Your Bangernomics successes

Rolandtheroadie

motorguy wrote: »

Totally agree. Theres a mechanic works from home up the road from me - charges £10 an hour. Worth his weight in gold!

Dont know his hourly rate, but when the wifes timing belt went on her grand voyager, the guy stripped it down, replaced everything needing replaced and put it all back together for £250.
It took weeks as I needed to order tools and parts, it put him out a lot as it was taking up space in his workshop.

Farzackerly

motorguy wrote: »

Totally agree. Theres a mechanic works from home up the road from me - charges £10 an hour. Worth his weight in gold!

Definitely - I had always done my own maintenance until health issues dictated otherwise and I was very careful about who I would entrust it to. A local guy with a full-on workshop and good equipment but very reasonable rates was it. He was recommended by everybody I spoke to, so that was a start
Absolutely cracking job and the big plus is, he's been familiar with my car model since they were new so has a great knowledge of them.

[Deleted User]

I've got the chance to buy a 2001 Micra S 1.0 for £300. It has 121K miles on the clock and only 1 month MOT left.

Anything to watch out for that might fail on the upcoming MOT?

Seller says it has had new coil pack and plugs recently and that the engine works perfectly. Micra is also in tidy condition.

colino

I remember an awful lot of the Micras looked lovely up top but the front crossmembers were absolutely rotten and needed a couple of hours with the welder to get them MOTable. They also had a funny fault with, I think, the nearside headlamp. It would apparently blow, but changing the bulb makes no difference, you would have to patch in a new connector and a short bit of the loom.

motorguy

Deleted_User wrote: »

I've got the chance to buy a 2001 Micra S 1.0 for £300. It has 121K miles on the clock and only 1 month MOT left.

Anything to watch out for that might fail on the upcoming MOT?

Seller says it has had new coil pack and plugs recently and that the engine works perfectly. Micra is also in tidy condition.

Almost by definition of buying a bangernomics car i'd avoid this one. With respect, the owner is most likely 'getting rid' because he knows of upcoming bills to get it through MOT. As Colino says they're prone to rot underneath. So you'll be buying and almost immediately spending money.

An 01 Micra with a full years ticket and lower miles than that is probably only £500 anyway.

Look for something privately owned being sold with a years ticket or close to it.

[Deleted User]

Thanks colino and motorguy. Might just give it a miss then. Seller says he is selling as he needs a bigger car which is probably just code for big bills due.

Don't want to be spending loads on repairs wise I might aswell shell out to repair my 206.

motorguy

Deleted_User wrote: »

Thanks colino and motorguy. Might just give it a miss then. Seller says he is selling as he needs a bigger car which is probably just code for big bills due.

Don't want to be spending loads on repairs wise I might aswell shell out to repair my 206.

He may well be telling the truth RE: reason for change but everyone knows a car is going to be worth more with a years MOT so it would seem to make more sense to MOT it first?

I worked for two years full time as a self employed motor trader and invariably people who traded their cars in with a couple of weeks MOT were doing so because it was going to cost a fortune to sort out. Now they ALWAYS gave the excuse 'i just fancied a change' or 'i need x or y sort of car' but invariably there was a pile of things wrong that they knew about and were getting rid.

Kilty_2

Back in a banger - 1999 Skoda Felicia 1.9D with 160k miles on the clock and MOT until April - £350.

Needs a new radiator (£40) and a bit of a service (£40 for coolant, brake fluid, oil, oil filter, etc)

I also need to try to find a reasonable quote for a cambelt since I'm going to be doing big mileage in it - had £231 and £349 so far

colino

I'd be having a good look around it (under mats, including boot!) for lost paperwork or even genuine looking stickers under the bonnet to see if there's a recent belt been done. At that age it should have had 3 or 4 by now!

Kilty_2

It looks well worn enough to not want to risk it when I'm doing 120 miles a day in it.... just need to find a cheaper garage!

No sign of any paperwork etc though