Further to other posts I've made about my poorly Ka, it failed the MOT recently. P reg, 80000 miles. Failed on emissions (the oil consumption was getting silly,) and work required on the suspension and chassis. The garage quoted £330 and said that it may have been worth it, but they wouldn't guarantee the engine would hold out for another year, and it could well need more work doing next time so it was time to decide whether to do the work or just get rid of it.
So, I asked whether they were interested in it, I asked for £200; they said they weren't interested in it at all but may be able to give me £70 and waive the MOT fee and keep it to one side in case anyone comes in needing a cheap temporary car....
It just sounds a bit low, despite the work being needed! What should I do?
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If the garage is willing to give you £70 and swallow the cost of the MOT and also believe that they can sell it on for any money at all, the car is saleable as is. Try selling it yourself before you accept the garage's offer.
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It's worth about £75 as scrap. Have you investigated finding a replacement engine from one that's been shunted?
How much welding needs doing?
In good order one of these is worth £700 or more, so it may be worth spending money on the one you have, starting with a good engine.
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That's £120 for a MOT-fail, rotten Ka with a knackered engine - rip their arm off and go and buy something else.
Cars like that are always best sold to the workshop; some young tech will weld it up in his own time, find a cheap engine and get his girlfriend some basic transport for very little - everybody wins.
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Cars like that are always best sold to the workshop; some young tech will weld it up in his own time find a cheap engine and get his girlfriend some basic transport for very little - everybody wins.
That's exactly what my friend did, although he did buy it out of the paper, it was sold as spares or repair for buttons, he bought it, fixed the fewengine problems with ease and now his girlfriend is learning to drive in it. Very nice car by all accounts, also on a P reg.
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waive the MOT fee and keep it to one side in case anyone comes in needing a cheap temporary car....
So they intend to do the work to get it through the MOT themselves just to have it as a spare car? Sounds to me like it may not be as bad as the garage are making out...
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The MOT place I got to has a similar system.
They have a yard and if they get a rust bucket with a decent engine they will pull it out and scrap the rest. If there is another car that needs a bit of work and a duff engine then they will often use it as a training device for the apprentices. Welding work and the like costs virtually nothing to them if they have quiet periods when they can spend a bit of time sorting it out.
It's only a punter who has to get his car in a reasonable time that has to pay the full labour charges.
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£120 doesn't sound like bad value at all.
On the other hand, might it go through the emissions with some denser oil? Or an Italian tune up? And how serious are the other problems. Depends, really, whether you want to take the gamble on having somewhere else test it for a further £50 - when it's worthless anyway.
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I took the money - I'm broke so it was 70 quid in my pocket! I know its not much and they will probably make some money from it after doing the work, but it benefits me not having to fork out for the repairs only for the engine to pack in soon and it benefits them because they can sort it all out and it only costs them the parts.
Plus, I'm now using Mum's (another Ka, but rather newer - 55 reg) so I'll be sorted for a while and hopefully without any shocks!
Cheers all
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"Very serious rustbuckets"
I wouldn't disagree, but how come there are so many P- and R-reg Kas still on the road?
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I think a lot are used for short runs in decent weather, and don't go out in the rain, snow, and salt.
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