Advice on buying car privately! money, insurance etc. (MkII Golf GTi 16v)

[jegz]

Evening chaps,

Im planning on going to look at a car on Saturday (MkII Golf GTi 16v) and having been out of the loop for a while (5-6 years) wanted to ask a few questions!

I know a few of you are seasoned Golf experts (Lopez et al) are there any things i should specifically be looking out for? Its an 86 model.

Now down to the business side!

1. In regards to insurance how do I play it? I may not buy the car however I will need insurance to drive it home. Do you usually just phone up the insurance company once you have the keys and give them, your credit card details?

2. The important bit! Money!! I may have to go alone to view the car and due to not having any transport I am going to meet at a railway station. Do you......

a) Take the cash with you so you can hand it over if you are going to buy it there and then or.....
b) Drive with the owner to the bank to take out the cash and make the transaction there? (its only ~£1k but its a lot of monies to me!)

Any helpful advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[DM]

Evening chaps,

Im planning on going to look at a car on Saturday (MkII Golf GTi 16v) and having been out of the loop for a while (5-6 years) wanted to ask a few questions!

I know a few of you are seasoned Golf experts (Lopez et al) are there any things i should specifically be looking out for? Its an 86 model.

Now down to the business side!

1. In regards to insurance how do I play it? I may not buy the car however I will need insurance to drive it home. Do you usually just phone up the insurance company once you have the keys and give them, your credit card details?

2. The important bit! Money!! I may have to go alone to view the car and due to not having any transport I am going to meet at a railway station. Do you......

a) Take the cash with you so you can hand it over if you are going to buy it there and then or.....
b) Drive with the owner to the bank to take out the cash and make the transaction there? (its only ~£1k but its a lot of monies to me!)

Any helpful advice will be greatly appreciated.

Just take the cash and a mate if its only a grand.

Get a quote for the insurance 1st so you know what you are getting into, then phone up with a credit card if you buy it.

 

[jegz]

Got a quote for the insurance but wouldnt mind test driving it! How does that work? Im sure in the past I just did it without insurance :S

Dont think I'll be able to get anyone to come with me for the sale.

 

[DM]

Got a quote for the insurance but wouldnt mind test driving it! How does that work? Im sure in the past I just did it without insurance :S

Dont think I'll be able to get anyone to come with me for the sale.

If your not comfortable carrying cash, take him to the bank then.

As for the test drive, see if he is insured for you to drive it, if not i suppose there is day insure.

Things have got a lot stricter with insurance since you were last driving, the days of he who dares wins are fading

 

[Lopéz]

I've never bothered arranging insurance for a test drive and I've never had anyone ask about it either. I've bought lots of cars over the years and it never even cropped up. I suppose I was at least covered TPO once I had DOC but before that...... oops!

Yes if you buy the car you can ring up most insurers and insure on the spot (bear in mind the time of day you will be making the purchase) allowing you to drive it home legally.

As for money I always go with cash just incase I want it.

D plate 16 valve will be quite an early one. Mechanically they are pretty sturdy old things, suspension consumables are cheap and easy to replace so I'd spend my time making sure
A) No nasty knocks or loose rattles from the bottom end (don't worry so much about top end taps)
B) Good structure (rot behind the big bumpers if fitted, arches, sills, floor..... inner wings and battery tray on the Golf seem to last better than most cars that age)
C) General overall condition

Mechanically, I seem to remember the distributor being a common failing point on the 16v (leaks oil internally) and pricey to replace.

It should feel quite responsive but you need to rev it!

 

[jegz]

Might have to just let him drive if his policy doesnt cover me :S Dayinsure wont insure the motor which is a pita!

Yeah think I'm going to get him to take me to the bank makes it a bit easier.

 

[jegz]

Cheers guys much appreciated.

I spose I'll just take the cash tbh. whats the worse that can happen! I have to run like a little girl lol.

iirc all i have to do is fill out my part of the V5 then he will do all the posting?

Should be ok phoning for insurance on a saturday morning

In regards to the car mechanically (140k miles). It still has the skinny bumpers and its lowered so the suspension isnt 20+ years old at least!

The bottom end? Where do I need to listen for that? the bottom I assume lol!

Its not going to be a daily just for weekends really as I ride to work so I should be able to fix it up as i go along but will make sure to pick up anything to knock the price down

 

[TS7]

A lot depends on the circumstances.

1) You could look at quotes now and then make note of the best one, ring the insurance company and tell them. Then if you like it you just ring them and up and give them the thumbs up.

2) What I did - I went to look at a car, liked it, left a deposit. Went back the next day paid in full and collected the car. Arranged one day insurance just to bring the car back. Cost around £20 (I wasn't driving, you can't one-day if you're under 21).

In terms of payment, it's upto you really. Whatever you're comfortable with. I remember going with my cousins mate to look at a E46 325 with £7k cash and when we got there, there were two dodgy looking polish/turkish type men with a complete dud of a car and a fake service book. They saw four us come out the car and decided they were no longer really interested in selling and made a swift exit. Suffice to say if four, quite big, men didn't turn up they would have probably robbed whoever came.

The best option and the one which we use is to ring the bank and let them know we're going to look at vehicle and may need to withdraw X amount tomorrow. Then if you like it, just take the buyer to the bank and pay them. Best and safest way. (You won't need to ring for £1k I don't think).

 

[jegz]

Its all arranged for the meet!

Can't wait its been 20 years in the waiting to get one of these beauties!

Ive got a quote which i can redeem on Sat so should be all good insurance wise. Dont understand why dayinsure wouldnt cover me im 26 lol! (0 no claims though due to not driving for too long, had 2 yrs at one point)

Think im just gonna take the cash tbh and take the misses with me I'll set her on him if theres trouble :O.

 

[Lopéz]

In regards to the car mechanically (140k miles). It still has the skinny bumpers and its lowered so the suspension isnt 20+ years old at least!

The bottom end? Where do I need to listen for that? the bottom I assume lol!

Bottom end is a nasty noise. Can't really miss it. Here is a bad case:

V5 is his responsibility, you fill in your details, you both sign it, you keep the green bit, he sends off the blue bit.

 

[jegz]

Sweet! Cheers for the help

Well...........i bought it!

Heres some bad pics lol!





Needs a bit of work here and there but I like it Might be needing to ask a few q's about fixing things. Got the Haynes manual but sometimes its just not enough! lol

First thing to fix is the rev counter which doesnt currently work and getting rid of the horrendous spider web dials it has in it guess that means the dash coming off and checking the connections first of all. Seems like the MFU half works (just the clock and oil temp at the mo) so thats next on the list!