I suddenly thought, "hobbit".
What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
- Thread starter dave
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What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
The car hunt still continues...
Now we had identified a likely dealer with multiple pieces of apparently interesting stock 40 minutes away.
In the car off we go arrive mixture of stuff they had online being notably missing or suffering from photo Vs reality syndrome where the camera is more than complementary to a turd.
Ended up touring various nearby franchise dealers picking over stock pretty much a waste of fuel.
Also my son was furious..as he wanted this..very on brand.
Note the missing panels on the Mazda 2 to the right... indicative of the level of care this dealer seemed to have there was a car with the lights held together with black tape for sale.
At least it's cured me of wanting to look for a car for a while, while I regularly go on like ours is a shed a trip to used car dealers definitely resets the barometer for shed..
Now we had identified a likely dealer with multiple pieces of apparently interesting stock 40 minutes away.
In the car off we go arrive mixture of stuff they had online being notably missing or suffering from photo Vs reality syndrome where the camera is more than complementary to a turd.
Ended up touring various nearby franchise dealers picking over stock pretty much a waste of fuel.
Also my son was furious..as he wanted this..very on brand.
Note the missing panels on the Mazda 2 to the right... indicative of the level of care this dealer seemed to have there was a car with the lights held together with black tape for sale.
At least it's cured me of wanting to look for a car for a while, while I regularly go on like ours is a shed a trip to used car dealers definitely resets the barometer for shed..
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Yup, much the same experience when we were looking for a replacement for youngest boy's wife's Jazz - you may remember it was vandalized by a drunk drug crazy party goer from the next street to his a little over a year ago. The budget was considerably constrained so we were looking at vehicles not in their first flush of youth, but even so, I was literally horrified at the cheek of some of the dealers offering some pretty rubbish vehicles at premium prices.
She quite quickly decided she liked the look of the Mazda2 so we looked at a few. The very first involved a half hour drive out to a moderate size used car lot west of the city whose's adverts you see all the time. He had a very nice looking, highly polished one which she sat in and liked. I opened the bonnet to see what looked like the underbonnet view of a car which had just completed the African safari rally - it was truely filthy! then I took a look under the rear end and was shocked by the decrepit and, in my view, dangerously rusted rear axle. We packed up and drove on at that. Over the next couple of days we looked at two more which were pretty average but priced at top dollar. On the third day we drove all the way down into the Borders to a wee dealer who had only very recently set up in business and his was, relatively speaking considering it's age and price asked, a "peach" we bought this one and it's proved to be as good as I'd thought although now, just over a year later, I think it's going to need a clutch soon. After we'd got her sorted with that car I went back onto the website for the first car, just out of interest, and it had gone. some poor sod, who probably looked at the nice shiny outside and interior but never opened the bonnet or looked under the car, will be really regretting their purchase by now!
The cynic in me says after you've bought your next car you should drive it straight to a garage to get fixed.
I buy at the car auction. The prices there reflect the fact that they're going to break down. And then I can fix it with the money saved.
You appear to be a mechanic...so why pay the middle man?
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It's for my dad....he wants something small and reliable. This dealer had a C3 a 208, multiple Hyundai I20s a Yaris etc hence us turning up to have a look us it covered most of his short listed cars.
I have no desire to replace ours at this point given what I've seen today i'd be paying a lot to get a half decent car.
It says a lot that I saw one car today with a matching set of tyres..it was 12 grand and it was a Ford KA+
It's at the point he might as well get a Dacia Sandero essential or a C3 you brand new for 13 grand and just call it done
He doesn't want to as he does no miles so depreciation is definitely the biggest cost but the the number of either expensive or awful cars I've seen today it's starting look like an option.
There will be something nice out there in budget I'm sure but finding it between his ford focus of questionable legality, no sense of direction and me having to drag a 5 year old around makes it a challenge.
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This is sensible.
I, like many on here, could tell some stories about women buying from used car dealers...always best to take someone who can spot the lemons and prevent the buyer from being taken on a very very very bad ride
For this kind of money I think a main dealer is the place to go (i'm guessing you were at a used car lot earlier today). He can get something a few years old that represents a good balance between price and age.
He can trade in his old car too.
We looked at both
The budget wasn't originally that much...but he can afford it and it's on balance in a market where a 10 year old Polo is retailing for 8 grand and a 4 year old one is 13 grand and neither of those will be under any proper warranty and all he needs is a basic car at what point do you take the line of least resistance and buy a new warrantied basic car?
His car is unlikely to be worth much as a trade in unless they weigh it. Today I thought I'd have a look under to see why his garage had told him to get shot.
2 things the rear subframe is mainly rust with some hopes and dreams...and the bottom of the drivers side front wing features structural electrical tape. Didn't look any further that was enough.
MOT is up next month..
Maybe take him into the main dealers and let them do the hard sell on him. Obviously don't let him sign anything there and then. Sales is their job so it might resonate with him and a few days later your search will be at an end.
I'm not sure what sales tricks they'll have up their sleeves, but they'll likely tell him his current car is great and offer more than its worth lol.
Unfortunately the man is a world class procrastinator..
The garage told him to get another car mid February, he's been "looking" for a car since then.
Today is the first day he had actually set foot in a car dealer..or looked at any cars that weren't on his laptop screen. The only reason he went today is because I literally turned up at his house and said "Ok you need a car let's go look at these ones you've seen online".
