No such thing as a cheap car

[bangernomics]

Yup. I did, and a lot of mates now do other stuff, with less hassle and more money. After a few drinks in the pub last week I had a workshop foreman beg me to go and work for him when he found out I was a tester. He cannot get mechanics or testers for love nor money. RAC and AA are the same, as are proper breakdown tech's. Most won't even open a bonnet anymore, and we weren't even allowed to touch electric cars. Youngsters have very little interest in cars nowadays. All the big car manufacturers are having issues and environmental issues are causing even some of the best engineers in the world to cheat. The pool of simple but modernish cars are drying up fast and the number of folk like us who are willing to get their hands dirty is also getting smaller by the week, and stricter MOT's are putting loads of decent cars to the crusher because of a warning light..

 

The next 5 years are gonna be interesting..

Relay with timer, ign on = light on for a couple of seconds then off as long as current applied. Problem resolved.

[Snipes]

Really though, there are plenty of cheap cars out there that will run and run with little costs. It's just a combination of luck and fussiness, imho. Pretty sure you could go through most 'elderly' cars and find faults, but if it's something minor like one back window not opening or having to lock the car off the key rather than the fob etc, it's not the end of the world.

 

Fault free perfection is available, you simply have to walk into a dealership with your credit/debit card and sign on the dotted line for a brand new one. And not think that the first monthly payment combined with the first month's depreciation alone, would buy you a perfectly decent car you'd get two or three years out of.

Even that doesn't guarantee anything. My old boss had a brand new RS3; it was a proper friday-afternoon car and eventually he had to coercise Audi into a px/deal for another one.

[sierraman]

I changed the radiator on the wife’s 2006 Seat Leon .

The horror , never again . It took me a full day and a grinder to change it.

The car was so dismantled at one point when my landlord wandered past he thought I’d bought it as a crash repairable .

That reminds me last radiator I took out I had to cut the mounts, bolts had rusted to weetabix. Needless to say bumper was off etc. Wasn’t too much agg otherwise though as I was stripping it down to a bare engine so a lot of the ancillaries I’d took out anyway.

[artdjones]

With the PCP thing,I would imagine that manufacturers are going to have to follow Kia ,and give a seven year warranty,to make sure that the car will be worth the guaranteed future value after three years.If the trade won't want them after the PCP because of fear of complexity,they will be effectively worthless,and will then tank the financial system.

[stonedagain]

CBA scrolling through the whole topic, so soz if it's already been said before, but isn't this the very essence of this site?

 

If you like the car, fix it - with bits from scrappers, possibly, maybe even sourced from within these hallowed halls for either nowt or very little?

 

If not, bin it & move on.

 

There'll come a day when we're all wanking over weird stuff like Passats though. You heard it here first.

Wanking over Passats in an attempt to lube the shite door locks?

[sierraman]

With the PCP thing,I would imagine that manufacturers are going to have to follow Kia ,and give a seven year warranty,to make sure that the car will be worth the guaranteed future value after three years.If the trade won't want them after the PCP because of fear of complexity,they will be effectively worthless,and will then tank the financial system.

That’s where we come in buying 7 year old Insignias until they grenade themselves.

[Joey spud]

Just buy a early 2000's petrol powered Toyota if you want cheap,reliable fuss free motoring.

[artdjones]

That’s where we come in buying 7 year old Insignias until they grenade themselves.

It won't matter to the financial system by then, because all the downside will be the owner's burden, not the bank's.

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

It's not just cars - it's the usual - you get what you pay for…….. although you'll pay through the nose for a new anything - you're covered by warranty. Whether or not it is honoured is another matter of course....….

If you go out and buy a car for peanuts - how can you expect nothing to go wrong in the unforseeable future?

We speculate - the safety of this place usually means we know the history (or at least recent history) of het shed we're taking custody of. Out there in the blue yonder, you takes yer chances…….. owld out yer annnd etc....

