First Car To Fix Up And Sell

[_Lewis_]

I and my dad are looking to buy a car to fix up and get it back to fully working MOT passing condition to then sell hopefully at a profit or break even and just get more experience of fixing and troubleshooting cars.

So far I have been searching on gumtree and eBay for used car's close to my postcode but I am curious as to what tips you all have.

I am wondering what cars or type of cars to look out for, What sites to find cars on, What car problems are a no go to try and fix at home.

Just looking for general help really.

I live in Fife ,Scotland.

Thanks

Edit: We are looking at a preferable budget of around a limit of £600 but we can stretch for a good deal and my dad is also an engineer so we have most tools needed and my dad has a lot of expertise around cars.

Edited by _Lewis_ on Thursday 25th April 18:09

Edited by _Lewis_ on Thursday 25th April 20:01

[thel33ter]

Very much depends on the scope of what you want to do? If it's change a cambelt, clutch and suspension and shift it on anything will do, maybe a Puma/Focus ST170 or any other oldish warm/hot hatch that's been a bit abused.

If you want to get into retrimming/welding/paintwork then something a bit more prestige and cheap could give a better profit or be a bit more fun, maybe an old unloved Jag.

If it's somewhere in between an MG TF could be a decent choice. Opportunity to replace a head gasket and do some upgrades (throttle body, clutch release arm) and available very very cheaply, with a good supply of parts and knowledge online, and not too many rust issues. Will want a ramp or have to suffer lots of lying down and axle standing for most work on it thanks to the mid-enginedness.

Have a browse through Facebook Marketplace local to you and pick something.

Edited by thel33ter on Thursday 25th April 18:43

Edited by thel33ter on Thursday 25th April 18:44

[Trevor555]

A decent first project could be a Saxo 1.1 or 1.4 petrol.

A really simple engine to work on.

Cheap parts.

Just be prepared for a bit of welding maybe, the floorpans can rot out.

Just one tip from my mate who torched his XR2, remove carpets if you're welding lol.

[Countdown]

_Lewis_ said:

, What car problems are a no go to try and fix at home.

Edited by _Lewis_ on Thursday 25th April 18:09

That depends wholly on how good at spannering your dad is and what equipment he has.

When I was much much younger me and my friends used to buy stolen recovered cars from salvage auctions (Cat D only). These usually had lock damage only or minor panel damage (and the cost of dealer repairs for a car that was worth less han £3k made it more economical for the insurer to write it off).

You could normally buy these for a few £100 and then run them for a couple of years without any hassle. However I’m not sure if you could make. A profit selling them unless you hid the fact that they were write-offs.

[_Lewis_]

thel33ter said:

Very much depends on the scope of what you want to do? If it's change a cambelt, clutch and suspension and shift it on anything will do, maybe a Puma/Focus ST170 or any other oldish warm/hot hatch that's been a bit abused.

If you want to get into retrimming/welding/paintwork then something a bit more prestige and cheap could give a better profit or be a bit more fun, maybe an old unloved Jag.

If it's somewhere in between an MG TF could be a decent choice. Opportunity to replace a head gasket and do some upgrades (throttle body, clutch release arm) and available very very cheaply, with a good supply of parts and knowledge online, and not too many rust issues. Will want a ramp or have to suffer lots of lying down and axle standing for most work on it thanks to the mid-enginedness.

Have a browse through Facebook Marketplace local to you and pick something.

Edited by thel33ter on Thursday 25th April 18:43

Edited by thel33ter on Thursday 25th April 18:44

I dont have a tig welder or MIG welder only arc so not looking for anything I have to weld, Retrimming and paintwork I would do. Ill have a look around gumtree and facebook for some old jag's. The only issue i have with cars that need repairs is trying to work out what they fully working vaule is to see if i am getting a good price since its broken or i am getting ripped off

Edited by _Lewis_ on Thursday 25th April 19:30

[Trevor555]

Old Jags will need welding unless you get really lucky.

[_Lewis_]

Countdown said:

That depends wholly on how good at spannering your dad is and what equipment he has.

