Rip off cars - epic rescue and dreadful cow of a woman included

[purplebargeken]

Seriously though, the very best place to get a car from is within this very forum.

[D Spares & Tyres]

Good point!

 

She should buy that Vel Satis on here

 

Can't see that ever going wrong....

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I would just like to add that you can't be ripped off on price, simply because if you don't do your market research then if you pay £750 or something for a 1992 Fiesta with no wheel arches and 3 weeks MOT, that's your hard luck.

 

 

Indeed. Buyer beware.

 

Go back 40 years and see the utter shit folk were driving then. A cheap used car would be a wanked Mini or 105E. Bird or Bloke, you needed to have some wits about you* as well as some knowledge of bodging - a 5L bottle of water, Bars leaks dogturd, etc. Back in 1996 I had a 1986 Onion 1.4 Geee-Aah that was so fucked it would make the 10 mile trip from Aylesbury to Bicester just before the oil light came on. 

 

 

 

*May not apply in 2015 as in short supply.

[Split_Pin]

That Corsa looks like an utter death trap.

[sierraman]

The MOT isn't a guarantee of a years trouble free motoring. The cack handed paint is a sign of the rest of the workmanship that's gone into looking after it.

[Split_Pin]

My Corsas brakes were like that and they were alarmingly shit before I changed them, plus bald tyres, plus likely galloping corrosion, hitherto undetected by the MOT tester.

 

You get what you pay for though, and they arent advertising it as anything other than what it is.

 

Unless it's from a shiter, 190 for a car is madness, asking for trouble imo.

[Guest Renault20tx]

My Corsas brakes were like that and they were alarmingly shit before I changed them, plus bald tyres, plus likely galloping corrosion, hitherto undetected by the MOT tester.

 

You get what you pay for though, and they arent advertising it as anything other than what it is.

 

Unless it's from a shiter, 190 for a car is madness, asking for trouble imo.

I wouldn't necessarily agree. Previous car was a Polo SDI 1999 saloon. 90k on the clock, 9 months MOT. Got it for £200 off a driveway in West Midlands. One replacement wheel bearing, another tightened, frount suspension bush nuts tightened, all drive shaft bolts tightened. therefore it stood me at £257, and never gave me any trouble. Sold it for £150ish 4 months later, it needed a new flexi on down pipe of the exhaust, so next owner will spend about £80 and get a good years use out of it, I have no doubt! 

 

I would say buy private, but buy £200 cars by all means. Just consider your budget as being £500 in reality. IMO better to get a £200 car that needs a bit of fettling here and there, than spend £500> on something smarter, because that way you will feel it owes you money. So when it needs repairs, you feel obligated to have it done. Its chasing lost money by laying out more, in the same way a gambler does, I think!

[Bren]

You could spend 7k on a modern that has had long life oil (may not have been changed for 20k), that has been kerbed, had the brake linings worn to a minimum, tyres fucked I could go on and still get your fingers burnt.

 

Expecting a £500 car to last in an age where nobody actually looks after anything because they lack the brain cells and cash really is too much to ask.

 

Shares in TATA steel would be a safer bet.

[Richard]

You have to remember that you have the ability to assess a car and you don't have to pay somebody to work on it. If you were paying someone £30 per hour and retail price for parts the costs would soon escalate.

 

You are dead right about piling money into midlife cars though. Been there, it's sub-£500 or new for me from now on, nothing in between.

[sierraman]

Cack paint jobs and twatted missing hubcaps tend to go hand in hand with someone that doesn't give a shit. I know I'm profiling here but mouth breathing morons tend to fuck about painting alloys black and putting Lexus lights on and ignore stuff like changing the oil or keeping the brakes in a serviceable condition

[Ben_O]

I am quite happy to buy an MOT failure if it is cheap and the failure items on the sheet are only minor. It's a good way to get a cheap chariot providing you can do the work.

 

I just bought a 2000 Punto Automatic in very fine fettle. had lots spent on it the past year including a major service. One owner from new and very well cared for by it's owner.

It had failed it's latest MOT on 2 small 10p size holes in the outer sill each side and the handbrake is below efficiency.

