Discussion
Afternoon all,
I'm just after some advise for a friend really...
He's just taken his car in for an MOT and has come back with a red slip and an explination that his car needs 4 digits spending on it. The car needs scrapping.
Fortunately it still has 10 days worth of MOT, biding him time to get a new motor.
He has a budget of £500 (Including proceedings from having the dud one scrapped.)
The problem is, every one of the last three cars he's bought have been of a similar discription as above and havn't lasted more than four months.
Now I have a few theorys about buying a hatch- saloon £500 banger.
The ideal purchase would be found through free advertising. Bought from an elederly person who used it too pootle to the shops once a week, but doesn't want to drive anymore. Big MOT remaining, records of it being regulary serviced. Look up a buying guide and carry out a detailed inspection etc.
Having only ever driven company fleet cars I have no experiance in bangernomics...
Can anyone offer some usefull buying advise, like where to look, which models are super reliable and cheap to maintain, even specific cars you know to be for sale and a good buy.
Thanks in advance!
I'm just after some advise for a friend really...
He's just taken his car in for an MOT and has come back with a red slip and an explination that his car needs 4 digits spending on it. The car needs scrapping.
Fortunately it still has 10 days worth of MOT, biding him time to get a new motor.
He has a budget of £500 (Including proceedings from having the dud one scrapped.)
The problem is, every one of the last three cars he's bought have been of a similar discription as above and havn't lasted more than four months.
Now I have a few theorys about buying a hatch- saloon £500 banger.
The ideal purchase would be found through free advertising. Bought from an elederly person who used it too pootle to the shops once a week, but doesn't want to drive anymore. Big MOT remaining, records of it being regulary serviced. Look up a buying guide and carry out a detailed inspection etc.
Having only ever driven company fleet cars I have no experiance in bangernomics...
Can anyone offer some usefull buying advise, like where to look, which models are super reliable and cheap to maintain, even specific cars you know to be for sale and a good buy.
Thanks in advance!
Step 1: Do not buy a small hatchback (they are sought after by learners/students)
Step 2: Bigger normally means cheaper
Step 3: Buy on condition, not mileage or age
Step 4: Uncool means cheap
Step 5: MOT length is the most important thing
This would do: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1966900.htm
Step 2: Bigger normally means cheaper
Step 3: Buy on condition, not mileage or age
Step 4: Uncool means cheap
Step 5: MOT length is the most important thing
This would do: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1966900.htm
Mr Will said:
Step 1: Do not buy a small hatchback (they are sought after by learners/students)
Step 2: Bigger normally means cheaper
Step 3: Buy on condition, not mileage or age
Step 4: Uncool means cheap
Step 5: MOT length is the most important thing
This would do: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1966900.htm
You work with Garick, he's taught you well. I think Step 7 in the Garlick book is to spend a lot of money on it, then get bored and sell it on. Correct me if I'm wrong.Step 2: Bigger normally means cheaper
Step 3: Buy on condition, not mileage or age
Step 4: Uncool means cheap
Step 5: MOT length is the most important thing
This would do: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1966900.htm
Mr Will said:
This would do: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1966900.htm
Very much so.See if you can find a Kia Mentor.
Should come in well under budget and they are virtually indestructable.
louiebaby said:
Mr Will said:
Step 1: Do not buy a small hatchback (they are sought after by learners/students)
Step 2: Bigger normally means cheaper
Step 3: Buy on condition, not mileage or age
Step 4: Uncool means cheap
Step 5: MOT length is the most important thing
This would do: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1966900.htm
You work with Garick, he's taught you well. I think Step 7 in the Garlick book is to spend a lot of money on it, then get bored and sell it on. Correct me if I'm wrong.Step 2: Bigger normally means cheaper
Step 3: Buy on condition, not mileage or age
Step 4: Uncool means cheap
Step 5: MOT length is the most important thing
This would do: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1966900.htm
if a car fails its mot it will no longer be road legal, even if it has a valid mot and tax. mind you he has no doubt been driving it in that condition for months. I really think if you are going down the bangernomics route you should really know a bit about how a car works and whether it is safe or not.
