Considering purchase...mind nearly made up!

[sevenfourate]

Peeps, daft question...how do I become a paid member so I can view the classifieds? I'm a bit slow and can't seem to locate the correct method?!?

Cheers as per.

Its here Ben:

http://www.clio197.net/account/upgrades

 

[Ben Thompson]

Its here Ben:

http://www.clio197.net/account/upgrades

Cheers man!! Maximum appreciation

 

[kevlar]

Your point about people being economical with the truth applies to all cars sadly!, I viewed a Megane F1 R26 which on the face of it appeared to be a real gem I took half day off work and travelled to Wales, the day after it was advertised - turned up and what a piece of s&^t it was... guy wanted top money and it was truly shocking.

Years ago i was after a vx220 turbo me and my wife drive about 2.5 hours to view it - I literally walked around it without stopping literally 20 seconds, said goodbye and we drove home...again dreadful car.

On my vx220 search I actually gave up after 2 years of searching, started again the year after and pure chance bought one for sale 20 mins from my house.

Its just chance, I went to view a Focus RS years ago which was in new castle...booked one way ticket with wife...yeh she was really impressed...no hang on she wasnt. Luckily car was a minter and we drove it back home.

The cam belts an odd one to when I bought my Clio back again it was due to be done, guy selling it was adamant it wasnt due to mileage as he had been told by Renault it wasnt due to the low miles...another one I looked at was the same just said no its not time yet so I just budgeted to get it done myself - in fact I was happier I had it done as I knew exactly what was done and by who.

Hi Ben,

I'm on the lookout for a Clio as well although I've decided not to buy just yet unless something fantastic comes up. More than likely to be in the summer as I want to sell my civic privately and it needs a few things doing first.

I did have a test drive a few weeks back but unfortunately it wasn't a great experience. I got lumbered with a fat, old bloke who insisted on driving me somewhere quiet before I took over. The test drive was short and no decent roads. On the one good straight bit of open road he moaned at me for giving it the beans in 2nd and said how the fuel economy would suffer and it just isn't safe to be doing that on a public road nowadays. I've been driving sporty cars for 27 years and was an approved driving instructor in the past for gods sake!

I just haven't had time to drive another since as there's not much going locally. I'm also not 100% sure it's the car for me just yet. Also on the list is the FN2 type r (already have a civic) which I have driven and liked or blow the budget on a newish Fiesta ST. I test drive the ST at a local ford dealers and have to say it was absolutely phenomenal but then at over £10k that's to be expected.

What I have noticed when looking at cars for sale is that good ones are few and far between unless you have the time and inclination to travel large distances which can obviously be a wasted journey if condition doesn't match the description. Some people are very economical with the truth when it comes to maintenance, especially cambelts with these. I've been told the belts don't need doing for 10 years or, as you said the ad states cambelt done then you find out it was 5 years ago. Checking auto trader the same cars are for sale that were there when I started looking a couple of months back. If a really nice one does come up for sale it's gone within a couple of days. I've found the same with good type r's too. Tracking down a decent example is not that easy IMO. But hey, I'm enjoying looking!

There is a red RS200 in the classifieds on here that was serviced by SRS in Nuneaton. I don't think that would've been by the current owner but worth a PM to ask. Funny enough they would be my nearest specialist garage as I'm in Tamworth.

 

[Ben Thompson]

Your point about people being economical with the truth applies to all cars sadly!, I viewed a Megane F1 R26 which on the face of it appeared to be a real gem I took half day off work and travelled to Wales, the day after it was advertised - turned up and what a piece of s&^t it was... guy wanted top money and it was truly shocking.

Years ago i was after a vx220 turbo me and my wife drive about 2.5 hours to view it - I literally walked around it without stopping literally 20 seconds, said goodbye and we drove home...again dreadful car.

On my vx220 search I actually gave up after 2 years of searching, started again the year after and pure chance bought one for sale 20 mins from my house.

Its just chance, I went to view a Focus RS years ago which was in new castle...booked one way ticket with wife...yeh she was really impressed...no hang on she wasnt. Luckily car was a minter and we drove it back home.

The cam belts an odd one to when I bought my Clio back again it was due to be done, guy selling it was adamant it wasnt due to mileage as he had been told by Renault it wasnt due to the low miles...another one I looked at was the same just said no its not time yet so I just budgeted to get it done myself - in fact I was happier I had it done as I knew exactly what was done and by who.

Not good!! There is a decent looking one in Plymouth and one in Aberdeen that look good...but I am not not going to chance the trip given similar reasons to above!

