Not sure what to do. Need a bit of guidance.
Discussion
Hello all.
I sold my Abarth on the 29th March. This means I also had to cancel my current insurance policy (6 months in) as I’m ‘carless’.
My insurers said I have 30 days to find a car and they’ll reopen my policy which means I’ll still gain this years no claims.
Now I’m struggling to find a run about and I need a car to get to and from work. My initial plan was to buy a run around, just so I have something to insure and get me from A to B then sell in 6 months time once this years policy is over and buy something a bit better. However I cannot seem to convince myself that £2k~ on a run about is right.
Any advice or help if you’ve been in this situation would help immensely.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
I sold my Abarth on the 29th March. This means I also had to cancel my current insurance policy (6 months in) as I’m ‘carless’.
My insurers said I have 30 days to find a car and they’ll reopen my policy which means I’ll still gain this years no claims.
Now I’m struggling to find a run about and I need a car to get to and from work. My initial plan was to buy a run around, just so I have something to insure and get me from A to B then sell in 6 months time once this years policy is over and buy something a bit better. However I cannot seem to convince myself that £2k~ on a run about is right.
Any advice or help if you’ve been in this situation would help immensely.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
P4D said:
I can’t seem to find any sheds below £1k. I must be searching wrong.
Not sure where you're based but down in Kent you could probably find a sub £500 shed with a long MOT within a couple of hours, take a gamble on an ebay or gumtree banger?There was a similar thread last night where somebody needed a car for 3 months and within minutes they were offered a rough 54 Fiesta for £150!
A lad across the road from me is selling his 02 Subaru Wagon non turbo with MOT till February for £550 if that's any good? Can PM you details if you want- down near Dover though..
Otherwise have a look at a BCA auction, always cheap main dealer PX's going through - quite often you pay more in buyer fees than you pay for the car though!
Bowlers said:
I would find something to keep your insurance going for the next 6 months. Try and buy a car with a new mot (or near enough), so if you do decide to sell you wont have to worry about that.
I’ve been running shed money vehicles for a number of years.
Be willing to travel and spend some time searching, keep refreshing sites and put saved searches on. Always do MOT checks, you can usually work out if the car has had a hard life!
I’ve mainly purchased cars at auctions, on Autotrader and eBay. But Facebook Marketplace and Facebook groups is always full of vehicles. Try local/independent car auctions with smaller buyers fees. Set some money aside for inevitable repairs on any cheap car you buy.
Good luck!
Cheers for the tips. I'm put off from high mileage (circa 90k) and ones with loads of advisories even though they've passed. Went to view a trade dealer before with cars sub £1k and they were in appalling states. Smashed windows, no mirrors, mould on the dash etc. I’ve been running shed money vehicles for a number of years.
Be willing to travel and spend some time searching, keep refreshing sites and put saved searches on. Always do MOT checks, you can usually work out if the car has had a hard life!
I’ve mainly purchased cars at auctions, on Autotrader and eBay. But Facebook Marketplace and Facebook groups is always full of vehicles. Try local/independent car auctions with smaller buyers fees. Set some money aside for inevitable repairs on any cheap car you buy.
Good luck!
90k isn't high mileage! Many modern cars are good for double that. What sort of driving do you do?
Generally avoid dealers for bargains in that range. My brother has had a 2003 Volvo V40 for 3 or 4 years now which he paid under £1000 for.
Advisories are better than shoddy MoTs, and give you a clue as to how conscientious the owner was.
Generally avoid dealers for bargains in that range. My brother has had a 2003 Volvo V40 for 3 or 4 years now which he paid under £1000 for.
Advisories are better than shoddy MoTs, and give you a clue as to how conscientious the owner was.
Back in 2014 I was looking for a cheap run-around to go with an impractical 2-seater I was seduced by!
I went onto Auto-Trader and searched for cars below £1,000 within 10 miles of my postcode.
Found a 1996 Mazda 323f 1.5 with 2 previous keepers and 61K miles with 6 months MOT for less than £700! Cheap road tax on pre-2000 cars with less than 1,549cc, and a non-interference engine so no need to worry about cam-belt failure trashing the engine.
