Car hunting, URGH

[Barry Cade]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KIA-RIO-O4-HATCHBACK-5-DOORS-26600-MILEAGE-/291708901504

 

29900 miles!!! But it's a category C . I don't even know what that means if I'm honest. It might be a bit far away too (sorry - not very good at this).

 

Cat C on a Kia Rio could be something as serious as a stabbed tyre...

 

"A Cat C vehicle will have suffered significant damage in the past, probably in an accident. The insurance company that handled the claim decided that repairing the vehicle would have cost more than replacing it. Insurers often sell Cat C vehicles on for salvage. Many are safely repaired and returned to the road."

[Lacquer Peel]

I'm salaried for £60k per year in a job where I need to make a statement and in the last 12 months I've rocked up in sub £700 motors such as (bearing in mind I do 40k pa)

 

2011 '61' Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi

2007 '07' Ford Focus ST-2

2002 '51' Vauxhall Omega MV6

1994 'M' BMW 730i

1986 'C' BMW 728i SE

1982 'X' BMW 728i

1978 'S' Ford Cortina 1.6 GL

1972 'L' Triumph Toledo 1300

 

 

It's quite easy to run old snotters when you have back-up cars though. I can appreciate Felly's angst about buying the wrong car, I only have space and money for one vehicle too, if it's your only car you're pretty fucked if it goes wrong especially when you rely on it for commuting.

 

It's hard to feel sorry for old Felly when he has this stinking entitled attitude however.

[andrew e]

Sod buying a car, buy a shoe horn and get yer head out yer arse.

[Jim Bell]

It's quite easy to run old snotters when you have back-up cars though. I can appreciate Felly's angst about buying the wrong car, I only have space and money for one vehicle too, if it's your only car you're pretty fucked if it goes wrong especially when you rely on it for commuting.

 

It's hard to feel sorry for old Felly when he has this stinking entitled attitude however.

It's also easy to buy cars blind from strangers at the other end of the country for half of the advertised budget seen here, as an only car and daily driver too. But such adventures require time, and testicles.

[skoda_norman]

You can take a horse to water...

 

Amused.

[hauserplenty]

Autoshite.

 

Your motoring WAS our concern.

[Cavcraft]

I like how he's 'moved on' from an L reg Uno to a Y reg Focus. It's a bit like saying you've stepped up from going to Aldi and now shop at Farm Foods.

[sierraman]

I've got a 51 plate Focus does this mean I've at last found success?

[Essex V6]

Why don't you leave a note under the wiper of the Fabia?

[messerschmitt owner]

sorry, fellyway,  YOU are in the wrong forum.

[mouseflakes]

Hope Felly can resolve his current situation which doesn't sound great. I would go for something that'll get you to work for the time being and worry about finding the ideal replacement some time later. You never know, the stop-gap car might be just right and become a keeper. I've enjoyed the escalation of daft suggestions on here and I hope some of the riper posts haven't put Felly off coming here.
 
My favourite is still this (I might look for one myself - in this colour of course)...
 
https://www.gumtree.com/p/kia/kia-rio-cheap-car-1.3-petrol-1-years-mot/1158373601
 

[skattrd]

Billy, an older car would be dead within a couple of months, the commute is all 70 mph dual carriageway, diesel is creeping up in price now, and diesels require more servicing than petrols,  MPG difference is negligible at 70 mph, shite power band, drony, and I hate the stench.

 

Sorry, but this is utter bollocks. Says the owner of:

1998 VW Bora with 245k on the clock doing an average of 58mpg over 60k miles, needing cheap servicing every 10-20k.

If I averaged 70mph the mpg would be over 60, hardly negligible, and that is on veg or diesel. Why do you think taxi drivers use Skoda Octavias with these engines?

 

When you're skint and paying less than 5ppm on veg you get over the smell. As for the powerband ... speak to 320T about DIY remaps.

[purplebargeken]

FM, I understand that you want a decent looking car but the annoying reality is that your Focus will shortly no longer exist and it is highly unlikely that you will find something similar within your rapidly diminishing timescale. 

 

If I was in such a situation I would take whatever appeared mechanically sound, was a reasonable cc and was affordable. It really does not get any better than that in the real world. 