Just checked the MOT on his car...he's got 14 days left I thought he must have more realistically unless he magically starts bothering his backside I'm dragging him out again next weekend.
The garage told him to get another car mid February, he's been "looking" for a car since then.
Today is the first day he had actually set foot in a car dealer..or looked at any cars that weren't on his laptop screen. The only reason he went today is because I literally turned up at his house and said "Ok you need a car let's go look at these ones you've seen online".
Just checked the MOT on his car...he's got 14 days left I thought he must have more realistically unless he magically starts bothering his backside I'm dragging him out again next weekend.
LOL.
People are like that. My wife is adamant that all rainfall is caused by cloud seeding. I mean quite literally if there is a drop of rain she looks up to find an aeroplane!
The one plus side to these high prices is it makes it worth repairing cars which previously you'd have tried to move on! Becky's MOT is booked for next Wednesday and I'm only worried about one thing which is that last year she got an advisory on corrosion to the rear spring pans. If she fails I'm hoping to do the replacement myself with one of I M Axles products - which claim to use thicker metal for the spring pans so will probably see out the rest of the car. Problem is I've been having a few health problems of late, both in terms of guts (camera up the bum has been talked about - ouch! and my lower back, which had a serious operation on it a number of years ago. So now I'm worried as to whether I'm physically up to it. The back in particular has been giving a bit of sciatic trouble. Not really had to seriously face my mortality until now and I'm not liking it! Kenny, at the Fiat specialist, where she goes for her MOT, tells me they do two or three a year and it's very difficult to predict how they will go. One just falls apart with no snapped fittings etc whereas another can be a real "fighter". He recons that, unless something really goes wrong big time, the job for him to do should work out around the £600 mark. Beginning to wonder, because the rest of the car is in better than average condition, whether I might just let him do it if she fails. Replacing her is going to set me back many times that and I can see no reason why she wouldn't have a number of years in her once this is done. I'll keep you all updated on how things turn out.
If you want to do some of the work and just outsource the heavy bit, you could get hold of a secondhand beam complete with drums etc. plus the new beam, and build it up yourself in comfort.
Then put the seats down, load the fully assembled beam in, and deliver the car for the swap-over.
Removes the time constraints...
Then put the seats down, load the fully assembled beam in, and deliver the car for the swap-over.
Removes the time constraints...
Out again today...
Saw this.
www.autotrader.co.uk
Main concern is it's a Scottish car so some signs of tin worm occuring...also 6k for a 12 year old car.
Nothing untoward underneath for 12 years old as far as I can see, MOT history is reasonably uneventful interior is like new, oil was if anything cleaner than the oil in the Citroën, not freshly changed but golden brown. If he wants it he can pay for an AA inspection and get it done properly, Japanese cars and Scotland are usually not great so I'd rather it was on someone else's back although it's an Edinburgh car rather than the far north. May just be the white showing every brown streak..
If anything I saw far worse 3 years old yesterday...four matching Pirellis on it for a start. Generally presents as an honest car. Although for some reason the spare wheel is there but the jack is missing..
Of course the actual car we turned up to look at was a turd...water in the boot, signs of overheating and blasting out of the radiator cap all over the engine bay...so just as well there was something vaguely passable.
Saw this.
Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale
Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!
www.autotrader.co.uk
Main concern is it's a Scottish car so some signs of tin worm occuring...also 6k for a 12 year old car.
Nothing untoward underneath for 12 years old as far as I can see, MOT history is reasonably uneventful interior is like new, oil was if anything cleaner than the oil in the Citroën, not freshly changed but golden brown. If he wants it he can pay for an AA inspection and get it done properly, Japanese cars and Scotland are usually not great so I'd rather it was on someone else's back although it's an Edinburgh car rather than the far north. May just be the white showing every brown streak..
If anything I saw far worse 3 years old yesterday...four matching Pirellis on it for a start. Generally presents as an honest car. Although for some reason the spare wheel is there but the jack is missing..
Of course the actual car we turned up to look at was a turd...water in the boot, signs of overheating and blasting out of the radiator cap all over the engine bay...so just as well there was something vaguely passable.
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He wants a Panda. I read his mind!Out again today...
Saw this.
Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale
Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!
Main concern is it's a Scottish car so some signs of tin worm occuring...also 6k for a 12 year old car.
Nothing untoward underneath for 12 years old as far as I can see, MOT history is reasonably uneventful interior is like new, oil was if anything cleaner than the oil in the Citroën, not freshly changed but golden brown. If he wants it he can pay for an AA inspection and get it done properly, Japanese cars and Scotland are usually not great so I'd rather it was on someone else's back although it's an Edinburgh car rather than the far north. May just be the white showing every brown streak..
If anything I saw far worse 3 years old yesterday...four matching Pirellis on it for a start. Generally presents as an honest car. Although for some reason the spare wheel is there but the jack is missing..
Of course the actual car we turned up to look at was a turd...water in the boot, signs of overheating and blasting out of the radiator cap all over the engine bay...so just as well there was something vaguely passable.
vexorg
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What a load of nonsense, like you don't have a salty coastline in England for Wales.
Lower average temperature seems to mean salt on the road more of the year...not referring to sea salt at all more the sheer amount of grit the car may have seen.
It's an observation from similarly built Mazda days Scottish cars would have problems underneath years before those that had lived their lives further south.
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Normally I'd have said you get a bit more rain up there, but it seems to have been raining since November here, so things may be evening up a bit.