 

I've been very very lucky…… all the cars under £700 I've owned have been absolute stars. Not one has broken down or caused a major headache! One day I'll be on here bitching about being stranded with some massive FTP - but after 20+yrs of bangernomics/liking old shit I can't really complain if I'm honest with myself…….

[cort16]

That reminds me last radiator I took out I had to cut the mounts, bolts had rusted to weetabix. Needless to say bumper was off etc. Wasn’t too much agg otherwise though as I was stripping it down to a bare engine so a lot of the ancillaries I’d took out anyway.

The Leon has about 8 layers to get to before you get to the radiator.

 

Bumper

Under tray

Headlamps

Crash bar

Front panel

Air con condenser

Fans

 

Radiator

[sierraman]

Having said all that radiators last a lot longer than they used to, plenty of cars at 10-15 years old with the original rad. They break a lot easier though!

[myglaren]

Accord was quite decent - new radiator, £60, half an hour to swap in.

Two back boxes, around £20 each, again a very quick and easy job. Digging the trolley jack out and making the essential cup of tea took longer.

 

Oh! - and a headlight bulb, five minute job unlike the current C5.

 

Shame it got written off.

[Snipes]

Just buy a early 2000's petrol powered Toyota Carina E if you want cheap,reliable fuss free motoring with style

 

FTFY, for when you have to scrap that 2000s Toyota because it's doing a 2 stroke and can't get through emissions come MOT time....

[sierraman]

I think with every car you just have to accept when it’s fucked it’s fucked and move on.

[Lord Sterling]

No car is "cheap" even free ones. Cars will always cost money no matter which way you look at it. You land yourself a free car, run it into the ground and then you'll be left with either - fixing it up to coerce some more life out of it or force yourself to shell out for a replacement because invariably, you'll be right in the middle of a situation where you'll need your car

 

It is partly how you look at things, but keeping on top of issues, applying a bit of preventative measures and having a bit of luck on yourside.

 

However, understanding what you have and what parts are important to keep on top of and what you can do to keep on top of repairs/breakages/warning lights etc...

 

I know that his very Reverend BlueJeans has said that my BMW has amazingly kept on going despite little maintenance but it does build up. The BMW loses a coolant from somewhere, oil also seems to slowly disappear over a few weeks. I just replaced a snapped anti-roll bar link, wipers, 2 rear tyres and and MOT was done. All this? About £130. Tomorrow it's in as it keeps trying to cut out. The next month it'll go in for investigation of coolant loss and after thst I might actually get the key sorted once for all. This doesn't really cost very much, but my current situation doesn't allow me the spare cash. I do what I can when I can and so far, it seems to have worked for me.

 

Another example: My KV6 Sterling was free. After months and months of being laid up, it still drives like I drove it an hour ago. It can survive on little maintenance (believe it or not) but now badly needs stuff looking at like slipping out of gear, the sills need welding and it needs a radiator. All these things needn't cost a fortune snd zi know what it needs, I just don't have the spare money right now.

[angle]

You can definitely stack the odds in your favour with shite, by choosing a Laguna II

You jest, but in the 18 months I've had mine the only 'OMG modernz' issue I've had was the headlight filling up with water and killing the xenon ballast resistor. Obviously they're eleventy million pounds from Renault, but £20 got me the right Valeo bit from a C5 being broken, and if even I can change something inside 90 minutes it's not hard.

 

Admittedly the front suspension is made out of soft French cheese (Epoisses maybe, or Pont l'Evèque) and its definitely benifitted from being touched by the hand of SiC, but I reckon including purchase price and consumables I'm still in it for less than a grand. Which isn't bad for 200bhp and auto everything.

[forddeliveryboy]

At one time I'd have tackled anything. However middle age, two young kids and shift work tend to get in the way of things. I still enjoy working on my cars - but not this time of the year.

I'm in the same place as this, so have just forked out for a belt change on the 90s V70 with 215k showing. £110 for a full Gates kit incl. both belts, WP and all the jockeys/tensioners, and £180 for the job. As I see it we've been at the point for a few years where either you buy a car you throwaway the moment it needs more than £30 spending on it or something which is simple but quality (prolly pre-2000) and maintain it.

