Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

Last year a lucky buyer in my area managed to buy a 53k mileage 2007 Chrysler 300 CRD privately for just over £3200. It was a distress sale caused by a matrimonial break up I was informed and the price was below even "Trade".

I haven't bought any real bargains unless you count £30 for a 1964 Ford Anglia 105E. It had it's original non suffix registration but needed an engine.
That was in 1988.
I have had some "good" buys but no real outstanding bargains over the years.
Some of my friends and acquaintances have been luckier.

Around the time I bought the Anglia a friend of mine, a Land Rover expert, was called to look at an early Land Rover Series 2a which was "seized solid" in first gear low box in 4x4 mode. It wasn't a farm vehicle but a good, privately owned, clean daily driver.
It's owner had been warned of possible new gearbox/ transfer box and offered it for the price of the remaining VED on the windscreen. It drove on to a trailer and was taken away.
It was jacked up on a four poster car lift that afternoon, rear end up first and the rear wheels span with transmission "wind up", then the same happened to the front wheels. Low box then disengaged and the Land Rover was reversed at speed for 50 yards or so. Four wheel drive disengaged. There was still some stiffness so the front and rear jacking was done again until all wind up stopped. One excellent Land Rover for £23 if I recall correctly.

I can't tell you about any £250 E Type Jaguars, if they ever existed, nor did I ever hear of one even in the 1973/74 fuel crisis but one of the local veterinary surgeons bought a one owner, low mileage 1967 PC Vauxhall Viscount in February 1974 for less than £300.

Over to you ladies and gentlemen and I look forward to reading of your experiences.
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[lowdrag]

I do remember there being a Morris Traveller sold via the Portsmouth Evening News in about 1965. The husband, in the navy, wrote to his wife asking for a divorce and told her to sell the car. So she did - for 2/6d, and sent him a postal order! Hell hath no fury.......

[emmerson]

[Rick]

I was once given a slightly grotty A35, painted - badly - in a fetching 1970s-era shade of pink, if that counts?

RJ
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[47Jag]

In Canada 1967 I bought a Mini from a dealer friend of my flatmate for $60. It had a years tax on it ($20) which netted it down to $40. The fuel gauge was showing zero so into the first gas station and fill her up. At 10 cents the pump cut off.......Tank full......Result

I got $200 for it 6 months later.

Art

[Keith D]

My first road car was given to me by my uncle. So that must be considered a bargain!

It was a 1946 Austin 10 sedan given to me in 1960 so it was only 14 years old, yet styling wise it was prehistoric compared with the likes of Ford Mk 2 Consuls, Minis, and other cars of 1960.

My "modern" is a 14 year old Mitsubishi Magna and that certainly does not appear very dated against new cars.

Keith
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1926 Chrysler 60 tourer
1932 Austin Seven RN long wheelbase box sedan
1950 Austin A40 tourer
1999 BMW Z3
Its weird being the same age as old people.
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution

[peter scott]

I bought my Ginetta in 1974 for £325 and sold it three years later for £600 so I guess I got a bargain. Having said that it's still in use today both on road and on track so perhaps the person who bought it from me also got a bargain. It also served as our wedding car.

Peter


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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[petelang]

When my first car, a Ford Anglia, failed MOT on a list of odd corrosion issues I couldn't afford to fix I was car-less for a few weeks and desperate to find something cheap to tide me over. A mate told me he knew of a Mk2 Consul which was going for £25, so I rushed round, in the dark one wet winter evening and bought it. It had however been hand painted in black-and yellow "Tiger stripes" and when I arrived home I was severely admonished by my dad who said I had lost all reasoning. It did prove to be a pain as everywhere I went in it I got pulled over by the Police for roadside checks, I guess they figured I must be taking physcadelic drugs!
However, I had this car for well over year, covered colossal mileages in it, it was surprisingly economical and the only repair cost incurred was a new fan belt. I subsequently sold it on for £50 which went towards a Mk 1 Cortina with a gearbox fault, my next challenge.
I do sadly miss this car as it was built of sturdy metal, the wings probably six times the thickness of today's steel bodies, it was exceptionally comfortable to drive with the bench seat, column change and although a bit sluggish, would cruise all day at 50. When you see the price they change hands for nowadays, I'm almost in tears that I let it go.
Peter

[Kleftiwallah]

My first car was a bargain, it cost £30 and was a Ford Consul mk1. I bought it off an air dispatcher at R.A.F. Benson Oxfordshire in 1968 and after a good few weeks ownership I sold it on for the same amount. (so the car was free).

A couple of weeks later the new owner said it had seized up and I could have it back free, gratis and for nothing! We went out and towed it back to the station car park, checked it over and couldn't see any problem.

We used it for a few more weeks with no problems so what he meant by 'seized' I have no idea. Shortly after that I was posted to R.A.F. Tengah Singapore.

