James Ruppert: Aim for cheap, but not too cheap when buying second-hand
Bangers shouldn’t cost the earth, but be careful where you buy
The demand for cheap cars never goes away. Sometimes they are stop gaps between a replacement, but quite often it is a motorist spending all they afford.
I’ve been reading back over interviews I did more than 25 years ago with proper banger dealers, ones who sold sub-gorillas (under £1000) and had a lot between two housing estates for the £99 dross. What they told me then remains highly instructive and is in effect a blueprint for anyone who wants to buy and deal in 2021.
My biggest takeaway was: don’t buy cheap cars from auctions, ever. A fancy classic for a load of money, maybe a nearly new or end-of-lease company car with a history, but never, ever a banger. So where should we be going to source them?
*Click here to buy your next used car from Autocar*
Always buy on condition, never on price, and if you can’t afford anything decent then save up for a few more weeks. So with that in mind, let’s start expensive, at a proper car dealer. They will have obligations to make sure their cars are clean and roadworthy, and you have a comeback if there are issues, all of which is perfect. Pick a well-regarded model that is known to be reliable and cost-effective to fix, like a Toyota Yaris.
Ideally, it will have just a couple of owners and a full service history with a credible mileage that isn’t too intergalactic. Luckily, I found just that car: a 2006 1.0 T3 with 73,000 miles, up for £1400. Nicely presented, cheap to insure and run and itching to do a job. A three-door but otherwise the perfect runaround.
Those after something family-sized ought to try a Mazda 6, which seem to go on and on without giving much trouble. I stumbled on a partex trade sale 2011 2.2d Sport with 150,000 miles. There’s an element of risk there, but with an asking price of £1400 there’s also room for a bit of remedial work. That’s quite a lot of car for the money and, okay, it isn’t a 10 quid banger, but it is much better than that. You do have to spend a bit more to save yourself some grief.
If those aren’t banger enough for you, let’s go to a dealer who has a 2002 Citroën Xsara 1.6i LX for £995. It’s a compact but roomy hatch with a strong and reliable petrol engine with 93,000 miles, and it comes with a three-month warranty. These are pretty unburstable and starting to become ‘ironic classic’ rare. What more would you really want? It might cost less at an auction, but at least a dealer has done some of the hard work for you.
*What we almost bought this week*
*Suzuki Jimny Pick-up:* In the mood for some unfettered mud-plugging this winter? The Jimny you’re looking at has been converted into a pick-up by specialist Kap Suzuki, with a bodykit to match the hardware changes. It has a suspension lift, steel wheels, mud terrain tyres, flared arches and a removable aluminium canopy, and is on sale for £19,995.
*Tales from Ruppert’s garage*
*Land Rover Series 3, mileage 133,876:* I have never been truly happy with the Lorry’s battery. For once I actually wrote the installation date on the top – 26.1.21. It seemed to lose its charge now and again, even when the weather was mild, and it certainly didn’t seem to be holding a full charge. The battery company was quick to respond. They simply needed to know the voltage and the cold cranking amps (CCA) of the battery in order to condemn it and then replace if necessary. I popped into my friendly local garage and they hooked it up. Reassuringly, it said “REPLACE”. I’d say that’s pretty conclusive, but I’ll let you know how I get on.
*Reader’s ride*
*Saab 900: *Thanks to Andrew for his offering to Reader’s Rides.
“Bought by my late dad in 2002, it’s been in the family ever since. It’s one of the most reliable cars we’ve owned. Supremely comfortable – as you’d expect of a Saab – and a great motorway mile-muncher, but not so good in the twisties. Only sold because it’s now too low for my elderly mother to enter and exit, combined with it having an increasing number of niggly faults. Depreciation has worked out at just over £300 per annum. It will be missed.”
*Readers’ questions*
*Question: *I often carry a lot of cargo and have to put the seats down. Can you recommend a midsized SUV with a big boot? *Emily Baxter, via email*
*Answer:* At the cheaper end of the scale, the Dacia Duster packs a boot almost as competitive as its price, with a 445-litre space beneath the parcel shelf with the rear seats in place.
Other models come with equipment levels the Dacia can’t match. The Honda CR-V provides a more assured and comfortable ride with 497 litres of space. Seat’s Ateca gives 510 litres while the Toyota RAV4 has 580 litres.
The Volkswagen Tiguan even offers up to 610 litres with the rear seats slid (not folded) forward. If you can stretch to it, have a look at the Land Rover Discovery 5, with 1137 litres with five of its seven seats up. *JW*
*Question: *Can you find me a used car in a classic ‘rosso’ for less than £10,000? *Ben Franks, Marlborough*
*Answer: *Lots of choice here, many from Alfa Romeo. We found a stunning 3.0-litre Alfa GTV for £7950. It has done 84,000 miles and has a full service history, including a cambelt change by an Alfa-approved specialist.
Or how about a 1985 Alfa Romeo Spider for £8250, or a 29,000-mile 1972 Fiat 500 R in ‘rosso medio’ for £8990?
We also found a 1987 Fiat Bertone with 56,000 miles and a bulging history for £5500. Further outside the box is the future classic Fiat Panda 100hp. You can buy one for just £2500. *JW*