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General To buy or not to buy?

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General To buy or not to buy?

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Katherined

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Hello all,
Hello all!
I'm here to ask for some advice really. I'm looking to buy a barchetta and there is one at a dealer near me. Its a 2000, Thing is, it has 115,000 miles on it, had it's engine reconditioned 25,000 miles ago including new clutch.

I'm concerned about mileage, especially since I will be using it for commuting to work 40 miles each way, I need a reliable car.

It has full service history and 2 owners from new and always services at the same garage.

My question is, should I let the mileage worry me? And what would you say was a fair valuation of this car?

Thank you in advance,

Katherine.
 
£2000. Mileage is not a problem, its when it has such low mileage and has not been used regularly you should worry. With high miles and 2 owners I would say that was a positive point about the car - the owners will have looked after it. What colour is it? Does it have leather or aircon?
 
Hi, thank you for your input,

interior is full leather and it is metallic blue.

The guy wants £3650, so I take it that's a rip-off... He seemed pretty adamant about price, it was up for £4000.

There was a slight creamy residue under the engine cap, not like thick the gasket is definately going to blow stuff, but still creamy - big problem lurking?

I haven't seen any as cheap as £2000 anywhere which is that age.

thanks again,

Katherine.
 
I would agree, don't touch with the proverbial barge pole!

My personal advice would be go for a Series 1, up to 2001 I think they were. Don't particularly look for a 2000 model. Go for condition and condition alone. There will be 1996 cars far better than 2000 ones, which are 9 years old now don't forget.

History important, preferably backed up with receipts and invoices, rather than just stamps in a book.
There's always a few about so don't rush it.

I would disagree with going for one with over 100k miles. If you can pick up a 50k miler with history, that has to be better, no matter how well serviced.

As a guide, I would not let my 2000 Riviera with 26k miles go for less than £4750, which is top end for one, but many less well specced and older are advertised for £3,5 or so. Not a lot of difference between average good and the best.

Best of luck and let us know how you get on.
 
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Mine is going up for sale in a few weeks when I get back from Tenerife! £2,200, 1996, 145000 kms, blue leather, just had new cam belt, variator, reconditioned head, all brakes fine (checked this morning), needs nothing (apart from airbag light resetting which I am going to get done this week), MOT till july, not perfect,but certainly fine as an everyday car! (its blue). I am not trying to sell you mine but it will give you an idea of what you can get for the cash and give you a comparison.

As for the one you are buying, the sludge has been mentioned a few times before. If the car is not used much, you get a bit of condensation in the sump with can produce the gunge (like you say not as if the head gasket is going). If I owned the car and had this problem I would change the oil, clean the cap and then run it for a few weeks before deciding if the head gasket had gone, BUT if it is a car I am looking to buy, I would go with Funkstars advice and leave it alone, its just not worth the risk - it also seems he is wanting a lot of cash for the car!

Regards

Chris
 
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I can beat that. Mine did less than 500 miles last year, and again, no creamy deposits. In fact it has done around 50 miles since the MOT last June. Was underneath the thing today and aside from some surface corrosion on a driveshaft and wishbone, it is like new under there. Freaky!

Now need to go out with the emery paper and rub it down and get it sorted. Help me before I turn into a concours freak!!!
 
There aint no stopping that concours bug, I polished the chrome on the MG today, then did it again, then did the exhaust - how sad! But it looked great afterwards, so much so that it encouraged me to start on the Fiat, managed to do the boot before the wife and dogs demanded some attention!

As for the cream deposit, I am sure it has been mentioned before, maybe if the car is only used for a short run after a long lay up and kept in a damp garage! Anyway, the advice of all still stands, never buy a car with gunge under the oil filler cap!
 
Thank you everyone I guess I'll be leaving that one. Is there anywhere I can find a price guide and faults to look for with these cars?

I take it from your input I should only consider cars with full service histories and second to that lower mileage?

Hate to sound like a girl, but I really wanted a blue one...

To the guy who put details of his up, do you have a service history with yours ? And where in the Uk are you?

Cheers,
Katherine.
 
Katherine, I am in Aberdeen. Unfortunately mine doesnt have great service history, infact its pretty limited to a few MOTs and a new clutch some time ago. All I can tell you is that now I have been tinkering with it for a while, it is running great and has had new variator, cam belt, cam belt tensioners,fuel filter, auxilary belt, oil & filter, air filter, reconditioned cylinder head (16 new valves, all seals etc), new thermostat..... I have cleaned all the brakes and all is fine there. I cant think of anything else it needs for a few years apart from an oil change. I bought the car, knowing it had no history and then, on the first day, the cam belt tensioner failed and caused a bit of damage to the top end of the engine, I have spend a fair bit of time sorting it out... but you pay your money and you takes your chances.....I have been using the car for months to make sure it is ok before I sell it on. I do agree though with the other comments though, service history is important so that you know the belts etc have been changed but it also depends on how much cash you have to spend! As I am looking to sell mine I have been keeping an eye on prices, this is what I see as a good guide based on cars sold on ebay others may agree disagree or want to add to this...