 

Cosmetic stuff can be sorted when cash and time allows. Pride isn't going to get you to work, unless it has Kia in front of it. Sometimes through no fault of our own we have to take it on the chin, dust ourselves off and do whatever is required to get out of a shithole. 

 

Fussy is not going to get you to work. Mechanically sorted and solid will. Good luck, I hope you can get something sorted and sorry for the shitty time you have had with the Focus getting written off. 

[mrbenn]

^^^ Spot on.

 

Felly, IMHO that Focus that Alexg posted is exactly what you're after, looks absolutely perfect for the job. Get yourself in front of the seller and wave pound notes in his face if its half as good as it looks. History sounds great, cambelt done and MOT. Focus' with low ownership and history are becoming scarce now. Give them a ring

 

http://www.ebay.co.u...D-/182032525294

[fatharris]

Felly, you need to lower your expectations. That Avensis is a fucking bargain and you're discounting it based on a couple of dented doors? Are you mad?

 

Oh, and plead poverty if you want but at least your pay cheque takes you out of the overdraft, no matter how brief it is!

 

I get that you don't want to drive a car with a dent in it (the horror!), but life is not fair and you aren't entitled to a perfect everything. I'm sure you're a top bloke but this attitude you've got is like a homeless man complaining about a food bank donation tin being dented, at some point people are going to stop helping you.

 

Oh, and if you want a hard time trying to find cheap, decent cars, TR13 8SJ, Cornwall proves a lot bloody harder, I can guarantee it!

[mouseflakes]

Is Lincoln too far? This looks ace! Long test - £400.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-02-Nissan-Almera-1-5-S-5-Door/172131530387

 

 

 

And this in Huntingdon...

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-NISSAN-ALMERA-SPORT-PLUS-BLACK-/172133862842

 

[egg]

http://palmerscars.co.uk/peugeot-watford/new/peugeot/108/car_10-68-active-3dr_11674.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwwpm3BRDuh5awn4qJpLwBEiQAATTAQQiXIhWgjWCjIT7e3g-2uh_BJAt8hpz9L9hiLF9YWf8aAqXT8P8HAQ

 

Its a shiney new thing that is going to get you in work on time, looks nice and decent, won't cost you any more than what is budgeted at the start.

 

If it's going to be new, it has to be Dacia 

 

http://offers.dacia.co.uk/cars/sandero

[UltraWomble]

Ive never understood this "I have to drive an X because my job demands I make an impression".

 

Bugger that, just turn up in something clean and all the same colour if thats what your job demands of you, or find another job. I worked as a district nurse for nearly 10 years riding an assortment of motorbikes when all my colleagues had cars, I turned up in leathers or waterproofs but never had trouble parking, cost less per mile to run and never got snarled in traffic. Dressings and shit were kept either in my luggage or backpack. After the first visit none of my patients gave a monkeys and quite often enjoyed the fact I spent longer with them nattering than my counterparts.

 

Still work in the NHS, now higher up the food chain so spend a lot of time with my car parked up next to an assortment of nearly new . new BMW's and Audis etc - again no one gives a monkeys I rock up in a 11 year old Almera and neither do I so long as I get there on time and do my job. I'd rather spend my wages on my family and reducing my mortgage than a flash car. 

 

I used to commute (1995) from Preston to Manc every day in a very battered 1979 Fiesta because I worked in Rusholme and Moss Side on the grounds that I didnt give a flying fuck about the car getting more battered or broken into by the twats in the area. The car coped well with the commute and never let me down. Used an even more battered to fuck Maestro doing 40 miles commuting daily with a further 20 to 40 miles district work a day, again never let me down. Mechanically if a car is looked after it will be fine, so I dont buy this "if I buy a high milage / old car it will be dead in blah blah blah" it will be dead if you neglect it and dont service it, but otherwise Im sure it will be fine.

 

Its a PITA Felly when you need wheels, your budget is tight and your timeline is even tighter, and I share your frustration that having a bump shouldnt leave you out of pocket, but more often or not it does. Ive had a few over the last 30 years and most have left me a few hundred or so worse off. I suspect if you had the money to hire a decent solicitor you could end up even stevens, but you would still be out of pocket with the solicitor, so you lose anyway.

