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Now there's an idea for a good thread "Most hopelessly over-priced car but under £5k that you can find on Autotrader"
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Well, thanks to the Post office and their 50 quid cash back deal, my tpf&t insurance cost £35 this year. That's for an old Volvo 340.
I must agree with Stunorthants about the Reliant. But, I've worked on a few of them and the day to day cheap running costs are often negated by the cost of major repairs.
Kingpin replacement used to be a pain, unless a midget did the job. Head gasket failure usually led to an engine stripdown due to the wet liner design. Things such as seat frames were lightly built to save weight, and often needed repairing / welding. Overall, they were low mileage high maintenance cars.
I'm still thinking about buying one though !
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Cheap ins for a Volvo!
When I bought my Rialto, it had just had its kingpin replaced, so no worries there. Also helps if you avoid potholes with front wheel - extends the kingpin life no end.
I never had and issues with cooling on mine, but I was very vigilant about keeping the coolant fresh AND having the system flushed yearly which the specialists recommend.
I replaced the seats in mine with those from an 80's Mini which made it far more comfy.
Mine had nearly 90k on the clock so maybe that helped with reliability. They suffer from lack of use and just so happens that many dont get used enough, so full of problems.
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Oh Good God Look at this They want £3150 for this toilet 1994 M reg Reliant Rialto 3 Doors, Manual, Estate, Petrol, 39,000 miles, White. Cloth upholstery, Folding rear seats, Heated screen, Radio/Cassette, Steel wheels, Sunroof, Wheel trims. Fully serviced MOT free delivery mainland . . . . (trade)
It's because it has a sunroof...:-)
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If you paid that much for one of them, then you would be a fool.
As we know TVM, your only here to try and get a rise out of people but thanks for your silly comments which contribute nothing to the actual question.
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Cloth upholstery? The mind boggles. I'm not sure even Rolls Royces from those days could be specified with cloth. What was wrong with the sort of plastic everyone else - even Mercedes (MB Tex) managed with?
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Stu
Not at all.
Let me refresh your mind, You said but as used cars they are cheap enough
Patently at over three grand for a second hand car of that age they are not.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I paid £600 for mine and nobody in the owners club is stupid enough to pay that much for one - any fool can find a high priced dealer car for any make.
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>>Let me refresh your mind, You said but as used cars they are cheap enough>>
Firstly, I was joking about the sunroof.
Secondly, my mind doesn't need refreshing.
I never said anything of the sort in your quote.
Perhaps you should read the postings a little more carefully, instead of attempting to constantly make snide comments?
You are clearly intelligent and have a wide grasp of many subjects. Why not just pass on such knowledge in a friendly fashion?
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Stuartli! wrong Stu - I was reply to stu of northants!
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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So presumably it's me who has to "stew" a bit..:-)
You can't see the earlier posts, of course, when replying to a message.
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Going back to the original post of a cheap car, I just sold my 97 Saxo diesel for £600. OK, its £100 over the budget but as for running costs, well it was giving me an average of 60-65 mpg, ins was group 3 I think, and I didn't do any servicing on it other than 6000 mile oil and filter change. Bil who I sold it to already has a buyer for it when he leaves the country again, willing to pay the same £600 for it so I guess that kind of makes it depreciation proof as well!
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With 500 notes I'd get another Cavalier Mk3, either 1.8 or 2 litre, I suppose as much on the 'better the devil you know' principle as anything else.
Many, many moons ago I did consider a Reliant Robin for a laugh, but even 20 years ago a second hand Robin cost more than an Astra 1600 estate of the same age.
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SpamCan is onto something - I had my father's old G reg 2.0 CD for ayear, and it gave 40 mpg when driven sensibly on longer runs. Group 10/11 insurance, as I recall, though.
Saxo/106 diesel is probaly the cheapest you'll get in a car. The only car made by Reliant was the Scimitar. The rest are not really up to normal driving, and certainly not suitable for a longer daily commute or mortorways.
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>>The only car made by Reliant was the Scimitar. >>
So what about the Reliant Kitten?
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The real answer to this is anything.
Cars with 12 months MOT and sometimes even 12 months tax go through the auctions all the time at £200.
Buy one run for 12 months and then scrap.
A holder, definitely J reg Cavalier (last ones before the cat) £500 will get you a mint SRI.
Unbreakable and so basic mechanically it can be serviced by a blacksmith.
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OK, so the Kitten had four wheels - so has my nipper's go-kart, but that does not make either of them a car that I or any sensible person would take on the motorway with three passengers and week-end luggage. Didn't they manage to get Princess Anne to buy one? No wonder she goes around with such a long face.
