unrealistic expectations of the used car market???

[danlightbulb]

Farmer Geddon said:

I got the saab on eBay from a private seller, there was a nice one on eBay too from a dealer in Lincolnshire roughly the same price. He's on the saab forum with the name 'woodside'.

I've been looking at his website regularly. Did you buy a saloon? There is more choice in saloons. I need an estate of which there are less around.

The Saab 9-5 is my car of choice, and at the price you paid yes I would have some extra for repairs. I know exactly what I want. A 9-5 aero or vector sport estate, 2004+, <120k miles, silver or grey, black interior with good maintenance record. I don't care about a sunroof or even parking sensors or heated seats really. Look I know what you are saying about the colour of the interior but I just don't want beige in the same way as I don't want one of those old Mercs so often banded about in the shedding thread.

[Ghost91]

I'm trying my best not to judge your situation sir, but what's worrying me is, if you spend all of your 2k on a car and it's a dog, you're screwed - more or less your own words. Anything you do buy and can afford to run isn't likely to be *massively* better than your current car (assuming there's nothing wrong with it), although nothing wrong with a change, if you can afford the risk of the unknown.

The sensible thing would probably be keep it until it dies or becomes uneconomical to repair and stick some more money in the car fund to bag a better one at some point with less risk of financial ruin, or to set aside in the event of a costly repair bill coming up.

[danlightbulb]

Ghost91 said:

I'm trying my best not to judge your situation sir, but what's worrying me is, if you spend all of your 2k on a car and it's a dog, you're screwed - more or less your own words. Anything you do buy and can afford to run isn't likely to be *massively* better than your current car (assuming there's nothing wrong with it), although nothing wrong with a change, if you can afford the risk of the unknown.

The sensible thing would probably be keep it until it dies or becomes uneconomical to repair and stick some more money in the car fund to bag a better one at some point with less risk of financial ruin, or to set aside in the event of a costly repair bill coming up.

Where I sit on the risk curve is this:

My current car is 12 years old and has done 192000 miles. Its starting to feel its age and I know the suspension is fairly worn. It could do with a refresh probably, but I don't think its worth spending the money on at that mileage. The bodywork is tired, the bottoms of the doors are going rusty, the paintwork is tired and starting to peel on the rear bumper.

I will never want to spend more than 2k on a car because I'm also saving for a house deposit. Any more than this I see as a waste of money.

So I want to find something for my budget that is newer and lower mileage than my current car which decreases my risk a bit. I realise I can never fully eliminate risk, but I feel I should be able to better what I have at the moment. I will also have an emergency fund building up.

So I can afford the risk of the unknown provided I stay within my budget and don't buy a dog. The one I saw yesterday was truly awful, it really was, but to look at it from the outside it looked great.

[OldGermanHeaps]

If you are dead set on spending so little then you need to accept that you might need to choose a different type of car, you want a rare variant of a car that never sold well in the first place, and you have a load of other things that you wont accept, you either need to look further afield, widen your scope or be prepared to wait a looooooooooong time until you get very lucky.
If i had a st hot saab estate with all the desireable attributes i'd be listing it way above the other ste out there in the hope of getting lucky, not pricing it the same as a neglected heap with a ste coloured interior. You would do the same i'd imagine unless you were some type of mental?

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Monday 23 November 01:12

[danlightbulb]

OldGermanHeaps said:

If you are dead set on spending so little then you need to accept that you might need to choose a different type of car, you want a rare variant of a car that never sold well in the first place, and you have a load of other things that you wont accept, you either need to look further afield, widen your scope or be prepared to wait a looooooooooong time until you get very lucky.

When I came here for the first time a couple of months ago I did not know what I wanted. I was looking at big 4x4s and E39 530i's. It was this forum that first identified Saab's to me. I have been told by many people on this forum and several others that the Saab should be easily obtainable in budget and that it would be more reliable than an old BMW. It took me a while to get used to the idea, but since I've been looking they have grown on me. It seems to be the only car where I can get good value 200+ bhp in a good sized well equipped car.

I did nothing for 2 months while I saved some more money as I was originally planning on getting a loan to finance a car. I again took the forum's advice on saving up instead, and now I have the money I'm actively looking.

OldGermanHeaps said:

If i had a st hot saab estate with all the desireable attributes i'd be listing it way above the other ste out there in the hope of getting lucky, not pricing it the same as a neglected heap with a ste coloured interior. You would do the same i'd imagine unless you were some type of mental?

Well maybe, but what I'm seeing is that the ones priced 2k+ are not selling. So clearly the market maximum is around that price, regardless of spec. Anything priced less than this sells in no time. So on that basis I think how much I'm willing to pay is about right. Cars do come up at the price I'm looking at, but I can't get on them quick enough, or they are realistically way too far away.

[Shambler]

I is very difficult, I've been looking for five years to spend my hard earned £2000. I've come across 8 Volvo v70 s and they all had either black or cream leather and I have set my heart on chestnut with baseball stitching. Good luck op

[MissChief]

danlightbulb said:

I've been looking at his website regularly. Did you buy a saloon? There is more choice in saloons. I need an estate of which there are less around.

The Saab 9-5 is my car of choice, and at the price you paid yes I would have some extra for repairs. I know exactly what I want. A 9-5 aero or vector sport estate, 2004+, <120k miles, silver or grey, black interior with good maintenance record. I don't care about a sunroof or even parking sensors or heated seats really. Look I know what you are saying about the colour of the interior but I just don't want beige in the same way as I don't want one of those old Mercs so often banded about in the shedding thread.

Obviously if you're going to limit yourself in such a way then you have to expect to find many ugly sisters before your Cinderella. Saab's of the type you're after are very sought after and once found are often kept for a very long time.

[anarki]

OP - we've gathered your budget but not exactly the car you're after.

I picked up on the fact you currently own a mondeo, are you after another saloon?

A £2k budget is good, you can find decent honest cars for that money but what do you want?

[Motorrad]

danlightbulb said:

Inspiring if I wanted a car that I would have owned had I been in my 60's twenty years ago.

Except for the Audi on the last page. How has someone bought a V6 twin turbo quatro estate for a grand? Based on that car alone I should get what I want for two grand.

This attitude explains why you can't find a decent car.

There are plenty of modern-ish motors like the Audi you mention on the thread. I suspect you're just too lazy to have bothered looking through it.

Good luck in your car search but if you can't be arsed putting in the leg work you'll reduce your chances of finding something decent.

Never know though, some mug here might do all the work for you.

[fivepointnine]

You are in the correct ballpark price range for a nice Saab. I understand about the distance/looking thing, there were no decent cars advertised near me either. I spent a day in London looking about which was horrible, finally found our car in Southampton.

I would not touch a £2k audi with a 10 foot stick, that is proper shed money for those. You MIGHT find an older PD130 for that price that is decent, but it would be SLOOOWWWWWW and with high miles.

[HairyMaclary]

Essentially you're buying a throw away car. Your concerned about reliability... Why not throw the 2k you have at a lease deal?

[V8RX7]

danlightbulb said:

Except for the Audi on the last page. How has someone bought a V6 twin turbo quatro estate for a grand?

Because it has lots of expensive parts and is uneconomical to run. The chances are that it will be scrapped when the first thing goes wrong.

[Bonefish Blues]

OldGermanHeaps said:

If you are dead set on spending so little then you need to accept that you might need to choose a different type of car, you want a rare variant of a car that never sold well in the first place, and you have a load of other things that you wont accept, you either need to look further afield, widen your scope or be prepared to wait a looooooooooong time until you get very lucky.
If i had a st hot saab estate with all the desireable attributes i'd be listing it way above the other ste out there in the hope of getting lucky, not pricing it the same as a neglected heap with a ste coloured interior. You would do the same i'd imagine unless you were some type of mental?

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Monday 23 November 01:12

...and indeed in which lots of people chose the (rather nce IMHO)beige interior.

As you know, finding a mechanically good one's waaay more important than finding the right colour one. If you want both, then the wait may be long.

[james_gt3rs]

I'd just spend £1000 on a Nissan/Toyota if you need a cheap car.

[steveo3002]

its sometimes hard to see what more you get for 2k or 3k over a well chosen £750 banger

3k car will still have marks on the body , still a good chance it will need repairs

[Challo]

danlightbulb said:

Farmer Geddon said:

I got the saab on eBay from a private seller, there was a nice one on eBay too from a dealer in Lincolnshire roughly the same price. He's on the saab forum with the name 'woodside'.

I've been looking at his website regularly. Did you buy a saloon? There is more choice in saloons. I need an estate of which there are less around.

The Saab 9-5 is my car of choice, and at the price you paid yes I would have some extra for repairs. I know exactly what I want. A 9-5 aero or vector sport estate, 2004+, <120k miles, silver or grey, black interior with good maintenance record. I don't care about a sunroof or even parking sensors or heated seats really. Look I know what you are saying about the colour of the interior but I just don't want beige in the same way as I don't want one of those old Mercs so often banded about in the shedding thread.

OP i think what you have just stated about the car you are looking for is your problem. That model Saab is going to be difficult to find with your set criteria in the 2k market. Plus i think you need to realise expectations are far to high to have something not wrong with it.

Centre your search around the milage, estate and good service record and you will find plenty of cars. As soon as your add more requirements the net gets smaller and you wont get a car.

If you want reliability and estate size then you need to loosen your expectations and don't look at the badge. If you want estates look no further than the Japanese manufacturers. The mini-cab cars of choice for doing moon miles and cheap to run.

[doro708]

Have you considered a Honda Accord petrol , 2L or 2.4? These are pretty much bulletproof engines , quite cheap and with some decent toys . Not many things to go wrong on them , comfortable, decent mpg , cheap parts.

[danlightbulb]

Isnt it funny how a simple desire for a black interior causes so many sarcastic responses. Its not gold bloody plating.

Not once has anyone said i shouldnt be targeting the HOT model even though there are less around.

Not once has anyone said the vector is as suitable as the aero.

But black interior - you lot would have me burned at the stake for wanting that.

[danlightbulb]

Challo said:

OP i think what you have just stated about the car you are looking for is your problem. That model Saab is going to be difficult to find with your set criteria in the 2k market. Plus i think you need to realise expectations are far to high to have something not wrong with it.

It was this forum in the first place that recommended this make & model car to me. All i have done is say i want black rather than cream interior.

[danlightbulb]

doro708 said:

Have you considered a Honda Accord petrol , 2L or 2.4? These are pretty much bulletproof engines , quite cheap and with some decent toys . Not many things to go wrong on them , comfortable, decent mpg , cheap parts.

I have looked at those as well yes. Again there arent that many around in the high power models.