 

Weigh up your priorities - getting mobile so you can get to work, go shopping etc?

 

There have been some sensible suggestions on this thread for cars, some might involve a train journey which, yes, is a PITA again, but sometimes you have to do these things.

 

Get mobile, get something clean, if you are that bothered about the age slap an non age related plate on it, save up for what you really want and in 12 months buy at your leisure.

 

Of course Im just an opinionated fat Northern git and my views are not necessarily in parity with yours or your life.

[purplebargeken]

^^ Dacia - Would if needed a new car.

[UltraWomble]

Is Lincoln too far? This looks ace! Long test - £400.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-02-Nissan-Almera-1-5-S-5-Door/172131530387

 

 

 

 

And this in Huntingdon...

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-NISSAN-ALMERA-SPORT-PLUS-BLACK-/172133862842

 

The Almera may be dull, but they are reliable, dependable and lots of other words that end in "able"

[mouseflakes]

Dressings and shit were kept either in my luggage or backpack

I hope one or the other were in a plastic bag at least.

[oldcars]

Probably not your cup of tea but this surely has to be the bargain of the month?!

 

 

£299!!!

 

http://www.robertpalmercars.co.uk/used-cars/rover-25-1-8-gti-5dr-norwich-201601210282291

Your lights are on, but you're not home

Your headgasket is not your own

Your engine sweats, your body shakes

Another drive is what it takes

You can't sleep, you can't eat

There's no doubt, you're in deep

Your throat is tight, you can't breathe

Another headgasket is all you need

Ohh oohh

You might as well face it you addicted to rovers, you.................

[oldcars]

SMASHED IT!

 

46k only - £695 or best offer.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hyundai-Lantra-1-6-Si-5spd-Saloon-White-46k-Service-History-MOT-July-16-V-Reg-/161705838081

 

TBH I'm starting to envy your predicament.

This is class, looks great in white.

[Bren]

I sort of understand whee Felly is coming from - he feels he is in the last chance saloon and needs to make his next choice the right one otherwise it could push him over the edge.

 

However for that sort of commute, me personally, it could'nt be anything other than a diesel.

[trigger]

The funny thing is there's loads of cheap cars around here, we are hardly on the Sheltlands or rural Wales.

 

Bub has even offered him the Fiesta for free and offered to collect him from the station but he's turned it down as he doesn't want to drive the car.

 

How do you expect people to help you when you can't help yourself, it's almost like your enjoying looking like the martyr.

[face]

I'll stick my neck out and say I feel a bit disappointed by some poster's reactions.

 

Felly is in a fairly rough spot it seems, and that is perhaps why he may be coming across a little difficult. I personally don't think that is a decent reason to take the piss.

 

This is a great forum, full of really friendly, sympathetic and helpful folk. I'd hate to see that change.

 

I hope you get sorted out soon Felly.

[bub2006]

Felly did say the fiesta is too small size,too small engine,too old and needs mot work doing too and he hasn't got time. I've heard nowt back about offer to collect him or a car. I would offer to go view,buy and deliver but I don't want that commitment now just in case it's not exacting his needs and I'd be left with a car I don't bloody need or want!

[bub2006]

But I didn't mean anything I said in a nasty way. Hope you get sorted though. I'd still go for the avensis in your predicament.

[Lacquer Peel]

It's also easy to buy cars blind from strangers at the other end of the country for half of the advertised budget seen here, as an only car and daily driver too. But such adventures require time, and testicles.

 

Yes, I would buy another car from an autoshite regular without worrying about it being a shitheap unless it was described as such. The Xantia (RIP) I had off ruffgeezer was great, as was the >200k Volvo off Richard which I still see about.

 

I like how he's 'moved on' from an L reg Uno to a Y reg Focus. It's a bit like saying you've stepped up from going to Aldi and now shop at Farm Foods.

 

Does a newer plate = moving up in the world? I went from an R reg Volvo (RIP) to an 04 reg Spanish rusty van, I don't think I've moved up in the world.

[Alexg]