Basic early B with limited serivce history and quite high miles in fair condition seem to be about £1,300 - £1,500- this is probably quite rough and will need some TLC and I have only ever seen one for sale like this

An OK early B with some history with everything done is about £2,000 - £2,200 (just like mine!!)

An early B with full history, lower miles (say 50,000) in very good condition is probably £3,000 to £3,500

A later B with full history and low miles (say 30,000) in perfect conditions is probably £4,500 to £5,000

YOu might need to add a few hundred pounds for leather and air con and other extras......

Things to check are that the cam belt has been changed recently (opinions differ but they should be done every 3 years or 40,000 miles ish, if they go its a big job to fix (ask me!!) Check if variator has been changed recently (new cam belt and variator is £350 - £400 for a garage to do), start the car from cold, if it sounds like a diesel for more than 5 seconds, the variator probably needs changing. One with a good aftermarket stainless exhaust is a plus as the standard fiat ones tend to break in the middle, then its just normal car things, listen for noises, bangs, head gasket failure etc.

One thing to say is if you find a car you like, ask someone who lives closer to give an opinion on it for you, ask on this forum, everyone is freindly and if they can help, normally will.

Regards

Chris

(PS price on mine is negociable but I was going to stick it in the paper for £2,200 and take a few hundred less)
 
Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed reply, alas I live in Reading, the nearest I get to you is Leeds to see my folks!

I'm off to see a couple tomorrow. I'm thinking I will end up buying one and paying for it to have a really good going over, maybe recomditioning. I have no car skills, my boyfriend has little experience so I would just have to pay through the nose.


Any tips for what is worth getting payed attention to? From what you have said the cam belt. Would an engine recon be worth it?

Thanks,

Katherine.
 
K,

Dont buy a car with the starting point of reconning an engine! If you are not handy with the tools, it will cost a minumum of £1k for a recon engine and probably £600-£700 for a garage to fit it. Save up and get a good one rather than pay for a crap one now.

As for Leeds, I am from Wakefield originally! Deffo center of the universe! If you are looking for a Barch, I may be down over the next few months so give me a buzz (I emailed my mobile number earlier) if I drive it to Wakefield from Aberdeen, at least you know its fine on long distances!!

I would say if you look around, for £2k you should get a good usable B without having to recon engines etc. Cam belt is a must to check, if it goes its a pig (it cost me nearly £500 to get mine back on the road when the cam belt went and that was me doing it all myself, it would have been much more if I had paid a garage to do it - probably enough to write it off).

Check when it was last serviced, any service history, when the cam belt was done, variator, cam belt tensioners, start it from cold, listen for nasty noises, it should start and then settle down to idle smoothly.
Make sure it has the blue and red key, no red key walk away

Go up a hill, put it in 4th or fifth gear drop the clutch rev it to 5000rpm and let the clutch straight out with your foot ont he floor if the clutch doesnt bite straight away then it may be on the way out (not a reason to walk away just something to budget for).

Slam on the brakes and make sure it pulls up in a straight line

Check for any signs of crash damage

Check for any damp carpets arounf the footwells (the heater matix can leak and that is an expensive fix-dash out)

Check roof for holes and rubber seals for the hood, I am not sure you can stop them leaking completely but you dont want it raining inside if you are going to use it every day!!

Like you did on the other one, remove the oil filler cap and check for gunge, also check the fluid levels, its a good indication if it has been looked after if everything is where it should be

Make sure you drive it for at least half an hour and dont be afraid to give it some, after 15 mins of driving you should be able to take it to 6500 rpm and really open it up!

Listen for any grumbles when going around corners to see if the wheel bearings are on the way out..........

Cant think of much else, happy hunting!
 
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Katherined said:
Hate to sound like a girl, but I really wanted a blue one...
Click to expand...

Hi Katherine, from one lady blue B owner to another (future!) one :)

I was exactly the same as you, got mine this time two years ago and it had to be blue! I did look at others but somehow they just weren't the same. I'm in Milton Keynes by the way so not a million miles from you. Also not very handy with cars, but two years on (touch wood) I've not had any problems at all.

Mine had 36,000k on the clock when I got her, she is a P reg and cost me £2,600. All I've done since is get her serviced regularly (at my local garage - an Audi specialist where I always used to take my A4) and she's also now had a new hood and new alloys. Last April she did 2,500 miles round five countries in Europe (much of it in the pouring rain!) and never failed me once.

So, yes, there are good ones out there, but it is worth shopping around - the guys (and girls!) on here are really helpful and definitely know their stuff :)

Cheers,

Gill
 
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