Buying A Banger

cormie

Hi,
I'm looking to sell my 96 Micra for about €2.5K and with that money, buy an older car for about €700. I'm thinking of buying this one in particular. The pictures may not load but it looks in good condition for its age. It has no tax so that's an extra bit on the undecided price. Just wondering what I should be looking out for when going to view a car like this, any tell tale signs that it may pack in after a months use or anything? How is that price in relation to the condition and what do you think it's worth excluding tax?

I'd also like any suggestions on where a good place would be to sell my Micra to. A "We buy cars for cash" kind of dealer is what I'm looking for.

Any feedback appreciated:)

Interceptor

A 'We buy cars for Cash' dealer is not going to give you €2,500 for a '96 Micra - unless it has gold door handles its probably worth €1,700 on the open market. Were you snowed under with PM's of offers to buy it prompted by your last thread? No? It might be a bit dear then? Like I said before, advertise it and see what offers/interest you get and then decide. A '91 Fiesta with an NCT is a great idea, reliable, cheap to run, plentiful supply of cheap parts and without the nelly-ness of a Micra. This particular one seems like good value provided it hasn't been accident damaged or the lock barrels aren't about to give up and start chewing keys (common on these). Go take it for a spin and see what you think, bring a friend who knows something about cars - I suspect you may not know which end of a Fiesta the engine hides in.

'cptr

lomb

i wouldnt trade down to a 91 fiesta, tbh it will be like going back to the unreliable stone ages. that micra is worth far more in terms of quality than an ancient fiesta, certainly more than 1000 euro.that 96 micra of yours is still a modern car not that far different from a 05 d, the 91 fiesta on the other hand dates from a time around when the wheel was invented. my advice is take a test drive and ul c for urself good luck cormie with it though.

yellow012

Jeez you've already gotta a banger, why would you want to buy an even older one?

cormie

Thanks for the replies.

Well I need the money more than the comfort of a modern car so I think the Fiesta is my only option

I got some more info on the Fiesta anyway...

Ever in accident?
Not as far as I know anyway. The car was owned by a colleague of mine before me and by several members of the same family before that, so they obviously liked it enough to keep it in the same family for many years.

How long have you owned it and how many miles have you done?
I've owned it since April 2005. I have done negligible milage on it. I bought the car specifically because it needed repairs to get it through an NCT and I was prepared to spend some time and money on it to carry out these repairs and ultimately make a small profit when selling (I am not a trader by the way, just a car enthusiast and this is the first car I bought that wasn't for my own use).

Any dents, scratches?
Yes, there are some small dents and minor bits of rust as I said in the ad. It's still quite tidy bodywork for its age as I said.

Condition of tyres - thread depth, any other damage?
They passed the NCT and have done only tiny mileage since. However, if I was driving the car myself I personally would be looking to replace them before too long, seeing as Winter is coming up. You can see them for yourself on Friday, maybe you'll think they're fine. They are 13" steel wheels, tyres aren't going to be dear for them anyway. (I gave away a set of 14" steel wheels with decent tyres recently.)

Condition of wheels, kerbed?
They're ok. Steel wheels with hubcabs, so no "kerbing" as such.

Condition of spare, ever used?
I'll have to check that later, I can't remember. I'm sure it has been used.

Does EVERYTHING in the car still work as per original (i.e. everything electrical, mechanical and other)?
Yes, except Radio is code locked. You should be able to get the unlocking code from any Ford dealer for a fiver or so if you quote the chassis number. It's just laziness on my part that I haven't gotten this code already. If I was driving the car on a daily basis I would have though!

Is there a CD or just radio/cassette player?
See above. It is a decent radio/cassette factory fit Ford radio.

How about alarm, immobiliser, remote or not remote?
No alarm, immobiliser or remote.

Electric or manual windows?
Manual windows.

Sunroof?
No sunroof.

Condition of seats.
Excellent, as you can see in the picture.

Any technical imperfections to engine, transmission, other.
No, not that I know of.

Any idea of your mpg?
No, as I say I don't drive it. It should be ok on fuel though seeing as it's a 1.1 litre

Any abnormal exhaust fumes.
Not that I have seen.

Any fails or even fail/advisory on previous nct and what for?
As I said above, I bought the car when it needed work to pass the NCT. I replaced the front brake disks and pads, replaced a loose suspension bush in the front passenger side wishbone, replaced the driver's door latch mechanism as it didn't work, and replaced the rocker cover gasket as it was leaking some oil from there.
On first attempt through the NCT after doing those jobs it failed because of rust on both the driver's and passenger side sill (at the corner of each door). I brought the car to a bodywork specialist who cut out the sections of rust, welded in new sections of metal and finished it all off beatufully and matched the repaired sections with the existing bodywork. If I hadn't told you about this you would never know.

Any service history.
I think might be some in the original owner's manual/book but I don't know if it's recent. To be honest you're not going to get many cars with a comprehensive service history at this age.

Toolkit complete?
Original jack and wheel brace are in the car and are actually stored under the bonnet towards the bulkhead on the passenger side.

Original Irish car or import?
Original Irish car from all the evidence I have, no reason to think it's been imported after sale.

Airbag(s)?
No, not on a '91 Ford Fiesta.

Power steering?
No, not on a '91 Ford Fiesta.

Have you the original spare key? Have you all original documentation (i.e. manual, etc)
I have two keys for the car. Both work. One of them may not be the original. I have the owner's manual, service book and log book.

Does the car stay on a straight line while driving when you take your hands of the wheel?
I paid for front wheel alignment to be done (can show you receipt), so I'll say the car drives straight.

Does the car brake in a straight line when you take your hands of the wheel.
New brake discs and pads on the front as I said. They may still need to bed in for another 100 miles or thereabouts. Braking in a straight line should be fine. The brakes work well from my perspective. You can check them yourself when test driving.

Any previous serious replacements or repairs (>€150) not including regular service / tyres?
All mentioned above.


He mentions he took it as a hobby to do up and sell on. I'm going to ask would he like to invest in my Micra and do the same, that could be very handy:)

IrishRover

I agree with Lomb