The New Normal.

[Barry Cade]

Been browsing for a new daily for a few weeks now. Our lives have changed a bit since I bought the Focus, so have been looking for a smol petrol car, about five grand ish. OR a sub 1k smoll petrol car that will hit the ground running.. i.e a bit of MOT and ready to rely on.

HAH.

Got finance in place, but need to liquidate the Focus.  Can't be arsed with selling it so tried WBAC etc.  Came back at 3k+ which would sort me out no probs. Filled in the form again, being brutally honest, stonechips, few marks, oil change light on, couple of wheels need looking at..... £1500 minus fees etc. For that  I'll keep it and spend 2 or 3 hunner on it and make it minty again. Its a good motor, does 55MPG, hasn't put a foot wrong in 3 years and is very handy. I'm just a bit wobbly about Diesel going forward. My spec is very rare, but the few I've seen on Autotrader are 6k+

Went to see a Smol Fiat today, marked up at a dealers at £5995! older than the Focus, but half the miles. Stuffed in the corner of a dodgy yard, a bit green,flat tyre,obviously painted front bumper, and worst of all, a smashed rear window. Also £4995 in the ad.

Over to Marketplace and Gumtree..

nothing.. NOTHING that was ready to put to use straight away for under a grand, even if I'd travel a bit. No CAT, No MOT. Just needs... No time or I'll MOT it and sell it for 2k.. been off the road.. barn find.. was my late dads project car.. Scrap valu is 600..... No offers...

 

 

I'm seriously looking at e-bikes.  

[Popsicle]

I feel your pain, its all overpriced shite and chancers trying their luck. Mrs Popsicles Vectra is starting to get a bit needy, MOTs up soon, its booked in for the weekend, so I'll see how it goes. I've been browsing the usual places for a replacement and its mainly junk that needs a load of jobs doing straight away or eyewateringly expensive and probably still likely to fall to pieces same as the cheaper stuff.

A mates offing his 08 plate passat for sensible money, its well looked after, but seems like out of the fire into the frying pan. Might end up doing something I've not done for years and signing on the dotted line for something newish.......

[Datsuncog]

They say that used car prices are coming down, but I reckon it'll be a while before they hit the more, ahem, budget conscious section of the market.

My similar rant from earlier in the week debating repair vs replacement for the unexpectedly frilly Corolla:

On 11/16/2022 at 1:15 PM, Datsuncog said:

I couldn't get anything for £500 from the classifieds, other than something crash damaged or a non-runner. Certainly nothing usable as-is. A search on AutoTrader gives a grand total of 5 cars under £1k within a 50 mile radius; the best one being a Peugeot 107 with a full year's ticket for £995 - but I don't think it'd be all that much use as a load lugger.

The dire MOT situation here means there's so many cars languishing out of test - and it's an absolute crapshoot as to whether it's genuinely 'just out of test', or it's been tested and failed abysmally, since there's still no way to check MOT history over here - which seems daft as they're all done centrally.

So - I'd have no confidence that I wouldn't end up landed with another lemon.

I agree that fixing what I have is probably the best option - unless it's much worse than I think underneath...

High scrap values probably play a role, but like so much else it feels like we're still living through some weird times...

[DVee8]

Yeah, I'm looking for a first car for No2 son.

A Peugeot 208 we went to look at ,that the seller forgot to mention the front and rear prang.

A Bini one yesterday now credit to the seller he massaged to say he'd took the car to the shop and the ABS light had come on. He could have said nothing.

 

[sierraman]

£1,500? It would go up in smoke before I accepted that from WBAC. 

I’d start looking from £2k upwards, there’s fuck all generally worth having at less than a grand. 

[Neil clark]

Picked up a C1 with 3 weeks MOT a few weeks ago, 90k miles. Paid £850

It went straight through MOT, there are some bargains but you need to look

[sierraman]

Some parts of the country you just wouldn’t buy from, the cars there are just rough, West Yorkshire, Birmingham etc. Loads of rough Cat S stuff cobbled back together with stolen parts being retailed off bombsites. 

[sutty2006]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

Some parts of the country you just wouldn’t buy from, the cars there are just rough, West Yorkshire, Birmingham etc. Loads of rough Cat S stuff cobbled back together with stolen parts being retailed off bombsites. 

100% avoid buying anything from brum, regardless of price as well. 

[Mally]

I'll buy from anywhere.

You can't class one person by a whole City.

Teacher at my granddaughters school took the whole classes library books off them because one pupil damaged their book.

I'd sack that teacher.

[SunnySouth]

I'm in the opposite position, got one to rid myself of but it either desperately wants a service and the brakes doing first, or sell it essentially for scrap as it is. Really CBA with doing front discs & pads on the drive in November, because brakes are a c*nt, but equally it's not dead yet, it's got six months ticket and scrap seems a waste. However, it's a 2.0 petrol auto and at this rate I'll have to draw up a pros and cons list to help me decide which child to sell first to fuel the bastard thing up, so that's a consideration...

