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Buying a stop-gap £500 car to use for a month or two. Want to sell it easily after. Mid size or small, e.g. Vectra 1.8 size or Corsa 1.0 size?
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Probably easier to sell a small car.
Is it not cheaper/easier to rent a car for that period? Many local car rental companies will do deals for rentals over 30 days.
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Why not hire a car? A £500 car might cost you more money in the end.
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If you buy a car and you're canny/lucky, it might cost you nothing after you've sold it. Hiring will definitely leave you out of pocket.
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Maybe an aged Suzuki Jimny. As ive found out, 4x4s are in demand. I know someone who picked up a solid 102k soft top one on a Y-reg for less than a grand with lots of T&T. Bet they could get their grand back any time aswell.
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I can provide you with a book load of stories of people who thought buying a car for a short time (less than two months) was a good idea.
Its a book of horror stories.
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Well, as this is the equivalent proposition , in car buying terms, as 'casino banking' - you just gotta ask yorself one question - D'ya feel lucky punk... well do ya?
ps. punk in no way describes the OP, of course - but the witty(!) analogy just doesn't work without it!
A friend did a similar thing - but spent a bit more: £2000 - and bought an oldish Merc C180 (square nose shape) - had a few of months trouble/cost free motoring & sold it for £1900.
Last edited by: kensitas on Wed 2 Jun 10 at 10:08
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It's gamble really. If you hire then you have definitely thrown that money away but it is limited strictly to the rental agreement. If buy a cheap car and it needs essential maintenance (let's face it, no one sells a cheap car unless they think it will cost them £££ soon) then you can end up having to buy another one or spend hundreds on the first.
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Just a tip on the car hire option - try hiring a small van, Kangoo sized as they are often much cheaper than a small car. When I hired a Vivaro, it cost me the same as a Fiesta would have cost - the small vans were much cheaper again.
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Humph. Not much about without odd issues, worse on ebay.
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For £500, with the market as it is right now, its got to be the most unwanted model going.
I got my Carina for £380 so it is possible. Have to keep watching Ebay to see what turns up. Can be hundreds of cars a day pop up.
What exactly do you want from this car?
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stu, the OP wants an easy sale after use, so that rules out the most unwanted models going.
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I think the days of this kind of motoring have gone. I think if you are going to do it you need to forget about make/model and find something with a long MOT and something will easily sell.
A push pike or a bus ticket tend to the trick well :)
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If you want something desirable, you will pay more than £500.
If you pay less than £500, its easy to sell just about anything so long as it has T&T in that range - have a look at how much choice there is - not much, so anything roadworthy will come up on alot of radars.
I saw a mid-90s Pug 405 diesel estate with long T&T sell on Ebay for £400 the other day. Looked well cared for an well worth what was bid.
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I think FotheringtonTomas has just made Stu's day!
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If they're sold they're no use. If they're as old as my current car, the bottom is about to drop out. I'd better go out on the prowl to see what's where.
However, I'd rather a nice Dispatch Window Van 2.0 HDi came up today!
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1998 Vectra 1.6 16V LS 4dr
1998 Mondeo 2.0I GLX 5dr
1997 Golf 1.6 CL 5dr
All less than £500 with 6-12mo. MOT. Tempted by the Vectra 'cos it's got a sunroof, OTOH it's got poxy tinted glass, which is not a good selling point (unpleasant to drive in such cars).
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Good luck with the search.
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Not a bad plan if reliability is not critical.
Chances are you'll get a few hundred quid back on a £500 Mondeo, Golf or Vectra.
There's insurance to consider, both road risks and breakdown.
Both of these would be included in the cost of a hire car.
It sounds like the OP's timescale may be open-ended, so it might be better to buy because it then makes little difference if he wants to keep the car two months or six.
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>> It sounds like the OP's timescale may be open-ended, so it might be better to
>> buy because it then makes little difference if he wants to keep the car two
>> months or six.
I want a van ASAP, however, if that's two months (I hope not, though!) it'll cost the best part of £1,000 to hire, if I'm lucky!
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It's a nightmare:-
In Autotrader:
"Oh, that one looks good! (further details) 'Needs new turbo'. Argh!".
"Oh, that one looks good! (further details) 'Huge crack across windscreen'. Argh!".
"Oh, that one looks good! (further details) 'Slight knocking sound from engine, hence..'. Argh!"
"Oh, that one looks good! (further details) 'No tax or MOT'. Argh!"
On eBay:
"Oh, that one looks good (further details) 'SOLD'. Argh!"
"Oh, that one looks good (further details) 'Huge dent on non-photo'd side, CAT C'. Argh!"
"Oh, that one looks good (further details) 'That one's sold, mate, but I got a slug'. Argh!"
Etc, etc, etc.
Last edited by: FotheringtonTomas on Wed 2 Jun 10 at 15:44
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Might go some way to explain why I ended up with an old Carina. I bought a car that is useable and doesnt have major bits missing or broken.
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...It's a nightmare:-...
Local paper, signs in car windows or a used site specialising in cheapies are better sources for this type of car than the internet.
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Rather than buy a £500 car you might be better buying in the £1500 - £2000 range . Much more likely to get your money back and much more likely to avoid serious problems.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Wed 2 Jun 10 at 18:09
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When his 406 diesel estate finally became too nasty to drive, wife's cousin ordered a new small Kia or something diesel. But it took ages to come. In the interim he paid a bloke a hundred quid for the use of a dark blue Octavia saloon, petrol auto, respectable looking except for bad paint on the boot lid.
Never got my hands on it but it made no untoward noises and he said it drove well but was thirsty. My guess is that a service might have improved that a bit.
He drove it for about three months and gave it back to the guy, I think. When the Kia came it was the wrong colour and didn't have the towbar he had ordered, so they let him keep it until his arrives. Three new motors for the price of one... I'm green with envy.
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>> Rather than buy a £500 car you might be better buying in the £1500 - £2000 range.
I am considering upping the ante. However, I need to keep some £ back for this Citroen Dispatch (or F/Scudo or P/expert) Window Van.
Last edited by: Pugugly on Wed 2 Jun 10 at 20:06
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>> a used site specialising in cheapies ... better
>> sources for this type of car than the internet.
Been there, done that. Much "yard damage" by the look, on top of other woes in the stock.
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>> 1998 Vectra 1.6 16V LS 4dr
>> 1998 Mondeo 2.0I GLX 5dr
>> 1997 Golf 1.6 CL 5dr
>>
>> All less than £500 with 6-12mo. MOT.
Pffft!
Vectra: many small probs which would've mounted up (hole for radio, hole in exhaust in wrong place, door mirror broken, number plate lamp fallen into bumper, OSR damper leaking, colour worn thin on bonnet, no spare, no jack, OSR door hinges worn, 2 tyres, 3 wheel trims, NSF speaker cover off and broken, weak battery).
Mondeo: Gone.
Golf: The Vectra was a better bet. Golf's OSR door not opening, 2 wheel rims, scrape on OSR wheel arch, cracked NSF headlamp glass, broken OSF door mirror, and *then* I started it - a loud mechanical thumping rent the air, as if of a brick in a cement mixer (or washing machine, depending on your experience), on closer investigation gold-coloured particles of bronze in the oil.
Bah!
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you aint getting a full set of pristine wheel trims on a 500 quid car!
Mind that golf sounds like fun. Some sucker will buy and run that for a 1000 miles before it expires in a huge pool of oil.
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Are there any other good places to buy cars in FT's price range? I know about the usual suspects, eBay, AutoTrader.
Are there better bets? The auctions always tack on prohibitively large fees (i think? maybe there's a way round them?) for this sort of money.
Local papers are a good bet i'd think, but where else is there that's usually a good bet?
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I got a pretty tidy Cavalier for the lad (body good, interior a bit tatty with mismatched keys) bodily and mechanically good, just sailed through an MOT for 400 quid off autotrader.
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>> you aint getting a full set of pristine wheel trims on a 500 quid car!
No, and I don't really care - but it's a minor niggle to add to the other, and worse, ones. It all mounts up!
>> Mind that golf sounds like fun. Some sucker will buy and run that for a
>> 1000 miles before it expires in a huge pool of oil.
Possibly, although I don't think it'd get much further than the yard gates. Someone who worked there said it'd be a minor problem, just a "bit missing off the piston, easily fixed". Well, yes. Add to that the bronze in the oil, etc., and run away. Quite possibly it'd throw a rod, I wouldn't disagree.
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Haha. Tut tut. Did you really think you can drop £500 on a mainstream car and get some kind of gem? You might, but most likely not. Buying really cheap cars isnt as easy as it seems.
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A lot of good stuff has now been scrapped for new Kias and Hyundais, cars that had FSH and were in good condition, because the owners could afford a new car and not likely to neglect their old car. Oh well, it kept the British car industry going...
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im looking for the elixior of ever lasting life
if someone has the number to phone for that potion too im interested
ps NO 0845 numbers
i thank you
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>> im looking for the elixior of ever lasting life
I will sell you some, for £500, and I will give you personally a full guarantee!
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>> >> im looking for the elixior of ever lasting life
>>
>> I will sell you some, for £500, and I will give you personally a full
>> guarantee!
>>
>>>> but you no give tel phone number
i need tel phone
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>> A lot of good stuff has now been scrapped
I put an electronic advert on a sort of (company) "board" two years ago - I had about a dozen replies to my "Wanted- cheap £500-ish car" line; a few days ago, I accessed the same company's system, and got 0 replies. I think you are right about the scrapped cars.
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I've also been looking for a £500 car for my dad. It just doesn#t seem possible so I am going to do the bodywork (sand down the rust on the sills, use the grey rust paint respray) and use filler for the really bad bit and then just have the rear suspension rebuilt again.
It may cost £300 but then at least we have spent £300 on an MOT on a 13 year old car with a good engine, clutch and gearbox even if the rest is falling to pieces. With any £500 car there is probably faults with the engine/gearbox/clutch.
