Struggling to find a decent runabout up to 1k

mattyfez · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:20

Was looking for a focus but auto trader seems devoid of anything that looks decent, just missed out on a tidy focus locally that was up for £700..

Im not overly fussed what car, as it's just a run about.. Ideally focus or astra.. There's a few chevvies and some Korean stuff on auto trader but the interior design looks diabolical on them, any ideas?

iaind · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:22

Are you filtering on mileage like a lot of people will do?

Diddums · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:23

Gumtree for cars under £1k.

peterattheboro · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:25

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...earch-target=usedcars&keywords=Ghia&logcode=p

2 minutes search.

Should be able to haggle that down no problem.

p1RATE · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:26

Diddums said:
Gumtree for cars under £1k.

Yea not many people will be paying the £25 to list on autotrader for a cheap car. Ebay is worthwhile too.

rodenal · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:31

There's often a shed load of sub £1k cars at auction that nearly nobody will bid on.

Need to be careful as a few of them will be absolutely hanging but there are always a few thatook reasonable too

mattyfez · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:39

iaind said:
Are you filtering on mileage like a lot of people will do?

Nope, only filter was price up to 1k..

Fair point about the auto trader ad fee, didnt even consider that, didn't consider looking at £1300 cars with a view to bargaining down either.. Might rethink my strategy!

I'll take a look at Gumtree too

neoboy · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:46

Well I live next to Manheim Auctions and picked up two roundabouts there over last few years including a Honda Jazz for £900, although auctions are not for the fainthearted.

mattyfez · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:52

neoboy said:
Well I live next to Manheim Auctions and picked up two roundabouts there over last few years including a Honda Jazz for £900, although auctions are not for the fainthearted.

Yeh im confident buying if I can have a poke around, go away have a think and then have another poke around.. It's the time sensitive nature of auctions that put me off as I'm likely to overlook something if I can't digest what's on offer properly.

rodenal · 24 Aug 2015 at 18:55

Go in the day before and have that poke around, or arrive very early on the day.

Ultimately if you aren't sure just don't bid. Be aware of the sale fees too. A £750 auction win can quickly become nearly a grand depending on the auction house

lemonade · 24 Aug 2015 at 19:23

Tons of cars at this price range, 7th gen Civic would be on top of my list if your after a small hatch.

mattyfez · 24 Aug 2015 at 19:36

lemonade said:
Tons of cars at this price range, 7th gen Civic would be on top of my list if your after a small hatch.

Could you link me to an add? Where exactly are these tons of cars lol!

lemonade · 24 Aug 2015 at 19:51

mattyfez said:
Could you link me to an add? Where exactly are these tons of cars lol!

A very quick search on ebay got me this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2002-52-H...ULL-MOT-83K-/171899482770?hash=item280601f292

Granted there is a lot of crap out there whether its a car with hidden history, a dodgy home trader mugging you off or just simply overpriced tat, but you have to be patient, eventually something pops up at the right price.

Also few tips, don't limit the amount miles your willing to go, 50 miles is good, also don't filter search to 1k, do it to around 1.5k, because you can negotiate a price of a car say at 1.2k down to 1k.

mattyfez · 24 Aug 2015 at 20:04

Cheers, yeh I don't mind travelling 50 miles at all, I think my key error is not searching for cars one two three hundred over budget, with a view to making a lower cash offer.. Stupid me for thinking cars would be priced to sell at the bottom of the market! Haha.

mattyfez · 24 Aug 2015 at 20:15

That Honda looks OK, not overly keen on the dashboard, I'd sooner get a slightly newer focus for the money tbh.

iaind · 24 Aug 2015 at 20:33

"Not overly keen on the dash" is probably one of the worst excuses for writing off a car when you're struggling to find something for a grand

mattyfez · 24 Aug 2015 at 21:30

iaind said:
"Not overly keen on the dash" is probably one of the worst excuses for writing off a car when you're struggling to find something for a grand

Urm ok... The equivalent value focus will be higher spec and cheaper to maintain, and it has a better interior. Is that OK?

iaind · 24 Aug 2015 at 21:35

Where are you finding a focus with higher spec than that for £800? It has full leather, electric everything, climate, sunroof....

Cheaper to maintain? Not so sure - the ford has cheaper parts but the Honda is a bit more
Bombproof so it's swings and roundabouts there.

Better interior is subjective - the Civic is more pleasant in person than it looks in pictures and the mk1 focus isn't exactly great!

lemonade · 24 Aug 2015 at 22:07

The mk 1 Focus interior is much worse, it has an awkward design and is very tacky. The Civic has a very simple and clean design and ergonomically it is fantastic, the gearstick position is the best I have driven in a car, it's also far better built and all the toys will still be working.

The Focus is a bit sharper to drive over the Civic, otherwise for me the Civic is better in every other category.

At the end of the day its upto you what you need and want, if you want a Focus then there is plenty out there, should be far more than the Civic, but with larger quantities you'll need filter out more of the turds.

If your going to be fussy over bits here and there then you are going to severely limit your choice of cars and the time it will take to find one.

Good luck with the search!