Buying older cars

[au350hp]

On the lookout for a cheap wagon in case I need to take my three dogs anywhere together. My question. Is any one state better to buy an older car?
Obviously Melb & Syd have the numbers, but there is also some extreme weather etc. Any feedback appreciated.

[BENT_8]

How much is cheap, what vintage?

Common sense would suggest any state that has mandatory testing will produce better looked after cars, but i'd be just looking for the best example of whatever it is you're after in you're price range.

[minheim]

Depending on what your budget is maybe a country wagon from outside a capital city might be an option to consider as while the kms may be higher they won't be short run stop start and the price may be cheaper due to the kms and less buyers.

[au350hp]

Looking for a AU2/3 or possibly BF. Budget $3000 maybe a bit more, but most are close to reg expiry so plenty of room for adjusting price. I like the simplicity of the AU motor & 4 speed auto, fairly straightforward to maintain. Petrol preferred, must have A/C.

[BENT_8]

Cool, should find a decent AU for that money, however, wagons seem to have held their money lately so a BF would be at the bottom end of the scale.

Reason I asked is my Brother is selling his 06 BF at the moment, I think its a Futura, done 230k's but is in pretty good nick, he's asking $4500 here in Adelaide.

[theBlake]

Originally Posted by Roostercam

My question. Is any one state better to buy an older car?

NSW and NT require the cars to be roadworthy inspected every 12 months. Its only a quickie inspection, but it would keep some dogs off the road unlike other states.

[Vesper Martini]

You can buy a Territory for 3 grand, an AU should be pretty easy to source cheaper in any state.

[commodorenutt]

I reckon you can't get any better value than an AU with working aircon.

If you have the budget, a BA/BF or Territory would be ideal too.

[Junkyard-Dog]

Yeah, it would be hard to go past an AU2/3 Fairmont or similar.

[au350hp]

Originally Posted by Junkyard-Dog

Yeah, it would be hard to go past an AU2/3 Fairmont or similar.

Yep, love all the extras that Fairmont brings. Think I prefer late series AU to B series unless a BF that ticks all the boxes comes along cheap.

[au350hp]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

You can buy a Territory for 3 grand, an AU should be pretty easy to source cheaper in any state.

Thanks, it never entered my mind. With the tailgate open, is it much higher off the ground than a wagon? I ask as the primary reason is a car my large dogs can travel in easily.

[au350hp]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Cool, should find a decent AU for that money, however, wagons seem to have held their money lately so a BF would be at the bottom end of the scale.

Reason I asked is my Brother is selling his 06 BF at the moment, I think its a Futura, done 230k's but is in pretty good nick, he's asking $4500 here in Adelaide.

Thanks, its a bit more than I want to spend. I really want to buy locally only as its supposed to be a cheap option, and interstate adds $$$. I really need to keep this car stock & just maintain it, but I know what will happen....

[au350hp]

Looking at a 05 BF wagon, 170km 9mth reg serviced & books, $2000 and this,
2000 AUII wagon, 194km No reg/plates. straight, runs, no leaks, $800.

My brain is telling me to buy the BF as it is registered & reads well. My heart is saying get the AU as I know the cars & motors well, parts are easy & cheap, BUT there is no reg, & I need to blue slip it. The owner just wants it gone asap. I will post my findings over the weekend.

[Junkyard-Dog]

The BF will be a nicer car to drive, the AU may be slightly more reliable and easier to fix. I would get the BF if I were you.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Roostercam

Looking at a 05 BF wagon, 170km 9mth reg serviced & books, $2000 and this,
2000 AUII wagon, 194km No reg/plates. straight, runs, no leaks, $800.

My brain is telling me to buy the BF as it is registered & reads well. My heart is saying get the AU as I know the cars & motors well, parts are easy & cheap, BUT there is no reg, & I need to blue slip it. The owner just wants it gone asap. I will post my findings over the weekend.

