Please help! Who knows about cars?

[lau86]

A colleague is selling a 52 fiesta for £750. It is taxed and MOT etc, runs well etc. it has quite a big dent on the passenger side which means the passenger window doesn't open.
I must sound mad for thinking about buying this but I have an 02 ka at the moment and going from 3 doors to 5 would be so helpful with two babies to get in and out.
I don't mind the dent really as long as it runs ok that's fine by me. It's all we can afford now. But I just can't see how this car is worth £750.... Any ideas?

 

[Jamandspoon]

Go to the webuyanycar.com website, put in the details of the car.. Reg number, condition etc.. And that should give you a good idea of what you should pay for the car...
My concern would be what other damage is there on the car from the dent? If the window doesn't open because of the dent or because the mechanism has been damaged? How did the dent happen did someone hit it? Does the passenger door close properly? If it looks like it doesn't quite fit there maybe damage to the chassis of the car which would make it unroadworthy? Just because it has an MOT doesn't make it safe!
Also are you sure you could live with a car where you couldn't open the passenger window?!?
If you do decide to go ahead, personally, I would get a garage to give it a once over before you part with any money.

Have you thought about a car auction for a bargain car? They have some great deals?

 

[dgirllamius]

In 2006 I had an M reg Ford Fiesta (so it was a good 10 years old by then) and bought it for £700. Cosmetically there was nothing wrong with it and the inside looked as though it was looked after very well. I thought that there HAS to be something wrong with it if it's going for that much and it looks pretty immaculate. I had someone who has done car maintenance for our family for many years look at it and he said there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. I had it for a year before my idiot ex boyfriend crashed and made it unworthy for the road. Just because it's old and the price seems a bit meh doesn't mean that it isn't a good car. I'd just someone to have a look at it.

My brother also drives a Y reg fiesta (a year older than what you're looking at I believe) and it still runs perfectly. I find ford cars do tend to go on and on if they are looked after well (and this case it has).

I'd never buy a second hand car without having someone look at it despite the cost and age.

 

[Belle25]

The things I would be most interested in are:
Is the owner someone trustworthy? How long have they had the car? What's the mileage?

Have you a friend who's a mechanic or knows a bit about cars you could take to see it?

I would also check how much they have sold for on eBay in completed listings for the same age/model. They could be giving you a price a bit higher than they are hoping as people tend to try to talk it down
Xx

 

[teal]

I'd definitely have someone check it over especially with the dent, as an above poster said there would be more damage from whatever caused the dent that isn't visible x

 

[lau86]

He said the dent was done when he drove into a gate when parking. I am inclined to believe him, we are both gp trainees so its obviously very frowned upon to lie even about non medical things so I wouldn't like to think he would lie (although I'm keeping in mind it is possible). The dent has put me off a bit though.... It's so hard! I have a mechanic that I trust so I could ask him to give the once over but is this standard when buying a car? How would I even go about doing that I guess I'd have to ask the guy to drive it to my mechanic? Or could I take it on a test drive and take it there then?

 

[Pearls18]

The main thing that will determine if £750 is a fair price or not will be the mileage. If it's got very low mileage it would be a good buy, if it's over 110,000 it wouldn't be.

The AA or RAC can't remember which do a service where they will pop out and do checks on the car to see if safe, good price etc, I think this costs £50ish?

 

[Jamandspoon]

Pretty standard when buying a car to want it looked over first, any genuine seller won't have a problem with you doing this... I'd be tempted to ask the mechanic to come to the sellers house to have a look at it, you've got insurance issues etc with test drives.
If the dent bothers you it's worth looking on ebay/ local crap dealer for a new door - likely to be a lot cheaper than having it repaired then factor in the cost of that if you choose to make an offer on the car?
Here's a link to Fiestas on sale on ebay, have a look at those comparable- engine size, MoT length, damage etc.... And work out what you want to pay for it... It's always worth doing your homework then making an offer!!
Good luck!

 

[lindseymw]

The only thing that would concern me is the internal damage to the door. It may have hit the safety/crash bar inside.

The woman over the road reversed into our car before and hit the door, which left a dent. We took it to a panel beater (very good friend), he wouldn't fix the dent because of the internal damage so we needed a new door.

 

[lau86]

https://webappmk.doctors.org.uk/Ses.../MIME/INBOX/4709-03-B/2013-07-30 19.37.05.jpg

Here is the dent

 

[LittleMinx]

Best thing is to get it checked over and do some online checks.. Depending on the placement of the dent it could of knocked the window out of line hence it not working. If its mechanically sound then i'd go for it and go to your local scrappy for a replacement door! x

 

[lau86]

Thanks everyone. It seems ok and is what we can afford at the moment so...
I just don't know how I would sell my car? It is a crappy ford ka with peeling body work! It runs fine.

 

[Belle25]

Thanks everyone. It seems ok and is what we can afford at the moment so...
I just don't know how I would sell my car? It is a crappy ford ka with peeling body work! It runs fine.

Someone was advertising a ford fiesta Y reg for £600 on a Facebook local selling page, so the price sounds ok.

I would find a local Facebook selling page to you, and advertise yoir car that way. Sounds an ideal 1st car for someone.
Xx

 

[Ceejay123]

If its just the door that's dented, you can replace these quite cheaply I'd take a look at the car, then barter. X

 

[marina294]

has it had an mot since it has been hit as my main concern is if it has caused structural damage to the car it could fail? your link wasnt loading so i could see it.If just a dent and not damaged the paint ,a paintless dent removal would be cheapest but as the window is not opening i imagine it would need a new window regulator at least. also i would say depending on mileage would depend on the price further. also having a mechanic check it over would be fab because if he finds anything else wrong and the car is structually sound you can barter the price. and little KAs would sell as younger drivers insurance is sky high theses days and people tend to be on the look out for cheap runarounds.

 

[lau86]

Thanks everyone. I decided not to go ahead as in the end it didn't seem to make sense with all the effort of selling my car to then go and buy another car of the same age. I'm going to get a slightly newer car on finance I think.