What to buy with £1000

[WJNB]

Friend with absolute shed of an Astra has failed MOT, needs £600 spent to put right. Bank account virtually empty.
Walks to work so only needs car to take him to his hospital volunteer job & local run to outlying village to see Mum.
Suggestions he gets a bike & uses public transport did not go down well!
Plan B to scour local private/trade adverts. in free paper.
Any other ideas how I can help?

[mx5ian]

For a £1000 I would be looking for a clean mk1 Focus 1.4 or 1.6 petrol

[egor110]

mk2 nissan primera the cockroach of cars.

[Al U]

WJNB said:

Bank account virtually empty.

Where's the £1k coming from then?
Where's the money to transfer the insurance coming from (if applicable)?
Where's the money to tax the new car coming from?

[designforlife]

Toyota carina E or k11 micra

[PapaJohns]

How about a moped

[egor110]

Actually why's he spending a grand on a car when he could spend just over half that getting his astra mot'd ?

[V88Dicky]

I just bought this for £900 and it beats walking

In fairness, it's been well kept, good service and mot history, they seem reliable and don't appear to be prone to rust (very well undersealed etc at build). 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5 chain cam engines all capable of 50mpg. Lots of room inside too thanks to the clever folding / sliding / removeable rear seats.



Oh, and if he's handy with spanners, they're very easy to work on

[Deisel Weisel]

^ you haven't told us what it is, Dicky. I'm guessing a Mitsubishi Colt thing.

Yep, just Googled and I'm right.

[V88Dicky]

Oops, sorry. It's a 2006 Mitsubishi Colt CZ1. 1100cc's of three cylinder Dutch-built power

[FredClogs]

Some stunning bargains here, all of them, you'd be crazy not to...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-...

[mx5ian]

Or another one is the Suzuki Alto, these are as basic as they come but are cheap to run, £30 a year tax and very reliable. Buy the cleanest lowest mileage you can there are some sheds out there old takeaway delivery ones etc.

[nct001]

FredClogs said:

Some stunning bargains here, all of them, you'd be crazy not to...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-...

A 26 year old ex charity rally barge
A 270k battered multiple warning light Lexus
A v8 S type they are always problems with rear suspension and box
A ruined e39 knackered gearbox

You do pick them!

[Ian Geary]

Al U said:

Where's the £1k coming from then?
Where's the money to transfer the insurance coming from (if applicable)?
Where's the money to tax the new car coming from?

This is the ever present conundrum of shedding:

- you know your car better than the next one
- assuming your car has only scrap value, and £1k replacement is going to put you £900 down, plus tax, plus ins fees
- therefore if the value of repair is less than this amount, and you're otherwise happy with the car's future prospects, sticking with your current shed can be better than spinning onto an unknown quantity.

Ian

[egor110]

Ian Geary said:

Al U said:

Where's the £1k coming from then?
Where's the money to transfer the insurance coming from (if applicable)?
Where's the money to tax the new car coming from?

This is the ever present conundrum of shedding:

- you know your car better than the next one
- assuming your car has only scrap value, and £1k replacement is going to put you £900 down, plus tax, plus ins fees
- therefore if the value of repair is less than this amount, and you're otherwise happy with the car's future prospects, sticking with your current shed can be better than spinning onto an unknown quantity.

Ian

Plus the astra only cost £600 to get a mot so seems mad to blow a grand on a unknown car.

[anonymous-user]

nct001 said:

FredClogs said:

Some stunning bargains here, all of them, you'd be crazy not to...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-...

A 26 year old ex charity rally barge
A 270k battered multiple warning light Lexus
A v8 S type they are always problems with rear suspension and box
A ruined e39 knackered gearbox

You do pick them!

Does the guy need a 3.5L + if his account is virtually empty? No.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

This looks perfect.

[FredClogs]

sleepera6 said:

nct001 said:

FredClogs said:

Some stunning bargains here, all of them, you'd be crazy not to...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-...

A 26 year old ex charity rally barge
A 270k battered multiple warning light Lexus
A v8 S type they are always problems with rear suspension and box
A ruined e39 knackered gearbox

You do pick them!

Does the guy need a 3.5L + if his account is virtually empty? No.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

This looks perfect.

I was being silly.

[davepoth]

To the OP - do an honest assessment of the Astra. If the £600 is spent will it be likely to provide a year or two of repair-free motoring? When I say "Repair free" include the battery and tyres in the equation.

If so I'd be inclined to spend the money on the Astra, especially if the owner is a sympathetic driver. There's always a bit of a risk in buying a car at this end of the market so often it's better the devil you know.

[aka_kerrly]

WJNB said:

Friend with absolute shed of an Astra has failed MOT, needs £600 spent to put right. ?

Do you know anything about cars? Is it really a SHED?

Does the Astra really NEED £600 spent to get through an MOT, is this the figure the garage that did the MOT came up with?

Consider spending £40 at a COUNCIL run MOT station and getting a second opinion on it.

Consider looking at prices of the parts required and how many can be DIY'd

Or as others have suggested looking at 15 year old tiny engine'd jap box cars is usually the way to go.

[anonymous-user]

As I said just buy another Astra