When I was much much younger me and my friends used to buy stolen recovered cars from salvage auctions (Cat D only). These usually had lock damage only or minor panel damage (and the cost of dealer repairs for a car that was worth less han £3k made it more economical for the insurer to write it off).

You could normally buy these for a few £100 and then run them for a couple of years without any hassle. However I’m not sure if you could make. A profit selling them unless you hid the fact that they were write-offs.

We had thought about crashed cars but there isn't any good auctions near me in Fife , Scotland and I can't get my drivers licence for 3 years so not looking for something for me to drive just a car to buy fix up and learn about it then sell it.

[_Lewis_]

Trevor555 said:

Old Jags will need welding unless you get really lucky.

Hmm i have heard some cars are really bad for rusting and needing welding , Thanks for the advice

[shake n bake]

Best bet is Facebook market place for cheapys with problems.

[gothatway]

Classics are great for learning on because they're so simple - no electronics for example. Trouble is there won't be much at that budget unless you find one in a barn and then it will need welding. Something like a Beetle, Herald, Mini, Midget. Scope for profit if you're handy with a welder.

[elanfan]

Why not put your location on your profile in this thread there might be someone on here that would be able to put you onto something.

My only observation is the price range your looking at your target market is likely to be first time buyers so buy something that is cheap to insure - essentially buy something you would want.

[rustfalia]

Volkswagen transporter t4.


So much potential to add value.
Rust easy to spot before purchase.
Simple to work on if you get the 1.9td.

I bought one winter 2018, sold spring 2018 after doing a cambelt and water pump along with a bit of interior tart up.

Made 2250 on it.

[_Lewis_]

elanfan said:

Why not put your location on your profile in this thread there might be someone on here that would be able to put you onto something.

My only observation is the price range your looking at your target market is likely to be first time buyers so buy something that is cheap to insure - essentially buy something you would want.

Thanks for the idea, I added my region to my profile

[_Lewis_]

rustfalia said:

Volkswagen transporter t4.


So much potential to add value.
Rust easy to spot before purchase.
Simple to work on if you get the 1.9td.

I bought one winter 2018, sold spring 2018 after doing a cambelt and water pump along with a bit of interior tart up.

Made 2250 on it.

Thanks, Ill look out for them

[thel33ter]

Actually, the transporter could be an excellent shout.

Sorting an older van then camper converting it would be a fun project, and could well make decent money at the end.

There's always the looming spectre of rust on anything old (or new, in the case of some more modern mazdas.), and it can be well hidden.

[_Lewis_]

thel33ter said:

Actually, the transporter could be an excellent shout.

Sorting an older van then camper converting it would be a fun project, and could well make decent money at the end.

There's always the looming spectre of rust on anything old (or new, in the case of some more modern mazdas.), and it can be well hidden.

I and my dad have done all the wood trim around the house and we have all the woodworking tools needed to make a nice interior , The catch is finding a transporter here in Scotland they seem to be non-exsistent around these parts.

[kev b]

How about a car that is faultless but needs a clutch or slave cylinder, Mondeo, Focus for example, these are fairly common. Make friends with the local garages and breakers and it wont be long before something turns up.

Garages charge around £750 to change a clutch but £500 of that is labour and VAT because the subframe has to be dropped meaning 7 hours labour.

So £150 for a vehicle, £200 for a clutch kit, £50 for an MOT and you'll have a vehicle worth double your outlay without messing with paint or welding.

As another poster said, MG TF are cheap, simple to work on if a little awkward but nowhere near as rust prone as an MX5 which I would avoid unless you really like welding.

[GreatGranny]

Something like this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peugeot-206-1-1-low-mil...

Not sure if it's near to you.

Will need some bodywork and has been out of MOT a while but it's dirt cheap.

or

MGF

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mgtf-115-sunstorm-2003-...

Head gasket required but an ok job if you know what you're doing.

[p4cks]

Quite often people will want rid of a troublesome car relatively quickly, so it might be worth using search terms such as "quick sale needed" or the like. It's worked for me in the past to pick up a bargain

[Jamescrs]

If you are up for a challenge buy an RX-8 with hot start problems and learn how to fix a rotary engine, you could probably make some money off it with a rebuilt engine showing good compression