£400 winter car with T&T - Reasonable?

[sgtbash]

Evening,

So I am going to SORN my Supra for the winter, I dont fancy 300rwhp with ancient traction control in the snow/grit etc!

I am on a tight budget at present, but need a winter car for an 80 mile week that has tax and test until around March.

Is this possible? Only seem to be finding items not fit for road use really!

[Dog Star]

I Can't help you, but it does amaze me just how lucky we are that we can reasonably consider getting a decent T&T car for £400. Try running that past a Dane, for example.

[anonymous-user]

Auto trader, plenty of cars with 6 months T+T. Blue focus on there for £400. Perfect for driving and never washing.

[sgtbash]

OpulentBob said:

Auto trader, plenty of cars with 6 months T+T. Blue focus on there for £400. Perfect for driving and never washing.

I'm shocked at myself.

Looked everywhere except Autotrader, I have loads to choose from!

Thanks!

[Faust66]

Find an extra 50 quid and you could have this... it's even got T&T until March 2014 as requested.

[sgtbash]

Faust66 said:

Find an extra 50 quid and you could have this... it's even got T&T until March 2014 as requested.

Good call, except its a 350 mile round trip!

Would anyone perform all the normal HPI checks etc on such a cheap car?

[santona1937]

well, for 411 quid you could have had this, ended about an hour ago.
Not quite perfect for snow
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171172669250?ssPageName=...

[Faust66]

sgtbash said:

Faust66 said:

Find an extra 50 quid and you could have this... it's even got T&T until March 2014 as requested.

Good call, except its a 350 mile round trip!

Would anyone perform all the normal HPI checks etc on such a cheap car?

For that sort of money, I'd go for the 5 quid basic HPI checks via text from your mobile. I'd also give the car & paperwork a good check over, but as long as it starts, stops and goes you can't really go too wrong at that sort of money (especially if you're handy with the spanners and can fix most problems yourself).

Worst case scenario? Run it until you get a catastrophic breakdown and weigh it in for scrap so you'd only lose a couple of hundred quid - or offer it on owners club forums as a lot of people will want a cheap car to work on/break.

Edited by Faust66 on Tuesday 19th November 23:09

[Gilhooligan]

I bought a ford ka for that much with 7 months t and t. It needed an exhaust and two part worn tyres to see me through from October til May. I ended up scrapping it at the end though as the mot bill was going to be extortionate.

You might be luckier than me though. It's a mine field out there at that price.

[RDB]

sgtbash said:

Good call, except its a 350 mile round trip!

Would anyone perform all the normal HPI checks etc on such a cheap car?

www.mycarcheck.com do a basic check for £2.95. I've used it in the past when buying cheap cars.

[sgtbash]

Thanks guys.

Think I may have found one worthy of further investigation.

In regards to my current, taxed and insured car is it correct I need to do the following:

Declare SORN - Apply for Tax refund (tax expires April) and then swap the insurance over?

[whytheory]

If you sludge through eBay for long enough something will undoubtedly turn up, there's a lot of dogs to get through first though!

[Shaw Tarse]

You could've had £50 change http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Matt_N]

Autotrader, ebay and Gumtree are the place to look for local bargains.

There are always 200 or so cars within 10 miles under £1k when I look on AT, ebay and Gumtree.

I'm in a £600 Bora at the mo with tax and test till March so hoping it gets me through winter although I discovered the bonnet now won't open last night!

[Denis O]

Faust66 said:

Find an extra 50 quid and you could have this... it's even got T&T until March 2014 as requested.

How could you possibly buy a car from someone that spells "sensor", "sense er"

[Janesy B]

Denis O said:

How could you possibly buy a car from someone that spells "sensor", "sense er"

He's buying a car not evaluating someone's spelling.

[LuS1fer]

I bought a Mondeo (Mk II) for £400 in a late Sunday night ebay auction. Did me just fine but you do have to get real that some bits will need doing on an old car - the heater cable needed attention (Brrrrr) and come MOT time, it needed some attention but overall, it was a sound investment.

the usual rule is that small cars will be expensive and larger ones cheap.

[ShawCrossShark]

I have been running cars from this sort of price bracket for the last few years. Not spent over a grand on a car since the Megane got written off and I decided never to finance again

My suggestion would be to look for a 306. Cheap, cheerful, loads about and the 2 that I have had were pretty bombproof. I had a 1.4 petrol Meridian with half leather followed by a 1.9TD GTX. Decent fuel economy from both and they are pretty fun to drive. Didn't miss a single days work due to weather either.

Currently running an early Avensis. Decided that I fancied Toyota reliability and not been let down but economy is not amazing (saying that I did buy the 2.0VVTI)

Choose carefully and you should be fine. Worst one I have had in last 6 years was a Focus. Rusty tailgate and ridiculous oil consumption leading to catastrophic engine failure (1.6 zetec)

[Toaster Pilot]

Currently have a £350 Skoda Felicia diesel that's doing 600+ miles a week without issue. Spent a few quid on consumables because of the fact I need to use it for this mileage for prolonged time and don't have the time to fk around looking for a replacement if it pops, mind.

[UrbanLegend]

Faust66 said:

Find an extra 50 quid and you could have this... it's even got T&T until March 2014 as requested.

14 days to decide whether you like it too!

As long as they don't spot that and remove it from the listing prior to auction end