OT cars.

That's weird, cos I had one that was also pretty damn huge ;o)
RWD so you could swing the back end out on roundabouts and confuse the
novabois.

It was cheap to ensure when I didn't have any NCB too.

 

Spares for these are very, very cheap (OK I admit it - I've bought a 740
estate a few weeks ago). They're also very easy to work on (again, at
least my 740) because you've got oodles of space in the engine bay and
they are comparatively basic cars.

The arse end of the car market's been depressed for quite a while now
IMHO - the bread and butter stuff can be picked up for a pittance. The
downside is that nobody really looks after a cheap car anymore, so most
of them are in a very dire state. You can still pick up something decent
if you're willing to wait a little while.

I'm not sure where the market is going at the moment. It used to be
depressed because a large majority of the sub-1k car customers could get
finance on something newer so there wasn't an incentive to get an old
banger. With the availability of credit having gone all cornflakes this
might change again but IMHO that might make bottom end cars a more
dangerous proposition as I'm not sure if people will look after them. So
chose carefully, there are still bargains to be had.

 

It does, I bought a 740 estate (2l turbo) for 510 quid. Needed a
thermostat and the idle setting tweaked but neither of those problems
would've prevented most people from driving it. I just like things to
work like they're supposed to be.

That said the 240 is becoming a bit of a cult classic so I'd go for a
740 or 940, which still seem to be stuck in old banger territory. The
additional advantage is that from the 740 onwards, the cars have
galvanised bodies and one that has been looked after pretty much should
be rust free.

The engines may be biggish (all the four cylinders are either 2l or
2.3l) but they're not really that powerful. I found this particular
barge quite cheap to ensure and that's despite it being the (AFAIK) most
powerful in the range.

 

Vauxhall Omega estate?

 

<Evil mode>

Citroen CX

 

What part of the above quoted line are you failing to understand?

 

What about an old van?

 

<shrug>

It's a car - what's to 'get on with'?

As others have pointed out, you won't have any spark plug issues with
a diesel 405.

And anyway, why would you get your hands dirty at all? Just drive it.

 

It's all Bear's fault.

And I can say that without a hint of irony, cos it's true.

 

S'not that evil!

I went to this pub on Tuesday night:
http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1006.html

As you walk down Roupell Street, there's always a couple of old Citroen
D-types parked on the street. They look like they're rarely used or,
if they are, just as workhorses.

Anyway, I only mention them as there were two this week, a saloon and a
Safari.

 

The Safari model, obv. I had a BX that would comply with all of cat's
criteria, particularly not being pretty and the TGD (TurGiD) non-turbo
diesel is a slug of the first order. 'Kin expensive to insure without
NCD though - as a second car (and therefore without the benefit of any
NCD) even my then-current insurer wanted over 700 quid.

I'd suggest a diesel Pug 406 estate as they're common, cheap and the
older ones are bulletproof. Parts are cheap too, from the likes of
http://www.gsfcarparts.com/ The interiors are a bit fragile but the
loadspace is huge.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, CT

Phil Collins is Bear's fault?

The bastard.

 

I guess so, because AFAIAA, Bear was never married.

 

Maybe you should see the boot of a 5 door Maverick before making
yourself look like a prick.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25191903@N05/2970906299/sizes/l/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25191903@N05/2985487126/sizes/l/

 

And maybe you should go and look at a volvo estate before resorting to
name-calling from a position of such ignorance.

Oddly enough, as one who's had large estates for the last decade and a
half, I have actually looked at the Maverick, and with the rear seats
in place the boot size is pitiful by comparison. Even folded flat it's
nowhere near as long or wide a load area as a 740 or similar.

 

My Ma, who is never going to drive again, has just sold her old last-
model Micra, through the trader who's supplied and serviced her motahs
in the past.

2001 model, 1.0 litre. However, one genuinely old lady driver, just
7,000 miles on the clock, and absolutely mint. He gimped it properly,
and got £3695 for it, of which he took £700, so she got three grand. I
was startled, to say the least.

I suppose those old Micras are known for being ridiculously cheap to
run and absolutely bomb-proof[1] (I mean, The Doctor hasn't managed to
break hers yet), plus tax and insurance will be pennies, but even so.

[1] My local garage has some venomous things to say about the newer
model which has, surprise surprise, a lot of cheapo Renault bits in it
and, surprise surprise, these are the bits that go wrong.

 

I think my computer has just exploded.

 

Sheesh, that's a good price! P has the newer model that she's
considering changing next year and I don't think she will get anywhere
that price for it.

Really? P's is a 53-reg, coming up to 50,000 miles and has never had
much wrong with it. The only issues are that it suffers from terrible
condensation[1] and it's just started making a squeaking/squealing
sound from under the bonnet.

I haven't taken a look yet (a job for the weekend) but it could be the
fanbelt. Assuming that these actually have a fanbelt cos I don't know
if they do or not. /

[1] A friend of hers has the same model of similar age and that's bad
too. Must be a common issue with them I guess.

 

Yebbut, that's not really the sub 1k arse end of motoring that cat was
talking about. Small motors tend to sell quite well anyway and now even
more so given the current economic climate.

That said, I think it's a good deal for everybody involved.

 

I didn't say it worked like that in the real world.