Buying a used car

mikey72

So, with all the threads on tyres, and not buyng part used, or not driving a car that's failed the mot as now it's unroadworthy, or spending £300 to pass the mot,
if you buy a £300 banger off ebay, unseen, what do you expect.

I bought one recently, as I needed a car immediately, so bid on the close on a Saturday, picked up on the Tuesday, taxed it there and then and drove it home. For a few hundred pounds.
It was car shaped, and I did check it had oil, and I could see something in the radiator. So it didn't die on the way home.
It's still going, and I parked it recently with a bit of a lock on the front wheels, so I could see it has some tread, and I dropped someting under the boot, so I now know the back tyres have tread.
It didn't come with a handbook, some of the dash lights are still a mystery, and I now know it has 3 sidelights, but it's hidden by the headlight.
It stops, it starts, back demister doesn't, and the back wiper actually leaves the screen for most of it's journey.
But apart from that, it seems to be an excellent car, and would pass the mot with only a bit of work.

So, would anyone else drive it, or would you not risk a car bought unseen, without any inspection?
And keep driving it?
Or would you lift the carpets, and look for daylight?

forgotmyname

Bought a mini for £45, I was working on one and a lady driving by said so i need any parts for it.

I went and looked expecting to find a pile of bits, Complete car. Wont start and leaks water from the
front of the engine. Fitted a good battery and put jump leads on as extra boost.

Gallon of petrol in. After a little while it started. Turned it off quickly (no water) Towed it back.

Core plug behind the alternator £3 for 6. Only needed one.

One 2" square patch under the boot floor and it passed its MOT.


Sold for £150.

Austin Metro bought for £75, Rusty as hell around the edges but brilliant engine and box. Only a few months
tax and MOT.
Bought another Metro £60, Later model but kaput engine. 1 days work to swap the good engine over, Sold for £325.

Scrapped the old one.

Local joyriders must have had a simle when they spotted it parked in the corner with the keys in.
I bet the smiles went when they found the engine was a slant 4. We just dropped the engine in
and shut the bonnet.

mattyprice4004

I've done this a few times to get me out of a pickle.

First was a Rover 416, in incredibly rusty saloon form. Engine and gearbox were 100%, it felt like a car with 10k on the clock to drive. Paid £252 to a guy in London.

Picture on the listing:


Hole in the roof, I filled with flexible sealant:


Nice bit of damage to the driver's door:


And of course, a missing thermostat. We know the K series likes to overheat, but this is an over-reaction!


I took it around the country, when I bought it I had 70k on the clock, and sold it with nearly 12k more on from just 4 months of use.

It even went around Oulton Park on an open pit lane day, where this picture was famously taken. Weak engine my ****, haha!


Sold on for £250 to a family friend, and living on to this day.


Second, a Rover 620ti (or Rover 600 Turbo depending on who you ask). 197bhp British saloon with factory fitted Recaro seats, a nice relaxing interior... and plenty of beef. For this I paid a whole £200 with 9 months MOT left.



What a car that was, went like **** off a shovel. I've had 2 of them, and this felt better than the £1000 example I owned previously.

Worryingly, this one had done 197,000 miles and the engine and turbo were original! Don't make em like they used to.

Kept it for a few months, sold it for £350 in favour of my ZS diesel. All that needed doing during this time was a clutch (£60 for a cheapie and an afternoon on the drive).

poppasmurf_bewdley

Yes, 12 years ago whilst in the throes of a divorce and on my uppers, I bought a Metro for £50 via a friendly mechanic at my local garage. The kids called it Bessy the Bus and it did me for six months until I'd sorted myself out both financially and mentally. It never broke down once in that six months. I didn't spend any money on it either.

In the end, I got £300 for it in part exchange.

balletshoes

I sold my beloved Rover 600 on ebay a couple of years ago, I had no-one at all come to see it before it was sold, and quite a few bidders. The guy who bought it didn't contact me at all to ask any questions about the car before he bought it, he drove it home, was putting it through an MOT, and giving it to his wife to drive as their car had been stolen.

scheming_gypsy

I bought a Cherokee for £500 a few weeks ago. There's a crack in the manifold and a bit of a grind on one of the wheel bearings; and it's a bit of a grumpy starter. You need rev it so the gas kicks in or it hops about till warm.

I bought it to see me through winter incase I needed something a bit beefier than the MR2. It's gas converted, has a front nudge bar, side steps, a tow bar and a replacement Japspeed manifold.

If i take the nudge bar, steps and tow bar off, and sell them along with the manifold i'll make most of my money back. I can then either sell it as a runner and get my money back or take the gas system out to sell, sell the seats and possibly some other parts and then weight it in... and i'll probably double my money.

In September I bought a Volvo 850 T5 estate for £675. Gave it a service and drove it for a month before selling for £850 (wish i'd kept it though, great car).

Last Christmas i bought an 850 SE estate for £500. Drove it till the tax and MOT ran out and sold for £350.

with cars around that price you're never going to lose much on them as long as they come with tax and ticket.

Johnny_Barnes10

Good website for cheap "bangers", worth a look. Been a great help to me anyway! http://www.bangernomics.com/Bangernomics.html