 

All the same, everything reaches a point where it's at end of useful life - by which time cheap lower mileage examples have long gone. I'm hoping to use this Volvo for another 3 years then buy some ancient Leaf or i3 for everyday tooling about in.

 

Motoring today is one big hassle, unless you live where roads are near-empty and you've room for a workshop and two or three cars parked up for spares. Even for the young, there's little or none of the excitement of the freedom of having your own transport from what I observe today - go sailing (can be dirt cheap) or flying gliders (not as expensive as you might think) if you want transport which has the fun of what used to exist on our roads.

[Matty]

I changed the radiator on the wife’s 2006 Seat Leon .

The horror , never again . It took me a full day and a grinder to change it.

The car was so dismantled at one point when my landlord wandered past he thought I’d bought it as a crash repairable .

Ditto mark 3 golf. Ditto mark 4. Whoever decided it should exit the car forward not backward wants shagging with a steel bar

[Guest]

Relay with timer, ign on = light on for a couple of seconds then off as long as current applied. Problem resolved.

OK, if you know a spanner from a torx socket- most people dont. A garage has a duty to be professional and not bodge stuff. You think a customer will be OK about it if you bodge his ABS light and cheat the MOT test to save a new sensor or CV joint, and his wife skids into a passing artic? I know this is probably the wrong place to say this kind of stuff, but if something goes wrong with a car after you've worked on it, you will be hauled into the courts. I've been party to the investigations the police do after an accident and they're far from daft. In todays culture it's safer to say no than try and help someone out. Which means, unless the car is in the hands of one of us, then it will probably be scrapped for financial reasons, which makes the pool of possible motors for people like us get smaller and smaller, and the value of these well looked after motors rise until they get into "The Doctor" territory.

 

Just read that Madrid are banning older vehicles from the city- this will be a factor more and more now- I had issues in Germany with my Alfa 145 as it wasn't compliant in big cities. Cheap cars are dying out, cheap older cars won't be cheap for much longer. Newer cars and especially Diesels won't be easy for a normal DIYer to repair, and even if you have the ability, the special tools required will make it impossible to do at a reasonable cost,and the goverment will keep taxing older stuff as we get closer to the ban on Petrol and Diesel powered cars.

 

I hate pissing on anyone's chips, but I spent 3 weeks with a £750 budget looking for an interesting older smoker fairly locally and for the first time ever got fed up reading about scrap and decided just to keep what I had and buy an old bike just to satisfy my tinkering itch. Having owned over 600 cars over the last 25 years I've never had issues like that, even with a much smaller budget. A shagged out 318i with a dodgy timing chain, overheating issues and no MOT is not a cheap car, even if it's £200 and it's "an easy repair" and the current owner "would fix it but just doesn't have the time"

 

P.S. I write this from up in Scotland, where it holds true. Having recently spent a week in Cornwall, I was amazed at the number of older motors in daily use. The salt and climate up here is a big factor.

 

 

 

"Selling my 9-5 2.2 tid spent over £4000 in the last 2 years just got head gasket done 2 weeks ago then the engine died also there is a small dent on the front driver side wing new egr valve renewed fuel pump new starter motor new intercooler pipes new diesel poles"

 

£400. Cheap car?

[artdjones]

OK, if you know a spanner from a torx socket- most people dont. A garage has a duty to be professional and not bodge stuff. You think a customer will be OK about it if you bodge his ABS light and cheat the MOT test to save a new sensor or CV joint, and his wife skids into a passing artic? I know this is probably the wrong place to say this kind of stuff, but if something goes wrong with a car after you've worked on it, you will be hauled into the courts. I've been party to the investigations the police do after an accident and they're far from daft. In todays culture it's safer to say no than try and help someone out. Which means, unless the car is in the hands of one of us, then it will probably be scrapped for financial reasons, which makes the pool of possible motors for people like us get smaller and smaller, and the value of these well looked after motors rise until they get into "The Doctor" territory.

