Best of the Bargain Basement Vol. 2

[Toaster Pilot]

BigTom85 said:

For £600?

For an early one yes, saw one for £550 on retrorides the other week with a year's test

[BigTom85]

BorkFactor said:

You will get a decent 1.8 petrol mk3 mondeo for that money, that's what I would buy.

Might take some effort to find one, but they are great motors.

Don't overlook a nice Mk2 though, if you can find a well looked after one in good condition then they really are a durable car and incredibly cheap to run.

[Toaster Pilot]

I sold a 2.0 petrol auto Accord for just over that budget today, would be dependable and easy/cheap to maintain if not the most economical

[BMWE34FAN]

Rover 75 CDT will be great for your son. I paid £300 for mine with 125k, Ive now done over 2000 miles in just over a month and it's been faultless! Highly recommend.

[skeggysteve]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Now your next challenge is to find one!

[405dogvan]

skeggysteve said:

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Now your next challenge is to find one!

Y'see this is where you're doing it wrong.

When you're in the market for a cheap car, you don't go looking for something specific because you're not going to find one without wasting time and money (which you could be spending on the car!)

With cheap cars (anything under a grand) you have to take what's available locally, so get out there and kick tyres. Forget the Trader and eBay for now, people selling there have aspirations of wealth! Instead, look in local classifieds and other more 'earthy' places and see what's on-offer, go around local mechanics and see what's rotting in their back yard - even scrapyards may be the source of something worthwhile.

Someone on the Internet saying "buy an XYZ - I saw for for £123 last month on Mars" is fk-all use to anyone

[trooperiziz]

405dogvan said:

Y'see this is where you're doing it wrong.

When you're in the market for a cheap car, you don't go looking for something specific because you're not going to find one without wasting time and money (which you could be spending on the car!)

With cheap cars (anything under a grand) you have to take what's available locally, so get out there and kick tyres. Forget the Trader and eBay for now, people selling there have aspirations of wealth! Instead, look in local classifieds and other more 'earthy' places and see what's on-offer, go around local mechanics and see what's rotting in their back yard - even scrapyards may be the source of something worthwhile.

Someone on the Internet saying "buy an XYZ - I saw for for £123 last month on Mars" is fk-all use to anyone

I half agree. Staying local and buying the best available of whatever comes up first is right, however autotrader and ebay are good places to look if you check a couple of times a day and can move quick.

[egor110]

trooperiziz said:

405dogvan said:

Y'see this is where you're doing it wrong.

When you're in the market for a cheap car, you don't go looking for something specific because you're not going to find one without wasting time and money (which you could be spending on the car!)

With cheap cars (anything under a grand) you have to take what's available locally, so get out there and kick tyres. Forget the Trader and eBay for now, people selling there have aspirations of wealth! Instead, look in local classifieds and other more 'earthy' places and see what's on-offer, go around local mechanics and see what's rotting in their back yard - even scrapyards may be the source of something worthwhile.

Someone on the Internet saying "buy an XYZ - I saw for for £123 last month on Mars" is fk-all use to anyone

I half agree. Staying local and buying the best available of whatever comes up first is right, however autotrader and ebay are good places to look if you check a couple of times a day and can move quick.

There's loads of cheap motors on ebay and gumtree.

I do agree with you though about keeping it local (even though i travelled from somerset to carlisle to pick up my banger grand cherokee)

[matthias73]

trooperiziz said:

405dogvan said:

Y'see this is where you're doing it wrong.

When you're in the market for a cheap car, you don't go looking for something specific because you're not going to find one without wasting time and money (which you could be spending on the car!)

With cheap cars (anything under a grand) you have to take what's available locally, so get out there and kick tyres. Forget the Trader and eBay for now, people selling there have aspirations of wealth! Instead, look in local classifieds and other more 'earthy' places and see what's on-offer, go around local mechanics and see what's rotting in their back yard - even scrapyards may be the source of something worthwhile.

Someone on the Internet saying "buy an XYZ - I saw for for £123 last month on Mars" is fk-all use to anyone

I half agree. Staying local and buying the best available of whatever comes up first is right, however autotrader and ebay are good places to look if you check a couple of times a day and can move quick.

I disagree to a point.
Looking for cheap cars for under a grand, you can get a bit selective. I knew I wanted an e39 for less than 1000 and found one without much bother, if anything there were too many to chose from.

If you are trying to find the cheapest car possible that runs, then maybe.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Buff Mchugelarge said:

Due to various things I needed a small, economical and teliable run around on a ridiculous budget.
So to the Friday ad..

A phone call and a quick viewing later, behold..!


Yes, it's the cockroach like K11 Nissan Micra!
This particular model featuring a 1.0 twin cam 16v and a five speed gearbox!
£250 with a months MOT, it drives very well, needs lower arms (£50 for 2) and a patch on the outer drivers sill. (Sp?)
So far it's done nearly 500 miles without incident.
Will start a readers rides thread if anyone's interest?!

Blimey one of them bought one years ago for an ex as her first car, it was £300 with a years MOT, the clutch was so high it was laughable the oil hadn't been changed in 4 years!

It drove really well, even though it was knackered, I managed to service it for £40 and not even have to jack it up to change the oil!! We had some horrendous snow, I had an Mx5 at the time so borrowed it and it was unstoppable on cheap ditchfinders, it just never gave up, it even ploughed though 2 feet of snoW , the tyres were so narrow nothing stopped them. Even keeping up with traffic meant you had to drive it "hard" and I found it fun to drive!

Great cars, for no nonsense motoring

[skeggysteve]

What does everyone think about this:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

X plate Audi A3 1.9 TDI with 10 months ticket up at £690.

[V8RX7]

skeggysteve said:

What does everyone think about this:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

X plate Audi A3 1.9 TDI with 10 months ticket up at £690.

It's cheap - dents, no glovebox - suggest it hasn't had the easiest of lives.

VOSA check it - I suspect it's clocked.

However at this price you really have to see / drive it.

[skeggysteve]

V8RX7 said:

It's cheap - dents, no glovebox - suggest it hasn't had the easiest of lives.

VOSA check it - I suspect it's clocked.

However at this price you really have to see / drive it.

I agree it does seem to have been not looked after, maybe why it's cheap?

Will do a VOSA check thanks for suggesting that.

Going to look at it along with a few others, I'll let you know how we get on.

One other thing, was looking at a £16k BMW Z4 but decided to wait until Jan next year (salary review time) and to insure the BMW is cheaper than the £690 Audi!

[skeggysteve]

The Audi had been sold. They had a Alfa that he was interested in but it had obviously broke while they had it in stock as it was now 'spares or repair'!

After a long day he ended up buying an S plate BMW 318, 150k miles, ticket 'till Sept next year, soon to need two tyres but very straight and tidy for just under £500.

Many be not a bargain, but it was, by a long way, the best one we looked at all day and he needed a car asap.

[gradeA]

Bit of '80s retro...

http://www.gumtree.com/p/mg/mg-maestro-2000-efi/10...



Is that mileage for real...!?

Advert said:

MG Maestro 2000EFI with only 36000 miles on clock. Was a gift. The bodywork is very good for age, some scratches a mismatched portion on bonnet and minor rust on roof. Rear wings had small patches. Starts and runs with the new battery but not been tested as no MOT or TAX. Buyer will have to transport. it owes me £250 so that is the price.

[Strawman]

gradeA said:

Bit of '80s retro...

http://www.gumtree.com/p/mg/mg-maestro-2000-efi/10...



Is that mileage for real...!?

Without history to back up the claim seems doubtful but not impossible. Is the odometer only 5 digits on these?
The MG version wasn't a bad car in it's day, a rival to the mk2 Golf Gti.
ETA- there is a photo of the odometer so it does have enough digits to show 100,000's of miles.
I don't like this in the ad

seller said:

. Was a gift........ it owes me £250 so that is the price.

Edited by Strawman on Monday 17th November 11:46

[jamoor]

vit4 said:

For better or worse, I bought the 250k Avensis It doesn't even drive like a 100k car let alone a 250k one. The only point to note is that occasionally there is a small rattle from the rear when going over bumps, might even be the parcel shelf thinking about it. The interior is not quite immaculate (the dash has a small crack in it on the nearside) but no wear to the seat or steering wheel and the rear seats don't even look sat in. The seller was a pleasure to deal with, his brother put the majority of the miles on until he replaced it with a new Avensis (been in their family from nearly-new). As soon as we pulled up and I saw that it had four good Michelins I figured that I was onto a winner MOT'd until next June, still got 24k left on the cambelt too. Even the AC works!



One thing, he reckoned that it hadn't had a clutch change from new. The miles have been pretty much exclusively motorway but that can't be right, surely?

Edited by vit4 on Wednesday 12th November 17:21

ooh nice m5.

[forsure]

Strawman said:

I don't like this in the ad

seller said:

. Was a gift........ it owes me £250 so that is the price.

Edited by Strawman on Monday 17th November 11:46

Agreed; comes across as arrogant.

To give him the benefit of the doubt, it might just be a clumsily worded way of saying 'I think it's worth more than £250, but that's what it owes me and I just want rid of it'.

[ZiggyNiva]

405dogvan said:

skeggysteve said:

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Now your next challenge is to find one!

Y'see this is where you're doing it wrong.

When you're in the market for a cheap car, you don't go looking for something specific because you're not going to find one without wasting time and money (which you could be spending on the car!)

With cheap cars (anything under a grand) you have to take what's available locally, so get out there and kick tyres. Forget the Trader and eBay for now, people selling there have aspirations of wealth! Instead, look in local classifieds and other more 'earthy' places and see what's on-offer, go around local mechanics and see what's rotting in their back yard - even scrapyards may be the source of something worthwhile.

Someone on the Internet saying "buy an XYZ - I saw for for £123 last month on Mars" is fk-all use to anyone

This....
Get on ebay. List by auctions only, distance of 20 miles from your location with a max price of your budget, and see what fits roughly into your criteria. if you are prepared to take a risk on a car you haven't seen then list by ending soonest and bid on anything that takes your fancy.

For added fun do it on a mobile app, as mine misses off the condition details section. So what seems a bargain turns out to be a shed.

[GTIAlex]

trooperiziz said:

405dogvan said:

Y'see this is where you're doing it wrong.

When you're in the market for a cheap car, you don't go looking for something specific because you're not going to find one without wasting time and money (which you could be spending on the car!)

With cheap cars (anything under a grand) you have to take what's available locally, so get out there and kick tyres. Forget the Trader and eBay for now, people selling there have aspirations of wealth! Instead, look in local classifieds and other more 'earthy' places and see what's on-offer, go around local mechanics and see what's rotting in their back yard - even scrapyards may be the source of something worthwhile.

Someone on the Internet saying "buy an XYZ - I saw for for £123 last month on Mars" is fk-all use to anyone

I half agree. Staying local and buying the best available of whatever comes up first is right, however autotrader and ebay are good places to look if you check a couple of times a day and can move quick.

Totally agree.

Had no specific car in mind, just wanted something cheap to go to work and back in so i can restore my campervan and mini.

Picked up a 2000 Yaris with 80,000 miles of a friend for £250.