Top shedding for £380?
Discussion
Found myself in a position where I needed a car fast as a stop gap this week. My theory was to buy something as cheaply as possible with as much ticket as poss for around £500 then if/when it goes bang it will have half decent value to someone else/good bangernomics.
I could have went for a 1.0l Polo but why go for a small shopping car when I can have a 6 cylinder RWD German barge? So providing it's as advertised and drives I'll be picking this up tonight. Advertised as 172k with full history, test until March and Tax till the end of October Car was local dso I had a spin past on my way home from work and generally looks OK. Has 4 new tyres, new-ish pads and discs. Horrible Lexus stlye rear lights, bit of rust of the rear arches with a bit of a Stevie Wonder style DIY paint job on one arch, few little dings, didn't have a stereo in it so don't expect it has one.
323i for £380 not bad considering that most things <£500 had no MOT?
I could have went for a 1.0l Polo but why go for a small shopping car when I can have a 6 cylinder RWD German barge? So providing it's as advertised and drives I'll be picking this up tonight. Advertised as 172k with full history, test until March and Tax till the end of October Car was local dso I had a spin past on my way home from work and generally looks OK. Has 4 new tyres, new-ish pads and discs. Horrible Lexus stlye rear lights, bit of rust of the rear arches with a bit of a Stevie Wonder style DIY paint job on one arch, few little dings, didn't have a stereo in it so don't expect it has one.
323i for £380 not bad considering that most things <£500 had no MOT?
Cheers, I thought it seemed decent find on face value. Not bought a car in a long time so got to keep in mind it's the same price as a few nights out so it's not going to be perfect.
The left front fog light was filled with water so don't expect that will work-not sure if that's an MOT fail or not? Waiting for the bloke to give me a ring when I can go round for a proper look.
The left front fog light was filled with water so don't expect that will work-not sure if that's an MOT fail or not? Waiting for the bloke to give me a ring when I can go round for a proper look.
andrew311 said:
Cheers, I thought it seemed decent find on face value. Not bought a car in a long time so got to keep in mind it's the same price as a few nights out so it's not going to be perfect.
The left front fog light was filled with water so don't expect that will work-not sure if that's an MOT fail or not? Waiting for the bloke to give me a ring when I can go round for a proper look.
Front fogs not tested IIRC. Top shedding. I had a 525i of similar vintage that cost me, in Man Maths, £120. The left front fog light was filled with water so don't expect that will work-not sure if that's an MOT fail or not? Waiting for the bloke to give me a ring when I can go round for a proper look.
kpb said:
Check for overheating before you drive it away. Sounds obviously but HGF is the biggest killer of old BMWs. Good luck mate!
Check for underheating too.A common workaround for overheating problems is to remove the thermostat.
If it seems to take a long time for the temp. gauge to reach normal, then the 'stat has probably been removed. Could also be jammed open of course.
Also check the colour of the coolant - if it's very clear (can be difficult to tell sometimes), then chances are there's little or no anti freeze in it, meaning it has been topped up frequently, and hence diluting it.
Well I got it. Will upload some pics tomorrow. Very pleased with it, everything works except drivers electric window, aircon ice cold-even has the original tool kit with everything spanner etc present. It's got chavy lexus style rear light clusters so will try and find some original one on the cheap if possible.
Looking at the service history it's had one owner up to around mid 2008 where it was serviced at the same BMW garage. It then changed hands and ended up in the hands of a chav at some point but at least they kept the servicing up. Engine and bay is clean as a whistle, all in all top shed impressed with the handling and chassis. Not blistering performance but plenty of power to have fun.7
£280 to insure fully comp, £170 cheaper than TPFT.
But the best thing of all is the reg plates. Someone has had them custom made with the words 'BIG PAT' on them!! I have to keep them on.......
Oh and finally it had no stereo so I got another £30 knocked off!
£350 shed!
Looking at the service history it's had one owner up to around mid 2008 where it was serviced at the same BMW garage. It then changed hands and ended up in the hands of a chav at some point but at least they kept the servicing up. Engine and bay is clean as a whistle, all in all top shed impressed with the handling and chassis. Not blistering performance but plenty of power to have fun.7
£280 to insure fully comp, £170 cheaper than TPFT.
But the best thing of all is the reg plates. Someone has had them custom made with the words 'BIG PAT' on them!! I have to keep them on.......
Oh and finally it had no stereo so I got another £30 knocked off!
£350 shed!
andrew311 said:
It's got chavy lexus style rear light clusters so will try and find some original one on the cheap if possible.
Take the Lexus clusters off carefully and you can sell them to another Even if it fails, it'll be worth a fair bit at weighing in. I think that's decent cheap motoring!
Edited by blearyeyedboy on Wednesday 27th July 09:02
Had a look around ebay there seem to be plenty and also the Lexus style ones seem to bring a decent price so they will be getting sold. Even if I get new lights for £35 that's 10% of the purchase price!
Enjoyed the run into work this morning, my mate had an old head unit he's given me on the condition I'll give him it back when I sell it. Last 6 cylinder car I had was a Golf VR6, much revier but less low down tourque. I'd be interested to know how many horses had been lost as it pulls really strong bearing in mind by modern standards it hasn't that much power. I was supprised to find that they were ~189bhp so not much less than the 328.
Enjoyed the run into work this morning, my mate had an old head unit he's given me on the condition I'll give him it back when I sell it. Last 6 cylinder car I had was a Golf VR6, much revier but less low down tourque. I'd be interested to know how many horses had been lost as it pulls really strong bearing in mind by modern standards it hasn't that much power. I was supprised to find that they were ~189bhp so not much less than the 328.
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