Advice on buying a Banger needed!

Anonymous · June 7, 2004, 19:09

Hey guys, I have receintly been put into the predicament of needing a 4+ seater car or losing my job.. harsh s:evil: :evil: s:evil:
The problem is i am skint, so this is a catch 22 for me, i can't afford to lose my job, i can't afford to buy another car i DEFINATLY do not want to sell my spyder s:cry: :cry: s:cry:

With a budgit of around £350 can any of you recommend a what make/type of cars are reliable it needs to last from this summer until next summer s:roll: :roll: s:roll:
I see alot of Fiestas going cheap, but don't they have rust problems? Do you think that 12 month /MOT is a good bet it will last till next year?
I am hopeless at buying bangers, never had to do it and wasn't interested in cars 10 years ago (i was 16!) where as some of you will have a wealth of knowelege about what cars were good from the 90's in comparison to others from 10 years ago.

Here is an example of a car i have seen for sale at work.
£275 K reg Fiesta, red, some rust on the drivers door, 12 mth, MOT 1 mth tax, clean inside.

Thanks for any advice!
This is a great site BTW!

Anonymous · June 7, 2004, 19:36

If it's only got to last you a year, and as long as the car is mechanically sound, then I'd buy any old thing: a bit of rust on the door isn't going to hurt anyone. A blown head gasket, on the other hand...

You won't go far wrong with any Ford: there's plenty of Escorts, Sierras and Fiestas around my way, and they're still going well.

THEMOSS · June 7, 2004, 19:53

Ekona's right mate, you'll be better off buying a Ford as a banger. I don't like Fords but you can get them fixed anywhere and they're cheap as chips to run. I have a H-reg Escort 1300cc i got for £170, and theres no arguing with that. I never go over 3000rpm, and i just take it easy, it trundles along nicely.
I would definately try to get a full years MOT with it though. MOT's aren't really worth the paper they're written on, but for legal and insurance reasons you need one. Try to bring someone along who knows something about cars too.

Anonymous · June 7, 2004, 20:27

Walls are best in my opinion - sorry couldn't resist it.

Pretty much what has been said so far - Ford are the best as they are cheap to fix. I had a 950cc fiesta and a 1.3 escort and both were low cost. The fiesta had more bits on it from the scrap yard that the factory in the end.

Also consider a rover 213 (with Honda engine). Body will be rusty but the engine should be sound. Another option is an old Volvo. Clarkson got a 740?? for a quid and it survived 40 mph through a wall. Anything going wrong will be costly but as long as you don't mind a bust air con or faulty elecy window etc it should be good.

Genereal advice - If in doubt about anything (bearing in mind you are looking at cheap cars so there is bound to be odd things like rust etc) WALK AWAY. I have stuck to this and, altough hard, especally when in a rush it is worth it in the end.

- Try and get as much as possible in terms of MOT/Tax and if possible a warranty (even if only a few weeks). Also check the tyres carefully as new ones could make the car a lot more expensive than you thought!

Anonymous · June 7, 2004, 20:33

Good advice, I will check the tyres and probably go with the Ford providing it doesnt have any nasty suprises! I'll check out the other cars mentioned if i see one, probably get an autotrader this weekend if i don't get buy the fiesta.

THEMOSS · June 7, 2004, 20:55

Just remember mate that you're gonna be running this thing on a shoestring. As long as it's in a safe condition (ie the tyres have tread and the brakes work and its not gonna blow up suddenly) then do not spend money on it. Only spend money that you really have to on it, keep it topped up with oil, and fingers crossed you'll be okay. Let us know what you get!

Anonymous · June 7, 2004, 21:55

Quote from: "vibratingsky"Hey guys, I have receintly been put into the predicament of needing a 4+ seater car or losing my job.. harsh

If your employer is saying this to you, then they should provide you with a car. Otherwise sounds like unfair dismissal to me.

I wouldnt think your employer could dictate what car you have to have.

s:x :x s:x

Liz · June 7, 2004, 22:01

We had a look around for a banger when we wanted a towing car, the cost of the insurance was the worse thing, in most cases more than the value of the car s:shock: :shock: s:shock: , but I agree with Victor, seems unfair that your company are asking you to do this, they want you to drive a 4+ seater, they should provide it, particulary if you have to do alot of mileage.

Anonymous · June 7, 2004, 22:11

Looking at spending 4k on a second car, if we finally move to Sheffield.

Insurance is definitely the killer, for me the cost was the same whether I went for a 1.3i Yaris or a 1.6i Fiesta Zetec S. Weird. May be worth doing 3rd Party

markiii · June 7, 2004, 22:19

mk1 mr2?

Anonymous · June 7, 2004, 22:55

I used to own a Fiesta Zetec S, was a very good car! The review is something like "better than you would have ever believed. But unfortunatly nobody else will believe it either"

I wish i'd kept it insetad of the MR2...

s:P

s:P Not! s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Nah, my employer doen't need to have a reason not to renew my rolling 3 month contract, thats the beauity of rolling contracts. He did give me an opportunity to get it renewed for another year providing I get a mule to transport pupils from college to college. I asked about a rental car a long time ago but was told "No chance!", if i have a rental it would be on the books for 3 years, longer than my employment life expectancy s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Anonymous · June 7, 2004, 23:59

Well if your on a rolling contract, I guess you should move on and tell them to stuff it s:lol: :lol: s:lol: After all you could get the old banger, or worse sell up and get a mondeo s:crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: s:crazyeyes: and still not have the contract renewed.

Want a job controlling Satellites in Munich s:P

s:P My boss is always looking for new blood.

noddynurdle · June 8, 2004, 00:02

one tip just make sure it is a popular model of car so parts are easy to get from the scrappers

dancarbon · June 8, 2004, 09:59

Ford (or rather patent) parts are pretty cheap so that would help running costs - but for that kinda money you're going to have to take each car on its own merit.

Happy hunting and good luck

Anonymous · June 8, 2004, 11:04

Try this website for advice on bangers: http://bangernomics.tripod.com/

I run a Citroen AX GT which I bought for £490 and intend to hillclimb at somepoint but it also doubles up as a general hack.

There are loads of bargain cars out there for very little money. Do you want something quick, reliable, big?

Ford's have a great supply of spares and are cheap and easy to work on. Citroens depreciate very fast and are unloved so you can get a lovely BX/ZX with MOT and Tax for that sort of money. Electrics and hydraulics are abit more complicated though.

For sheer practicality and affordability old style Polo's are hard to beat. They are very tough and cost buttons to run.

dave.

Anonymous · June 8, 2004, 20:48

Got one today.

1.1l, Fiesta 5 door K reg. 70,000 miles, 10 MOT, 1 Tax, needs an oil change. Rust on the door (superficial but there is alot of it). Runs fine, 2 new front tyres.

Cost £260

I have a feeling i am going to appreciate my Spyder SO much more s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

heathstimpson · June 11, 2004, 20:36

One of my neighbours sold an old car a couple of weeks ago. They were buying a brand new scenic to replace it but the garage refused to take their 1.8LX Mondeo estate (M reg) in part exchange It had low mileage; FFSH and was mint. they sold it privately to a young lad for a £150. I could not believe it as it was a perfect runabout. It proves there are bargains out their if you look hard enough s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

THEMOSS · June 11, 2004, 21:01

Sounds like a good deal mate. Forget the rust that's nothing, my escort is almost two-tone with the amount of orange primer on it. C**p cars are cool! You can leave them anywhere, don't spend a penny on them, and don't need to bother cleaning them. Enjoy it for a year then sell it for £200. s:lol: :lol: s:lol: