An eye opener while looking for a classic

[kstrutt1]

there is always the mx5 early ones are still dirt cheap, 2.5 k would get you a very tidy one from a dealer with a full service and a couple of months warranty, half of that would get you a usable one on the open market, just watch out for corrosion in the sills & rear wheelarches.

kev

[3xpendable]

Thanks for the sugestions guys, I'm looking for a sporty car though really, and a Jag is too big, heavy and thirsty. I like the Schimitar, but not enough to get one.

I went to look at said MGB last night:

Firstly, as I walked in to look at it they hadn't even taken the price tag of £1350 out of the window, yes thats right it's on evilbay for £1795! The interior is excellent I'll give it that, and the engine ran very well, but we all know engines are easier to fix than rust lol. It's had a awful paint job, to the point where you can see the paint on all the rubber seals, and overspray on the exhaust etc and it wasn't shiny. The underside looked solid but flaky, meaning it will explode in a few years. Also, no way is that a 33,000 miles car. It's also had a towbar fitted.

The final straw was when I opened the bonnet and there was clearly rust that had gone right through the inner wing to the point where through pinholes you could see the front wheel. It must have had a 'bent' MOT.

Keep looking.

P.S. Where are the best places to look? I try to avoid eBay and have so far only found a couple of Classic Car sites, and Pistonheads all of which seem to command premiums.

[rich.]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

and theres more

[JPB]

Preloved is a great place to find the bargains, the Gazette classified pages always contain at least a couple of dozen realistically priced classics and MGBs also figure on there from time to time, the classic and collectors' cars in the various regional yellow papers and Loot are still wick with bargains waiting to be plucked but the real surprise in these past few months has been the Gumtree, which although eBay group owned retains its autonomy and more importantly sees cars selling at less than the frankly rather ridiculous example prices you pointed out. Minor saloons over £2000 are rare in the real world and tend to be the exceptional cars as you'd expect, but this one was free, only thing wrong is in relation to its year and is that it has small arch rear wings - incorrect for a 1955 car, is bright yellow with red wings for the Noddy and Big Ears vibe and has wide (commercial) rims under its delightfully period moon discs in place of the Wellers it came with:



It came complete with a crated, split new 1098cc engine that had only been 2,000 or so miles since the car was first fitted with it in the mid '80s prior to its layup and was free because the property owner wanted to develop the site and didn't want it to be scrapped. In fact all it wanted for MOT was new brake cylinders all round, tyres and some earths attending to on the headlamps and trafficators - since supplemented by bike winkers as nobody looks for semaphores these days.
I'm not saying that you'll find a free, totally roadworthy example of your chosen car but there was an MGBGT in white available for nowt from a garage in Stansted (Essex?) as recently as last month. It was stored there since 1988 and had been stored well, wheels off, engine treated with Diesel and Vaseline down the bores, oil pump packed with Vaseline and brake pedal connected to a vibro massager that ran from the alarm supply to keep the hydraulics free through all that time. That said, it still had new cylinders in, well would you?

[kstrutt1]

I have found buying restoration projects is ok on ebay, most people seem to be fairly honest about these , otherwise it is a lotery, some people are very honest, if they highlight minor issues in the listing it is a good sign, others though seem to have very different ideas about "rust free" or a1 condition to me. I actally found reputable dealers to the best to deal with dont expect a bargin but they are honest about the codition and you do have some come back if something major goes wrong. you can easily blow the extra cost of a dealer driving around the country looking at rubbish.

[JPB]

....you can easily blow the extra cost of a dealer driving around the country looking at rubbish.

Absolutely so, and only a dealer purchase will afford the buyer any meaningful level of legal protection.

[Martin Evans]

My father has this book - http://www.abebooks.co.uk/LIFE-H.W.M-Fr ... 9568032/bd and in it, Fred Hobbs describes how very few of the cars, he ever went to see, we as good as described.

Lots of people seem to assume that traders are bent (Sometimes this is cultural or even a reflection of their own personality) and whilst some will be (Like the shower, who have seemingly stolen my father’s MG Midget propshaft - details will be published in due course, unless they return it), any who value their reputation, will have to behave in a professional and businesslike manner. I would also add that a good and experienced professional will always have a better command of the trade, than amateurs.

I see a lot of this in the bike trade. You will get the “Dominant male” in any group or club, who often has far more confidence (Perhaps bluff is a better word), than skill. Some of them will even construct a bike out of bits (Often incompatible bits) and sell it to some unsuspecting newcomer, who assumes that their “Friends” would never catch them.

[tractorman]

You just have to see my Landy story (in the Members' Restoration bit) to realise that all that's shiny and "right" is often a money pit! That was listed as a good sound machine with 10 months MOT and a few months' tax (so you'd guess it would be fairly safe and more or less legal to drive)

I've spent more on repairs etc than I did on the Landy itself - and have done about 30 miles in it!

There's no way around it - you have to see the vehicles and, preferably, take someone who is reasonably proficient with cars and hates the one you want to buy to look at it for you!

I think buying moderns is a lot easier - go to the garage, look at a few and work out which is best for the money you can afford.

Then buy the high mileage VW Bluemotion and be annoyed when the engine blows up

[rich.]

what about this one
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

[mach1rob]

Scene tax has a lot to answer for. It applies to anything with a Ford, VW, or Mini badge, and usually adds 50-75% more onto the price than anything else.

Have you had a nose on

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/

and

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/