sub £1000 car - cambelt

catoutthebag

Damn why so high?! Better make a quick call to insurance as I'm on my way. Sure my focus was same group as mk5 golf. My 1.8 140bhp astray was lower than this 1.6 100bhp golf! !

motorguy

catoutthebag wrote: »

Going to check mk4 golf s-reg 2 owners petrol 105k stamps til 07/08...with mot. Looks immaculate example. 895 but says he won't accept anything silly like 500. Hoping for around 600 as he conceded no road tax and cambelt evidence.

Anything else to look for ..

A cambelt change isnt normally a fortune to get done - not doing it and it snapping is where the big expense comes from.

catoutthebag

Ok my 1.8 vvt 3D design 138bhp astra was apparently gp 17.

Bit my insurance Co want another £200 for group 11 golf that still has 11 months on policy left. ..?

colino

Buying any banger you should a) Check if it has a cambelt, b) Check if it is an interference engine, c) Check when the belt was last done, d) Check how much it costs to get the job done properly, e) Check your personal finances and see if you are willing to swap or play cambelt strip roulette.

stator

I would prefer to buy a car without the cambelt changed recently, as long as it is factored in to the price. Then you can get the cambelt changed yourself by someone you trust.
So if you see the cambelt needs changing, negotiate on the price and if they don't come down to the right level walk away.

catoutthebag

stator wrote: »

I would prefer to buy a car without the cambelt changed recently, as long as it is factored in to the price. Then you can get the cambelt changed yourself by someone you trust.
So if you see the cambelt needs changing, negotiate on the price and if they don't come down to the right level walk away.

Yeah that's what I'm planning to do...and guy seen to agree.
Except I'm going to have to factor in 200 to go from gp 17 to 11 which I don't understand with only a 20 pound administration charge to account for

BeenThroughItAll

catoutthebag wrote: »

Yeah that's what I'm planning to do...and guy seen to agree.
Except I'm going to have to factor in 200 to go from gp 17 to 11 which I don't understand with only a 20 pound administration charge to account for

Insurance groups are meaningless, you've just discovered that.

Age, value, parts cost, commonness of vehicle, likelihood to get nicked, specification, number of seats, colour, the weather... all make more of a difference to your quote than some arbitrary group number.

catoutthebag

So I bought the car. Just at a service station.

Very happy with it. Immaculate condition really. Drives well albeit a bit slow but they're heavier. No rattles. One advisory about brakes last mot. Excellent bodywork for age.

Only thing is
- 1 key not 2
- abs light was on. He says car gas been stood for a while. He plugged in the machine and it says rear speed sensor. He gave me a new sensor so I'll get someone to fit it at some point
- more owners than I thought. But 2 were in 2 years including one lady who bought it from him to upgrade back from him (guy specialises in mk4 golfs( ..and it is 16 years old
- obviously no evidence of belt change but he should me the belt which looked flawless. ...he showed me a belt water pump from eBay for 50 quid so I may consider that.

I'll see how I get on...doubt I'll lose much if anything in the next 6-12 months with these cars.

BeenThroughItAll

Well, you're clearly more trusting and accepting of risk than I. If it were me, I'd walk away at the 'only 1 key and the ABS light is on' stage (even though I have the skills and the tools and diagnostic kit required to solve those two problems, I'd look elsewhere - no sense buying into a problem if you don't have to).

Plenty of sub-1K cars available which won't come with that baggage, but each to their own.

As long as you're happy, that's the main thing

stator

Unfortunately a lot of cars only come with one key, it's infuriating becuase it's the one thing I always forget to ask before hand!
Depending on the version of the security system you may be able to buy a duplicate and programme it yourself.