Cheers, Tony.

[Ray White]

I have to agree with Pete. The Mk2 Consul was a lovely car in it's way. Roomy, comfortable and fairy quiet. The 1703 cc engine was a bit under powered but it was not quite the gas guzzler that the 3 litre Zephyr/Zodiacs were.

I found a bargain back in 1967 (which my dad ended up with) for just £80. The Consul had been taken in part exchange by a local dealer who had been carted off to the Big House (he was always getting on the wrong side of the law) and his yard had to be cleared.

As it happened, My Dad had known the car from new as it had belonged to a friend. It was sold cheaply mainly because it was so dirty. I mean absolutely filthy dirty. My brother and I spent an entire week end cleaning the Consul and when we had finished it looked like a new car! The two tone green and white paintwork looked absolutely beautiful and the chrome shone bright in the sunshine. The green leather bench seats looked like they had never been sat on. I don't remember the milage but it was very low. The Consul suited my Dad and I have many fond memories of him at the wheel. smiling. It gave faithful service for a number of years including family holidays to Cornwall when the only problem I remember us ever having was a broken piston ring but Dad soon had that fixed.

I think the Consul was the first car I drove - on private land of course - long before i was old enough to hold a license.

[Ellis]

Reading Ray's post about a filthy dirty Consul reminded me about a 1957 Standard 8 which was bought for a school friend by his father in late 1972.

There was an asset disposal auction at the home of a gentleman who had passed away and his car, a black Standard 8 was one of the lots for sale.
It was absolutely filthy dirty having been parked up in his open fronted garage for years.

My friend's father was one of the few who took any interest in it and bought it with a £55 bid. There was a reserve of £50 I recall.
When it arrived at it's new home a thorough clean inside and out revealed an immaculate car with an unmarked red interior. The original mileage was only 40k.
_________________
Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[52classic]

To my mind, at least believing that a car has been a 'bargain' is essential to my enjoyment of it!

Now, stop me if I've told this tale before but....

One of my most memorable bargains was a Wedgwood Blue Triumph Herald on sale at a car lot in Caerphilly, owned by Mr Boobyer who could have been the inspiration for Arthur Daley. I'm thinking 1969ish.

"Fifteen pound to you son." There was no MOT but I was assured it would pass so away I went. Of course, it failed, but only on a couple of trunnions costing £2/10s AIRC. Of course, I took the car back to Mr B. and to my surprise, good to his word... "Parts, and the test. Shall we call it a fiver?"

So, a tidy Herald with a new MOT for ten quid! Happy days!"

6 Months passed with no major problems, then someone 'T boned' it on Cardiff's Manor Way. I claimed directly off the other party and a very amiable assessor turned up..... "How does £100 sound? You keep the salvage."

I kept the best bits including the gearbox and still got a few quid for the body. Next there was a 'lead' to a Herald convertible in a lock-up. Sadly the owner had passed away leaving this an unfinished project with lots of bits, including the gearbox, lost or missing - and me with a shed full of Herald parts!

Sometimes the stars just fall into line, don't they?

[Ray White]

I suppose my Dodge Brothers tourer was a bargain simply because it was given to me for free. But of course, the term "bargain" is relative. As the car was a non runner with every mechanical part needing attention, the initial enthusiasm has worn a bit thin of late. On the plus side, being an Australian import, it is totally rust free with excellent paint and leather trim. There are no dents on the body but it must have been involved in a shunt some time in it's 90 years because the bonnet doesn't line up quite as it should. There is also a non original windscreen and hood but as it is a coach built body with the advantage of being RHD I am happy enough.

I have been lucky with my cars over the years. The Isetta 300 cost £25 and I sold it for £75. The A30 was like new and only cost £8 and the Mk1 A55 Cambridge, also like new, was a bit more at £80. The best buy of all was my 1930 Austin Swallow saloon. That cost £2,500 and today is worth ££££££££

[UK Roy]

My first bargain car was my 1935 MG PA which I bought for £140 in 1968, all because of the breathalyser act! The person I bought from was the brother of the man who owned it ( wouldn't happen today ) The owner had been out with some mates and was stopped and found to be over the legal limit! His time was £150 and he couldn't afford to pay it, so he asked his brother to lend him the money. His brother obviously knew what he was like and said " put your MG in my garage and when you pay me back you can have your car. The upshot of this was quite a long time later he said to his brother you had better sell my car as I can't pay you back. I found out about the car and really fell in love with it!!! I hadn't got enough to pay for it, so I went to the bank and asked for a loan to buy it. The bank manager turned me down flat! So the next week after a lot of heart searching I went back and offered to pay ten pounds a month until it was paid for, he said yes and I gave him the first ten pounds, he then said take the car I trust you! I went back every month and paid him, on the last payment he said "keep that as you have paid on the dot every month" so I only paid £140 for her.

[badhuis]