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Princess Anne had a Scimitar V6, not a Kitten.
By your logic, you wouldnt take a Fiat 500, Mini or a Citroen 2CV on a motorway with three passengers. Unfortunatly for you, many people have done this because its that or nothing and abviously you have led a sheltered life and cannot objectively answer the question.
Ive done 70 mph on the M1 in my old Rialto and noisey, oh yes, but not dangerous unless there is a nasty crosswind and its like anything, you drive to a cars abilities and they are fine. The handling is no worse than a 4x4 of the same vintage and is far more chuckable when you gain a little confidence.
Besides as I have already pointed out, this is irrelevant to the question I posed, its about overall cost of ownership, not its driving abilities.
Incidentally, you can get three people comfortably in Rialto Estate at a cruising speed of 60.
The last of the line models could manage nearly 100 mpg aswell.
Id just like to add, that if I was trying to save money, I wouldnt buy a Cavalier SRi - not exactly cheap insurance compared to a Mini and fuel consumption nowhere near the Saxo mentioned previously.
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"the Kitten had four wheels but that does not make (it) a car that I or any sensible person would take on the motorway with three passengers and week-end luggage"
Strangely enough, I saw exactly that on the M54 on Friday! - in a nice shade of 1970s brown!
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Phil
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>>You can't see the earlier posts, of course, when replying to a message.
Yes you can if you right click on the reply button and open a new window.
It is also very useful if you are making a long post to copy it using the keyboard shortcut ctrl C for copy before posting it. Then if you are out of time and your message is lost you can then paste your message using crtl V .
You will find these tips very useful.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Yes you can if you right click on the reply button and open a new window.
Thanks, I'm well aware of the fact I can/could use a new window - in fact I use Firefox, which features tabbed wiindows and is immensely convenient. I often have several windows open, each complete with further tabbed pages.
However, I normally copy and paste anything that's a long message before I post it just in case there is a timeout - you can also right click and use Copy and Paste that way.
I've been working with and using computers for the past 26 years, so there aren't many useful tips I haven't come across...:-)
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I've been working with and using computers for the past 26 years, so there aren't many useful tips I haven't come across...:-)
Except netiquette I presume?
Of which I've just removed most of the text you were replying to in your post..
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=42612
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Apologies - not seen that information...:-(
Normally I cut and paste the relevant section (as you will realise from other postings) but time is pressing today so using the Quote Original Message button...:-)
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Ford Fiesta MK3 1.8 Diesel.
95N purchased 2 years ago with 77k, full MOT, mint paintwork for £400.
Bought a rusty 89 model (same red 3dr diesel as mine) with no MOT or TAX for £80 cause it had 5 new tyres and a towbar as a doner.
Now on 108k, cost £25 to get through last MOT, gives 50-70mpg, runs on veg oil, simple to work on, tough as old boots. I still challenge anyone to find a cheaper pence per mile overall than this.
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>>Ive done 70 mph on the M1 in my old Rialto and noisey, oh yes, but not dangerous unless there is a nasty crosswind and its like anything, you drive to a cars abilities and they are fine.
What happens if the nasty crosswind springs up when you're mid way through your journey.? Or an artic comes charging past? In an emergency situation I'd much, much rather be in a 500 quid Cavalier with ABS & side impact protection ( both standard on facelift models IIRC) than a 500 quid 3 wheeler.
>>Id just like to add, that if I was trying to save money, I wouldnt buy a Cavalier SRi - not exactly cheap insurance compared to a Mini and fuel consumption nowhere near the Saxo mentioned previously.
A Cavlier 1.8 GLS would probably be a bettter bet then, >40 mpg when cruising, lower insurance, certainly a much more relaxing & safer motorway cruising car than a Mini or Saxo - that is what the repmobile Cavalier was designed for after all; around town driving a different matter of course.
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Could this be the most bad-tempered thread on the whole of HJ?
If it's not one Stu snapping at anyone who dares disagree with his original post, it's another Stu getting angry when people give him well-meaning (but admittedly interpretable as patronising) advice.
I would argue that TVM posts in a style designed to be humourous rather than to 'get a rise'.
As far as the thread is concerned, it'd be horrible to live a life where the only important consideration is cheapness. I doubt that any of us are in that situation (if you are, why are you sitting in front of a computer?) so it's surely a shame to artificially build such a restraint.
If I had but £500 to spend on a car, I reckon I'd look for something to take my mind off my lack of funds, not draw my attention to it.
