Dodgy motors too many about!

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Alps

MB Enthusiast
SUPPORTER
Joined
Nov 29, 2002
Messages
7,627
Location
London\Essex
Car
E63s s213 2019, E55 2004 Silver-SOLD, E63 w212 Weistec AMG-SOLD, E55 2004-SOLD, C36 1997-SOLD
Thought id share the experiences fro mthe last few days on here!

Been helping a freind buy a first car for his 17 year old, so option have been limited to fiestas, saxo` and peugeots. budget of around £1200 looking for about a 2000 model or newer been to see 4 cars so far, all have been a nightmare!

1. Saxo 1999- told it was mint on the phone, turned out really tatty, stuck on vtr kit falling off, left that.

2. x reg fiesta 1.3, 53K, no paperwork apart from logbook and current mot, said he had bought it off his ex boss who had now emigrated to cananda. After a good check over chassis number had been tampered with , looked like plate welded on top and re-stamped - left that well alone

3. Saxo x reg - looked great in the pics, email sent by seller stated a few little things wrong, but generally no dents, no rust, took an hour drive to cambridge to see it, it was a total mess, rear doors all dented and door strips stuck on with mastic, front wing rusting to bits, left that well alone (after telling the seller what i thought of his lying in his emails.

4.saxo 2002 "02" plate , 73k- it was late at this point and just wanted to get a car sorted, drove to orpington, saw the car, it was at he sellers freinds house as the tax had run out and his freind was showing it to us (alarm bells?) suppossed to have SH and 2 sets of keys - didnt. Asked where it was (i was actually talkingto the seller on the phone) he said it was his aunts car he was selling and thinks shes lost it., generally the car looked in mint condition, defo had a respray, but there was no sings of any accident damage , engine bay looked like it had never been cleaned (which is a good sign), so i made an offer taking the lack of SH into consideration as long as it passed a hpi check. done a RAC vehivle check online where the milage was recorded as 135K just 2 mnths earlier! again left that well alone!

looking at a few more this weekend, hopefully will have better luck!
 
this is God's way to keep you away from the saxos!

whats wrong with a nice W202 C180 ? :thumb:
 
That's the trouble with small hatchbacks at that price point.

No offence, but a lot of them are owned by 'yoofs' and thrashed to within an inch of their lives, whilst being adorned with bodykits etc, crashed and badly repaired etc.

People often don't bother looking after them because they're worth so little.

You're certainly wise to keep looking, it's worth paying more for a gem.

Maybe look at some of the more 'sensible' alternatives, maybe not so new or exciting but more likely to have been looked after.

Eg, tidy VW Polos, or something owned by a private individual for a longer period (not clocked/resprayed/tarted up trade cars) etc.

I think Saxos are possibly one of the poorer choices - popular with the 'yoofs' and not very well built = bad combo!

Good luck :)

Will
 
The C class will be to expensive to insure.I know it might be a ladies car,but an A class would be cheap to insure
 
Get a little Honda , generally owned by grannies and maintained regardless of cost ...

More reliable too ...
 
Some of them have a surprising turn of speed though .... the engines are generally pretty advanced compared to saxos , corsas et al ...
 
The bottom line here for everyone is to not take a face value ANYTHING a seller tries to tell you. It is your money....There is the perfect car out there, but by crikey there are some dodgy jobbies.

You are so right to walk away from these sellers that make outrageous claims. If they are selling a car then they should have ALL THEPAPERWORK\documentation, keys, service booklets, handbooks etc etc... If these are not present, then I gaurantee you that there is a car out there that has it.

When we were looking for cars for both my son and daughter, it took weeks to find the right ones,but by crikey, the waiting was worth it. the ideal car is out there :thumb:
 
You've my sympathies as I've been there myself in the past. Have you considered other cars like, micra, corsa, polo, zx, 306?

It's so hard to find cheap cars with genuine history, it's best to be open minded on the model/make as when the right cheap car comes along you need to strike quickly.

edit: don't be scared of high mileage diesel cars with FSH....I had a pug 205 with 180k on it...great little car

A few selections which may or may not be suitable:

Citroen ZX

Pug 206
Best of luck.
 
Last edited:
....I had a pug 205 with 180k on it...great little car

Best of luck.
Nowt wrong with a 205.

I've just taken the little pug 205 (1400GR) up to the father in laws to sell from his drive.
It's a 2 owner from new, F reg and looks almost as good as when it was new.
 
Alps

definately the hard way to buy a car.

why not just go to a specialist dealer in small cars ie fiesta centre near me is typical.

dealer cars are going to be pucka, and they will have done all the leg work and checks for you.

the lowest price (which is why I guess you have chosen your route ) is not necessarily the cheapest in the longer term.

How much expenditure has been laid out so far - on petrol, time etc etc
 
I had a classic (ie old style) mini clubman estate...

You learn how to cadance break (or miss your turn off)

I worked on everything myself, you learn a lot. Theres very little to go wrong electrical wise.

Thing is now, even myself for my daughter would want something safe.

I was supprised a the price of ford focus's for example? ok a 1.6 would that be too much to insure? or Toyota Yaris? also polos, I had a 1.3L with little alloys great car. Lots of mods for a young lad to do cheaply.
 
Nowt wrong with a 205.

I've just taken the little pug 205 (1400GR) up to the father in laws to sell from his drive.
It's a 2 owner from new, F reg and looks almost as good as when it was new.

Any pics or details of the pug for sale??
 
Firstly, that is very bad luck to have 4 dodgy cars in a row.
Why not see if someone you know wants to sell their little car (maybe a forum member, neighbour etc)

I'd def say leave saxo's a little peugeots alone. Try going for a VW polo, Toyota Yaris or Honda Civic.

Hope that helps
 
Thanks guys for all the good words of wisdom, the main sticking point for my friend is the insurance, 17 year old first car, 1.1 is £1800 insurance, even a fiesta 1.25 is £2200!! crazy!

hence the choices. ive got 2 to see on sunday, i`ll have covered the country by the time we find one! :)

i`ll drop an update on here either way!

thanks again, if anyone sees a nice 1.1, let us know
 
Or the Daewoo Matiz? (Or is it Chevrolet)
800cc, what more could a 17YO want?
 
I was supprised a the price of ford focus's for example? ok a 1.6 would that be too much to insure? or Toyota Yaris? also polos, I had a 1.3L with little alloys great car. Lots of mods for a young lad to do cheaply.
I was pleasantly surprised at how cheap some of these cars re to ensure for youngsters.

When we were looking a few years back, a 1.6i petrol Ford Escort was cheaper to insure than a 1.6 diesel Escort.... The diesel might overtake a slimey slug if it were going downhill, but the 1.6i petrol is a different beast, but the petrol was cheaper to insure. My advice would be to get some quotes on the different makes\models
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom