Put a deposit down, if it passes MOT fine it's mine

I eagerly await the thread titled "Now I know why it cost 1/4 of the price of the alternatives"

Because if it looks too good to be true it probably is.

Rusty, high mileage, worn out interior, worn out clutch. In what way is it too good to be true? It's something of a shed, and priced as such.
Bit of fixing up and it will be a nice car.
 
Slap him with a real pony? :p :D

Well, he seems to like ponies, so I was thinking something like a trout or something. :p

Who died and made you King of the Internet?

Ummm....what?

err.. the previous king of the internet ? :D

Hahaha :D


Anyway, I still don't see this as being an awesome deal, or even a good one at all. Seller couldn't shift it for a reason before and has dropped the price because it obviously isn't worth much money...but you won't listen to people in Motors anyway so it's pointless us telling you. Have fun until you get bored/it breaks.
 
I thought you could only have a foreign car in the UK for up to 6 months? I might be wrong but my parents had a european car and they had to get rid of it.
 
Anyway, I still don't see this as being an awesome deal, or even a good one at all. Seller couldn't shift it for a reason before and has dropped the price because it obviously isn't worth much money...but you won't listen to people in Motors anyway so it's pointless us telling you. Have fun until you get bored/it breaks.

I don't always listen to some things ocuk motors says because apparently I should have crashed into something and hurt myself and others if I believed some people on here. I've been driving for a year now and actually drive for work 3 days per week and guess what, I've not wrecked my first car or hit someone... Yes I have done stupid things in the car in the first couple of months but quickly learned to not do them again. Basically, I take most of the comments with a lot of salt.

Awesome deals are very rare and realistically, you either have to cough up more money or take pleasure with less, I don't see what the fuss is about a slipping clutch costs a couple of hundred to fix ( 150 ish yourself, 400ish indy or 750 main dealer), the rust is only about 25-30€ and an hour or 2 of work to acceptable standards ( as in, if one doesn't know one doesn't see it, and yes I've done this before and you can get acceptable results with a rattle can and a rotary) or 150-250 ish professionally. The only real thing that is a shame imho is the seat but next time I'm on a holiday which is probably within the next month I can try looking about doing it in Poland. A couple of hundreds thrown at it and it's in neat condition... If I end up buying it I'll make some close up pics when I have it I guess to show the paint and the corners etc, the car is in great condition compared to the average car on the road here ( in my area), I don't think you realize what sheds are driving around here generally in the more populated area's, even cars from years like 2005 are literally littered with door dings and deep scratches, rusty dents from crashes, etc. Rotterdam isn't exactly the most car friendly place around.

Mechanically, the suspension felt good, the engine sounded well, the brakes were looking fine ( as in the pads and discs) The steering felt good, there were no odd sounds when taking corners hard like the wheel bearings, the only issue was the clutch which slipped a little under full throttle for a second or 2, after that it ''bit on'' fine and drove on ( and went like hell, it's only 20 bhp more than mine but I have to rag the nuts off to get to the power, this had a nice power at low revs too). My initial impression is that the car is maintained fine and it has a service history. There's the MOT on monday which would reveal a couple of other things like CO percentage ( if too high the engine may be shot) excessive play in various places and rust in important parts etc. If it fails then I'd be looking into the repair costs, if it's too steep the deal is off. It's still something I can think about though even if it fails MOT it's still got MOT left till end of DEC which gives me enough time to just work on the car, which is actually quite rewarding and relaxing to do and more of a hobby than a chore... It all depends on Monday, if it passes I'm buying it, if it fails it depends what it failed on.

If the car is faulty in a significant way I'll have wasted 30€ and not have the car, but as it is atm I told the guy if it passes MOT fine without issues I'm buying it and I'd like to keep to my word. Personally I doubt it, these cars are not known as unreliable pieces of poo...
 
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I love the way that 'I live in Holland' is some sort of excuse.

