Banger buying gone wrong - any stories?
Discussion
Seems to be a lot of people on here who like to buy a banger for under a grand and run it for as long as possible with minimal spend.
We all enjoy reading these stories, what I want to know today is when it all went wrong!
So if u have a story please share.
My only experience with a banger was my first car, a 98 Renault Clio 1.2, 5 door in gold, or at least it was gold once!
Not really a gone wrong story, I ran it 12 months then electrics started been funny so I scrapped it. Cost me 650, they just fitted a new exhaust and a coil pack. Everything worked and it had a 12 month mot. Only thing it needed really was new brake discs as they were an advisory. I left them. Sold it for 250. Loved the car.
We all enjoy reading these stories, what I want to know today is when it all went wrong!
So if u have a story please share.
My only experience with a banger was my first car, a 98 Renault Clio 1.2, 5 door in gold, or at least it was gold once!
Not really a gone wrong story, I ran it 12 months then electrics started been funny so I scrapped it. Cost me 650, they just fitted a new exhaust and a coil pack. Everything worked and it had a 12 month mot. Only thing it needed really was new brake discs as they were an advisory. I left them. Sold it for 250. Loved the car.
One of my first cars was a "low-mileage" 2004 Citroen C5 2.0 hdi estate. Bought it from a car auction, wasn't too careful about the history. It was about 5 years old at the time and I paid the princely sum of £1100.
Two weeks later, cambelt went pop. I managed to part exchange it at a garage because the rest of the car was clean and the mileage checked out so after a rebuild I guess there was a decent profit in it for the garage.
Two weeks later, cambelt went pop. I managed to part exchange it at a garage because the rest of the car was clean and the mileage checked out so after a rebuild I guess there was a decent profit in it for the garage.
I bought a 1.6 mk5 Escort to tide me over some years ago for about £400 I think. Got it home, jacked it up, pulled out the sump plug and nothing happened. Had to loosen the sump to get the treacle out and then completely remove it to clean. One oil pickup, 3 filters and about 20 litres of oil later and it was ok for a week before the cambelt snapped and I gave it away.
Not the cars fault but when I was young and naïve (and there was no PH to consult) I took my Peugeot 205 to a chain of fast fit dealers to have a tyre replaced. They managed to sign me up to a credit agreement and replaced the front brake discs, pads and all brake lines as apparently they were rusty. Think it cost me about £500, well over 50% of what I paid for the car.
Haven't set foot in one of their shops since.
Haven't set foot in one of their shops since.
A Escort Si that I bought in dim light when desperate for a car.
Next day peered under the rear sills and both had awful patches on them.
Thing had shagged wishbones, replaced and they shagged out in about 5K. Ate tires despite having it tracked numberous times.
Clutch adjuster ate itself stranding me.
Absolute dog of a car, felt sorry to the innit bruv who short changed me when he bought it for about 1/4 of what I paid 9 months earlier.
Next day peered under the rear sills and both had awful patches on them.
Thing had shagged wishbones, replaced and they shagged out in about 5K. Ate tires despite having it tracked numberous times.
Clutch adjuster ate itself stranding me.
Absolute dog of a car, felt sorry to the innit bruv who short changed me when he bought it for about 1/4 of what I paid 9 months earlier.
I've had 2x E38s, both bought for around the £750 mark. First one drove great, but the fuel tank went. Scrapped it for £350 and bought another. Also drove great, but I went down a dropped kerb and a rusty shock collapsed taking out a spring as well. Ended up replaing all 4 shocks and springs for about £1500! I made most of it back with a good advert and sale, but they did sting me!!
The tale of the 1st car that never was:
So as a young impressionable 16 year old with a thirst for their first car I started to trawl eBay with my father to find a cheap car we could do up and I could then use to help me pass my test alongside the normal driving lessons.
As we all know, insurance for a young man is ruinous, I mean £3500 to insure a Micra ruinous… After searching for every car under the sun the search led to a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting, it looked quite funky and was peanuts to insure. It had 0 street cred (thanks inbetweeners) but I kind of fell in love with it. We placed a bid on a local car that needed some work, and left it there.
4 days later, “son you know that car we bid on, well we won it for £280”. Bother, I mean it was a bargain but now we had to collect it. So with the help of a mechanic friend we borrowed a trailer and went to collect it. In the metal it was abit of a nail but for £280 we could fix it. It needed an oil leak fixing and a service as well as a good clean.
Car was trailered away and was fixed up, agreement was that dad would use it to keep it running and once I had my provisional I could start to learn. Dad used the car for a few months and all appeared ok, (by that I mean it leaked oil and occasionally cut out).
Then one morning (you won’t be surprised by this) it refused to start. No bother, dad hopped into his other car and went to work and left me looking at it. Being 16 I only checked the battery and tried to turn it over, cue the almighty bang and some smoke. At that point I walked away and got dad to have the mechanic take a look.
From what I remember the diagnoses was wiring loom was threadbare (that’ll be the cutting out then) which caused it to short out on the body and catch fire, burning out the whole engine side wiring…
I never did drive it properly, although I feel like I have unfinished business with one of these. Lesson learnt, Italian bangers probably don’t have great electrics
So as a young impressionable 16 year old with a thirst for their first car I started to trawl eBay with my father to find a cheap car we could do up and I could then use to help me pass my test alongside the normal driving lessons.
As we all know, insurance for a young man is ruinous, I mean £3500 to insure a Micra ruinous… After searching for every car under the sun the search led to a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting, it looked quite funky and was peanuts to insure. It had 0 street cred (thanks inbetweeners) but I kind of fell in love with it. We placed a bid on a local car that needed some work, and left it there.
4 days later, “son you know that car we bid on, well we won it for £280”. Bother, I mean it was a bargain but now we had to collect it. So with the help of a mechanic friend we borrowed a trailer and went to collect it. In the metal it was abit of a nail but for £280 we could fix it. It needed an oil leak fixing and a service as well as a good clean.
Car was trailered away and was fixed up, agreement was that dad would use it to keep it running and once I had my provisional I could start to learn. Dad used the car for a few months and all appeared ok, (by that I mean it leaked oil and occasionally cut out).
Then one morning (you won’t be surprised by this) it refused to start. No bother, dad hopped into his other car and went to work and left me looking at it. Being 16 I only checked the battery and tried to turn it over, cue the almighty bang and some smoke. At that point I walked away and got dad to have the mechanic take a look.
From what I remember the diagnoses was wiring loom was threadbare (that’ll be the cutting out then) which caused it to short out on the body and catch fire, burning out the whole engine side wiring…
I never did drive it properly, although I feel like I have unfinished business with one of these. Lesson learnt, Italian bangers probably don’t have great electrics
Years ago, i used to hang around Southampton car auctions on the auction that coincided with my lunch hour. Wasn't uncommon for me to leave with something that nobody else wanted to bid on (for a reason!), mostly for about £75 or less.
Pretty sure that 4 of these never made it more than 7 or 8 miles down the M27, before ending up on the hard shoulder in a cloud of steam or with a trail of oil marking the location of it's demise.
This is when being in the AA actually made some sense, as they got towed home for free, fixed and flipped for some quick ££ (along with the ones that actually turned out to be diamonds in the rough!)
Pretty sure that 4 of these never made it more than 7 or 8 miles down the M27, before ending up on the hard shoulder in a cloud of steam or with a trail of oil marking the location of it's demise.
This is when being in the AA actually made some sense, as they got towed home for free, fixed and flipped for some quick ££ (along with the ones that actually turned out to be diamonds in the rough!)
Not a car but little brother purchased a moped shortly after turning 16 for £200. It was in great condition with the exception of a leaking exhaust. After taking it home in a van, brother decides to silence the exhaust by stuffing a sponge between the leaking part of the exhaust and the frame. Feeling smug, he started it and the noisy exhaust was much better. As he stood back admiring his work, with the moped running, exhaust heated up and ignited the sponge. Within minutes, the moped was on fire. All attempts to extinguish the fire were to no avail, and the mopen burn quickly to leave just a bare frame.
A Jaguar XJ I bought for £1600. Looked to be in good shape, but I didn't drive anywhere near hard enough on the test drive. I missed the fact that the transmission was slipping hard under full load. It would rev and 'slur' like a slipping clutch before delivering the power. The front V mount on the subframe was also shot. It didn't show itself up on the test drive either, but you could feel it when tackling a bendy road. The front wheels felt like they weren't connected to the steering wheel at times. The handling would go from relatively composed to complete s
t very quickly.
The V mount fault was missed when I took the car for an MOT. Apparently it's an easy fault to miss at MOT time as the weight of the front wheels compresses the subframe and hides the delaminated V mount.
I had that car for nearly two years though and it was fine for getting to work and back in. It definitely persuaded me to buy more carefully in future. It didn't do me badly and it still worked fine when I scrapped it but I couldn't be arsed to sell it or spend money getting it MOT'd.
t very quickly. The V mount fault was missed when I took the car for an MOT. Apparently it's an easy fault to miss at MOT time as the weight of the front wheels compresses the subframe and hides the delaminated V mount.
I had that car for nearly two years though and it was fine for getting to work and back in. It definitely persuaded me to buy more carefully in future. It didn't do me badly and it still worked fine when I scrapped it but I couldn't be arsed to sell it or spend money getting it MOT'd.
Many years ago, I purchased a MkII Escort estate for about £150. On the way home, the engine seized in spectacular fashion, locking the front wheels up, and leaving fairly sizeable 11s on the road in the process! A quick call to the seller confirmed the car was indeed "sold as seen", so I whipped the (half-decent) aftermarket pull out stereo from the dash, and had the car towed directly to the nearest scrapyard.
I must have cut a sad figure on my way home, sitting alone on the train, clutching a car stereo.
Fast-forward a decade or so, and I had a hankering for a Jeep Cherokee. Found one with an LPG conversion at the right price, and got myself down to Exeter (I live near London). Seller was a really nice chap, and we did the deal. About five miles down the motorway, the car started making the most horrendous death rattle... Then died. The seller (and his father) turned up to help, and upon shining a torch into the engine bay, confirmed the engine had thrown a piston through the head/block.
The distraught seller gave me a full refund (did I mention he was a really nice chap?) and his father drove me to Exeter train station.
This particular train journey home did involve me sitting alone with a sad look on my face, but didn't involve me clutching a car stereo, unlike last time.
I must have cut a sad figure on my way home, sitting alone on the train, clutching a car stereo.
Fast-forward a decade or so, and I had a hankering for a Jeep Cherokee. Found one with an LPG conversion at the right price, and got myself down to Exeter (I live near London). Seller was a really nice chap, and we did the deal. About five miles down the motorway, the car started making the most horrendous death rattle... Then died. The seller (and his father) turned up to help, and upon shining a torch into the engine bay, confirmed the engine had thrown a piston through the head/block.
The distraught seller gave me a full refund (did I mention he was a really nice chap?) and his father drove me to Exeter train station.
This particular train journey home did involve me sitting alone with a sad look on my face, but didn't involve me clutching a car stereo, unlike last time.
Many years ago I was running a Datsun 260Z that needed to be taken off the road for an engine out welding job on the front chassis rails...
So I bought a cheap Triumph Dolomite Sprint....It was a horrible car, It was very cheap but had shagged prop donut and out of balance prop, overdrive output seal shagged due to prop issues, head gasket needed replacing which was a nightmare due to zero clearance between engine and bulkhead to remove downpipe...It was also pretty tatty both inside and out...only saving grace was it had an MoT!
After a couple of weeks I sold it and was given a Datsun 160J SSS...
So I bought a cheap Triumph Dolomite Sprint....It was a horrible car, It was very cheap but had shagged prop donut and out of balance prop, overdrive output seal shagged due to prop issues, head gasket needed replacing which was a nightmare due to zero clearance between engine and bulkhead to remove downpipe...It was also pretty tatty both inside and out...only saving grace was it had an MoT!
After a couple of weeks I sold it and was given a Datsun 160J SSS...
Bought my good lady a mint Scirocco Storm about 15 years ago. It spewed its oil while she was driving to work in it. Dead. 3 days. She neglected to tell me that a 'red' light had come on the dash the day before. It was a lovely looking thing. Still knocking about as far as I am aware but I couldn't afford to fix it at the time.
Long time ago...
My dad and I went to Sheffield to look at an Avenger GT that was to be my 1st car. Test drive went OK, dad haggled and I ended up paying the guy £100.
Dad drove it home (as he was insured), me following in his car.
Down the dual carriageway back to Chesterfield, all going well. Coming towards the roundabout at the bottom of the hill, brake lights come on, Avenger shows no sign of slowing down... brake light flash on and off... still nothing. Straight on to the roundabout at an unabated speed.
Coasted to a halt on the next section of DC... dad gets out, shaking
My dad and I went to Sheffield to look at an Avenger GT that was to be my 1st car. Test drive went OK, dad haggled and I ended up paying the guy £100.
Dad drove it home (as he was insured), me following in his car.
Down the dual carriageway back to Chesterfield, all going well. Coming towards the roundabout at the bottom of the hill, brake lights come on, Avenger shows no sign of slowing down... brake light flash on and off... still nothing. Straight on to the roundabout at an unabated speed.
Coasted to a halt on the next section of DC... dad gets out, shaking
I was running a brilliant MK1.5 Focus, but the wife wanted to learn to drive, and as she has no use of her left leg, we needed an automatic.
So I trade my car in for a MK1 Focus auto costing £900, 3 weeks later the steering rack fails, £250 lighter we are back on the road, just 2 days later, the power steering pump fails.
I promptly sold it to a guy who came from London, to Clowne near Chesterfield, and he intended to drive it home as was.
So I trade my car in for a MK1 Focus auto costing £900, 3 weeks later the steering rack fails, £250 lighter we are back on the road, just 2 days later, the power steering pump fails.
I promptly sold it to a guy who came from London, to Clowne near Chesterfield, and he intended to drive it home as was.
Loyly said:
A Jaguar XJ I bought for £1600. Looked to be in good shape, but I didn't drive anywhere near hard enough on the test drive. I missed the fact that the transmission was slipping hard under full load. It would rev and 'slur' like a slipping clutch before delivering the power. The front V mount on the subframe was also shot. It didn't show itself up on the test drive either, but you could feel it when tackling a bendy road. The front wheels felt like they weren't connected to the steering wheel at times. The handling would go from relatively composed to complete st very quickly.
The V mount fault was missed when I took the car for an MOT. Apparently it's an easy fault to miss at MOT time as the weight of the front wheels compresses the subframe and hides the delaminated V mount.
I had that car for nearly two years though and it was fine for getting to work and back in. It definitely persuaded me to buy more carefully in future. It didn't do me badly and it still worked fine when I scrapped it but I couldn't be arsed to sell it or spend money getting it MOT'd.
I feel for you! t very quickly. The V mount fault was missed when I took the car for an MOT. Apparently it's an easy fault to miss at MOT time as the weight of the front wheels compresses the subframe and hides the delaminated V mount.
I had that car for nearly two years though and it was fine for getting to work and back in. It definitely persuaded me to buy more carefully in future. It didn't do me badly and it still worked fine when I scrapped it but I couldn't be arsed to sell it or spend money getting it MOT'd.
I bought a 1400 quid Renault Clio as a replacement for one I ditched at 50mph on a windy country road. Bloody black ice, lol.
I missed the fact it had a 5th gear crunch on the test drive. Steering felt a little funny too which I missed, replaced a spring at cost of about 150, still drove like s
t. Wife then wanted a new car so we traded that one in at the car people for 750 quid, lost just over half my money in under 2 months.The fiesta I took off her was my last car before the Audi, loved it. Mk7 fiestas are just brilliant.
MorganP104 said:
Many years ago, I purchased a MkII Escort estate for about £150. On the way home, the engine seized in spectacular fashion, locking the front wheels up, and leaving fairly sizeable 11s on the road in the process! A quick call to the seller confirmed the car was indeed "sold as seen", so I whipped the (half-decent) aftermarket pull out stereo from the dash, and had the car towed directly to the nearest scrapyard.
I must have cut a sad figure on my way home, sitting alone on the train, clutching a car stereo.
Fast-forward a decade or so, and I had a hankering for a Jeep Cherokee. Found one with an LPG conversion at the right price, and got myself down to Exeter (I live near London). Seller was a really nice chap, and we did the deal. About five miles down the motorway, the car started making the most horrendous death rattle... Then died. The seller (and his father) turned up to help, and upon shining a torch into the engine bay, confirmed the engine had thrown a piston through the head/block.
The distraught seller gave me a full refund (did I mention he was a really nice chap?) and his father drove me to Exeter train station.
This particular train journey home did involve me sitting alone with a sad look on my face, but didn't involve me clutching a car stereo, unlike last time.
Quite an achievement on a rear wheel drive carI must have cut a sad figure on my way home, sitting alone on the train, clutching a car stereo.
Fast-forward a decade or so, and I had a hankering for a Jeep Cherokee. Found one with an LPG conversion at the right price, and got myself down to Exeter (I live near London). Seller was a really nice chap, and we did the deal. About five miles down the motorway, the car started making the most horrendous death rattle... Then died. The seller (and his father) turned up to help, and upon shining a torch into the engine bay, confirmed the engine had thrown a piston through the head/block.
The distraught seller gave me a full refund (did I mention he was a really nice chap?) and his father drove me to Exeter train station.
This particular train journey home did involve me sitting alone with a sad look on my face, but didn't involve me clutching a car stereo, unlike last time.
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