Price of scrap , price of shite etc

[blackbird]

So let me get this right The price of a car for scrap is about £150 depending on where you live if you weigh it in , if the scrappy collects etcbut let's take £150 as the averagethat means no car is worth less than £150 so the chances of getting a very very very cheap cheap (like a budgie)car are none or zero Banger racers are now paying , and paying more for cars but does this mean cars in the next bracket up £250-500 has dropped due to being rounded down to the lower value ?

[CortinaDave]

I would say so. A couple of years ago I would have put effort into flogging something that was only worth £2-300 because the scrappies were paying absolutely nothing.Problem being at this price bracket you usually have to deal with reams of numpties who expect the world for no money.Here the scrappy will give you £160, no tyre kicking, no grief.. just readies. So the proportion of people willing to suffer the numpties to rehome a piece of autoshite is much lower than usualThere is some very useable stuff being weighed in at the moment which is a shame

[Cavcraft]

Yep, that's the problem. I scrap quite a few myself and always try and find a home for them first but 'public' advertising on Ebay, in AutoTrader and local papers is a waste of time due to aforementioned numpties.Why sell to some pinhead who will moan 3 months down the line if a wheeltrim falls off when weigh in money has gone through the roof?

[r.welfare]

Agreed! The trick is to try and ensure the desirable "Sid & Doris" shite isn't weighed in by their kids trying to do the right thing...although most of the fragging stuff I see on the back of lowloaders is mid-90s Mondeos and Vectras, thankfully.

[blackbird]

I'm a bit wrorries 'cos the price of scrap has gone up and there's not been a single Bluebird on the Autotrader or adtrader for 3 weeks and very few on ebay too

[Cavcraft]

Bluebirds have been hard to find for a while now in my experience. A bloke I know races them and used to ofer me reasonable money for them. Got one (of quite a few) for him last time round and he moaned it was too expensive so I ended up weighing the next three in. He then asked if I had any, I told him what I'd done with the last few and he hit the roof. Told him if he'd upped his price and not been so tight he could have raced them.

[Mash]

Bluebirds do seem popular for racing - large, relatively plentiful, quite strong I imagine. Austin Cambridge => Mk2 Granada => BluebirdAny predictions on the next generation banger race icon?

[Milford Cubicle]

Primera? Still a few carburetted ones floating around - or have racers converted to using more modern fuel injected bangers?

[Richard]

Fuel injection used to be banned from banger racing but I've seen injected bangers racing at Crimond.

[M'coli]

They've started making inlet manifolds to fit to Zetecs using the good ol' Weber DGAV purely for the ovals.

[CortinaDave]

i dont know much about what you can and cant race... but.Bug-eyed scorpios?Omegas?

[andrew e]

Still got Jags mind you.

[Pillock]

Definately Omegas for the next big oval thing. RWD and there's plenty of them gathering moss in front gardens everywhere. An early low-capacity runner can be had for £400 so something that's gonna fail test would be little more than scrap money.Although the same applies to Scorpios I guess, still RWD and still heavy and still unloved enough to be dirt cheap.Round here at least there's still a few Sierras on the road, they must still be the prime choice for the oval?How comes you can't run injected stuff on the track, is it harder to get it to cut the fuel supply in a crash or do they just not want the hassle of getting it to run with most of the wiring ripped out?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I'm all for all the real shite being weighed in. Vectras, Mondeos, Rovers etc plus all the French shit is all better off as a Tesco value Toaster.The way I see it is this - when you can have an old BMW, Merc, Jag for next to nothing (i.e something that was actually desirable when new) why would anyone want to save some ghastly Cavalier? 2013 Practical Classics Laguna buyers guide. AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!A Morris Oxford MO, Riley Pathfinder or Mark 2 Consul is interesting now because there are only about 12 left. If there were thousands of them left, who'd want one?As for fuel injection on bangers, on most systems the pump stops with the engine. They are specifically designed to do so in the event of an accident. Old D Jet systems on Jags have an impact switch for example.Right, I'm off to AvailableCar.twat to spunk £6000 on an ex fleet Vectra. Laters!

[Cavcraft]

I'm all for all the real shite being weighed in. Vectras, Mondeos, Rovers etc plus all the French shit is all better off as a Tesco value Toaster.The way I see it is this - when you can have an old BMW, Merc, Jag for next to nothing (i.e something that was actually desirable when new) why would anyone want to save some ghastly Cavalier? 2013 Practical Classics Laguna buyers guide. AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!A Morris Oxford MO, Riley Pathfinder or Mark 2 Consul is interesting now because there are only about 12 left. If there were thousands of them left, who'd want one?As for fuel injection on bangers, on most systems the pump stops with the engine. They are specifically designed to do so in the event of an accident. Old D Jet systems on Jags have an impact switch for example.Right, I'm off to AvailableCar.twat to spunk £6000 on an ex fleet Vectra. Laters!