It's a ropey nail, it doesnt matter that its cheap, because its cheap as its ropey nail.

Should have spent more on a decent one. It's a 13 year old problem car.

And LOL @ 'nice LCD screen'. It's the same as the one that was in our FTO.
 
[TW]Fox;17356405 said:
I love the way that 'I live in Holland' is some sort of excuse.

It's a ropey nail, it doesnt matter that its cheap, because its cheap as its ropey nail.

Should have spent more on a decent one. It's a 13 year old problem car.

And LOL @ 'nice LCD screen'. It's the same as the one that was in our FTO.

It's a ropey nail because it need a little time and money spent on?

By that same logic your car was a nail when they scratched it during the windscreen fiasco or when the cooling system blew up....

As for the problem car bit, your definition is vastly different of one than mine. A problem car is a car that doesn't bring you from A to B...
Rather spend 1k on a car and 1k on patching it up than 4k for the same end result.

Re the lcd thing, it wasn't in the description but if it's rubbish then it's still a positive thing as you can stick it on the net and sell it, I don't see your lol, anything included in a car is a bonus.
Not everybody required the same standards as you and worries about the tiniest thing and wants to spend thousands on his car. I mean what the hell, you can dislike a car purely for the way the indicator stalk feels or the door thunk ? I'd rather give up on some things and pocket the change than to fork out more and more, everyone can do that, priorities. I don't really see the criticism, I get everything I wanted from a new car, and spent FAR less than I reserved for it... This is faster and more comfy than my current car, which is all I wanted. As a bonus I think it looks far nicer too and costs ( even after fixing the ''issues'' ( provided that's all of them)) less than my current car.

You always seem to think badly about anything that isn't in pristine condition, well guess what, some people don't give a ****... Aside from from 1 car we've ALWAYS bought cars that you'd consider a shed, often older than 13 years and with higher mileages, they were not problem cars on money pits, in fact I'm sure we didn't spend as much as you do on standard servicing for your bmw, let alone fixing unexpected things. We have bought 1 car 2 years ago that was in what you would consider a good condition, 2 years on the wear and tear shows, you have to be extremely careful at the cost of practicality to keep your car in good condition or fork out lots and lots of money every month on keeping it in new condition, money that you will never see back. This does not appeal to me, in my eyes it's an impossible task to buy a nice car and keep it nice. Unless of course you spend hundreds per month on keeping it tiptop.
 
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[TW]Fox;17356450 said:
Yes, totally that. Absolutely.

Your standards and expectations are too high, fair enough if you love forking out a lot of money on your hobby/car but don't bloody look down on people who don't and are happy with less.
 
Your standards and expectations are too high, fair enough if you love forking out a lot of money on your hobby/car but don't bloody look down on people who don't and are happy with less.

My standards are too high because I wouldnt buy a car with a wrecked drivers seat, ruined clutch and rusty arches?

I mean seriously, you actually bought a car and budgeted for a new drivers seat? Must have led a hard life to be that ruined!

Cool, ok. Should have just spent your budget on a nicer car in the first place. As for saying you 'don't' like forking out a lot of money on your car, youve told us it will cost 1500 to fix :D
 
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[TW]Fox;17356487 said:
My standards are too high because I wouldnt buy a car with a wrecked drivers seat, ruined clutch and rusty arches?

I mean seriously, you actually bought a car and budgeted for a new drivers seat? Must have led a hard life to be that ruined!

Cool, ok.
You are trying to convince me I should spend more
Should have spent more on a decent one.
, because of a seat ( only issue really, but this does not whatsoever affect anything but the way it looks:confused:), a clutch ( normal wear and tear), and a rusty arch ( something that costs little money and effort to fix, one rusty spot that is easily fixed does not turn a tidy car into a shed ), when these cost less to fix than buying a car that doesn't have these problems. The less it costs in the end the better. How exactly is spending 1k on a car and 1k to fix it worse than spending 3-4k on the same instead ? If I spend any less then 2k on fixing it up, then I got a better buy than buying a 3 or 4k car in the first place?
Cool, ok. Should have just spent your budget on a nicer car in the first place. As for saying you 'don't' like forking out a lot of money on your car, youve told us it will cost 1500 to fix
Which is less total than examples which do not have these issues.
1500 is TOPS, a worst case scenario, a clutch costs 700 to replace at the main dealer, but I wouldn't mind giving it a blast myself first, or going to a cheap indy garage...
The rusty arch can be fixed adequately for less than 25€. 250ish professionally ( I'll do the sanding either way, then 1 panel to spray at the sprayer and try matching the color to the rest) .
I have no clue how much the seat will cost to fix and where and how just yet, but there is no hurry to fix this I can calmly take my time to look for the best solution.


But still, now I've gone too far into thinking ahead, I have not bought the car yet and waiting to hear from the seller on Monday or Tuesday, at worst I'll have lost the money I paid as a deposit/for the MOT.
If it goes through, I'm still keeping the Volvo for at least another 3 months. Bascially, I will see how it goes, The worst thing that can happen is I lose a bit of money, the best thing that can happen is I'll have a car I'll love for peanuts for the next year or so and with luck, sell for more than it cost me. Anything in the middle is fine too. It's not as if I spent my whole savings on this.

Another point I'm wondering, I'm pretty sure you said ( though it could be one of the other regulars) that people who buy purely for looks are idiots. Why is buying for a particular shape/model stupid but a finding a ''perfect looking'' example completely the opposite ? I'd probably like the looks of the galant more even if it has a massive dent or hole in one of the doors or the hood than of a car X or Y ( think an ugly class competitor ) which is in perfect ''as new'' condition, is that really so odd ?
 
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Best deals are usually cars off friends or friends of friends. I mean dont just look in car ad sites look in local newspapers, forums where they have a sell sub-forum and is popular. If you have 3500 to spend then spend that not 1000 on a car that needs fixing up in less than a year.

Btw i agree with posters saying its crap colour and towbar hmm not seen one of them inwhile except caravans etc.

I know ur a very impatient lad but imo keep ur money and wait for that good deal. I know of car auctions so u might find a bargain there but u need to take a mechanic with your or equivalent skills. Tho keep that in the back burner as a last option as i have heard of problems as you cant return cars once bought etc.

And yes snowy i aint a driver but if i had a job and wanted a car i wouldn't touch that, for a start cream interior with black dash EWW.

Btw snowy why dont u fly over to UK and buy a car here and drive it back home on the ferry?

Edit - hmm just poped on ebay and there going for 300-800 quid and not much needed doing to them apart from being 10 years old some say there pretty decent i.e not much to repair or owt. If you got one here and drove it home ud probs save a heck of a lot. Tho i duno how much the tax to import to nl or whatever u do for diff countries.
 
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That is ridiculously complicated. No wonder so many people in Europe use public transport/bicycles. ¬_¬
Take a look at Denmark - it's even more extreme than the punishing Dutch luxury tax (BPM).

"I would like to buy this BMW 335i Coupe please"
"Sure sir, that is £93,000"
:eek:

All thanks to a registration fee of 180%, yes, ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY PER CENT. There's 25% VAT, too. Compounded, of course.

Denmark has the lowest pre-tax car prices of anywhere in Europe. Lots of stuff is "done at the dealer" so they can figure as much out of the tax as possible.

The most popular car in the UK is the Ford Focus. A typical 1.6 diesel Focus in Denmark will cost you £31,000. It's not uncommon for people to finance cars over the course of seven years!

It just gets more extreme as the price goes up:

BMW M3? UK: £53,275; USA: £40,300; Denmark: £162,750.
BMW M6 Cab? UK: £92,175; USA: £74,200; Denmark: £285,500.

A Rolls-Royce Phantom here is cheaper than an M6 Cab in Denmark :\
 
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