My Father Inlaw picked up an 04 BA wagon with 170k on it earlier this year for $600 as it had been sitting around for 18mths doing nothing.
Put a new radiator in it, rebuilt 2 calipers, replaced the bonnet, indicator stalk and the centre rear seatbelt.
I spent a day buffing it and went through the interior with the VAX and it came up perfect.
Threw a set of BA 17's on it, serviced it and its been faultless since.

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by Roostercam

Looking at a 05 BF wagon, 170km 9mth reg serviced & books, $2000 and this,
2000 AUII wagon, 194km No reg/plates. straight, runs, no leaks, $800.

My brain is telling me to buy the BF ...

Listen to your brain.

That 9 months rego is worth about $750 (or more if you get crap greenslip prices). That puts the BF only $450 behind the AU when comparing apples with apples.

$450 can be swallowed up real quick fixing a lot of niggling faults & giving it a service. If you're in a state that requires a roadworthy, it's even more to spend.

Definitely go the BF.

[Junkyard-Dog]

The Barra awaits you.

[au350hp]

Thanks Gent's. I arranged to see the BF, when I got there the owner had sold it about 20 mins before I arrived. When I asked why they didn't wait, the reply was 'we couldn't be sure you were coming' even though I had arranged a time that morning. Apart from a dent in the rear door, it was spotless. So p*****d off. Regarding the AU, the contact for the car is selling it for a mate who I cannot talk to. He just wants a fast hassle free sale, which I understand as it's listed for $850, but it is a little too good for the price. He assures me a piece of paper referencing the sale is all I need but there a too many what if's for me. Back to the classifieds again....

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Roostercam

Thanks Gent's. I arranged to see the BF, when I got there the owner had sold it about 20 mins before I arrived. When I asked why they didn't wait, the reply was 'we couldn't be sure you were coming' even though I had arranged a time that morning. Apart from a dent in the rear door, it was spotless. So p*****d off. Regarding the AU, the contact for the car is selling it for a mate who I cannot talk to. He just wants a fast hassle free sale, which I understand as it's listed for $850, but it is a little too good for the price. He assures me a piece of paper referencing the sale is all I need but there a too many what if's for me. Back to the classifieds again....

That sucks, but i know the feeling, same thing happened to us when we were looking for the Father inlaws.
Rang about it on a Tuesday, told he was busy with work and needed it until Friday lunchtime, arranged to come at noon on the Friday.
Text him as we were leaving for his address and he says sorry, its sold.
Nothing i could do, called him a filthy dog but moved on.

Im a firm believer that things happen for a reason and sure enough that night i got a call from a mate i hadnt spoken to for 6 months, he says come around for a drink so with nothing else to do i headed around and there it was sitting in his back yard, an 04 BA wagon with 170k's.
I asked him if he wanted to sell, he said yes $600 as is, i looked at the Father inlaw and he was already counting the green backs, lol.
Ended up giving him $700 for it as we felt bad at basically stealing it from him.
Its a great car, he uses it to sleep in wheen we go camping but apart from that it sits in the shed and gets washed weekly..lol

[commodorenutt]

The lowest members of society have caused that problem.

You only have to talk to someone who has tried to sell something decent on Scumtree.
5 different people promise to turn up, but never do. Or they turn up, kick the tyres, and offer one-third the asking price.

So the one decent guy who does bother to turn up, and is willing to negotiate a decent price (say 10% off the asking $$) gets stuffed around because the seller gave up & got rid of it cheap.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

The lowest members of society have caused that problem.

You only have to talk to someone who has tried to sell something decent on Scumtree.
5 different people promise to turn up, but never do. Or they turn up, kick the tyres, and offer one-third the asking price.

So the one decent guy who does bother to turn up, and is willing to negotiate a decent price (say 10% off the asking $$) gets stuffed around because the seller gave up & got rid of it cheap.

Or they just low ball you sight unseen and abuse you when you dont accept.
Had that happen with the lads old VS Commodore, listed it for $1300, got a text message offering $800, said no thanks and then copped abuse for not letting them have it for that price as thats all its worth rah, rah, rah...sold it that afternoon for $1150.