[Dave_Q]

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

Some parts of the country you just wouldn’t buy from, the cars there are just rough, West Yorkshire, Birmingham etc. Loads of rough Cat S stuff cobbled back together with stolen parts being retailed off bombsites. 

I don't always subcribe to advice from the sierraman school of buying a shit old focus then scrapping it at the first sign of trouble motoring but I will think twice at buying from any of the killer B's:

• Bradford
• Birmingham
• Bury
• Bolton
• Blackburn

[sierraman]

26 minutes ago, Dave_Q said:

I don't always subcribe to advice from the sierraman school of buying a shit old focus then scrapping it at the first sign of trouble motoring but I will think twice at buying from any of the killer B's:

• Bradford
• Birmingham
• Bury
• Bolton
• Blackburn

So true. That said I’ve had our Focus nearly 5 years next year, I’ve spent a few quid on bits to keep on top of it this year I’ll have you know!

If anyone doubts the above advice, I’d suggest a trip to Cleckheaton Trade or whatever they call themselves this week for a snapshot of what crap they are selling.  An acquaintance who buys and sells won’t touch anything VAG round that area, too much of the tackle he comes across is bent, fucked, badly modified, never been serviced or just plain dodgy. 

Cornwall used to be a good shout for decent older well looked after cars, I picked up a Sierra once from Penzance, at that time it was a bit special as the arches didn’t have a spot of corrosion on them which at the time was unusual. Not the cheapest but a good source nevertheless. My old man lives in semi rural Somerset, loads of tidy Mk1 Focus, Astra G etc that’s probably never been out of the county and serviced on the dot. The place to go for err that sort of thing.

[Dave_Q]

Cleckheaton is close enough to count as Bradford, and it's also not far from another hive of shit car villainy, BDewsbury (honorary B on that one)

[twosmoke300]

4 hours ago, sierraman said:

Some parts of the country you just wouldn’t buy from, the cars there are just rough, West Yorkshire, Birmingham etc. Loads of rough Cat S stuff cobbled back together with stolen parts being retailed off bombsites. 

Hey ! My goona 3 was from brum and the seller and car are fine 😂

[sierraman]

9 minutes ago, twosmoke300 said:

Hey ! My goona 3 was from brum and the seller and car are fine 😂

I know plenty of brummies, salt of the earth folk but there’s a lot of crap cars on offer round there. 

[Matty]

Owner of a fiesta from Bradford here 😆

[UltraWomble]

5 hours ago, sierraman said:

West Yorkshire, Loads of rough Cat S stuff cobbled back together with stolen parts being retailed off bombsites. 

Check ✅

Current 107 is Cat S repaired from industrial unit trader in W.Yorks new wing but central Locking came off a C1 (so I have Citroen keys!)
In fairness, bought with eyes open and I knew about its accident Hx. Aside from the suspension being a bit soft with 4 fat knackers in the car Im pretty pleased with it. And it wasnt expensive.

3 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

I don't always subcribe to advice from the sierraman school of buying a shit old focus then scrapping it at the first sign of trouble motoring but I will think twice at buying from any of the killer B's:

• Bradford
• Birmingham
• Bury
• Bolton
• Blackburn

Check ✅

Bought 2 cars fron Blackburn - both piles of automotive shit with dealers as twisty turny as a twisty turny thing. Bought a motorbike from Bolton & the fucker used more oil than the Exxon Valdez.
Had my Vauxhall wheels swapped by a garage in Bury for some bald shit. "It came in like that Bruv"

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

If anyone doubts the above advice, I’d suggest a trip to Cleckheaton Trade or whatever they call themselves this week for a snapshot of what crap they are selling.  

Check ✅

Bought the Silver Picasso from there - actually aside from only having one key instead of the promised 2 and its "FSH with loads of invoices" being a receipt for a tyre and a RAC pamphlet it was a decent motor and is still running around locally. Thirsty though (1600 pez) But by christ on a moped there was some utter bilge in their shed.

[sierraman]

43 minutes ago, UltraWomble said:

Check ✅

Current 107 is Cat S repaired from industrial unit trader in W.Yorks new wing but central Locking came off a C1 (so I have Citroen keys!)
In fairness, bought with eyes open and I knew about its accident Hx. Aside from the suspension being a bit soft with 4 fat knackers in the car Im pretty pleased with it. And it wasnt expensive.

Check ✅

Bought 2 cars fron Blackburn - both piles of automotive shit with dealers as twisty turny as a twisty turny thing. Bought a motorbike from Bolton & the fucker used more oil than the Exxon Valdez.
Had my Vauxhall wheels swapped by a garage in Bury for some bald shit. "It came in like that Bruv"

Check ✅

Bought the Silver Picasso from there - actually aside from only having one key instead of the promised 2 and its "FSH with loads of invoices" being a receipt for a tyre and a RAC pamphlet it was a decent motor and is still running around locally. Thirsty though (1600 pez) But by christ on a moped there was some utter bilge in their shed.