Old Hondas, Mazdas and Toyotas work well at this age. As said, the bigger engine / car the more likelier it is not to have been thrashed by girlies and under 25s.
I bought a 2 litre, 143bhp mondeo for £200, ran it for a year and sold it for £100. My missus car is an S reg volvo V40 with a 2 litre 140 bhp engine it it and has proved to be reasonably indestructable. Needed rear disks and pads last year I think and a new headlight this year (caused by her ignoring the brake lights in front of her!)
I bought a 2 litre, 143bhp mondeo for £200, ran it for a year and sold it for £100. My missus car is an S reg volvo V40 with a 2 litre 140 bhp engine it it and has proved to be reasonably indestructable. Needed rear disks and pads last year I think and a new headlight this year (caused by her ignoring the brake lights in front of her!)
louiebaby said:
Mr Will said:
Step 1: Do not buy a small hatchback (they are sought after by learners/students)
Step 2: Bigger normally means cheaper
Step 3: Buy on condition, not mileage or age
Step 4: Uncool means cheap
Step 5: MOT length is the most important thing
This would do: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1966900.htm
You work with Garick, he's taught you well. I think Step 7 in the Garlick book is to spend a lot of money on it, then get bored and sell it on. Correct me if I'm wrong.Step 2: Bigger normally means cheaper
Step 3: Buy on condition, not mileage or age
Step 4: Uncool means cheap
Step 5: MOT length is the most important thing
This would do: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1966900.htm
Garlick's problem is OCD, he cannot cope with any faults on his car, which is fine when he spends top money and buys a lovely example, but not so good when he gets tempted by a cheap one...
Bangernomics works in different ways for different people.
We have to assume your friend is no DIY mechanic.
Long MOT is the most important thing.
If you can buy a car from a backstreet place who can put an MOT on it, that would be brill.
Gumtree, Yellow paper ads, Local Rag, Postcards in the supermarket, etc etc, are where the super cheap cars are in use.
DO NOT buy a car that is not currently being used regularly , IE is parked up in a garage and needs rescuing.
Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen etc etc have generally cheapest parts prices and easiest availability, though admittedly Japanese cars need less fixing - 6 of one...
Bigger is better (to a point). Bigger cars tend to be more expensive when new, better engineered, better made, and generally are less in demand than Fiestas and Clios etc.
My advice would be therefore something along the lines of Peugeot 405/406, Ford Mondeo, Toyota Carina/Corolla, Nissan Primera, Honda Accord, Volvo 440, Saab 900/9000, etc etc.
Forget the mileage, its almost irrelevant at the price.
You want it to be in regular use, with a strong MOT.
The other VERY important thing - said friend appears to have bought a series of lemons - I woudl suggest they have no idea what they are looking for (no offence intended).
If they, or you, do not know what they are doing, then take a friend, local mechanic etc who does know how to properly scrutinise a 2nd hand car and how to properly test drive one.
We have to assume your friend is no DIY mechanic.
Long MOT is the most important thing.
If you can buy a car from a backstreet place who can put an MOT on it, that would be brill.
Gumtree, Yellow paper ads, Local Rag, Postcards in the supermarket, etc etc, are where the super cheap cars are in use.
DO NOT buy a car that is not currently being used regularly , IE is parked up in a garage and needs rescuing.
Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen etc etc have generally cheapest parts prices and easiest availability, though admittedly Japanese cars need less fixing - 6 of one...
Bigger is better (to a point). Bigger cars tend to be more expensive when new, better engineered, better made, and generally are less in demand than Fiestas and Clios etc.
My advice would be therefore something along the lines of Peugeot 405/406, Ford Mondeo, Toyota Carina/Corolla, Nissan Primera, Honda Accord, Volvo 440, Saab 900/9000, etc etc.
Forget the mileage, its almost irrelevant at the price.
You want it to be in regular use, with a strong MOT.
The other VERY important thing - said friend appears to have bought a series of lemons - I woudl suggest they have no idea what they are looking for (no offence intended).
If they, or you, do not know what they are doing, then take a friend, local mechanic etc who does know how to properly scrutinise a 2nd hand car and how to properly test drive one.
Edited by snotrag on Thursday 2nd September 15:25
As long as you know what to look for, its not too hard.