Mind you I only kept it 6 months as exciting it definitely wasn't! Still I only lost a few quid on it so it did the job.
I went onto Auto-Trader and searched for cars below £1,000 within 10 miles of my postcode.
Found a 1996 Mazda 323f 1.5 with 2 previous keepers and 61K miles with 6 months MOT for less than £700! Cheap road tax on pre-2000 cars with less than 1,549cc, and a non-interference engine so no need to worry about cam-belt failure trashing the engine.
Mind you I only kept it 6 months as exciting it definitely wasn't! Still I only lost a few quid on it so it did the job.
Stop being a fanny about high milage and buy this Euro 3 S80 with 295k for £500
https://www.facebook.com/pg/slrmotorcompany/photos...
https://www.facebook.com/pg/slrmotorcompany/photos...
How many years of NCD/NCB do you have now?
If it's over 9, it seems most (all?) insurance companies ignore anything more than that anyway, so there'd be no issue with not getting this year's year.
Additionally, your NCD/NCB is valid from two years from the point of expiry of the last policy, so there's no hurry to get a car immediately.
If it's over 9, it seems most (all?) insurance companies ignore anything more than that anyway, so there'd be no issue with not getting this year's year.
Additionally, your NCD/NCB is valid from two years from the point of expiry of the last policy, so there's no hurry to get a car immediately.
RSTurboPaul said:
How many years of NCD/NCB do you have now?
If it's over 9, it seems most (all?) insurance companies ignore anything more than that anyway, so there'd be no issue with not getting this year's year.
Additionally, your NCD/NCB is valid from two years from the point of expiry of the last policy, so there's no hurry to get a car immediately.
I’ve only got two (had an accident) but I’m 6 month into this policy. They said if I find a replacement vehicle within 30 days they’ll allow me to continue this policy and still gain my no claims. If it's over 9, it seems most (all?) insurance companies ignore anything more than that anyway, so there'd be no issue with not getting this year's year.
Additionally, your NCD/NCB is valid from two years from the point of expiry of the last policy, so there's no hurry to get a car immediately.
S100HP said:
Stop being a fanny about high milage and buy this Euro 3 S80 with 295k for £500
https://www.facebook.com/pg/slrmotorcompany/photos...
It’s not that I’m being a fanny 😂 just don’t fancy paying £500 for it to blow up in a weeks time. https://www.facebook.com/pg/slrmotorcompany/photos...
JuanCarlosFandango said:
90k isn't high mileage! Many modern cars are good for double that. What sort of driving do you do?
Generally avoid dealers for bargains in that range. My brother has had a 2003 Volvo V40 for 3 or 4 years now which he paid under £1000 for.
Advisories are better than shoddy MoTs, and give you a clue as to how conscientious the owner was.
At the moment, I only used my Abarth for commuting to and from work, a 12 mile round trip. Generally avoid dealers for bargains in that range. My brother has had a 2003 Volvo V40 for 3 or 4 years now which he paid under £1000 for.
Advisories are better than shoddy MoTs, and give you a clue as to how conscientious the owner was.
P4D said:
At the moment, I only used my Abarth for commuting to and from work, a 12 mile round trip.
Get a bicycle, get fit for a few weeks and save then buy what you want. If that's not practical then there are dozens of sheds for sub £1000 that should be fine for that sort of use for months. I think you are being a bit precious - not to say a fanny - about mileage.
Remember also that not all miles are equal. I'd take a car that's done 120,000 motorway miles sensibly driven and well maintained over a car that's done 80,000 of grinding along in traffic, short journeys where it never gets up to temperature and/or being booted away from the lights or hurled round bumpy B roads.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Still got 6 months MOT.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Bit of fun
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Almost a barge
You could pick any two and have change out of £1000, so even if one does go bang you can still get to work.
One of my best bangers was an ex taxi which had done well over 200,000 miles and over 250 by the time I scrapped it. It was a bit grotty but well maintained as every day it was off the road cost them. It had a professional LPG conversion and got through 2 mots before succumbing to rust.
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