Cars For Sale In Cov (2 Viewers)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201504303065019/

Was going to suggest an xr3i, maybe not if they go for that now!!

As much as used cars are expensive these days you can still pick up a lot for a grand!

Depends what you are after? MG/Rover L series diesels are quite cheap, good engines. A bit loud but generally won't let you down like the petrols!

I bought myself an st200 not long ago for less than a grand. Missed the V6 noise so had to get another. Nice car, but drinks fuel.

My neighbour also runs his own garage, I could ask him if he has anything? Or look online I think it is called scott & hayes.

lewys33 said:

As much as used cars are expensive these days you can still pick up a lot for a grand!

Depends what you are after? MG/Rover L series diesels are quite cheap, good engines. A bit loud but generally won't let you down like the petrols!

I bought myself an st200 not long ago for less than a grand. Missed the V6 noise so had to get another. Nice car, but drinks fuel.

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Was close to buying an St220 estate a few years ago, insurance said otherwise

torchomatic said:

Thanks both. I'm only spending a grand as it's my work runabout - my wife drives our "big" car. I like Fiats, but a bit bored of them now. Mates have suggested a Rover. Also a 206 and similar. I don't want anything too big, just a 1.4 would be more than enough.

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http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505093327956/ - Not too shabby
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505043166405/
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201504303079677/ - get some Werthers

torchomatic said:

Anyone recommend a good used car place in Coventry? Our second car has to have some major work so it's really not worth repairing. I was looking to get something for around a grand so just wondered if there were any second hand car places around.

Also, while I'm at it. Can anyone recommend any type of car I should go for? I've had Fiats for years but fancy a change now. As I said I'm not spending a lot as I don't tend to do more than 5/6K a year in that car.

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My experience mate, fwiw, I wouldn't bother too much about buying from a dealer for that kind of money. It's really the awkward end of the market, and you don't get much protection for the extra that you're likely to pay. Having said that, if you put at least some of the payment on a credit card, rather than a debit card, and they've substantially misrepresented the vehicle, or it's not roadworthy, you will have some comeback under the consumer credit act.

If it was me, I wouldn't obsess as much about the brand of car as about the number of previous owners and the history. Most modern cars can do pretty big mileages if they've been regularly serviced - this is especially true in my experience of the premium brands like BMWs and Volvos. Rep-mobiles like Mondeos go on for a while, and most Toyotas and Hondas are usually unburstable if they haven't been abused.

Always nice to have a full MOT too, saves unexpected surprises a few months down the line. Most dealers will be able to get any half-decent car through a ticket via a mate in the trade though, so don't put too much faith in it.

Something like this would do for me.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505093322647

It's even in the right colour!

I'd prefer a beemer, but the servicing and parts can get pricy. I'd probably avoid french or italian cars of this age, mostly because of the cost of spares - I suspect reliability for these isn't quite as bad as it's perceived in truth.

For the kind of mileage you're doing I'd probably stick to petrol - again typically a bit simpler and cheaper to work on.

All mho mate - but I've run bangers for a while now. There's a whole site on the science of it here...

http://www.bangernomics.com/bangernomics-blog.html

torchomatic said:

Thanks both. I'm only spending a grand as it's my work runabout - my wife drives our "big" car. I like Fiats, but a bit bored of them now. Mates have suggested a Rover. Also a 206 and similar. I don't want anything too big, just a 1.4 would be more than enough.

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Avoid the Rover 1.4 engine mate - head gasket issues. Watch out for boy racer abuse if you're looking at small hatchbacks - don't touch anything that's been lowered, has a modded exhaust, subwoofers, or blacked out windows. It will have been thrashed remorselessly!

Think about a VW Golf or a Focus perhaps - not too big, quite practical, pretty reliable. Just mho.