 

[kevlar]

Not good!! There is a decent looking one in Plymouth and one in Aberdeen that look good...but I am not not going to chance the trip given similar reasons to above!

I would start by setting yourself up as a paid member here you can see the adverts then - hopefully you can find a good ex forum members car.

 

[Christopher]

Totally agreed re enthusiast-owned cars. I'd always buy from a club member over a car "out in the wild"

A while ago I put a deposit down on an EK9 Civic Type R, asked my Dad to drive me down to Oxford (from Manchester) to view and buy the car. I arrived and it was a heap. No airbags, dents in the roof, ripped rear bench etc etc.

On the phone, the guy said "you WILL NOT find a better one"

Jokers.

 

[Jimmy]

At the end of the day, people want to sell their car and they will say/write whatever they can to get people interested (how many times have you read "Best example out there"...). Unfortunately there are a lot of car buyers who won't walk away when they see that it's a dog (they may not even realise it's a dog), so the shady characters just carry on with their questionable/lazy tactics...

 

[Christopher]

At the end of the day, people want to sell their car and they will say/write whatever they can to get people interested (how many times have you read "Best example out there"...). Unfortunately there are a lot of car buyers who won't walk away when they see that it's a dog (they may not even realise it's a dog), so the shady characters just carry on with their questionable/lazy tactics...

Bingo. In the situation above, my Dad nearly lamped the guy.

 

[Jimmy]

Bingo. In the situation above, my Dad nearly lamped the guy.

Exactly and some people are too nice to walk away and in come cases might even feel obliged to go through with it because they've driven a long way...

 

[Chris H72]

I also think that cars can look fantastic in pics on the internet but when you get up close the reality is often much less satisfactory. I found an FN2 civic that I really liked the other week, late model with low miles and full history. The photos looked mint so I left a 500 quid deposit and travelled an hour and a half to do a deal but when I got there the car was rubbish. Broken trim, broken bits in the engine Bay, it had a squeaky clutch and knocking suspension, brand new budget ditch finders on the front and the service history was full right up until 2 years ago with the big 5 year 50k mile service missed altogether. I got my money back and walked away but it was a waste of a day unfortunately. I would rather buy privately because people are often more honest than used car dealers with inflated prices.

 

[///M]

Next time I buy a car, I'm going to ask the seller to do a face time with me in the day time or under good lights and have a proper look around the car virtually on a tablet so I can direct the owner to what I want to see.

Think anyone who likes nice cars has experienced the "oh it's mint mate, you won't find better" only to turn up and see a dog.

It's out of order.

 

[Ben Thompson]

Thanks again all. I am going to look at a Liquid Yellow Cup one on Friday (owner on here selling), a Blue 197 Cup one in Tamworth (Thursday) ,a White 200 in Small Heath and a Red 197 (115k miles...) in Southam Saturday...

 

[Jimmy]

Thanks again all. I am going to look at a Liquid Yellow Cup one on Friday (owner on here selling), a Blue 197 Cup one in Tamworth (Thursday) ,a White 200 in Small Heath and a Red 197 (115k miles...) in Southam Saturday...

Best of luck with the viewings Ben. Seeing all of those should give you a really good idea of what a good and a bad one is!

 

[Dystant]

Good luck viewing all those mate! Hope you like one of them enough to purchase.

If you've never seen liquid yellow in person you're in for a treat

 

[Pav]

good luck mate..hope one of them catches your eye..

 

[Ben Thompson]

Well that's it! I am picking this one up tomorrow!! Liquid Yellow FF Cup 200

 

[BenAG200]

Nice mate, hope the new ride brings you plenty of good times!

 

[sevenfourate]

Many congrats. Enjoy the ride home and the massive grin that's gonna go with it.....

 

[Jimmy]

Great news Ben, looks like a good purchase! Hope the pick-up goes well and you enjoy ownership!

 

[Ben Thompson]

Ok annoyingly a couple of things that bizarrely didint crop up on the test drive.

Firstly it seems to take forever to get up to temp...and can I ask where should the needle sit when at normal operating temperature?

Also it noe seems to be knocking at the front like a crazy thing when the damper goes into rebound and bump compression...steering goes from lock to lock with no noises and at full lock no noises either.

Had it in the air and nothing immediately obvious otger than maybe a tiny bit of play in the nearside steering motion.

Nothing when tugging on the wheel at 9 and 3, or 12 and 6?

The offside damper looks like it might have a slight leak?

Over speed humps no noises either...however uneven speed cushions and I get the knock knock.

Most likely culprits??