I bet you could pick up a decent Mitsubishi Colt GTi-16v for that sort of money nowadays, a delightful hooligan of a car.
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In case you didn't guess, I'm not inclined towards ascetisicm. Life is for living, and having as much fun as you can while you do. By the same token, while cars are for driving, you might as well have as much fun as possible then too.
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Ive never had a crosswind suddenly spring on me. They are not that unstable in a crosswind, no worse than my Suzuki Carry and I take that on the motorway.
In an emergency, any car pre-1990 or so wont be a pretty sight, esp any small car of that age.
Never stopped people buying Minis did it? They arent exactly a sensible choice for fuel consumption ( average ), safety ( woeful ) or reliability ( patchy ). But look at the sales figures...
Dont get me wrong, the Rialto is hardly the first choice for anyone who enjoys driving, its not and I have owned a Jaguar XJ6 also, so I know what a comfy car is, but my Reliant served me well and cost me significantly less to run than even my Astra, Escort or Volvo. The exhaust on my Escort was £275 not including the backbox.
The full system for the Reliant was £50 fitted. Thats a significant difference and if your on a low income like I was at the time I owned the Rialto, one bill I could have afforded, one I could not, simple economics. I simply posed the question wondering if there would have been an even cheaper option.
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>>In an emergency, any car pre-1990 or so wont be a pretty sight, esp any small car of that age.
True, but I'd still much rather crash in a Cavalier than a Reliant; it's all relative; the guy in the video in this thread walked away from the Rialto:-
groups.google.com/group/uk.railway/browse_thread/thread/bf79cecbfeaf84
a8/2cc34b066c89abff?q=reliant&
As stated above my main objection to the Reliants form a cost point of view is the purchase price, a quick look on Autotrader today shows a few 10 year old Robins around; all of them with sticker prices in the 1500 - 2000 quid range. That would buy me a very nice Cavalier* and a lot of spares ( last cavalier exhaust I bought was 60 quid complete) . Indeed my last Omega CD cost me 800 quid! ( I'm not suggesting an Omega is a sensible idea from a bangernomics point of view)
* I appreciate some backroomers would consider this a contradiction in terms.;-)
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Well yes - the reason that Robins of that age go for that money is that people pay it - also, you will get most if not more than you pay for one privately back when you come to sell. These cars may have many downsides, but look after one and they last indefinatly since they dont rust and all parts are still availiable. So aslong as you have the capital upfront to buy one, you wont suffer any depreciation.
I bought mine for £600, used it for 1 year, spent £150 on servicing and MOT, then sold it for £900, no haggling and scores of enthusiats lining up for it. Mine was a D reg with 90k.
Also, if your a social kinda person, the owners club is the friendliest bunch of people ive ever met, from young women to old men, it has the lot and they will go a long way to help a fellow owner.
The later Robins werent as good as the mid 80's Rialto in terms of build quality and the owners recommend 84-88 year models as the best, which can be bought very cheaply with T&T.
Watch Ebay and you get a better idea of what people pay. Nobody who knows buys the later models.
Besides, compare like for like - look at the silly money Minis fetch - cant get a reasonable one for much less than a grand, even rusty ones are 500 quid, and I did look for one for ages before buying the Reliant.
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You did well there - my P reg 1.8 was up for sale at £900 in a local garage, but I saw it yesterday so someone bought it. Last time I saw it was about 3 years ago and it was on 130,000 miles. It will have done well over 150,000 miles by now. Only issue was lack of power steering and cambelt needs doing every 30,000 miles. Live with the steering and keep on top of basic servicing and as you say they are tough as old boots.
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lets see.
Prob a 205 normally aspirated diesel was the cheapest to fuel. Did me so well I gave it to the mate who sold it me for virtually nothing.
A 1.2 petrol fiesta actually made me money as I had it for a bet, fixed for 2p & then had a job where I was paid 33p mile & had to drive loads. In the end it had a clonky driveshaft on right hand corners, so I did quite a lot of left, left lefts. Blackbushed that one.
But for quality of life & economy (although the insurance wasn't that cheap) was a 205 Turbo Diesel. Handled like a sportscar, went like stink, 55mpg even when booting it & was so easy to service it wasn't true. My Fil 'accidently' sold it when I left it with him...
I tend to think the older fiesta have about 130k in them before they start to go seriously wrong. The 205s, well who knows. 150k on both of them & no nasty noises or rust etc.
Anyone got one for sale in fact?
Those older Rovers (sorry don't remember details) come up a lot on threads like these. Think it's the jap engined ones that you need.
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www.bayingbasset.com
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