A what car? But a classic one.

[Piepiepie]

Looking for a nice car, something over 20 years old, but cheap, lets say, less than a grand, and ideally, less than £700.

Something to maybe do as a bit of a project, but something not totally rotting into the ground. power doesnt really matter, because i bet any old car without PAS and all the mod cons would be fun to drive, regardless of engine.

I was thinking of old e30 era bmw's, maybe an old landrover or similar.

What would you look for?

[edo]

The issue (IMHO) of buying a Sub £1,000 (or £700) 20+ year old car is that it will almost certainly require its purchase price spending on it again. Do you have further funds to keep it going/do it up/fix stuff?

[edo]

Having said all of that! How about this?


£650
1989 BMW 3 SERIES 318i 4dr Auto Saloon
Private Seller

36,600 miles, 4 Door Saloon, Grey, Petrol, Automatic. Only 36600 genuine miles, two owners since new. Current keeper has owned the car for the last 17 years. Service history.Neat and tidy inside, all original upholstery. Bodywork is sound, some rust around the wheel arches and bottom of front passenger door. Drives very well, MOT 31/07/11. current SORN, elderly owner has kept in garage for over a year. Genuine collecters car. £650 ONO.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

[Arthur Daley]

You will struggle at £700, early Golf MK1 cabs start off at a grand, good summer fun!

[BDR529]

Bad timing, sold my black 2door E30 1 week ago!

[Jw Vw]

edo said:

Having said all of that! How about this?


£650
1989 BMW 3 SERIES 318i 4dr Auto Saloon
Private Seller

36,600 miles, 4 Door Saloon, Grey, Petrol, Automatic. Only 36600 genuine miles, two owners since new. Current keeper has owned the car for the last 17 years. Service history.Neat and tidy inside, all original upholstery. Bodywork is sound, some rust around the wheel arches and bottom of front passenger door. Drives very well, MOT 31/07/11. current SORN, elderly owner has kept in garage for over a year. Genuine collecters car. £650 ONO.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

That sounds fantastic

[Piepiepie]

edo said:

Having said all of that! How about this?


£650
1989 BMW 3 SERIES 318i 4dr Auto Saloon
Private Seller

36,600 miles, 4 Door Saloon, Grey, Petrol, Automatic. Only 36600 genuine miles, two owners since new. Current keeper has owned the car for the last 17 years. Service history.Neat and tidy inside, all original upholstery. Bodywork is sound, some rust around the wheel arches and bottom of front passenger door. Drives very well, MOT 31/07/11. current SORN, elderly owner has kept in garage for over a year. Genuine collecters car. £650 ONO.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Damn, i'd have that now if i wasnt 180 miles away

[PaulFontaine]

I am sure with some looking perhaps a MX-5 which I would have any day over a e30

[Cotty]

Piepiepie said:

I was thinking of old e30 era bmw's,

Its funny, my E30 wasn't a classic when I bought it.

[ewan221]

You would prob pick up a useable TR7 for a grand (ish)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2887028.htm

over budget but gives you an idea

[blank]

I wouldn't bother looking for anything in particular.

Just search locally within your budget and if something suitable comes up then go for it.

[Caulkhead]

Piepiepie said:

because i bet any old car without PAS and all the mod cons would be fun to drive, regardless of engine.

You'd be very wrong. I took my test in a 1985 Fiesta 1.6d. It was about as much fun as piles.

Get an old Land Rover - you'll learn a lot and have to really quite inept indeed to lose any money.

[smileymikey]

You can still by a classic Saab 900 turbo for that money....and if you can get the full fat (full pressure turbo version) it accelerates 40-70 faster than a Ferrari Testarossa....Although as Clarkson pointed out the direction you would be pointing in at the end of the over taking manoeuvre, wasn't necessarily a given

[pixieporsche]

20 years + old and less than a grand, best thing I think you could buy is a Jaguar XJ40.

Have not read the thread in detail so don't know if your requirements state something different!

[williamp]

How about a Rover P6? You might be able to get a 4-cylinder one for under £1k



Interesting, comfy, reliable, well built, useable, will hold its value and (In my opinion) a very cool car.

Oh, and Lock stock is old enough now that people wont think you're a Vinny Jones wannabe

[Ilikebeaver]

edo said:

Having said all of that! How about this?


£650
1989 BMW 3 SERIES 318i 4dr Auto Saloon
Private Seller

36,600 miles, 4 Door Saloon, Grey, Petrol, Automatic. Only 36600 genuine miles, two owners since new. Current keeper has owned the car for the last 17 years. Service history.Neat and tidy inside, all original upholstery. Bodywork is sound, some rust around the wheel arches and bottom of front passenger door. Drives very well, MOT 31/07/11. current SORN, elderly owner has kept in garage for over a year. Genuine collecters car. £650 ONO.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Wowee - That is a bargain! I want

[nickythesaint]

edo said:

Having said all of that! How about this?


£650
1989 BMW 3 SERIES 318i 4dr Auto Saloon
Private Seller

36,600 miles, 4 Door Saloon, Grey, Petrol, Automatic. Only 36600 genuine miles, two owners since new. Current keeper has owned the car for the last 17 years. Service history.Neat and tidy inside, all original upholstery. Bodywork is sound, some rust around the wheel arches and bottom of front passenger door. Drives very well, MOT 31/07/11. current SORN, elderly owner has kept in garage for over a year. Genuine collecters car. £650 ONO.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

Call me cynical but, 36k miles? Sure it hasn't been all the way around the clock and reset itself?

[6potdave]

MR2! Both the Mark one and Mark two would come in under a grand depending which you prefer. Rear engined, RWD, fun, reliable, cheap to fix. I am biased but I picked my 1993 GT up for £950 and I couldn't be happier. It was meant to be a stop gap car but I'm hanging onto it now. They are still head turners but more importantly enjoyable to drive. High revving engine which screams away behind your head, plenty of shove if you use the rev range properly and you can play catch the back end when it rains

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2995631.htm

[Matt UK]

Mk1 MX5

[davepoth]

nickythesaint said:

Call me cynical but, 36k miles? Sure it hasn't been all the way around the clock and reset itself?

6 dials on the E30 odometer, that'd be a lot of miles. But 36k does sound a bit suss.