 

Just read that Madrid are banning older vehicles from the city- this will be a factor more and more now- I had issues in Germany with my Alfa 145 as it wasn't compliant in big cities. Cheap cars are dying out, cheap older cars won't be cheap for much longer. Newer cars and especially Diesels won't be easy for a normal DIYer to repair, and even if you have the ability, the special tools required will make it impossible to do at a reasonable cost,and the goverment will keep taxing older stuff as we get closer to the ban on Petrol and Diesel powered cars.

 

I hate pissing on anyone's chips, but I spent 3 weeks with a £750 budget looking for an interesting older smoker fairly locally and for the first time ever got fed up reading about scrap and decided just to keep what I had and buy an old bike just to satisfy my tinkering itch. Having owned over 600 cars over the last 25 years I've never had issues like that, even with a much smaller budget. A shagged out 318i with a dodgy timing chain, overheating issues and no MOT is not a cheap car, even if it's £200 and it's "an easy repair" and the current owner "would fix it but just doesn't have the time"

 

P.S. I write this from up in Scotland, where it holds true. Having recently spent a week in Cornwall, I was amazed at the number of older motors in daily use. The salt and climate up here is a big factor.

 

 

 

"Selling my 9-5 2.2 tid spent over £4000 in the last 2 years just got head gasket done 2 weeks ago then the engine died also there is a small dent on the front driver side wing new egr valve renewed fuel pump new starter motor new intercooler pipes new diesel poles"

 

£400. Cheap car?

Cheapish source of spares if you have the same model,some space and can bargain the price down a bit.

[garethj]

This Suzuki with 69,000 miles for £1200 should be reliable

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-Ignis-1-3-GL-LOW-MILEAGE/142974209000?hash=item2149ed4be8:g:DYoAAOSw9mFbGWKO

 

 

A Civic with 70,000 miles for a grand should be alright, despite the tyre wall black

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-Honda-Civic-1-6-i-VTEC-SE-5dr/253904090187?hash=item3b1ddcf44b:g:hpEAAOSw0G9br13A

 

 

This Corolla with 73,000 is £450

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Corolla-GLI/254005986659?hash=item3b23efc563:g:xzkAAOSw-ghb-tJ~

 

 

This has 48,000 on the clock for £575

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-Clio-1-2-Provence-3-door-Low-Mileage/183517372020?hash=item2aba7cde74:g:CAcAAOSwbgNb3cJQ

 

 

And so on, and so forth.

 

As I said, all you can do is stack the odds in your favour.  If you want all the peace of mind of a modern car, buy something like these for about £800 and reserve £100 for a few days' car hire if it breaks down once a year.  This really is cheap motoring, you would spend more money over the course of a year if you bought a train ticket once a month.

 

You can get cheaper but the odds of success are less.  You need to search harder, be luckier, have less choice etc.

 

When I was starting to drive 30 years ago a car would cost £800 (equivalent to £2000 now) and it would break down often then fail its MoT most years too.

[Timewaster]

when somebody doesnt want to MOT your car you dont really want them to MOT your car do you?

 

We took it elsewhere it passed no advisories

Garage I worked at had a big sign up "MOTs while you wait"

 

One Friday afternoon, half the mechanics off sick or holiday, useless parts boy (me) helping out in the workshop and some loud mouth breathing gobshite brought a 10 year old Granada in and insisted we test it there and then.

 

The manager spoke to him, explained the situation and it would be as soon as we could.

 

Mouth breather went mental, swearing at the manager about how he was a busy man and didn't have time to come back, your sign says.... Yadda Yadda yadda

 

Manager brings the keys into the work shop - "URGENT MOT NEEDS DOING RIGHT AWAY! *Under his breath* (fail it, I don't care what on, just fail it!)"

 

I suspect the Granada was either re tested elsewhere or scrapped after the list we produced.

[Timewaster]

Another solution would have been to at least wear some pants when he drove.

Isn't that the point of heated leather seats?

