Well after lots of trawling, I've finally agreed a purchase. I'm getting a beautiful condition 1996 BMW 525 TD. Only faults are partial toolkit and official history stops at 75k in late 1999, although MOT records up to the one done last month show progressive mileage increases. It's not the 145 bhp version, just 115 bhp so it'll be a cruiser rather than a bruiser, but that's all I was looking for. It's just coming up to 99k miles, so should be good for another 150-200k. Not that I'll have it that long. No malfunctions, no mayonnaise, good oil, starts first time from cold, plenty of life in the tyres which were on long enough to show even wear all round, history checks out, and the only rust I could find (believe me, I looked everywhere) was a tiny spot above the rim of the two headlamps. Cost to me? £3900, roughly a grand below what the guide indicates.
I'd just like to express my thanks to HJ for the How to Buy & Sell tips, which I took with me each time and saved me from buying trouble waiting to happen on two different occasions. Checking the car out takes me almost an hour before the test drive, and all of the sellers said they had never seen anyone examine a car as thoroughly as I did. Well worth the effort. This'll be my first RWD car, so I'm looking forward to learning how the drive differs. And now here come the questions.
It's now time to advertise the Clio - does anyone know how the insurance works when I temporarily own two cars? Will I have to pay two sets of premiums, or are insurance companies understanding (nearly choked with cynical laughter there) when it comes to the overlap?
I think the BMW has a timing chain rather than a belt, but couldn't hear for definite with my head almost inside the engine bay - can anyone confirm this? If it's a belt I would get it changed pretty much straight away just for safety's sake.
The rear tyres are a bit more worn than the front, presumably because it is a RWD car. Any point in swapping them round, or any reason not to?
So anyone else bagged a bargain recently?
"Very funny guys, but I'm not made of wood."
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Last time I changed motors, my insurance co. automatically issued a 7-day 'overlap' on the old car, allowing me to drive both new and old during that period.
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I had a number of weeks with the old Senator and a new Rover. Direct Line charged me about £25 pw IIRC.
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Yep, direct line covered SWMBO's old Cav and new(er) 405 for a month together FOC.
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"I think the BMW has a timing chain rather than a belt"
my info database confirms this.
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Thanks everyone. It'd be great if I could get a month's overlap FOC out of the insurance! I'll post how I get on. Glad to hear about the timing chain too.
I pick the car up tomorrow & can't believe how much I'm looking forward to it. I'm like a kid looking forward to Christmas!
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Motor sounds really good Andy but in your euphoric state when you collect still check to see everything that was there when you looked at it before is still on or in the car (spare wheel is always a popular substitution.
Happy Motoring Phil I
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Well, I picked it up earlier this evening - everything still where it had been!
It has a mix of spec, eg electric mirrors, windows and sunroof but no remote locking, seats which adjust for tilt and height but not lumbar support. I do like it a lot, and the engine is quite sweet for an older diesel, but I may not keep it that long - I could trade it in for a higher-spec model in six to twelve months. I had only planned to buy a sub £5k car which would not depreciate drastically. In fact, I reckon that I'll probably make a little money on this one when I do sell, so I'm well pleased.
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With Respect to insurance overlap, one thing I've done in the past is paid a fiver to insure the new car for a day when I've Picked it up, then put it off the road until the old car is sold.
Where I live, it can be pot luck whether you sell a car quicly or not purely because we're not on the beaten track for people looking for cars, so I usually just keep running the 'old' car until someone agrees to buy it, take a deposit then change your insurance over to its replacement. Make the buyer aware that you're doing this and all should be fine. This way you're 100% legal, so long as you've got off road parking for at least one car.
If you're concerned about damage to the 'off road car' you may be able to get 'laid up insurance'.
Best of luck
Hugo
Funny thing happened last time I decided to sell a car to go back down to one car, someone wrote it off for me, saved the hassle of selling it!
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Sounds like a good idea, the "laid-up" insurance. My own insurance company seems to have taken the cost-cutting decision to operate a call centre staffed by primates. I couldn't get across to the fool at the other end that no, I do not want to insure two cars permanently at an additional cost of £170 per month when my existing premium is £717 for the year. We've put the BMW under my wife's name and her old car is staying in her name for £15 per week, which is still a little steep but manageable. I hope to speak to someone at my own provider with an IQ higher than Cheetah to try & get it sorted out on my own policy.
I just noticed that the AA are offering free vehicle health checks to anyone who has "purchased an AA Car Data Check when buying a used car" - I wonder if that will apply to the car I bought, as opposed to the one I had checked and didn't buy. I'll soon find out!
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Maybe you've already visited this site?
The forum is excellent for repair tips etc...
www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/bmw_home.html
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