Peugeot 206 and 307 have really bad electrical gremlins ... If you are only spending a. Grand you should easily get a civic or a focus .. Also check the adds in supermarkets / newsagents .. I picked up a 2001 bmw z3 with 60,000 miles on it and a fsh for £1200 last week ( was covered in dust and they wanted room in there garage..and gave it to my dad who at 75 is currently enjoying his second youth in it

Last time I bought a car I put an email alert on autotrader.
The spec was an acceptable radius for the type, age & price range I wanted.
When I was getting a few live hits popping up I went round quite a the garages and looked at all of the cars on offer.
The result was that I had a good choice & made my decision in one weekend.

PS I made the radius about 25m, in the end I bough the car from a garage in Birmingham.

torchomatic said:

Yeah, i thought about the "hot hatch" issue when looking at stuff on Autotrader. Thanks for the heads up about the Rover. To be honest, I didn't fancy one of those anyway. Something like a 206, a Citroen C3 or something similar. I do quite fancy a Civic or a Jazz but they all seem to have zillions of miles of the clock for the price range.

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If they've got the service history, and it's not been through ten owners, the mileage wouldn't worry me too much. Go and see this bloke and if see if he's really got a newer Civic on the drive, if he has offer him £750 in cash, and settle for £850. Budget on another £250 to get through the MOT in September.

(Edit: Broken link - try this... http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201504293031960)

Check the obvious stuff like tyres are legit and evenly worn, and that the electrics work (electric windows are a classic failure on cars of this age), and don't let the fact it's nice and clean take your eye off the ball. If you get any kind of bad feeling about either the car or the seller, walk away - there's always another car to buy around the corner.

Edit: Ignore this - credit card, we're looking for dealers, sorry!

FWIW (not much!) spent ages having £1,000 cars. The best, without question, was my Mazda 626. Quiet, refined, reliable. 2.0 petrol not exactly cheap, but if you're doing low miles...

Don't go for the Lancias like I did for a while

If you really want good value go for small reliable and no street cred whatsoever.

The Corsa is probably the best bet - pick the smallest engine and the base model.

If that's what your budget is don't for god sake go to a dealer. The small independents work on a 20% margin at leash and will provide no aftercare so go private.

I've recently bought a VW polo 1.4 diesel.

£30 a year tax, and I used £30 of Diesel getting to Newcastle from Bournemouth, so if you're looking for a cheap run around, I'd recommend the VW's

Obviously for a grand, you'll have to get an older one, but the engines are practically the same I believe.

Grendel said:

If you really want good value go for small reliable and no street cred whatsoever.

The Corsa is probably the best bet - pick the smallest engine and the base model.

If that's what your budget is don't for god sake go to a dealer. The small independents work on a 20% margin at leash and will provide no aftercare so go private.

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I had a full spec corsa as a courtesy car for 3 months, loved it Like you say, no street cred, but a great car.

Oh, another tip that may or may not work. My Uncle just traded in his Fiesta, the old one was perfectly decent, but was just sent off to an Auction House as it wasn't worth them using the forecourt space. So it could be worth checking with main dealers if they have any recent part-exes they want to shift. Zero comeback on them though if it turns out to be a dog, so almost worth just trotting off to the auction!

Nick said:

Was close to buying an St220 estate a few years ago, insurance said otherwise

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ST220's are seriously good value for money right now, but running costs are not its strong point. My 200 is £850 to insure, £20 a month tax and 19mpg average!

Nick said:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505093327956/ - Not too shabby
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201505043166405/
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201504303079677/ - get some Werthers

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No to any petrol mg - unless you know what you are doing with engines.

The sport KA is a pretty good shout. A friend of mine had one and said it was a right little hoot to drive.

...for a £1k runabout, I'd go for a small SEAT Ibiza or SKODA Fabia......they are basically VW/Audis wrapped up in a cheaper badge.....

Last of the big spenders eh !! You don't get much for a grand these days ! It's the target market of the first time buyers too, especially with a 1.4 engine !