I'd disagree, but then I would do really! I would NOT want a Beemer and quite a few supposedly 'upmarket' cars to be honest. Yeah, you got the toys with them but why spunk a few hundred quid on some tired old luxobarge that has been badly maintained by a succession of skint owners who bought it for the badge and then fork out loads in fuel/running costs for it?Faced with a choice of something like a 730 Beemer, XJ40 Jag or 420 Merc I'd sooner blast my cash on something like a red top Cav Mk3 or an old Astra with the same engine.I fully agree a hell of a lot of 'modern' cars don't have much appeal in some respects but most are reliable, modifyable (I made that word up!) and sometime surprisingly nice to drive and own.Give me the chance and I'll weigh in every possible BMW, VW, Audi etc that I can and have a Cavalier to keep.

[M'coli]

Give me the chance and I'll weigh in every possible , VW, Audi etc that I can and have a Cavalier to keep.

What, even the 5 cylinder models?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Give me the chance and I'll weigh in every possible BMW, VW, Audi etc that I can and have a Cavalier to keep.

Well, not everyone has the balls to take a risk with a bit of prestige shite. There's a world of interesting old shit out there, and a Mark 3 Cavalier is just boring old shit depriving a foundry of a hearty meal.

[Volksy]

I tend to do bangornomics with old luxo barges, at the end of the day if you pic them up for peanuts and they break, then you scrap em and buy another. Most of my Saabs have been bought for under £250 and have lasted a long time, in one case 2 years, with no work needed at all.

[r.welfare]

Each to their own, Autoshite is a broad church when favourite cars are concerned

 

I can see both sides of this argument - a decent prestige German motor for peanuts is a wonderful thing. But too many have been terminally shafted due to lack of maintenance, mainly thanks to 3rd/4th/5th/6th/xth owners having enough dough to purchase, but not enough to maintain them properly. Old Jags have always suffered from this too. Volksy's approach is probably the most pragmatic (and great new avatar, by the way...).

 

A Mk3 Cav may not be exciting or a prestigious sight on the driveway (and I know, having owned one) but it's generally a dependable device that's easy and cheap to fix, and has a ready market to sell on to. To be honest there's the nostalgia factor for us children of the 90s too.

 

Of course, the best of both worlds would be something like a Cav 1.7TD (or a 405 TD ) for day-to-day, and an elderly S-Class for high days and holidays...wouldn't it?

[Volksy]

Cheers RW,My outlook on car buying began when i used to work for a company that gave me a £250 allowance to purchase a car, everyone else opted for a new car on the never never, I went out and bought an '85 Saab 9000i for exactly £250, this was 8 years ago, it ran and ran and ran (with no work/servicing etc) for about 2 years, so each month my 'car allowance' turned into a beer/fags/pie allowance Yes everyone with their new Convertables and Audis would laugh at me in the works carpark, it was a prestigious advertising agency, but they were the ones whinging that they couldnt go out on a weekend!It seemed to work, so i've stuck with it ever since!

[r.welfare]

Done the same thing meself, Volksy. Two years ago I got promoted and had a company car allowance, decided to sack off my '99 Accord 2.0 auto as it would only do 30mpg, and bucked the trend of Audi A3/BMW 1-series dizzlers with a Saab 9-3 (Skoda didn't bring out the Octavia vRS diesel in time - grr; was considering a Superb as well, but bottled it at the last minute). GR8 4 MOTORWAYS and the 20+mpg differential, when taking into account the other "standing costs" of running my own car (insurance, road tax, repairs etc) meant it JUST worked out cheaper for me to do so.When I changed job last November, I thought "I can't be arsed with all this tax" so got my basic salary bumped up in negotiations avoiding a car allowance element (so I get 40p/mile business instead of 12p - this is damn useful given the amount of travelling I do - and the taxman still takes the same cut out of a car allowance anyway) and bought back my old 405TD for £50, which sailed the MOT needing one bulb...and the rest is history.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Perhaps I've been misunderstood here. A Mark 3 Cav is old shit in the same way ALL old cars are old shit. As a wise man once said 'old cars are like old people - they leak and they smell'.I'm of the age to remember the Cavalier in all three series. The Mark 1 was still the best with a good solid feel and very good rear drive handling, the others were okayish. Reliable and straightforward.......but there's more to life than that. To me an 80's/80's Vauxhall is like an old fridge. It does it's job but you never give it a second thought. I've never owned such a vehicle as a Cavvy 3 but they made perfectly good hire cars back in the day. I absolutely hated the handling (or lack of it) but they went well enough on the motorway. I don't remember them with any affection and I cannot understand why anyone else would, but each to their own. At least the Cavalier was better than the terrible Vectra, itself not much of a challenge.Old cars are now so utterly worthless that you might as well have something with some merit...surely?? I wouldn't suggest an XJ40 as a sensible means of transport btw.

[r.welfare]

Absolutely. But "merit" can of course be defined in myriad ways. 90's Japanese cars have merit because they never seem to break down, and take abuse from cackhanded owners. For sure, a Lancia Dedra is more exciting, but I would believe that advantage would be extinguished when I was at the side of the road, holding up a piece of broken electrics, grimly watching Nissan Primeras file past (OK, no more stereotypes).For the person who knows Cavaliers, is handy with spanners, and can pick up one very cheaply (as Cavette surely can), I can see their appeal.My weapon(s) of choice fit into the "old French shit" category very firmly, but I could list many reasons why I think they are good daily runners. I'd give my right arm for something more interesting in the garage (an Opel Monza sounds about right), but it's currently full of plasterboard and sundry building materials, so that's a non-starter. One thing a 405 does have, most definitely, is handling. I had a Mk3 Cav on a K-plate for a bit last year. The handling was indeed truly awful - I've not had such dead steering since I drove an Audi 100 - but it cruised the motorway beautifully thanks to the usual tall 5th gear ratio Vauxhall are famous for. It never failed to start or stop, the driving position and seats were excellent, and the engine was pretty damn good for a 1.6 (not as rapid as the A-plate Mk2 I owned at the same time, mind). A decent motor for 57 quid. And I liked it 'cos me dad had one when I was a nipper - back in the days when you were mercilessly bullied in the schoolyard if your dad didn't drive a white 2.0iGL Anybody whose dad had a Sierra got their head flushed down the bogs, if I recall. Still, I'd take a Sierra over a Cavalier now.An XJ40 2.9 with the manual 'box would probably not be too bad for MPG, actually On the other hand, an E34 525tds would be even better still...Just my 2p - I just love any old crud, basically!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I'm not saying a Cav is a bad car. They sold too many to be bad and even the much derided Escort Mk5 was never as bad as it was supposed to be.But I won't drive just any old car. Lancia Dedra? Never in a million years! If I want a Fiat, I'll have one with a Fiat badge :-)Interesting cars you can get for literally scrap value? Alfa 155 (the 8v please), or a boxer engined 145 or 164c - any old Alfa really. I used to run old Alfas older than this and can't recall any major issues.Vauxhall Senator, Peugeot 605, Ford Probe 24v, Volvo 850 - you don't have to resort of porridge to get a cheap interesting banger. But as I said, each to their own!

[fiatdaft]

escort mk5 was that bad!all those alfas you mentioned are fiats in drag aswell you know.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Btw I like the 405. I reckon it was one of the best handling cars you could buy in the late '80's and certainly one of the best rustproofed. I had the use of an F plate 405SRi when it was a new car and the owner went away for a week - it was her company car. I enjoyed it a lot - the 8v 1.9 engine if I recall correctly? It made my Mum's Audi 80 2.0 feel horribly slow and ponderous.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

escort mk5 was that bad!all those alfas you mentioned are fiats in drag aswell you know.

If the Escort V was such a terrible car, why did Ford sell so many? It was far from brilliant, but it was okayish as ordinary plodders go. In 1992 I did a spell valeting cars at a Ford dealer (Skippers in Darlington) and delivered a few Escorts. They weren't that bad.Alfa 164 was based on the Saab 9000/Croma/Thema floorpan, was built in Milan and used an Alfa engine. The 145 was unique and used no Fiat parts apart from calipers and bits like that. The 155 was the Tipo platform but used Alfa engines and was built in an Alfa factory. The Dedra was based on the Tipo as well but used a Fiat engine. Not a bad car really but in no way a proper Lancia.

[fiatdaft]

escort,easy to buy run and sell,thats why they sold so many.the alfa 145 used many fiat parts,just like the 155,and thay also had fiat engines.also without fiat the 164 would never have made production,oh and you can get a 164 with a fiat / lancia engine

[Cavcraft]

Give me the chance and I'll weigh in every possible BMW, VW, Audi etc that I can and have a Cavalier to keep.

Well, not everyone has the balls to take a risk with a bit of prestige shite. There's a world of interesting old shit out there, and a Mark 3 Cavalier is just boring old shit depriving a foundry of a hearty meal.

Anything (legal) is game in the scrap business. Ok, really rare or oddball stuff is a shame to weigh in but there's quite a few makes/models I have no interest in and it's quite pleasureable to watch them getting crushed. Having said that, and as I've probably mentioned before, in 99% of cases I'll advertise cars for scrap price to see if someone can save them first.It's madness at the moment really: I've just taken a 1999 Skoda in part-ex which needs a headgasket and has a noisy fifth gear. Taxed, tested and one owner from new it'd be crazy to crush it but the money is there and it means a quick no hassle disposal.

[r.welfare]

It's still a sad state of affairs that most people are gonna cube stuff that still has life in it, because they are mechanical numpties and the remedial work could probably be done by someone with reasonable DIY skills (which should encompass most of us on this board!)...The local scrap metal merchant has now started advertising on the local radio station - someone on RR noted they got £178 for weighing in a BX estate (without depolluting it) there last week.