Funniest one was when a mate was selling a car, had some clown low balling him for days, you could sense the agro through the texts, so one arvo were sitting around and he decides to have some fun with the clown, agree's to his offer and sends him an address in the adjoining street which we could see from his porch, that had been vacated. Grabbed a slab and sat on the doorstep sinking tinnies while the clown spewed his venom at the unoccupied dwelling in the driveway 50m away.

Never heard from him again, i think he got the message..lol

[au350hp]

Thanks fella's. I like to think there was a reason I missed out, not to worry. Hopefully something better will come along& next year, all these cars are another year older...

[commodorenutt]

Long before scumtree & ebay I had to sell my grandmother's car. Put it in the trading post for $7500 neg. Similar cars were advertised for $7-9K, so I figured I was pricing it fair for a quick sale. One guy looked at it & offered $6K as his top figure. Told him I'd get back to him in a week to renegotiate if I didn't have a better offer.

Next guy turned up in a clapped-out mid 80s Telstar, and wanted to test drive it with his mate, and not me. I asked for his licence, and he refused, so I told him I'd drive it, and his mate stays back in his Telstar.
We pull back in the driveway - he doesn't even lift the bonnet, and says "I give you thousand dollar now"
So I said yep, no worries, that's he deposit, you can bring the other $6500 when you pick it up.
He replied "you no understand, I give one thousand CASH and take the car now."
I replied again, "no you don't understand, you're not taking the car until it's fully paid for. $1000 is just the deposit, the car is $7500"
His mate then does the whole puff out the chest thing, and says "you not understand my friend, he give you $1000 cash, he take the car. Is that clear for you?"
I then told them to f-off, the car's no longer fo sale if they were going to play games. Locked it up & went inside. They banged on the front door, so I told them to bugger off or I'd call the cops for trespassing. By a sheer freak of luck, my mate, who was a HWP cop was in the area, and stopped in to pick up a small part I'd put aside for him. They **** themselves, thinking the cops were super-quick!

I was about to call the $6K guy back a week later, when a girl rang. "Can I bring my mechanic?" sure - let him check it out. He went right over it, and she paid the $7500 in cash on the spot, put her red P-plates on and drove away on cloud 9. Quite a few years later, my wife spotted the car (same plates) in the work carpark. That young girl grew up, got off her P-plates and ended up working in the same place. Eventually she saw her in the carpark & mentioned the history. She gushed with pride & said she loves it, and it's never let her down. So that was nice to hear after all that time. And she'd not so much as even put a scratch on the car.



In the early 90s a guy in Strathfield advertised a set of wheels in the trading post. Rang him Thursday arvo before leaving work, agreed to pay the asking price, and told him I was on my way. Fortunately he also gave me his name when he told me his address. An hour later in peak hour traffic, I get there, and he's sold them to someone else, for less.

He had a nice XU1 in the driveway, so I rang the trading post the next day & advertised it for $1500ono. Back then you only had to give your name, address & phone number, and they sent you a bill. I waited until later on the following Thursday night to call and ask about the Torana. He exploded "you're the hundredth person to call about it, the bloody thing's not for sale, F-off" So I said "shouldn't have jipped me on those wheels mate" and hung up. He didn't know who I was, or where I lived, and as it was all land-lines, with no number display or anything, he had no way of tracking me down. The icing would have been the $15 bill in the post for the ad too!

[au350hp]

I

He had a nice XU1 in the driveway, so I rang the trading post the next day & advertised it for $1500ono. Back then you only had to give your name, address & phone number, and they sent you a bill. I waited until later on the following Thursday night to call and ask about the Torana. He exploded "you're the hundredth person to call about it, the bloody thing's not for sale, F-off" So I said "shouldn't have jipped me on those wheels mate" and hung up. He didn't know who I was, or where I lived, and as it was all land-lines, with no number display or anything, he had no way of tracking me down. The icing would have been the $15 bill in the post for the ad too![/QUOTE]
Sounds like a good thing your HWP mate was local. Nasty pair of cowards no doubt. Nice treat for old mate with the TP bill. tee hee