Couple of bangers...tell me what you think

barbiedoll

I've found a couple of possible candidates for my first car, can anyone tell me what they think and what any specific problems I should look for if I go to see these cars?

The fiat....the dent in the wing, would that give loads of problems later on, and does it look as though the chassis would have been damaged?

The Kia....he's dropped the price a couple of times, I'm guessing that it's hanging around because it's not a very "cool" car? I know these models have had problems with the wheel bearings, how could I tell from a test drive? I have lots of speed bumps where I live so would that give me problems later on?

All and any advice welcome!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201215463433879/sort/default/usedcars/price-to/500/make/fiat/radius/30/postcode/se17pn/page/1?logcode=p

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/kia-pride-w-reg-with-long-mot/100353655

gardner1

barbiedoll wrote: »

I've found a couple of possible candidates for my first car, can anyone tell me what they think and what any specific problems I should look for if I go to see these cars?

The fiat....the dent in the wing, would that give loads of problems later on, and does it look as though the chassis would have been damaged?

The Kia....he's dropped the price a couple of times, I'm guessing that it's hanging around because it's not a very "cool" car? I know these models have had problems with the wheel bearings, how could I tell from a test drive? I have lots of speed bumps where I live so would that give me problems later on?

All and any advice welcome!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201215463433879/sort/default/usedcars/price-to/500/make/fiat/radius/30/postcode/se17pn/page/1?logcode=p

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/kia-pride-w-reg-with-long-mot/100353655

at first glance i would go with the kia depending how much service history it has

Stigy

I'd be inclined to go for the Fiat mainly based on the age and cost, but also it'll more than likely be cheaper to run and insure than the Kia, and it has a years MoT and 3-months tax, whereas there's mention of a 'long' MoT but no mention of tax on the Kia. Wheel bearings are easy to bottom out on a test drive, just listen for a rumbling noise that seems too noisy to be road noise. Take a few tight bends to see if the noise worsens etc, just to be sure that it is a bearing and not just road noise, bearing in mind these are tin cans/roller skate type cars!

Niether car will last a lifetime, but in this price bracket, tax and MoT are paramount!

forgotmyname

Which one can you afford to insure?

I would say the Fiat is worth £300 and under £200 for the Kia.

But without seeing them in the flesh its hard to say exactly.

The Kia is advertised as private but he does sell a LOT of cars.... Ask about the Passat, Primera, Astra, Vectra, Fiesta, Micra, Corsa, 307, And he's had that Kia for a while by the looks of it..

So it looks like its still for sale because its a cheap nasty car being sold by a dodgy dealer pretending to be a private seller (again).

Google his phone number, Tons of cars listed all over the country on various sites. I guess trying to stay one step ahead of the tax man and trading standards.

s_b

the kia would go nice as the top car in that pile they have in the science museum
the fiat looks ok on first inspection but ideally i would want the wing changing,highly unlikely its got suspension damage but do confirm it has power steering as it might not on a 51 plate a light on the dash on first ignition will light and go out if all in order here
make sure radiator has had antifreeze changed and confirm head gasket ok because if radiator changed it might have been done for a reason (yes i know sicientos rot their radiators out because of their vulnerable position)
at least at £500 theoretically they arent robbing you and they took the effort to get the dirt off for the photos

these little fiats are sound little town cars

barbiedoll

^^^^^.....Thanks for this...I didn't think to look at his selling history, although I did wonder why the Kia looked as though it was parked near to what looks like a pay and display machine?

I quite liked the look of the Fiat, although the wing damage did bother me, I assume it wasn't done after the MOT!
And the two young lads in the picture leads me to assume that it may have been raced up and down the local dual carriageway a few times, although of course, they could be selling it for their old mum!

Stigy

forgotmyname wrote: »

Which one can you afford to insure?

I would say the Fiat is worth £300 and under £200 for the Kia.

I think any car within reason, is worth around the £500 mark with some tax and a year's ticket! Scrap merchants pay £200 for a car these days!

I see what you're saying about a dodgy dealer, but then, how many reputab;e dealers have M-Reg Kia Prides on their forecourt? Not many that are anything more than backstreet shacks operated out of porta-kabins! Does the bloke need to be particularly straight, as long as the car's not nicked, a complete mechanical nightmare or two welded together?

Tilt

What makes you think the Fiat has chassis damage? Dent looks fairly superficial and possibly repairable. Fiat looks clean inside, (boot especially) has 20k less mileage and is a year younger. If there is no mechanical issues/chassis damage, I would go for the Fiat. However, make sure you have all keys as they are coded and expensive to replace. Look in the expansion tank to see whether there is any signs of oil or it being 'milky'. Check inside the oil filler cap as well. Mind you, you should look for those things on both cars. Also, you want to know that both have had cam belt changes. Fiat's was due 4 years ago so will need another one in about 18 months.

barbiedoll

s_b wrote: »

the kia would go nice as the top car in that pile they have in the science museum

This made me laugh!

How could I tell if HG was on the way out? We've recently had ours done on our Astra, we had mayo on oil cap and water sounds behind the dash. Any other glaring sypmtoms I should look for?

Stigy

barbiedoll wrote: »

This made me laugh!

How could I tell if HG was on the way out? We've recently had ours done on our Astra, we had mayo on oil cap and water sounds behind the dash. Any other glaring sypmtoms I should look for?

Thick white smoke/steam from the exhaust, milky residue in the oil and/or anti-freeze expansion tank are the obvious giveaways. Some cars have a little such substance on the underside of the oil filler cap, due to how the air flows in to the engine bay, so this alone shouldn't worry too much.

s_b

barbiedoll wrote: »

This made me laugh!

How could I tell if HG was on the way out? We've recently had ours done on our Astra, we had mayo on oil cap and water sounds behind the dash. Any other glaring sypmtoms I should look for?

get it nice and hot it will let you know if its gone
dont buy that kia whatever you do
dont worry about the cam belt if and ive never known one go but if it did break then it causes no damage so for this money run it for a good while before even considering such things
dont forget to look at the mot certificate in case any thing flagged as needing doing soon

lads dont drive sicientos where i come from as they are seen as lasses cars like ka's are