I saw an H reg Primera Abandoned at a service station in the Midlands last week.
Essentially the car seemed to be fine. It could possibly be a major mechanical failure but is probably simple to fix by womeone who knows how.
It seems a shame to think that the car will end up getting crushed. Hopefully it will break for spares somewhere.
|
|
|
Well done with the purchase... My Primera is 1993 K model, 171,000 miles, I have rust on both sides rear doors wheel arches. Have you any rust on yours? Had the heater switch repaired ages ago, fanbelt replaced a few months ago, been through 3 alternators, couple of batteries and a new door window winder motor.
Cheers for the advice so far. I'm glad I picked the basic spec model, as the less electrics on an old car, the less that can go wrong! Ah, feels very 80s to be winding down the window with my hand! Yep, surface rust on the sill underneath rear doors. Every old Primera I've seen has that.
|
"Yep, surface rust on the sill underneath rear doors. Every old Primera I've seen has that."
At £160 who cares ;)
When it fails its MOT, stick it on e bay for spares.
You'll probably get another bangernomics punter pay you £100 for it.
|
I love bangernomics now. The car I had before was a Lexus LS400, and over the course of 6 years of ownership, I was losing 180 quid a month in just depreciation alone. Ok, totally different car from the Primera. For me, depreciation has always been the biggest cost of ownership, something that buyers don't always take into account.
When I get rid of this car, I want to get an old diesel off ebay and run it on veg oil/diesel blend.
|
Yeah, agree with you NN. I buy 'em cheap and run 'em into the ground!
Currently drive a 1991 Celica GT bought for £1500 3 years ago (been faultless)and gives over 40 mpg. Before that I had a £200 Nissan Sunny 1.6 (great), before that a £200 Bluebird 1.6 (sluggish) and started my bangernomics 'career' with a £110 Passat which I kept for 30,000 fault-free miles.
I used to spend upwards of 5k on my cars, but soon realised the errors of my ways!
|
...but how on earth can you face your neighbours, the Jones's? :-)
I gave up trying to keep up with them too...I now drive what I want, rather than what I want to be seen in...
|
|
Yeah, sure I'm likely to get snidey comments from folks who used to see me in the Lex. Who cares! Best thing is I can leave this car anywhere and not worry about it. If it gets dented or scratched, it doesn't bother me. With a nice and shiny car, you waste so much time worrying about it being stolen or hit or scratched.
|
Correct, for you NN.
I have just come back from visiting a multi-millionaire client who has lovely offices in the Cheshire countryside and wanted me to look at a site with him. We went in my car. I think he would not have even picked up the phone to me if he knew I was coming in a bangeromics car.
A new/big car is a statement of success whether people agree or not. It would be nice if it were not, and I could not worry about the bashes and scratches, or even forking out £000s every few years!
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
|
I generally use train and taxi when visiting clients - its less stressful and I can do some work on the train. If I need to drive (e.g. because their location is a long way out of town) then I book a rental car, usually a D. Overseas its always rental car from the airport.
|
|
|
Correct, for you NN. I have just come back from visiting a multi-millionaire client who has lovely offices in the Cheshire countryside and wanted me to look at a site with him. We went in my car. I think he would not have even picked up the phone to me if he knew I was coming in a bangeromics car.
I agree with you dude. I used to visit clients in the Lexus, and some informally mentioned that seeing me turn up in such an expensive car meant my company was probably successful, and we were probably doing well as a result of helping our clients! So, it boosted their confidence in our company. I know a consultant who shelled out for an new Jeep (his old one was only 2 years old). He stated the reason that he wanted to give the continued impression to potential clients that he was "successful"! Saying that, if I had turned up in a Beemer, the client would have probably thought "pink fluffy dice"...
|
You could look at this in reverse. Chap turns up in cheap car. Client concludes that prices are so reasonable that profits aren't that high and there's no money spare for flash.
But I don't suppose anyone does...
|
|
My current car - a replacement for new BMW 330d is a Rover 420 TD estate that I bought for £200 and sold the number for £250. Still taxed and MOTd to the end of the year and doing 50 mpg. Bought a couple of houses and am a lot happier than losing £100 per weeek on depreciation. Why did Rover fail? It has 238000 miles and goes like a rocket? Comfotable and still looks well. Will run it to Christmas and will look out for another bargain.
|
You could look at this in reverse. Chap turns up in cheap car. Client concludes that prices are so reasonable that profits aren't that high and there's no money spare for flash. But I don't suppose anyone does...
Actually some domestic clients do where builders are concerned.
I drive a 54 reg van that I use to visit clients as well as travel to the job. With new clients I make an effort to look clean, so it's clean jeans and decent top, rather than clothes covered in dry plaster and cement.
I feel that turning up in a smart van projects the view that you're serious about the business and have had few if any problems earning money at what you do. Also, it's not a 55 reg BMW 7 series either, so hopefully domestic clients don't feel intimidated by the money parked on their own drive!
I think some are impressed with the professionalism I project but others are just concerned about the cost.
|
AN Other,
Yes they do!Friend of mine with very successful company purposely rents mid range Focus when visiting prospective clients. His reasoning is that by arriving in new £40k mobile may alienate and so far has proved correct..with subsequent wonderful drunken evenings discussing human psychology with him/her!!
|
|
Blimey, there's some naive clients out there!
|
I tried the new 525d and S-Type 2.7D and they really were expensive. Both turned out to be £37k - £38k. The BMW's option list is especially expensive. The 525dSE was only £25,800. I have not gone over board with extras, just
1) £1400 Autobox
2) £1900 Communication pack inc. GPS navigation, Bluetooth phone and BMW Assist (no idea what that was)
3) £1200 Leather seats
4) £600 Electric seat adjustment with memory
5) £600 Heated seats
6) £350 Folding rear seats
7) £300 Metallic Paint
8) Delivery, Tax and 1st time registration
9) VAT for the lot
Totalled just under £38,000 (though the dealer offered under £36,000)
3 years and 100k miles, you WILL lose 75% of that value. Having said that, companies receive 25% tax allowance on its tax written down value every year.
As I wanted these equipment for my work as well as my enjoyment, I will only be buying 3-year-old company cars from now on.
|
Not really. It's just the appropriate tools for the job.
I would not turn up in a £70K German to most of my jobs as it would look silly. Similarly so would turning up in a £200 thing. It making clients feel comfortable that you knwo what you are doing and don't waste money. If you waste your money, you may waste theirs! So have a car of reasonable age - not old or new and not too expensive or cheap. For my job abd age, I reckon thats £35,000 or cheaper and at least one year old.
So decent builders turn up in clean vans for the initial quotation and then comes the grubby stuff when work really begins. The washing nachine repair man comes in a clean van with a tidy took array in the rear, as does the electrician. If they can in scrappy vans with messed up load bays, you would worry.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
|
Well, made it to Belgium and back yesterday in my new car. Very smooth journey. Vive la Bangernomics!
|
Well Done!
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
|
|
|
|
