Best of the Bargain Basement Vol. 2

[marmitemania]

If the seats in that Saab were black leather I wonder if they were studded. I bet it had cruise control!!

[Hoofy]

marmitemania said:

I bet it had cruise control!!

[Emeye]

Last week I pretty much guaranteed myself a life of bangernomics after putting a strong offer in on a project house that will hopefully become our family home forever.

I've been struggling to find a daily 4x4 in thread budget, so I've started looking at estates but decent ones of them seem in short supply.

I need a decent sized load-lugger to help while I'm doing up this house, but which will also get me 7 miles to and from the office in the week and cope with the odd long journey to customer meetings in comfort, all the time without looking too much like a shed!

I've even upped the searching budget - I was gutted to miss out on what looked like a mint Audi A6 Avant 1.9TDi manual with 120k on the clock for £1750.

Am I being unrealistic? If I stuck to saloons like the S60 2.4 posted earlier I reckon it would be much easier - I've done well out of the unpopular large engined saloons in the past - bargain 4x4s and estates are a whole new ball game!

Edited by Emeye on Monday 4th May 22:06

Edited by Emeye on Monday 4th May 23:17

[Birdster]

I've been offered a 190E 2.0 for £1000. Any thoughts, or tips?

[mr TICKHILL]

Birdster said:

I've been offered a 190E 2.0 for £1000. Any thoughts, or tips?

looks good and prices only seem to be going one way

[Strawman]

Emeye said:

Am I being unrealistic? If I stuck to saloons like the V70 2.4 posted earlier I reckon it would be much easier - I've done well out of the unpopular large engined saloons in the past - bargain 4x4s and estates are a whole new ball game!

Isn't the saloon the s70 and the estate the V70? I have one. In BB land you are taking a gamble on not hitting major repairs so if it does go wrong move on. I bought a petrol V70 last June for sub 1k and 17,000 miles later it's still going. There are plenty similar for sale on Gumtree, you can only assess the car and seller in person though.
http://www.gumtree.com/volvo/kent/page2?distance=1...

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Birdster said:

I've been offered a 190E 2.0 for £1000. Any thoughts, or tips?

Take it.

[Emeye]

Strawman said:

Emeye said:

Am I being unrealistic? If I stuck to saloons like the V70 2.4 posted earlier I reckon it would be much easier - I've done well out of the unpopular large engined saloons in the past - bargain 4x4s and estates are a whole new ball game!

Isn't the saloon the s70 and the estate the V70? I have one. In BB land you are taking a gamble on not hitting major repairs so if it does go wrong move on. I bought a petrol V70 last June for sub 1k and 17,000 miles later it's still going. There are plenty similar for sale on Gumtree, you can only assess the car and seller in person though.
http://www.gumtree.com/volvo/kent/page2?distance=1...

I meant S60. The saloon is the S60 - estate V70. Loads of nice looking S60s close to thread budget.

[jogger1976]

34k miler, mint Saab 9-5 for 900 notes http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[andy-xr]

Emeye said:

Last week I pretty much guaranteed myself a life of bangernomics after putting a strong offer in on a project house that will hopefully become our family home forever.

I've been struggling to find a daily 4x4 in thread budget, so I've started looking at estates but decent ones of them seem in short supply.

I need a decent sized load-lugger to help while I'm doing up this house, but which will also get me 7 miles to and from the office in the week and cope with the odd long journey to customer meetings in comfort, all the time without looking too much like a shed!

I've even upped the searching budget - I was gutted to miss out on what looked like a mint Audi A6 Avant 1.9TDi manual with 120k on the clock for £1750.

Am I being unrealistic? If I stuck to saloons like the S60 2.4 posted earlier I reckon it would be much easier - I've done well out of the unpopular large engined saloons in the past - bargain 4x4s and estates are a whole new ball game!

]

I've also been in the saloons no-one really seems to want, and had been looking to change that but couldnt decide what I wanted instead. The S Type I have isnt practical on economy or it's load space, and it still needs the heater valve / dual climate valve fixing, and has a couple of other niggles that I didnt want to spend time/money on. I had on my watch list a few Xsara Picassos, Laguna estates (new shape) and a Ford Maverick (Mazda Tribute is same car) and a couple of LPG Grand Cherokees as well as some Volvos. I also saw a few Ford Explorers, but the 4.0 V6 isnt a great engine in that car, and the cars are fairly dated now as well. Great for the space, but just showing their age a bit

This is a non LPG Grand Cherokee, 4.7 V8, just under 4 figures, 90k miles and has cow. It looks like it's probably quite a nice place to sit: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221747058227?_trksid=p20...

I think if you look around the German options you're always going to end up in a bit of blandville for the money, there is other stuff out there that's probably not quite as mainstream or maybe quite as reliable or certain, but generally it's worth a punt as you'll get more for your money

[Emeye]

andy-xr said:

I've also been in the saloons no-one really seems to want, and had been looking to change that but couldnt decide what I wanted instead. The S Type I have isnt practical on economy or it's load space, and it still needs the heater valve / dual climate valve fixing, and has a couple of other niggles that I didnt want to spend time/money on. I had on my watch list a few Xsara Picassos, Laguna estates (new shape) and a Ford Maverick (Mazda Tribute is same car) and a couple of LPG Grand Cherokees as well as some Volvos. I also saw a few Ford Explorers, but the 4.0 V6 isnt a great engine in that car, and the cars are fairly dated now as well. Great for the space, but just showing their age a bit

This is a non LPG Grand Cherokee, 4.7 V8, just under 4 figures, 90k miles and has cow. It looks like it's probably quite a nice place to sit: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221747058227?_trksid=p20...

