Best of the Bargain Basement Vol. 2

[getawayturtle]

W00DY said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1997-BMW-528I-SE-METALLI...


Manual 528i with nice wheels and looking well kept with plenty of change.

Such a lot of car for very little money, loved my old E39.

[Ghost91]

getawayturtle said:

Such a lot of car for very little money, loved my old E39.

That really is very cheap isn't it!

[anonymous-user]

looking at old mot, needs 4 new tyres so would add another 300 quid at least but still a bargain. Maybe that is why being sold.

[GeordieInExile]

On Friday I will become the happy new owner of this:-



Bad points:-
- It's done 235k miles
- The aircon is borked
- The screen on the radio has died
- It's 350 miles away
- It's a phase 2 - no lovely alcantara for me

Good points:-
- It's costing me a mere £700
- It's a GTi-6
- It's amazingly dent free
- It's mostly rust free (there's a little bit of bubbling in a patch on the roof)
- It has a full service history
- The guy who owns it has been fastidious in maintaining it
- It had an engine rebuild 100k miles ago and had its heads flowed at the same time
- It's had the same owner since 1999
- It's been garaged for three years since said owner went to the Far East for work, but taken out weekly for a run and had any work done as needed to pass its MOT (including £500 for its last MOT in July, which gave it a nice shiny new exhaust)
- I get to drive it 350 miles back home!

It had a cambelt 20k miles ago but that was at the end of 2009 so I'll be changing that ASAP.

Edited by GeordieInExile on Monday 23 November 10:08

[princeperch]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

all of these caught my eye when browsing at lunchtime - all at pocket money prices.

[anonymous-user]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1015372154...

mini 1

1k

[TakeTheJaaaag]

Hi chaps

I'm after something around thread budget up to 1200. If it's cheaper I don't mind sorting a fresh service and new rubber or whatever.

- Reliable
- Not too sluggish
- Presentable enough
- Preferably looked after and in reasonable nick
- Don't really care what it is, but prefer petrol to minimise potential Bork

I missed out on a nice IS200 with fsh, new tyres and recent service! Looking for anything like that which fits the bill...

If you find anything when browsing I'd be most grateful if you could post it up here for me!

Thanks all, and likewise if I see anything when looking suitable for the thread I will of course post it up.

[GeordieInExile]

A nice 1.8 turbo Octavia should fit your bill.

[TakeTheJaaaag]

GeordieInExile said:

A nice 1.8 turbo Octavia should fit your bill.

Thats a good a shout. Less likely to be shagged and run on a budget than the same engine in a golf too I'd imagine.

I'm looking through the classifieds at anything suitable really, I don't want to narrow it down too much otherwise I won't find anything for ages

[GeordieInExile]

TakeTheJaaaag said:

Thats a good a shout. Less likely to be shagged and run on a budget than the same engine in a golf too I'd imagine.

I'm looking through the classifieds at anything suitable really, I don't want to narrow it down too much otherwise I won't find anything for ages

I saw a gorgeous 1.8 turbo Octavia Elegance (top spec) for £800 on AT the other day, absolutely spotless. Cheaper insurance than the Golf GTi with that engine as well.

[anonymous-user]

one thing with the 1.8t is oil changes and cambelt changes. Check HG signs of failure and coolant. if it was me I would take a coolant hg failure test, not 100% accurate but may save some money if bad. Turbos are pretty robust.

[Ghost91]

A few cheapies i've seen today that look alright

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/221944554812

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/291622602981

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/321928851183

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/121817550028

[Toaster Pilot]

e38 728i with fuel tank replacement in its history for £700 anyone? http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/184504/bmw-...

[aka_kerrly]

TakeTheJaaaag said:

I missed out on a nice IS200 with fsh, new tyres and recent service! Looking for anything like that which fits the bill...
.

Funnily enough only a few weeks after posting my new acquired BMW 523i for £225 I have also just snapped up a year 2000 Lexus IS200 SE with full Lexus/specialist service history including a service in July, MOT last Friday, 100k on the clock, 2 previous owner (last owner 10 years & a friend's mum), nice set of Bridgestones & immaculate half leather interior.

£750!

Having looked at a few others with similar spec they seem to go for around £1500-1750.

All things considered for a 2.0 straight 6, 6 speed gearbox, full double wishbones all round it drives and handles very very nicely even though it is far from FAST it is perfectly quick enough for daily smokin.

[TakeTheJaaaag]

aka_kerrly said:

Funnily enough only a few weeks after posting my new acquired BMW 523i for £225 I have also just snapped up a year 2000 Lexus IS200 SE with full Lexus/specialist service history including a service in July, MOT last Friday, 100k on the clock, 2 previous owner (last owner 10 years & a friend's mum), nice set of Bridgestones & immaculate half leather interior.

£750!

Having looked at a few others with similar spec they seem to go for around £1500-1750.

All things considered for a 2.0 straight 6, 6 speed gearbox, full double wishbones all round it drives and handles very very nicely even though it is far from FAST it is perfectly quick enough for daily smokin.

Sounds a bargain, nice one!


With regards to the 1.8t, I'll keep that in mind if I go to view any. There aren't a great deal of them around though.

I reckon this purchase is going to be an unseen ebay jobby to save some time, so wish me luck!!

[aka_kerrly]

The Spruce goose said:

one thing with the 1.8t is oil changes and cambelt changes. Check HG signs of failure and coolant. if it was me I would take a coolant hg failure test, not 100% accurate but may save some money if bad. Turbos are pretty robust.

Interesting as my experience of 20VTs is that the headgaskets are sound, cambelt/waterpump is not a huge job at £150 of parts an a mornings work if you DIY, £350 for someone else to do it.

The turbos with beyond 100k are usually suffering from worn/wrongly adjusted wastegate actuators that allow the turbo to clatter off boost (easy fix) or make a whine type noise akin to a dentist drill, time for a rebuild. I saw 2 KO3 turbos one from a 150k car an one from unknown mileage scrapper at a mate's workshop the other day, both had hairline fractures on the turbo housing, a noticeable but not dangerous amount of end play but were still capable of producing boost/being usable.

I'd recommend that anyone buying a 20vt checks the cars service history an takes note of the regularity of oil changes plus the condition of the oil currently in the engine. If all seems well I'd still encourage an owner to whip the sump off (usually it's leaking anyway) clean the pick up plus oil/filter change. It's not expensive compared to a new/second hand turbo and head.

[rossi1001]

Saw a lovely dark green Honda Legend on Autotrader late Monday night (and yes I was being a loser and checking AT daily although not specifically for this, just anything interesting for £750 ish). I went to see it on Tuesday evening in the dark and pouring rain, but still bought it for £850, and I bloody love it Soooo much wafty barge for no money. Just the one (elderly) owner from new too, with an original sales invoice included for £32,000 in 1999!!

To think I paid £500 for my sisters old Punto just a year ago - there is absolutely no comparison

It needs a new right rear light and the right rear passenger window gets stuck when you try to close it but other than that everything works, including heated, electric seats and mirrors, air-conditioning and the powered adjustable steering wheel!

Edited by rossi1001 on Thursday 26th November 08:41

[Ghost91]

That looks likes a fantastic bargain barge! Nice one

[anonymous-user]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40NUKtD62M

[giblet]

Nice purchase, mine was £450 but it was a P reg (1996) and a little more rough around the edges. Watch out for the odometer as they have a tendency to die after a while.



Sofa on wheels, the heated seats were awesome in the winter.