Car sat for a year, Should I have it?

Carrot007

So my father is giving up his car finally.


He has offered it to me. It appears better than mine.



Is is around 6. He bought it nearly a year ago (29/3). It has done 224 miles since (and to be honest I did most driving him around (a few runs were down the m62 a back so 50 minuteish runs ir a not too terrible nature (get to use teh 2+ lane with what I would be doing at that time)). It seemed ok when last run (dec?). It starts fine. Tyres looks inflated.


Anything I should consider?


It is a 208 (yes I like citreons and peugeots, do move on!) and would replace my 9 year old 308.


The 308 has some issues. Big scratches (It was cheap and yes only cosmetic). Oil needs a top up regularly (not a lot but annoying), and beyond serveral garages looking at it it still vears slightly to the left, oh and the biggie, the heating sucks, takes 30 mins to get anywhere near lukewarm out the forward vents, has been checked but probably requires an expsnsive tear down of the ducting which is not worth it.


308 has 64K on it. The 208 appeaars all good. 55K on it (in my view a better milage than mine given the age ( mine is too low (but was cheap!)). 308 is 1.4 and 208 is 1.2 vti (and seems faster in normal use tbh).



I think thast sums up the siutation I think but if anything else is needed please ask.


(many may think I would be better off replacing the nearly 10 polo with it, but that runs fine and has been looked after properly, the 148K on it does not worry me (also a 1.4).


All I want to know is is there anything I should be considering about this! I would book it in for a service and mot and go from there. Maybe see if I can give it a bit of use on the way to the MOT?




Cheers.

AdrianC

So it's only a month or two since last used?

Service, MOT, get on with life.

walwyn1978

Assuming you’re getting it free, get it serviced, get it MOT’d, sell yours on EBay listing ALL the faults and start with £10 or 99p or whatever - it will sell. Split the money with your dad. Smile.

And although I agree he’s not done much with it in that year 55k in the previous 5 years is fine. Nothing screams panic there.

[Deleted User]

The 208 is a great car. Very spacious for the class, is actually smaller on the outside than the previous model but has more interior space. Looks good to.
Get it serviced once year and should give you no trouble.

DCFC79

OP


Yes sell the 308 and keep the 208, just get it serviced and MOT'd.

missile

carlover1830 wrote: »

There seems to be a lot of things to fix on your car. Sounds like it's best if you put it up for sale but first it would be great if you could get it detailed, fix all the mechanical issues, and of course print out the vehicle history report. I used some tips I found on carlotz which helped a great deal when I was selling my Honda Cruze. I would post a link but my account is still new so it doesn't allow for that . In terms of selling the car, I recently used Trusted Sale and was really impressed. It's a new platform designed to make selling a car privately easier, safer, and more equitable for both parties. They allowed me to verify my buyer's identity before meeting to lessen the risk of scams or anything else. Hope this helps!

Another spam advert for Trusted Sale?

AdrianC

Since it was Chevrolet that sells the Cruze, not Honda (CR-Z is as close as they got), this spammer seems to be an idiot whichever side of the pond he's on.

Norman_Castle

The 308 has some issues. the biggie, the heating sucks, takes 30 mins to get anywhere near lukewarm out the forward vents, has been checked but probably requires an expsnsive tear down of the ducting which is not worth it.

Tried replacing the thermostat?


A friend bought a 10+ year old diesel xsara with similar low recent mileage. Apart from a sticking front caliper there were no problems caused by the limited use. She did 18,000+ miles in it annually for the next 3/4 years.

Carrot007

walwyn1978 wrote: »

Assuming you’re getting it free, get it serviced, get it MOT’d, sell yours on EBay listing ALL the faults and start with £10 or 99p or whatever - it will sell. Split the money with your dad. Smile.

And although I agree he’s not done much with it in that year 55k in the previous 5 years is fine. Nothing screams panic there.

Yup, cheers that was my thoughts exactly. I seems good, I trust the garage to do right and tell me if it is worth keeping (They often give a quote and it ends up being cheaper, not many places seem to do that!).


And yes ebay/autotrader of something for mine (that will be sorn at the time I guess) is what I will do. I did it with OH's Corsa when the steering rack went odd. Found the online guide to fix it (common fault and most places justt want to replace the rack at great expence!) but beyond me and quoted it in the ad! Sold at a resonable price and I was happy.


Emissions is my main worry, having been sat there. I will give it a good drive on the way and tell them so hopefully all will be OK. I may just be over worrying!

Carrot007

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Tried replacing the thermostat?
/QUOTE]


I had it into a place that looked at it and got confused.


It beyond me though unfortunatly. Computers yes, cars no! That said I am not above doing car work I can do. Mirrors, light clusters. Removed the entire daahs for something in I think a focus for some reason I forget, that was a pain. Have bodged electric windows permantently shut when the cables failed (not worth doing anything else for the cars age on the 2 it happeend to!). Diagnosing and fixing a earth fault on a light cluster that went out as well. I do what I can.


The 308 has just started making a horrible braking noise today though. But it does not sound like a bad one, just a I have not cleaned it this winter and the brakes are probably all filled up with road gunk one. Sounds like back roadside one. I shall give it a clean tomorrow! May have to take the wheel off to have a close look, I can cope with that too I think!

peter12345678910

I guess it is personal choice, but your 308 vears to the left....is this not a simple wheel alignment problem I am surprised no garage has been able to fix it. As long as the car does not shake at higher speeds I don't think it is a problem.