Advice on buying 1.9

[ThoraB]

Hello, me again... the car I'm considering buying has just returned from a check by my mechanic with a list of problems. They said it's in good nick apart from these things, top 3 of which are unacceptable for sale.

The accelerator cable has seized... that's why it was :censored: heavy to drive!
Air filter housing broken & filter missing (supposed to have passed it's MOT in September...)
Clunking due to drop link

also- rear wiper split, washer not working, wiper too slow, clutch heavy, cambelt will need changing at some point.

it's a 2001 1.9D Multispace forte being sold by a small local dealer. the bodywork is immaculate as is the interior. they wanted £1250 plus my automatic micra. i was trying to get them down to £1000 + micra but after this I'm not sure. I'll walk away if they don't offer to fix the top 3 problems before sale.

Would any of you go for something like this & could you advise me what I should be asking the garage to do and how much to offer them? I'd be grateful for any tips. I have no idea how much a garage would charge to do all that & whether I should even bother with it. it's the first one I've test-driven but i whittled it down from several in that price range. Need some expertise cratch:! Thanks

[tucker]

They are not serious problems but need correcting.

The drop links are only about £10 plus fitting - an easy repair for them and those are common issues on any car with today's speed humps and traffic calming!

I don't know how much the filter hosuing would be, but could only be £20 from a scrap yard if that. I don't think a broken air housing would be an MOT fail and they wouldn't know the filter was missing because they wouldn't look.

For the garage selling the car, it shouldn't be a big deal to put the faults right and there's no reason why you still can't ask for some more off the price.

[ThoraB]

Thanks Tucker, I must say the dealer has been ok so far, not pushy. It's so annoying when you don't have a car-savvy friend handy to help with decisions like this. I must say people on here have been brilliant. That seemed like a big list of problems. I've left a message for the dealers to ring me...

[divingscubaboy]

I wouldn't buy it unless you can afford to lose the cash and your other car. With that many faults as minor as they may seem I think you could be buying into a whole load of trouble. I think the missing air filter is a major issue, the engine could have ingested all kinds of rubbish and the bores could have been dusted. Dont know what the micra is worth but I think you're getting a bum deal. Theres plenty others around. You should get a mk 2 52/53 plate for that sort of money.

[ThoraB]

thanks, I certainly can't afford to lose the cash or car, the micra is fine, just not great in ice or snow (scary in fact!), being fully automatic there's no control, I live in a very hilly area. So I could wait around for another berlingo, it's more that I don't know enough to buy one on ebay or privately. Re Micra value, my mechanic said £1000 but the paint is peeling, that's another reason for selling it on before it looks worse. Mechanically brilliant though, never let me down but a Berlingo is what I need really.

[Opensauce]

For a dealer to put a car on their forecourt with the faults listed suggests they have no real idea about cars & just polish them up & sell them. I wouldn't trust them to fix the faults themselves. Tbh in your price range I would be looking to buy privately. Have a look on the Autotrader website.

[ThoraB]

Salesman rang tonight, said he would do the 3 main jobs but it would cost him money... I reminded him that he'd have to do them in order to sell it to anyone. He still wants £1250 & micra (15 years old, paint peeling but automatic, reliable, cool colour!) No way I'll do that. He absolutely wont go to £900

I rang my usual garage who said if he does those jobs then I shouldn't have to worry, the car's in good condition. But I agree with Opensauce- why would they advertise it for sale with all those faults?

You're all talking sense on here, I just cant see how a no-nowt like me could buy privately. I had a look on Auto Trader but I think I'd be in the same boat. Research & bluffing I can do but it's no substitute for the knowledge that you guys have! I can't pay garages to look over every one. So now i really dont know what to do! I told them to ring me when they've done the work & I would see how it felt to drive. But as you say, how would I know they've done the work properly. :S

[divingscubaboy]

Obviously only my opinion but walk away. You have a car that works at the moment ( although not ideal for your situation). You are probably reasonably confident about your micra and its reliability. Potentially you could give that up for an unreliable dog. I don't know your location but maybe a forum member local to you who has some knowledge could help you out. My latest bingo is a shed to look at but mechanically I know it to be in good order. Unless you are completely sure of its genuine history I suggest you factor in a service & belt change when looking at a used motor i.e. say £350

[ThoraB]

Thanks for that, I do think you're right. My mechanic didn't seem worried about the lack of air filter but it could have done hundreds of miles without one so I share your concerns about what could have got in there. I too would rather have a shed that's great mechanically, I'd only go driving it on fields & running festival stalls from the back of it! Nice & shiny doesn't quite cut it when you break down in the Pennines in fog! That's a very good idea about a local forum member. :thumbsup:

[tucker]

To be honest, most garages will turn cars of that sort of price over, as sold as seen.

Whatever you buy in that price bracket, will be a risk. You could find a real gem and then all the bits a bobs fail at once on you.

You had it looked over. If he thinks its a decent buy once the main faults are rectified then I am not sure you'll find what you are after for under £2k, without going on to spend a quarter of that amount having various cars looked at.

It does sound like the mechanic has given it a good going over. If he would buy it for the price being asked then personally, that would do for me.

Will the mechanic spend 5 mins looking at it after to see the various bits have been sorted? Should take him minutes to verify and if he's to get you future servicing and repair work it's not much to ask.