Can anyone with mechanical knowledge advise me here????
Discussion
hi guys,
okay this may seem like a no brainer but ive had the mist possibly pulled over my eyes here. *takes deep breath*......
well i have a friend of a friend who has a 2001 y reg astra 1.4 8v club for sale at £500.
thing is the limp home mode light (spanner) is on the dash and is currently on 30% or so power, he claims to have received the fault codes through diagnostic checks and has fitted the parts needing replaced (he may have reciepts, not sure). he claims it would be a case of me simply taking it to a garage to have the software flashed on the ecu and bobs yer uncle job done, i on the other aint so sure about this, also there is major issue with the speedo, apparently it was faulty and replaced with one from a scrappy which claims 135,000 on the clock, he says this is worng and the car has actually done around 90,000 and he has mot reciepts to prove the mileage issue, now he hasnt claimed he has reciepts for this work, which you would keep wouldnt you? he took us out for a few mins to show its perfectl drivable in limp mode and the engine was working fine (although i did second guess myself as the engine sounded ever so slightly like a diesel!!! you know it had that knocking of the cylinders when put through the revs, maybe thats confirmation to walk away??
any advice would be golden as im such an inexperienced tool when i comes to buying cars (just passed my test, had a bad day with a golf and lost money so not wanting to go down that road)
oh and when payday comes im blowing my wage on this so needs to be reliable for work, ill be purchasing inthe next two weeks so if anyone on here has anything insurance friendly around that price of £800 hit me up, and dont say just look thru classifieds, ill do that when i get home tonight
thanks gentleman
craig denholm
okay this may seem like a no brainer but ive had the mist possibly pulled over my eyes here. *takes deep breath*......
well i have a friend of a friend who has a 2001 y reg astra 1.4 8v club for sale at £500.
thing is the limp home mode light (spanner) is on the dash and is currently on 30% or so power, he claims to have received the fault codes through diagnostic checks and has fitted the parts needing replaced (he may have reciepts, not sure). he claims it would be a case of me simply taking it to a garage to have the software flashed on the ecu and bobs yer uncle job done, i on the other aint so sure about this, also there is major issue with the speedo, apparently it was faulty and replaced with one from a scrappy which claims 135,000 on the clock, he says this is worng and the car has actually done around 90,000 and he has mot reciepts to prove the mileage issue, now he hasnt claimed he has reciepts for this work, which you would keep wouldnt you? he took us out for a few mins to show its perfectl drivable in limp mode and the engine was working fine (although i did second guess myself as the engine sounded ever so slightly like a diesel!!! you know it had that knocking of the cylinders when put through the revs, maybe thats confirmation to walk away??
any advice would be golden as im such an inexperienced tool when i comes to buying cars (just passed my test, had a bad day with a golf and lost money so not wanting to go down that road)
oh and when payday comes im blowing my wage on this so needs to be reliable for work, ill be purchasing inthe next two weeks so if anyone on here has anything insurance friendly around that price of £800 hit me up, and dont say just look thru classifieds, ill do that when i get home tonight
thanks gentleman
craig denholm
I don't think a reflash of software would do anything, maybe a reset or adaptation of some part but it sounds a bit risky.
If the clocks are from a different car, they would probably contain the original VIN number too. There might be a way to get it to display that. It would confirm it has been changed if that were the case.
If the clocks are from a different car, they would probably contain the original VIN number too. There might be a way to get it to display that. It would confirm it has been changed if that were the case.
The EML being lit woudn't neccesarily put me off if the car's driving ok. The engine noise may or may not be an issue, and i'd suggest maybe finding someone who can have a listen to it and suggest if it's a terminal issue or not.
At that kind of price, i'd be wanting to know how long the tax and MOT are valid for. You can't be too fussy at that price, and should expect such a cheap car to have a few issues.
At that kind of price, i'd be wanting to know how long the tax and MOT are valid for. You can't be too fussy at that price, and should expect such a cheap car to have a few issues.
Easy solution (and the one I'd go with): Don't bother with the car, it sounds like a pup
Definite solution: Offer to pay him the £50 up front for him to have it flashed. If the car works fine after that, then it's all okay and it's money you would have paid anyway. If it doesn't work, then you can still walk away and have only lost £50.
Definite solution: Offer to pay him the £50 up front for him to have it flashed. If the car works fine after that, then it's all okay and it's money you would have paid anyway. If it doesn't work, then you can still walk away and have only lost £50.
Edited by wombat172a on Wednesday 31st October 11:55
You have no guarantee that the new bits have actually fixed the problem and that the software flash is going to work. I'd walk away as the short term cost of ownership of the car is a unknown factor with potential to be expensive. For £500 I'd expect you can find something that's a pile of s
t but does have tax and MOT, and has no immediate critical undiagnosed mechanical puzzles.
t but does have tax and MOT, and has no immediate critical undiagnosed mechanical puzzles.Okay well that's pretty unanimous, yeah I reckon ill decline this fantastic offer and find something a bit better. I need reliability for work. Not one person I have spoken to said go for it, so my minds made up.
After a wee look ive seen an old fiesta zetec 1.2 for 800, its got no issues, full service history and comes with tax and mot and 24 hour insurance to drive it away. It is a bit more expensive to start with plus insurance deposit (all on a single months wage) but long term its a better option.
Many thanks for your advice gentlemen.
After a wee look ive seen an old fiesta zetec 1.2 for 800, its got no issues, full service history and comes with tax and mot and 24 hour insurance to drive it away. It is a bit more expensive to start with plus insurance deposit (all on a single months wage) but long term its a better option.
Many thanks for your advice gentlemen.
4key said:
Walk? I would fking run away.
Well you would get further down the road than the Astra by the sound of it lol.king run away. There's plenty of good reliable old bangers about for £500 so why buy one that doesn't work, I would say for about £700 you would be able to buy a very decent Low mileage one in good nick and service history.
Old vauxhalls of that vintage are worth very little.
thanks for the advice guys, iv certainly ran very far away from that one, anywasy found a tidy mk1 focus 1.6 lx black edition on here for only £800, no problems full list here,
2001 51 plate
Special edition black with all the toys such as
heated front screen
full black heated leather interior
65K miles, Just serviced 4 months ago.
17" oz racing alloys and good tyres all round, the rear 2 where replaced at the mot.
Front brake were done at the mot aswel.
The body work has some light rust on the rear arches
Its does have some minor marks but its a 11 year old car. A good run over with a polished would have it looking great.
Mot till July 2013, not tax though.
Car starts and drive good, brakes are good.
I do have a k&N cone filter for it which was in it when she bought it 2.5 years ago, she wasn't keen on the noise so its still lying in the garage.
thoughts???
2001 51 plate
Special edition black with all the toys such as
heated front screen
full black heated leather interior
65K miles, Just serviced 4 months ago.
17" oz racing alloys and good tyres all round, the rear 2 where replaced at the mot.
Front brake were done at the mot aswel.
The body work has some light rust on the rear arches
Its does have some minor marks but its a 11 year old car. A good run over with a polished would have it looking great.
Mot till July 2013, not tax though.
Car starts and drive good, brakes are good.
I do have a k&N cone filter for it which was in it when she bought it 2.5 years ago, she wasn't keen on the noise so its still lying in the garage.
thoughts???
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