£1500 spec me/warn me thread

alexthecheese · 19 Feb 2013 at 08:03

Last one for a few years. Girlfriends Ka got crunched in a car park on Sunday and it's looking like it will be written off.

Options on the cards are the usual Focus, but I was looking at Honda Civics as they are similarly priced.

Now I've found a couple of Honda Civic Type S examples for about £1500 with about 75k miles. Service history appears to be available and they are 02/03 plates.

One dealer has one but it's not ready, needs work doing. Should that sound alarm bells, or should I be grateful of their honesty and willingness to fix faults?

Second one is private but much the same. I'm basically worried they are too good value for money - perhaps 2l petrol put people off? We don't do lots of miles.

Is there anything in particular that we should be checking out when viewing? Looks like they are chain driven so no changes needed? Generally they sound reliable.

Scania · 19 Feb 2013 at 08:51

I'd look around privately,especially at this sort if budget - a £1500 dealer car is going to be more his profit margin than the true value of the car in question.

Third Opinion · 19 Feb 2013 at 12:16

Dealer fixing something on a car priced at £1500. I think I would want to know what they are fixing to be honest. If they have taken into account the repair cost and will expect to make a profit they couldn't have paid much for the car. Probably picked up for something like £500-£700 max.

I would do as above and look privately.

Dogbreath · 19 Feb 2013 at 13:00

I'd agree that £1500 from a dealer sounds suspiciously cheap, and even from a private sale you are right at the bottom end of the market.

They are pretty reliable in most respects. Check for suspension knocks which can be caused by drop links (cheap), bottom ball joints (less cheap) and worn steering racks (not cheap at all).