Bangernomics: Is this the cheapest possible motoring?

thestealer

jaygrunt wrote: »

Could I ask where you got such an amazing bargain?
Please tell cos I is wanting one of those cars especially at that price

Local paper. Every Saturday is car sales day and there are bargains to be had. I had to visit a few cars that I wouldn't touch with a bargepole before finding a good one. The previous owner also lived out in the country which maybe put some potential buyers off.

Keep an eye out for those free classified ads papers too. The internet is not always the best place for bargain hunting.

sarahemmm

trets77 wrote: »

given the choice i would always go for a Japanese car, you just cannot beat them for build quality and reliability.

Yup - Had a Daewoo a couple of years ago which was brilliant, and this Primera is (fingers crossed) absolutely great.

i always aim for something that is not atheistic pleasing , a few superficial dents and dings and a nasty color will see a perfectly good car avoided by the masses .

Mine's a nice maroon colour, but the laquer has gone in splotches all over.

other great things about a banger are :

you don't have to worry about people trying to steal it . great if it lives half it's life in a train station car park.

I never lock mine at all nowadays - so no worries about not having a remote

you can get dirt cheap 3rd party fire and theft insurance ( £97 is my record so far) .

you can bully shinny cars in city traffic . people who see your car has dents and is a banger think twice about cutting you up etc.

Yes indeedy, and boy, is it fun :rotfl:And seeing their faces in your mirror when you can still drive better and get round bends/roundabouts/traffic lights faster than their badly driven beemer...

thestealer

Continuing the bangernomics ethos...

The Carina I bought from a few posts earlier gave up the ghost with multiple electrical problems sadly but I flogged off some bits and scrapped it.

Battery: £3
Interior mirror: £2
Alternator: £15
Oxygen sensor: £30
Injectors: £45
Haynes manual: £17
Scrap metal: £80

Total £192....cost of 4 months motoring...£90ish so not too bad.


Just bought a V reg Kia Shuma for £550 with only 59000 miles on the clock, hoping this one will last longer.

Arbie

I've been re-reading this thread with interest, as I've owned a VW Golf GT TDi for the past 5 years. I was the 3rd owner and bought it at 32k miles for £11k; over 110k trouble free miles later I managed to drive into someone on Friday The idea, of course, was to keep it until it died (estimated 250k miles, another 6 years) - thereby giving me maximum value for my cash. Oh, and it helps that it's pretty nippy and still does 50mpg, of course! Although the crash was pretty minor, I'm worried that the insurer will take one look at it (the Glass's list price is about £2200) and write it off - so we'd be firmly into bangernomics territory. Of course, it's worth far, far more to us than that (even accounting for the servicing bills increasing year in year as more components reach the end of their life). Has anyone had experience of buying the salvage back from an insurance company? My local mechanic is pretty sure he could patch it up for minimal cost, and we may be in the odd position of being given the settlement for the write-off, buying it back, paying our friendly mechanic for the repairs and being a hundred quid up, if my estimates are correct!

Davesnave

Arbie wrote: »

I've been re-reading this thread with interest, as I've owned a VW Golf GT TDi for the past 5 years. I was the 3rd owner and bought it at 32k miles for £11k; over 110k trouble free miles later I managed to drive into someone on Friday The idea, of course, was to keep it until it died (estimated 250k miles, another 6 years) - thereby giving me maximum value for my cash. Oh, and it helps that it's pretty nippy and still does 50mpg, of course! Although the crash was pretty minor, I'm worried that the insurer will take one look at it (the Glass's list price is about £2200) and write it off - so we'd be firmly into bangernomics territory. Of course, it's worth far, far more to us than that (even accounting for the servicing bills increasing year in year as more components reach the end of their life). Has anyone had experience of buying the salvage back from an insurance company? My local mechanic is pretty sure he could patch it up for minimal cost, and we may be in the odd position of being given the settlement for the write-off, buying it back, paying our friendly mechanic for the repairs and being a hundred quid up, if my estimates are correct!

In 2002, someone rear-ended my Carlton estate and drove off before I could come to my senses. I didn't chase them because there were witnesses, who all turned out to be totally useless!

The insurers, Fortis, decided to write the car off, but there was nothing dangerous about the damage, which was a bentish bumper, rear valance and boot lid. (Luckily, I had a tow bar & a full load of sand on board, making me rather solid! I often wonder how far the other guy got with a puntured radiator.) Fortis just assumed I'd want rid and offered £560. However, when I asked if I could buy it, they were only too happy to do that & send me a cheque for the difference (£450) So, I got to keep my car & had a nice Christmas present.

The only down side was having the claim on my policy for 5 years (protected discount) and the fact that they'd only insure the car 3rd Party thereafter. I think I drove it for a year or more afterwards, then sold it to someone doing a house removal for £120!