The only people left mainly running well maintained bangers are those who can't afford to pay the loan on a new scrappage car. These people will probably hold onto their cars until something major goes wrong.
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The only people left mainly running well maintained bangers are those who can't afford to pay the loan on a new scrappage car.
>>>>
>>>>>>>> please dont put yourself in the glasses on a string sandal wearing teachers idea that only poor people run old cars,it doesnt become you
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I never meant that, I know a lot of rich people that drive old cars (its often why they are rich) but the most none technical people if they have the money for a new car they will buy one.
People don't want the hassle of. If a well off person has a good old car which never causes any problems then they would want to keep it, hence they are hardly any good £500 on the market any more. They are being sold either because an expensive fault will develop soon, its a total shed or lots of small things kept going and the owners had enough.
The number one reason for sale was often masked as company forces sale which was the 'excuse' for the previous owner selling my dads Fiesta. It overheated the next day - thankfully it was just the thermostat but it was not a good start.
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Its perfectly possible to buy a car under £500 without buying a shed. Ive done it twice in the last 6 months. What you have to do is put aside any notions of choice on colour, sunroofs and other silliness and ask a number of basic questions:
1.Long MOT
2.Tax
3.Any major faults
Get these and you will have a car that you can get in and use which is kinda the point of a car.
The only other proviso is that if you want to increase your chances of buying something that wont go wrong, buy something known to be very reliable even in old age.
I bet my Carina is in better shape than most Vectras you could buy under £400.
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Wouldn't Ted's Fiesta - currently in the For Sale section of this very forum - suit?
On for £375 and if it's not 'as described' I'll eat my hat.
www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?f=7&t=1520
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The bigger the better. Assuming you're not doing lots of miles. None of these cars is going to make £1,000.
How about a 1992 2.8 A6 quattro estate in red. tinyurl.com/2bc2akv
A 1995 A6 diesel needing a new viscous fan and fractionally battered looking, but otherwise well maintained with a recent cambelt. tinyurl.com/32he3hw
A 2000 A6 saloon with a 1.8 engine tinyurl.com/3x98qxa which might slip over 1k.
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The bigger the better. Assuming you're not doing lots of miles. None of these cars is going to make £1,000.
>
>>>>>>mmmmmmmmm now i wonder why that is?
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>> >>>>>>mmmmmmmmm now i wonder why that is?
Because they're big, thirsty cars? And because they are often owned by people who like big luxury cars and want to swap to a newer model just because they're getting a bit old, so there isn't much market for them eventually?
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i draw my honourable friend to link no2
quote..............Forgot to mention that the ABS warning light has been showing for about 12 months, the garage were unable to find a fault but I think the ABS is over responsive so may be a sensor or something??.unquote
this is exactly why you dont want to buy old luxobarges as something like this can cost thousands to rectify
message ends................. :-)
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And again why older cars are better cheap cars than something complex - its worthless because theres more to fail and stop the car being any kind of bargin.
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>>this is exactly why you dont want to buy old luxobarges as something like this can cost thousands to rectify
The MOT lasts until Oct 2010 so even if you couldn't sort out the ABS by then you'd have got 5 months cheap motoring. You're always going to take a risk with cars this price.
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>> The only people left mainly running well maintained bangers are those who can't afford to
>> pay the loan on a new scrappage car.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>>>>> please dont put yourself in the glasses on a string sandal wearing teachers idea
>> that only poor people run old cars,it doesnt become you
>>
OI! Leave my Kia Pride outa this.
The only thing you got wrong was the teacher bit, although I am married to one. ;>)
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OK. I got one. I bought a Passat. I am gloating at the moment. I hope it doesn't blow up.
Who here has had a Passat? This is a "P" reg, petrol. Any advice?
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I had a Passat, it was an "N" Reg, suffix though, not prefix, from 1975. I bought it when it was 8 years old and I had 3 years absolutely trouble free motoring with it. Always started irrelevant of the weather and only breakdown was a snapped accelerator cable.
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>> I had a Passat, it was an "N" Reg, suffix though, not prefix, from 1975.
Lumme, as they say somewhat coarsely. That's 21 years older than mine! I did not know that they went back that far.
Any newer ones to talk of? This is a '96 1.8.
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My dad ran a 1995/N Passat 2.0CL petrol from 1996 to 2004, if that's any help. It had 10k miles when he bought it, and 162k when he part-exed it against a nearly-new C-Class. His VW was the last of the "old" shape, with ABS, PAS, 4x electric windows and an electric sunroof but no aircon or remote for the locks. Absolutely bombproof as I recall.
About six months after he got rid, I was bemoaning the state of my then runabout Carina E to him when he told me I should have said at the time, and he'd have given me the VW for nowt...
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Algeria in the late 70s and early 80s was full of those early, small Passats. I think the government got a job lot of them to bribe the bureaucracy. I was in a traffic shunt in a hired one once, driven by a fascist French news agency photographer called Spartaco, in an elegant square in the middle of Algiers.
Fair amount of shouting I seem to remember, but I wasn't personally involved.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Fri 4 Jun 10 at 00:05
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Buying a car to use for a short time. - Netsur
