at the damage it doesn't look to bad just check the boot floor around the spare tyre for damage (Volvo's have crumple zones front and rear which absorb impact) or it could be a right pain to get a new boot lid to line up silver is popular in these so a second hand door and boot lid should be easy to find then just get a body shop to repair the dog leg on the quarter panel.

[Ozzie Osmond]

jogger1976 said:

worth a look, or a no no?

All you need to ask yourself is how much cash you're willing to chuck into it before you throw it away. Because you will....

[ferrariF50lover]

I was going to have it for the engine, but I'd have junked the rest. It's not cheap enough for the damage and spec. Beat him down to £500 and, if it drives just fine and dandy and you can be arsed, go for it. They're fking brilliant commuter slags, although that gearing is short for high speed motorway work.

[TooMany2cvs]

mx5ian said:

Looking at the damage it doesn't look to bad just check the boot floor around the spare tyre for damage (Volvo's have crumple zones front and rear which absorb impact)

EVERYTHING built in the last, oooh, half a century has crumple zones front and rear. They ceased to be novel not THAT long after Mercedes introduced them in the early '50s.

[swisstoni]

If you get a few years out of it for the price of an iPhone, why not.
If you plan on flogging it on in the near future do you really want to explain the Cat C story a thousand times?

[mx5ian]

TooMany2cvs said:

mx5ian said:

Looking at the damage it doesn't look to bad just check the boot floor around the spare tyre for damage (Volvo's have crumple zones front and rear which absorb impact)

EVERYTHING built in the last, oooh, half a century has crumple zones front and rear. They ceased to be novel not THAT long after Mercedes introduced them in the early '50s.

I wasn't saying it was a new or novel thing. I was saying that its been hit up the rear so the impact may have been absorbed through the boot floor.

[Theophany]

Depends, are they willing to make a £750 punt on it? If the damage is purely cosmetic and the crumple zones are straight there's no reason that they couldn't get a few years' use out of it notwithstanding the other potential pitfalls of buying a 190k mile car.

[Impasse]

mx5ian said:

I wasn't saying it was a new or novel thing. I was saying that its been hit up the rear so the impact may have been absorbed through the boot floor.

At the very least the rear panel has gone in around the boot lock area and the r/h light unit. It may pull out straight, it may require a new section. It may be a banana up to the rear seats.