 

The car cost me £80, will cost nothing for me to get ready for it's ticket as i have all i need and then just a £30 MOT fee and you have yourself a cheap car.

 

The work will take me less than a day so i will have a nice little car in lovely condition with a years ticket for £110.

[Ben_O]

Cack paint jobs and twatted missing hubcaps tend to go hand in hand with someone that doesn't give a shit. I know I'm profiling here but mouth breathing morons tend to fuck about painting alloys black and putting Lexus lights on and ignore stuff like changing the oil or keeping the brakes in a serviceable condition

I totally agree with this.

 

My cousin went on at me for ages asking me to fit a stupid sound system into his Metro GTA. He spent a fortune on an amp, sub and speakers.

 

I finally gave in and agreed to do it and whist chatting to him, he asked me about his brakes saying they weren't very good lately. Turned out to be leaking cylinders and the master had run dry of brake fluid making the car a death trap.

He still didnt care and was keen to have this silly sound system put in. I managed to persuade him to sell the speakers and shit to raise the cash to fix the brakes but he wasn't happy about it.

 

Fucking daft

[Split_Pin]

Agree with Richard here, I bought new in 2012 and will chop in for new once the finance is up. For myself, Ill keep my old Corsa B going and if it dies, Ill just get another old but decent motor. I only need it for the station and back.

[Cavcraft]

I would genuinely expect a £500 car to last for ages, but that's based on me looking over it as best as possible first. As for buying in trust, then it's best to assume everyone (selling) is a complete twat who's out to have you off.

[New POD]

The only place a trader can sell to the unwashed and stupid public, is at a genuine auction. Not ebay.If they sell off a forecourt,  They can write "Sold as seen, no warranty" as big and bold as they like, but it's a legal fact that you can't sign away your rights.

[D Spares & Tyres]

You can if you write

 

'unroadworthy vehicle sold for spares or repairs, to be transported away with no warranty implied or given'

 

Make them sign it. Explain to them why you have to do this. Decent folk understand, the others you don't want to sell to anyway

[Lankytim]

Or, "this is not to be used as a motor vehicle, only as a garden shed"

[Split_Pin]

On browsing the Cleckheaton website, I can't help but get the impression from the cheaper part ex to clear cars that you'd have to be pretty dim indeed to expect something that will be reliable and have no issues. Whilst I wouldn't trust a fair few dealers, perhaps we have lobbed too much of the blame on them, on this occasion. On the other hand, 400 odd quid should get you something that at least works for a year.

[Ben_O]

This thread has just reminded me of a situation i found myself in many moons ago.

 

I bought a mk5 Escort from a friend of a friend for cheap as there was a hole in the gearbox. I was young and wanted to earn myself a few quid so got a good used box for £40 and with the help of my Uncle, we fitted it over a weekend.

All was well so it went up for sale and after a few days, a group of lads in tracksuits turned up and wanted to buy it. I felt uneasy about it but they had the cash so i sold it to them.

 

That night, i got a very threatening call from the buyers dad saying he was furious about the cars condition (nothing at all wrong with it BTW) and that he was part of a notorious family in the area and that they would come and burn my house down if i didn't give them a refund.

I polity asked what was wrong with the car and he offered to bring it round and show me.

5 big blokes turned up in the Escort and told me that the car was 'gutless' and that the gear knob hit the radio when selecting 1st, 3rd and 5th.

I told him that the car was a 1.4 and drove perfectly well for what it was and that the gear knob issue could be solved by adjusting the selector shaft as i must have not adjusted it properly when doing the box.

 

Things got nasty and they refused to leave unless they had cash.

 

I didn't want to give in but i was shitting myself a tad and with no backup, i had to return the money.

 

it really isn't nice being on the sellers side of a sour deal so i can kinda sympathize with the sellers of cheap cars with short MOT's that do make it clear that the car may need work and that no warranty is given or implied or refuse to sell to anyone who might lead to trouble down the line

 

However, I despise anyone who would knowingly sell a used car no matter for how little that has a serious defect without making it clear in writing. It's just darn right irresponsible