Opinions required used car sale.

[di30]

Right folks,

Please will be kindly give me your opinions on a used car, for the one's who may have experience of having one, or have dealt with them, selling, servicing, parts and so on..........

My son was previously thinking of going the diesel direction, but may be changing his mind and stick with petrol.

He will be selling or part ex'ing his 2003 year, SXi 3 door Corsa, and is taking a liking to a used car of a Rover Streetwise 1.4 Petrol, which is a 2004 year, with 49K on the clock.
It has just under a year MOT and tax does not end of the year.

Okay, I know they no longer make them, but believe these were taken over by MG, yet I still see many of these Streetwise cars on the road.

A link below of it, not the one he may be looking at, but the same thing lol, apart the one my son Jamie is looking at has the bumpers and the front chrome bumper bar.

http://www.thompson-thompsonlydney.c...01217466769212

Would be useful to know how economical they are, and the expenses of keeping them on the road.

Thank you.

[Handyman]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

Hi Di, difficult to advise anyone about what car is right for them. A lot comes down to personal choice and what extras of features a car has. Now I know not everyone will agree with me and for youngsters maximum engine size is often dictated by insurance costs. But larger engined cars have more "Legs" when it comes to doing long distances. The Larger more powerful engine doesn't have to work so hard, also the running gear like drive shafts and bearings tend to be of a heavier design.

I have had 1600 engined cars that have been more economical than their 1300 engined little brothers. That extra few BHP means they move more easily on Hills and motorways.

Besides small engined cars always fetch a premium price as folks are put off by fuel costs and insurance premiums. But look at it this way if you save 1K on the cost of the car, Your fuel and insurance go up by the same amount for the year, but your servicing and repair cost go down because the car is tougher?

Is going for a small car the answer. In view of your sons annual mileage he may find it worth doing a little bit of costing and research.

Regards, Handy

[di30]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

Thank you Handy

That is great info.

At the moment on his Corsa (2003), fully comp he pays approx £800 per year. (all clean so far, nil points etc) that was only because he got out of a speed fine by attending a course with Thames Valley lol. (hope he learns from this though, touch wood (my head) lol.

He will be 24 this coming November and 5 going on 6 years driving.

Am I correct that stating insurance for a diesel is a little more than that of a petrol?

Will be researching further and of course do a few online insurance quotes.

I have checked the grouping for the above car is insurance group 6, so one up from his car he has now.

Travelling/distance wise though, yes I agree with you. Before the high mileage last year, he was only doing about 3 to 4K a year, since he been with this girl, who actually lives about 15 miles from us, but attends london uni, that is what's thrown on the miles, she has yet another 2 years to do.
She gave up her car because she hates driving, with being a nervous driver..................doh lol!

It's just getting the right car at the right price for what we looking for lol, not an easy one really.

Cheers.

[Handyman]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

Hi, I'm not aware that diesel is any more expensive than petrol on insurance. I believe (and am happy to be corrected) that it all goes on performance and replacement costs. For example a 200BHP diesel car will always cost more than a 160 BHP petrol. There are a lot of other factors as well, like a 2.3 Volvo driver is considered less of a risk than a 1300 Corsa (Boy Racer - see what I mean) driver.

Beware of just taking one site word for it re insurance groups. One site will say group 17 and another 15. Each insurance company is also different.

My own experience, my last car was group 12. My Saab is according to Parkers Group 43, others say Group 17. At the end of the day I paid £100 less for the SAAB than The Spacewagon, (mainly due to less seats 5 as opposed to 7).

Always worth shopping around before you make your choice.

Regards, Handy

[oscar]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

One thing I do makes a difference to insurance, is the value of the car (and as I have recently found out) - the higher YOU value the car, the lower the quote.

It does make sense in a way. Obviously the insurance is not going to give more than book value. But if you value your car at say £2000 then your going to be alot more careful than if you value it at £200.

[Bricktop]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

These models are the same as the normal Rover, with the exception of various trim items both inside and out, altered to 'tart it up' afaik.

I suspect it has the K series engine fitted, if that is the case then if he buys one make sure he checks the coolant level very regularly, the K series was renowned for overheating and dumping head gaskets, (google k series head gasket for more info)

Make sure he gets both remote blips and the key code to bypass the blip operation incase of failure. (the Key code is 4 digits and is for turning the key in the o/s/f door lock to disable the immobiliser system)

[mgfboy]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

Streetwise is a great little motor and the 1.4 K series has plenty of go!!!

As has been pointed out , the engines do have a certain liking for new head gaskets, but as you can get them replaced on your drive for £300 it's more of a service item. All the parts are cheap and there is a very big club scene for all Rover/MG's ( I like Rover and MG's, I have A Rover 75 and a MGTF).

If you want any more info on clubs etc Di pm me.

[Bricktop]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

Unless it has overheated enough to drop the liners in the block......

[mgfboy]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

Unless it has overheated enough to drop the liners in the block......

This is true my friend, but on a lighter note. A fair percentage of Head gasket failures are actually the cap on the expansion tank going!!!

Also a replacement engine is only a few 100 of Ebay.

As you may be aware some say the ultimate Streetwise is the 2L diesel which can be tuned up to 150bhp plus

[SaltnVinegar]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

Hi Di

I have had several Rovers and MGF's. The 'k' series engine is much maligned when it comes to HGF.

Many perfectly serviceable engines have been diagnosed with HGF and then have been skimmed when totally un-necessary. Its unfortunate but a lot of garages are just too lazy to diagnose what is really wrong with an overheating Rover and immediately diagnose HGF.

I'm not saying the 'k' series doesn't have issues, it does, the coolant pipes are far too narrow bore and the head is also prone to 'thermal shock'. However a common cause of coolant loss in Rovers is actually the inlet manifold gasket. This is a cheap thing to replace (and IMO should be done at least every year), and is often overlooked by garages as the cause of coolant leak.

They then go for a full HGF replacement kit, of which the inlet manifold gasket is part. This of course then 'fixes' the alleged HGF.

The 1.6 k series engine is also really economical, I used to get 50mpg driving sensibly. The only thing about Rovers is that they are stuck in the 70's. The level of equipment (and comfort) is nowhere close to other manufacturers of the same age. Something to consider if you are doing big milage. If you're young, and your back is up to it then no problem, however once you get to my age then a couple of hours in the drivers seat can be uncomfortable!

Now on to diesels...........

Be very wary of second hand diesel cars that are fitted with something called a diesel particulate filter (DPF) or FAP. These are filters that are part of the exhaust system that are required to meet european emissions. They generally require an additive to work properly (called Eoylos fluid) and can be a right PITA as they never seem to work right because you have to drive to certain conditions.

The cost of diagnostics, or replacement, of a FAP is astronomical. Just to replace the eoylos fluid you typically are looking of a garage bill of 600 quid plus.

Peugeots and Citroens are notorious for their 'unblock diesel filter' error messages which even main dealers seem incapable of fixing. VW for a few years now have been instructing their dealers to inform customers who do shorter milages, or journeys, to not buy cars with DPF's.

If you're looking for diesels best to buy a car without one and save yourself a load of headache. Don't rely on a car dealer to know if a car has one (or be truthful). Only way to tell is to get on your hands and knees and have a good look at the exhaust system to see if the DPF box is fitted.

Another thing to be aware of with some diesel engines is that some models are prone to injector faults (it would seem that even bosch injectors only have a 100k milage expected lifespan). This is fine, except that some manufacturers have made engines where, if the injectors get stuck in the head, the only way to get them out is to smash the injectors to remove the head. However I have seen hydraulic pullers which can get them out with reasonable success.

Ultimately the cost can be a new engine, or repair bill leading into thousands......

VW 1.4 diesel engines, Citroen/Peugeot 2.0 Hdi and some Mercedes engines all have this issue.

Ultimately almost all car manufacturers have issues, the best thing your son can do is make a short list of what he is interested in, get on google, and find out the things to look for so that when he views the cars he should be looking for common faults to that manufacturer/model, as well as the normal things to be wary of when buying a second hand used car.

Personally I gave up buying 'mid-price' cars some years ago and stick to bangernomics. As someone has said, if you buy 'top-end' cars the components tend to be better quality and more heavy duty, so therefore last longer.

You can pick up a car that would have cost 40k 10 years ago now for 1k. Pick the right engine and spec and insurance would surprise you too. The benefit of this is that if something really expensive goes wrong then you haven't spent a huge sum of money rather than having to get the repairs done due to the amount you've paid on the car.

Good luck whatever you choose!

Best
SnV

[di30]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

WOW, thank you guys

Lots to read and to take in lol.

Will also get Jamie to have a read later on too.

Fantastic stuff, thank you all

[di30]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

This is the one here........only £1995 with 49K on clock.
1.4 Petrol, is there anyway I can do free history checks online with this?
Thank you.

[philnicandamy]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

HPI Check - Start or Update Your Used Car Data Check Online

costs £19.99 for one search

[di30]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

As Jamie will be 24 this year, I ws reading a review that these do seem to be popular for his age group to the age of 35 and so.

I think its better than what he has now tbh, all he's had his problem after problem. Okay I know this can be an issue for any car, but research is definately something that has to be done.
His Corsa looks immaculate, the body of it still looks like showroom condition, but mechanically wise it's been a right A*SE, LOL.

He's not got a bad job either, as a Co-ordinator/Recruitment officer, but he's trying to save as well, for his future, so needs to keep costs down.
He was quoted on "Webuyanycar" for his Corsa £950, he purchased the Corsa 4 years ago at over £4K.

[philnicandamy]

Re: Opinions required used car sale.

i'd try elsewhere....we buy any care are a shady bunch offering waaaaay below car prices or finding fault knocking more off the price

(they are part of the carcraft company)