Most absurd/affordable cars to have repaired?
Discussion
blank said:
There were some Nissan Primeras with a kind of purpley green flip paint that was insanely expensive!
I seem to remember you could get similar vintage Micras with that flip paint?! Always seemed a little strange! Haven't seen one in a long time. I guess a lot of old dears had car park bumps and the respray caused it to be an economic write off!Old but still tidy Rovers/MGs with suspect HGFs or simply non-runners that owners have lost patience with can be had for a little money well spent. Owners lose patience after entrusting them to 'pros' who have not improved things shall we say ~ or exacerbated things with poorly skimmed cylinder heads and other incompetences - cylinder heads that did not need doing anyway etc etc... these can often be rectified cheaply ...
Affordable and then some, particularly the turbocharged 220/420/620/820s and most of the better K-Series cars.
Strictly not for marque snobs and those who need to impress others with similar values but for those who need a reasonably competent means of getting about for little outlay..
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Affordable certainly ... absurd ... I'll leave that for others to decide.
Interesting topic for me who has always believed that most Brits pay far too much for their motoring. Indeed, until recently when credit became less easy to come buy, Brits formed queues to pay over the odds for new stuff, often over rated here in the UK. Over the odds in fact compared to new car buyers in some other world markets. In the UK, half decent used cars can be had for peanuts compared to the equivalent used cars in other countries.. As a visit to other car sites will demonstrate . Brits are spoilt for choice in used car values and thus are the envy of many other used car buyers abroad.
Lucky for us, not them.
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Affordable and then some, particularly the turbocharged 220/420/620/820s and most of the better K-Series cars.
Strictly not for marque snobs and those who need to impress others with similar values but for those who need a reasonably competent means of getting about for little outlay..
...

Affordable certainly ... absurd ... I'll leave that for others to decide.
Interesting topic for me who has always believed that most Brits pay far too much for their motoring. Indeed, until recently when credit became less easy to come buy, Brits formed queues to pay over the odds for new stuff, often over rated here in the UK. Over the odds in fact compared to new car buyers in some other world markets. In the UK, half decent used cars can be had for peanuts compared to the equivalent used cars in other countries.. As a visit to other car sites will demonstrate . Brits are spoilt for choice in used car values and thus are the envy of many other used car buyers abroad.
Lucky for us, not them.
...
Hammer67 said:
blank said:
There were some Nissan Primeras with a kind of purpley green flip paint that was insanely expensive!
Chromaflare paint which at one time cost in the region of £600 per litre. maniac0796 said:
Hammer67 said:
blank said:
There were some Nissan Primeras with a kind of purpley green flip paint that was insanely expensive!
Chromaflare paint which at one time cost in the region of £600 per litre. Normally though Micras are dirt cheap for parts and fairly easy to work on. Mine was fun to drive when I put big alloys on it. If they ever need fixed that is which is very unlikely.
Minis likewise but they need cheap bits because they always need fixed.
New GTRs pop up bonnet isn't cheap to replace 11-12k iirc. Can need that even in a minor shunt.
Minis likewise but they need cheap bits because they always need fixed.
New GTRs pop up bonnet isn't cheap to replace 11-12k iirc. Can need that even in a minor shunt.
Land rover spares are very cheap - things light lamps and body pannels and even mechanical items. They are designed so you can tear the guts out of them pretty much anywhere so they are not overly complex. The cheap price for parts is one reason why insurance is so cheap on them.
The Clio V6 has absolulty daft prices on genuine spares, hence why so many are CAT C or D after a light scrape.
The Clio V6 has absolulty daft prices on genuine spares, hence why so many are CAT C or D after a light scrape.
tegwin said:
Sisters KA Sport... worth about £2k....
Camshaft chewed up.... started taking engine appart and found other faults... total bill (minus my labour, £1,250.... not worth it!
My wife's KA £700 to get a service and the steering rack replaced car was worth circa £2K at the timeCamshaft chewed up.... started taking engine appart and found other faults... total bill (minus my labour, £1,250.... not worth it!
Ive had the dashboard and interior stripped out of a 1995 Ford Fiesta. It was probably worth less than a grand and it developed a water leak. The old dear wouldnt drive anything else so it had to be fixed. I remember the total labour for doing the job was round 7 hours to strip it out and seal the bulkhead. All that charged at around £50 an hour.
Engineer1 said:
tegwin said:
Sisters KA Sport... worth about £2k....
Camshaft chewed up.... started taking engine appart and found other faults... total bill (minus my labour, £1,250.... not worth it!
My wife's KA £700 to get a service and the steering rack replaced car was worth circa £2K at the timeCamshaft chewed up.... started taking engine appart and found other faults... total bill (minus my labour, £1,250.... not worth it!
Like your wife's ours is worth around £2k and the work was around £700. I don't believe that spending this percentage of the cars value keeping it going is a problem and it's good to hear that people will spend money keeping cars on the road regardless.
A vehicles actual value often transcends it's monetary value, all of my cars have been worth more to me than what I have spent on them - in some respects others have been irreplaceable in many ways but only worth £500.
My in laws sold their Ka to another family member rather than put it through the scrappage deal on their car. After the Ka provided them with nearly 10 years of faithful service and remained reliable for all that time, there is no reason to think it won't run for another decade but require some work. Either way they were loathed to see it crushed, instead they let it become a first car for another owner.
My old Alfa 147 2.0 TS, needed a cambelt every 3 years or 36000 miles. The belt, waterpump and tensioner alone i.e the service is extra was £1150 at the dealer. Including service, £1600. That was more than a friend of mine paid to change the belt on his 355.
A year or so later the two cats in the manifold went and the debris blew through to the third cat under the car damaging that. I was quoted £3680 for genuine parts and a stealer to do the work. I used cats direct and a better italian independant for £780.
Citroen berlingo van 1.9d, cat replaced last week..... £145!!
A year or so later the two cats in the manifold went and the debris blew through to the third cat under the car damaging that. I was quoted £3680 for genuine parts and a stealer to do the work. I used cats direct and a better italian independant for £780.
Citroen berlingo van 1.9d, cat replaced last week..... £145!!
Nickyboy said:
Mr Dave said:
New GTRs pop up bonnet isn't cheap to replace 11-12k iirc. Can need that even in a minor shunt.
370z's have the same, saw one on a recovery truck yesterday, minor frontal damage with popped bonnet like a GTR
Enjoy the insurance renewal when it comes you lucky owners 
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t getting out of one in tesco car park though.