[lesapandre]

"Mouth breather went mental, swearing at the manager about how he was a busy man and didn't have time to come back, your sign says.... Yadda Yadda yadda"

 

Clearly diplomacy not their strong point - I usually put on a clerical dog collar, leave some church fundraising magazines in the car and say I'm on my way to collect a sick puppy who is on his way to the vets before I attend a baptism. Usually works. Any religious questions I always answer with the phrase - that's an ecumenical matter.

[Bobthebeard]

Not read most of this thread so apologies.

No such thing as a cheap car? I disagree. I have currently two cheaply bought cars. One cost £500, the other was £150. Both still in daily use with minimal spend. The £500 car owned for two years has been fine. The £150 car needed £300 spending on it and is great.

Cheap cars can be ok.

[Guest]

Not read most of this thread so apologies.

No such thing as a cheap car? I disagree. I have currently two cheaply bought cars. One cost £500, the other was £150. Both still in daily use with minimal spend. The £500 car owned for two years has been fine. The £150 car needed £300 spending on it and is great.

Cheap cars can be ok.

Agreed BTB, but you can change a KV6 cambelt. People like you are in a tiny minority of the great British public who own cheap cars. Most are a clutch away from the scrapyard. What I'm trying to say is the pool of cheap cars is dwindling fast. I don't think the 90's and early 00's cars we all revere here will have their place taken by Peugeot 2008's or BMW 2 series in years to come. If the car you've had for 2 years that cost £500 is my old 9-5 estate, I did loads of work to that in the time I had it, probably over a grands worth at garage rates, so if I didn't have it, it may well have been bean tins by now. I hope it lasts you for many years to come, but if I was doing it for the money, without man maths, it would have went to the bridge.

[Isaac Hunt]

I did loads of work to that in the time I had it, probably over a grands worth at garage rates, so if I didn't have it, it may well have been bean tins by now. I hope it lasts you for many years to come, but if I was doing it for the money, without man maths, it would have went to the bridge.

BC makes some valid points. There does seem to be a trend of gumtree that if a car is worth £1000 in fair order and needs £700 worth of Parts and Labour then it must be worth £400 spears or repears sad to see it go.

 

Your keen DIYer needs to get the bits, get their arse in to gear and fit them, then poss MOT it. If the repair is not viable using second hand stuff then by the time it is all done it weighs in at the value of the car. So the car worth £1000 has cost a £1000 and some effort.

 

The only upside is that it may provide reliable service for as long as it is required. It is so much harder to buy a Car for £300, spend £200 on it and a few hours graft and have a car worth £1000. Tool around for a few weeks and flip it on for a few quid.

 

Car Mechanics mag just bought a cheap Insignia, fooken hell it caused them some grief and some wedge. They paid £2070 for it, did a fake of work, got it all sorted and some general stuffed it up the chuff. Henswurence valued it at £1890 FFS, that will be where it is 'booked' borked or not borked.

[Guest]

In one sense, if you buy a car that needs a fair bit of work, and you do it yourself, then all the bits are new and should last many years... but you can end up with Triggers Brush, and have spent more than 3 years PCP on an Audi. Of you could have 5 years with an oil change a year. Even old hands take a gamble on this. "

[Shirley Knott]

The Leon has about 8 layers to get to before you get to the radiator.

 

Bumper

Under tray

Headlamps

Crash bar

Front panel

Air con condenser

Fans

 

Radiator

 

Pretty much the same story with a B5.5 Passat (Ask me how I know)

 

 

 

 

In the Highline trim with leather, heated seats, 50 mpg + fairly quick they're a nice place to be, the downside being that unfortunately despite the longitudinal engine arrangement I found the PD130 Passats quite unpleasant to work on. Radiator=not fun, alternator=pain in the arse, CTS=fiddly, and that's ignoring the constant water ingress issues.

 

Firmly on my 'never again' list.

[Matty]

Thing is though us and our dads have probably been saying this for years. "Cars are getting too complicated can't DIY em built in obselecence etc etc". We keep finding ways to do it though and learning as we go. I have a feeling we'll be reet