Lets see;
untrendy 4 door saloon - check
Auto - check
1 owner from new - check
unfeasably low mileage - check
This little gem is what I myself would have a punt on when my Fiesta gives up the ghost, providing of course that it checked out ok;
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
ETA its a little over budget, but you get the idea
Lets see;
untrendy 4 door saloon - check
Auto - check
1 owner from new - check
unfeasably low mileage - check
This little gem is what I myself would have a punt on when my Fiesta gives up the ghost, providing of course that it checked out ok;
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
ETA its a little over budget, but you get the idea
Edited by V88Dicky on Thursday 2nd September 15:26
Thanks for all the sugestions so far.
Good point about the mondeo, not sure about volvo though as I've heard that whilst they're super reliable they cost a lot of money if they do go wrong...
That Toyota in the classifieds is an absolute peach, I will investigate!
I'll look into the legality of driving a car with a red MOT slip...
Good point about the mondeo, not sure about volvo though as I've heard that whilst they're super reliable they cost a lot of money if they do go wrong...
That Toyota in the classifieds is an absolute peach, I will investigate!
I'll look into the legality of driving a car with a red MOT slip...
Try_Management said:
I am sure that once a car has failed a MOT you can not drive it on the old one, apart from going to a pre booked appointment to get it sorted out or a re test.
I was about to say that is rubbish, but everyone seems to agree with you??I'm sure you can continue driving until your current MOT expires???
Edit: The only thing I can think of is that your MOT only shows that your car is roadworthy on the day it passes, so technically it's not roadworthy if it fails one, even if you still have a valid MOT certificate. If that's what people are saying, it's not because it's failed the MOT, it's purely because it's not roadworthy (which would have been the case before the MOT test too).
I personally would continue driving it until the current MOT expires (depending what it failed for of course).
Edited by reggie82 on Thursday 2nd September 15:44
Edited by reggie82 on Thursday 2nd September 15:45
A search on google reveals:
MOT Failure Question
A question that is often asked follows:
If car fails MOT is the old test certificate still valid until its expiry date?
Well the answer does not seem to be found on any of the government information about the MOT test, so we emailed VOSA with this question and this is their response:
"An MOT certificate is valid until its expiry date. However if your vehicle fails a test before this date and you do not rectify the defects then you are driving an unroadworthy vehicle which is an offence."
So to put this into context if your car fails the MOT due to illegal tyres then you are driving an unroadworthy vehicle, you were driving unroadworthy vehicle before the MOT, and you will be driving an unroadworthy vehicle until you get a new tyre. Therefore at anytime if caught you would be subject to a £2500 fine and 3 points per illegal tyre.
However once you get a new tyre your car is roadworthy and the old MOT is still valid until its expiry date, thus you can then drive your car again and get it retested to your timescale, with out worrying about driving without an MOT.
This is a very good reason to book your Mot early and give yourself plenty of time to book a retest if needed.
MOT Failure Question
A question that is often asked follows:
If car fails MOT is the old test certificate still valid until its expiry date?
Well the answer does not seem to be found on any of the government information about the MOT test, so we emailed VOSA with this question and this is their response:
"An MOT certificate is valid until its expiry date. However if your vehicle fails a test before this date and you do not rectify the defects then you are driving an unroadworthy vehicle which is an offence."
So to put this into context if your car fails the MOT due to illegal tyres then you are driving an unroadworthy vehicle, you were driving unroadworthy vehicle before the MOT, and you will be driving an unroadworthy vehicle until you get a new tyre. Therefore at anytime if caught you would be subject to a £2500 fine and 3 points per illegal tyre.
However once you get a new tyre your car is roadworthy and the old MOT is still valid until its expiry date, thus you can then drive your car again and get it retested to your timescale, with out worrying about driving without an MOT.
This is a very good reason to book your Mot early and give yourself plenty of time to book a retest if needed.
reggie82 said:
Try_Management said:
I am sure that once a car has failed a MOT you can not drive it on the old one, apart from going to a pre booked appointment to get it sorted out or a re test.
I was about to say that is rubbish, but everyone seems to agree with you??I'm sure you can continue driving until your current MOT expires???
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