Best of the Bargain Basement (Vol.3)
Discussion
Toaster Pilot said:
As long as it drives fine and doesn’t make any funny noises it’s not worth worrying about - any car has something that the internet will tell you is a time bomb.
That's true. About 5 years ago, I owned a Volvo S60 2.4T that I paid £700 for. It had the gearbox flare but in the two years I owned it, I don't think it got noticeably worse and providing you drove sympathetically eg letting it sort itself out around mini roundabouts and tight corners (it took about the same time you would take to shift gears), it was fine and didn't clunk. If you drove it like an oaf, you'd probably have knackered it very quickly. When accelerating hard in straight lines it was perfect.
I kept thinking about getting the box serviced but in the end, I was thinking about scrapping it as I knew the next MOT would be a toughie but ended up swapping it for an MGF as someone wanted to take on the risk of the Volvo when everything was explained in detail that was wrong with the Volvo.
The MG lasted all summer before the gear pedal bulkhead gave way. Sold the hard top for £300.
Don't think the MG owes me anything.
#shedding
Hoofy said:
I'm tempted by a Jaguar S-Type V8 going for about £1k near me. 
What year is it? If it's a post 2002 car with the 4.2, it stops and goes ok, and has no rust in the sills then go for it. The earlier 4.0 cars are a bit s
t and even for a grand I'm not sure I'd bother; the '02 MY mechanical update transformed it from a poor car to a really quite good one (if you don't look at it) and the '04 facelift took away some of the more offensive styling elements.Totally agree with others here that you need to accept that the car isn't going to be tip top and just get on with it, driving with some sympathy to it's age and faults. My Jaguar X350 doesn't change gear as well as it did when it was new, I wish it did but it never ever will ever again so I just accept that us bottom feeders don't get to experience these cars at their best
stickleback123 said:
Hoofy said:
I'm tempted by a Jaguar S-Type V8 going for about £1k near me.
What year is it? If it's a post 2002 car with the 4.2, it stops and goes ok, and has no rust in the sills then go for it. The earlier 4.0 cars are a bit st and even for a grand I'm not sure I'd bother; the '02 MY mechanical update transformed it from a poor car to a really quite good one (if you don't look at it) and the '04 facelift took away some of the more offensive styling elements.Totally agree with others here that you need to accept that the car isn't going to be tip top and just get on with it, driving with some sympathy to it's age and faults. My Jaguar X350 doesn't change gear as well as it did when it was new, I wish it did but it never ever will ever again so I just accept that us bottom feeders don't get to experience these cars at their best
in the real world it makes a massive difference to find out faults of a potential shed car, it is very easy to spend purchase price again on any faults, then you are looking at cars in another bracket, eg one which has had a new gearbox. I think the s type is a great looking car but i would just have a good budget to hand for running costs.
The Spruce Goose said:
in the real world it makes a massive difference to find out faults of a potential shed car, it is very easy to spend purchase price again on any faults, then you are looking at cars in another bracket, eg one which has had a new gearbox. I think the s type is a great looking car but i would just have a good budget to hand for running costs.
No, in the real world you’ll drive yourself mad worrying about every internet tale of woe on sub £1000 cars. The Spruce Goose said:
in the real world it makes a massive difference to find out faults of a potential shed car, it is very easy to spend purchase price again on any faults, then you are looking at cars in another bracket, eg one which has had a new gearbox. I think the s type is a great looking car but i would just have a good budget to hand for running costs.
Or you could just select something interesting do no research and be comfortable in the fact that you can only lose a maximum of what you put in minus the scrap value. 
W00DY said:
Or you could just select something interesting do no research and be comfortable in the fact that you can only lose a maximum of what you put in minus the scrap value.
I don’t think someone spending £1000 on a cheap v8 is worrying too much about potential costs. 20mpg and £ £300+ tax is not the choice of someone worrying about costs. That’s said it always helps to know what gremlins and issues you should look for!W00DY said:
Or you could just select something interesting do no research and be comfortable in the fact that you can only lose a maximum of what you put in minus the scrap value.
I must be doing shed wrong, ive bought cheap cars that needed the purchase price again paid out in 6 months, if i had done a bit of research would have known about faults. I have had over 60 cars though so it is addictive.It's not that not hard to just spend a few minutes looking on forums see what the common faults are.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 2nd May 21:05
The Spruce Goose said:
W00DY said:
Or you could just select something interesting do no research and be comfortable in the fact that you can only lose a maximum of what you put in minus the scrap value.
I must be doing shed wrong, ive bought cheap cars that needed the purchase price again paid out in 6 months, if i had done a bit of research would have known about faults. I have had over 60 cars though so it is addictive.It's not that not hard to just spend a few minutes looking on forums see what the common faults are.
Edited by The Spruce Goose on Saturday 2nd May 21:05
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