But I’m wrong, you can’t give anecdotal experience... 🤣

[sporty-shite]

5 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

 

• Bolton

Oi. No need! 😁

Or maybe that's why I struggle to sell anything for decent money. 

[Bren]

When you look at the toss on those bombsite forecourts it's no wonder people are prepared to wait two years for a new car.

[RoverFolkUs]

Top tip, if interacting with a seller from West Yorkshire, expect a response containing "yes bruv" or "yes boss" ... 

Cease communications immediately 

[horriblemercedes]

Why not keep the Focus and fix it? It sounds like a decent car and doesn't need much

[FakeConcern]

10 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

Why not keep the Focus and fix it? It sounds like a decent car and doesn't need much

I'd go along with this ^

 

Also a lot of truth in the adage "better the devil you know..."

[busmansholiday]

6 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

I don't always subcribe to advice from the sierraman school of buying a shit old focus then scrapping it at the first sign of trouble motoring but I will think twice at buying from any of the killer B's:

• Bradford
• Birmingham
• Bury
• Bolton
• Blackburn

At least Barnsley isn't on there....

[Dave_Q]

To clarify I am sure there are people and areas in my list of B's that are absolutely fine so please don't anyone feel personally offended.

Likewise I am sure there are B's and even places that don't begin with B where there are people are selling badly repaired cat S Golf Rs that just need the codes clearing for the EML to go off and include optional extras like one key, an MOT and the green slip off the logbook(already stamped when it was taxed a year ago) so don't you feel left out either.

For the record Bradford and Birmingham are top of the list, Bolton and Bury at the bottom with Blackburn solidly mid-table.

[MantaGTE85]

5 hours ago, UltraWomble said:

Check ✅

Current 107 is Cat S repaired from industrial unit trader in W.Yorks new wing but central Locking came off a C1 (so I have Citroen keys!)
In fairness, bought with eyes open and I knew about its accident Hx. Aside from the suspension being a bit soft with 4 fat knackers in the car Im pretty pleased with it. And it wasnt expensive.

Check ✅

Bought 2 cars fron Blackburn - both piles of automotive shit with dealers as twisty turny as a twisty turny thing. Bought a motorbike from Bolton & the fucker used more oil than the Exxon Valdez.
Had my Vauxhall wheels swapped by a garage in Bury for some bald shit. "It came in like that Bruv"

Check ✅

Bought the Silver Picasso from there - actually aside from only having one key instead of the promised 2 and its "FSH with loads of invoices" being a receipt for a tyre and a RAC pamphlet it was a decent motor and is still running around locally. Thirsty though (1600 pez) But by christ on a moped there was some utter bilge in their shed.

My sister and I once went to Cleckheaton to check over a £2995 11-plate Alfa Romeo Meatus and just left it where it was. Shitloads wrong with it: bumper-screws and arch liners missing, loose lights, peeling steering wheel, that sort of thing. Cleckheaton Motor Sales seem to use 'showroom condition with no faults' and 'as good as the day it left the factory' in almost every car's description, why is that?! In that case then, I bet the original owners of most of those cars have been well-pleased with the finish on their hastily-resprayed-with-aerosol-black alloys when they first drove them home!

[DodgeRover]

10 hours ago, SunnySouth said:

I'm in the opposite position, got one to rid myself of but it either desperately wants a service and the brakes doing first, or sell it essentially for scrap as it is. Really CBA with doing front discs & pads on the drive in November, because brakes are a c*nt, but equally it's not dead yet, it's got six months ticket and scrap seems a waste. However, it's a 2.0 petrol auto and at this rate I'll have to draw up a pros and cons list to help me decide which child to sell first to fuel the bastard thing up, so that's a consideration...

Go on give us a clue what you want shut of. LPG conversion is under a grand fitted if near Brum..

[Talbot]

10 hours ago, SunnySouth said:

Really CBA with doing front discs & pads on the drive in November, because brakes are a c*nt

You must be joking...a set of discs and pads??  Proably one of the easiest jobs to do short of topping up the screenwash.  1hr tops, including 3 cups of tea.

[Barry Cade]

3 hours ago, horriblemercedes said:

Why not keep the Focus and fix it? It sounds like a decent car and doesn't need much

More for the missus. She's gone from working in a care home, to doing care at home. Most of her home visits are 5-10 mins away with 45 mins or so in between, which doesn't do a Diesel much good. Cold start, drive a mile.. cold start drive a mile 5 times a day. DPF's dont like this.

[Ghosty]

11 hours ago, Dave_Q said:

I don't always subcribe to advice from the sierraman school of buying a shit old focus then scrapping it at the first sign of trouble motoring but I will think twice at buying from any of the killer B's:

• Bradford
• Birmingham
• Bury
• Bolton
• Blackburn

Which is also where the sixth killer B originates: 'BEST PRICE M9'. 


Further to the above, I concur.