Hope that helps. I like Fortis & I'm still insured with them through RIAS.

carbonmonoxide

I like this thread - I don't own a car yet but am hoping to pass my test early next year. I was worried I wouldn't be able to afford to buy and run a car but it looks like there is some hope for me after reading this :j

The only problem is I don't know the first thing about cars so how would I know if I am getting a bargin or a dustbin on wheels?

Also I want something that's going to be safe and can handle the odd long trip on the motorway. Apart from that I won't be driving it much as its easier to get public transport to/from work.

Any advice?

Davesnave

carbonmonoxide wrote: »

I like this thread - I don't own a car yet but am hoping to pass my test early next year. I was worried I wouldn't be able to afford to buy and run a car but it looks like there is some hope for me after reading this :j

The only problem is I don't know the first thing about cars so how would I know if I am getting a bargin or a dustbin on wheels?

Also I want something that's going to be safe and can handle the odd long trip on the motorway. Apart from that I won't be driving it much as its easier to get public transport to/from work.

Any advice?

Well, once you pass your test it is a balance between power & insurance cost. You'll have no no-claims bonus, so anything middling-size engine wise will be horribly expensive to insure.

My daughter went for a one litre Volkswagen Polo and had a Nissan Micra in mind too. Her insurance was around £450 -£500. Both cars are small, and in their 1 litre form, run out of steam a bit on hills, but they have a good track record of reliability. If you think you can afford to insure them, the 1.3/1.4 litre versions will be less tiring on long runs. Of the two, the VW is the more roomy and solid, the Micra more sporty.

If you can go a bit further in engine size, the Nissan Almera is worth a look in 1.5 litre form. Older ones are cheapies now. Toyota Corollas in 1.3 litre guise are very good too. Later Fiestas are OK as well.

A lot of mechanics would say steer clear of anything by Renault, Citroen and Fiat. So would I. We had a small Fiat which was OK mechanically and fun to drive, but things fell off, snapped, rusted etc.

Buying a used car isn't that scary. Even the way the 'phone is answered will tell you a lot about the owner, and you should spend at least as long 'reading' the seller as you do looking at the car.

When phoning, ask about 'the car' and if they have to ask 'which one?' you know you have a part time dealer.
That isn't necessarily bad news; I bought my last two cars from mechanics who dabble in auctions, but I also got a full service history and HPI check.(Google HPI) In both cases I spent an hour with the seller & was satisfied they were working from their own home. Never buy in a car park or other public place.

I haven't mentioned the car yet, but obviously it won't be perfect, and neither should it be tatty. If it looks and sounds good, drives and stops well then that's about all you'll know for sure. Give it a good test run though and ask loads of questions, including why they want rid. If you can take someone mechanically minded along, so much the better. Anything obvious you spot wrong, like well-worn tyres can be put into the equation when you haggle the price down!

You won't always need to haggle much. My last two cars were such good deals I didn't want to slash the price being asked.
The best thing you can get with a car is a good service history, proving it's been well cared for and showing what's been replaced. Also its imperative to be given the car's Registration Certificate.

When I'm looking for a car these days, I use Auto Trader's web site and a lot of patience. There are thousands of cars out there, and probably one in three is dodgy or 'undesirable,' but using common sense and an eye for detail the 'diamonds' can be found.

Look at Parkers web site and Honest John for other tips. Good luck with that test.

carbonmonoxide

wow - thanks Davesnave, that was very helpful and informative. Funnily enough my driving instructor recommended the Micras and said he'd owned loads and never had a problem with them, so I think I will start with them. A 1 litre sounds fine for me at the moment. Thanks again.

Arbie

Davesnave wrote: »

In 2002, someone rear-ended my Carlton estate and drove off before I could come to my senses. I didn't chase them because there were witnesses, who all turned out to be totally useless!

The insurers, Fortis, decided to write the car off, but there was nothing dangerous about the damage, which was a bentish bumper, rear valance and boot lid. (Luckily, I had a tow bar & a full load of sand on board, making me rather solid! I often wonder how far the other guy got with a puntured radiator.) Fortis just assumed I'd want rid and offered £560. However, when I asked if I could buy it, they were only too happy to do that & send me a cheque for the difference (£450) So, I got to keep my car & had a nice Christmas present.

The only down side was having the claim on my policy for 5 years (protected discount) and the fact that they'd only insure the car 3rd Party thereafter. I think I drove it for a year or more afterwards, then sold it to someone doing a house removal for £120!

Hope that helps. I like Fortis & I'm still insured with them through RIAS.

Well, it was a close run thing! The assessor did indeed want to write it off (and offer us £1980), as the repairs were quoted at about £2200; but my friendly local mechanic talked him round to letting him repair it with a salvaged bumper and bonnet...no write off, and we get to keep our cracking little Golf! No need to go down the salvage route, which saved a lot of hassle - but thanks for the advice - much appreciated.