I think if you look around the German options you're always going to end up in a bit of blandville for the money, there is other stuff out there that's probably not quite as mainstream or maybe quite as reliable or certain, but generally it's worth a punt as you'll get more for your money

I really like the look of that, and it would scratch the V8 itch!

Apart from a couple of hours drive to look at it - which I try to avoid on sheds unless a chat with the owner gives me confidence - I'm not sure I could cope with 12mpg urban despite my low mileage - my current E92 325i averages 20mph and therefore 22mpg which I just about cope with!

If it was going to be a weekend car for my hobby the fuel economy wouldn't matter, but now things have changed and it would have to my daily it does make a difference - Saying that - I really am tempted to give the seller a call!

Edited by Emeye on Tuesday 5th May 09:52

[andy-xr]

If you were looking at an A6 for £1500 you'd definitely get a good enough V70, this is what eluded me with what I had to spend.

The phase 2 V70, say X reg onwards are decent enough, the load space can be a bit compromised depending on what you want to carry. I dont think you'd get a tumble dryer in one, but a bed would be OK

I'm quite liking the 2.4T engine, it feels like it's a little underpowered still, but there's decent enough acceleration. It makes peak torque at 1800 rpm and peak power at 5700 rpm. It's a bit different to the V8 in the S type, and that's not to say there's anything wrong with the 2.4 NA in either 140 or 170hp format, it just needs a bit more mid range. You should be coming up on D5s with your sort of budget if economy is still an issue. They seem to run forever with decent oil and belt changes.

I looked at HOT Saabs, 9-5 tourers in particular but avoided them because of oil problems, just not something I wanted to get into, seemed a bit too much of a lottery at this price point.

[Emeye]

Octavia Estates look promising but may be a bit too small - Mondeo estates with petrol engines seem dirt cheap too.

[andy-xr]

This might sound a bit bad, but I'd take a Kia Carens over either of those. The petrol Mondeos are generally good, but estates command a premium and they're probably a bit overpriced for what they are. Octavia, tbh I put all VAG, BMW and Merc under £1k as overpriced sold on badge rather than amount of life left in them

[BorkFactor]

Surely a Volvo V70 Classic / 850 is what you need? Cheap, reliable, comfy, and still look pretty good today. Fuel economy won't be great, but that would be offset but the low purchase price.

Full MOT, service history, and new steering rack:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000W-Volvo-V70-2-4-170-...

Or some proper bargain basement stuff:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-850-ESTATE-SE-M-RE...

[Emeye]

BorkFactor said:

Surely a Volvo V70 Classic / 850 is what you need? Cheap, reliable, comfy, and still look pretty good today. Fuel economy won't be great, but that would be offset but the low purchase price.

Full MOT, service history, and new steering rack:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000W-Volvo-V70-2-4-170-...

Or some proper bargain basement stuff:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-850-ESTATE-SE-M-RE...

I really like the cheap 850 - if he is selling at £590, what did the trader pay for it? Disposable motoring. If it was local I'd be on my way there now! I may give him a call though.

[BorkFactor]

Emeye said:

I really like the cheap 850 - if he is selling at £590, what did the trader pay for it? Disposable motoring. If it was local I'd be on my way there now! I may give him a call though.

I would imagine a properly crap part ex price - probably went off the WBAC valuation which would surprise me if it was in three figures. Old car with a "big" petrol engine and manual gearbox. Not a T5 either, so that is probably why it is so cheap!

I would imagine it is fairly bomb proof, worth a punt I reckon.

ETA - this has caught my eye as well, if my E46 went bang tomorrow I would be straight on the phone to him. Bit of a budget stretch, but appears to have been owned by a PHer and these engines are extremely reliable. Always had a soft spot for the mk3 as well:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Mondeo-Zetec-S-esta...

Edited by BorkFactor on Tuesday 5th May 11:08

[Birdster]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Birdster said:

I've been offered a 190E 2.0 for £1000. Any thoughts, or tips?

Take it.

mr TICKHILL said:

Birdster said:

I've been offered a 190E 2.0 for £1000. Any thoughts, or tips?

looks good and prices only seem to be going one way

Going to have a look and if it's as good as it looks it'll be coming home with me. Seems like it's a sturdy car and normal consumables and is chain driven.

[Birdster]

^^^messed up the multi quote.

[dooosuk]

Emeye said:

Last week I pretty much guaranteed myself a life of bangernomics after putting a strong offer in on a project house that will hopefully become our family home forever.

I've been struggling to find a daily 4x4 in thread budget, so I've started looking at estates but decent ones of them seem in short supply.

I need a decent sized load-lugger to help while I'm doing up this house, but which will also get me 7 miles to and from the office in the week and cope with the odd long journey to customer meetings in comfort, all the time without looking too much like a shed!

I've even upped the searching budget - I was gutted to miss out on what looked like a mint Audi A6 Avant 1.9TDi manual with 120k on the clock for £1750.

Am I being unrealistic? If I stuck to saloons like the S60 2.4 posted earlier I reckon it would be much easier - I've done well out of the unpopular large engined saloons in the past - bargain 4x4s and estates are a whole new ball game!

Edited by Emeye on Monday 4th May 22:06

Edited by Emeye on Monday 4th May 23:17

Petrol Mazda 6 Estate. Sure, it's not interesting but mine has been reliable and an invaluable tip car whilst doing work on my house and garden. Chain driven too.