No, not referring to my deteriorating eyesight - my car. It's gone. Put on Autotrader for the 2 weeks/£10 web-only deal on Saturday afternoon, and it was driven away Sunday morning :(
Ok, I do have some cash to show for it, but not much - I priced it at the lower end of the range because I couldn't (and didn't) say it was in tip-top condition. The first person who came round to look it at was a trader I think - he had a good look round, and underneath, and spotted that the middle box had 'gone'. He said it needed too much work and left without trying to haggle, which at least reassured me that the price wasn't ridiculously low.
The buyer-to-be turned up with a mate a bit later, and they were less rigorous. We went for a short drive, during which time I decided to hand the MoT to the mate just so that they were aware of the advisories such as coolant/oil leaks, corroded springs and exhaust (that middle box presumably), and barely legal handbrake efficiency (I'd only fixed the coolant, using a bottle of Radweld).
But this didn't seem to put them off, and after a bit of haggling we counted out the notes, did the V5, and off they went.
I hope the car behaves itself - he seemed like a nice guy.
Shouldn't be too long until we replace it - we're buying a lottery ticket every week... :)
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Tonight's £81 Million should help!
Last edited by: Meldrew on Mon 29 Oct 12 at 12:18
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>> Tonight's £81 Million should help!
Doh! Our ticket is for the weekend draw.
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No Problem! I shan't win it and it will roll over to £95 million and neither of us will win it! Are we talking Euro Millions or the puny Lotto one?
Last edited by: Meldrew on Mon 29 Oct 12 at 13:20
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Just the Lotto. Should be enough for one of the nice new 1.6 Ecoboosts though.
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Puny will do! A jackpot is a jackpot! Good luck
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Could I ask what year/model/spec your Focus was?
My wife's 52reg 1.6 Focus Chic is now 10 years old and, despite the fact that it's been a great car and still looks good, I suppose we have to think about moving on.
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Sure - 2001/Y, 2.0 Ghia estate.
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Thanks.
We have also had an MoT advisory about corrosion of the springs so I suspect that, despite there being no rust on the bodywork, things are starting to go awry down below.
I have come to the conclusion that, like dog-years, 7 Focus years are equivalent to one human-year!
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>> We have also had an MoT advisory about corrosion of the springs so I suspect
>> that, despite there being no rust on the bodywork, things are starting to go awry
>> down below.
>>
Older springs display surface rust, it's the way of the world.
I'll bet if you'd taken it to another MOT station they wouldn't have even mentioned it, although you'd probably have got an "advisory" on something else trivial.
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The last MOT my Focus had before I traded it in mentioned rust on the spring cups rather than springs themselves. Garage owner said they could last years, but then again might not, so I opted to get rid. Per DVLA the car is still going, but I dont know if it might have had to be welded up to pass subsequent MOTs
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>> My wife's 52reg 1.6 Focus Chic is now 10 years old and, despite the fact
>> that it's been a great car and still looks good, I suppose we have to
>> think about moving on.
Yep. My 2 litre 2003 Focus Ghia is now out-of-date as well.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Tue 30 Oct 12 at 09:31
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What are you shopping for as a replacement for the Focus er, Focus?
Something similar-ish? Or have your needs changed? You know we all love to consult ( or indeed insult on these things )
:-)
Lancer estates for example seem to be flavour of the month for bargain family wagons. They do in fairness seem like a bit of a snip.
Edit- EG on Autotrader today a 2005 one with 43k at £1200...
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Tue 30 Oct 12 at 09:59
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Things have changed a bit recently Humph, and I'm afraid at the moment it really is a case of waiting for a lottery win! As you may know I use the train to get to work when I need to go in, and a 2nd (old) car is really just a luxury we can't afford.
Doesn't stop me looking though of course - Ferraris are a lot more practical than they used to be, aren't they? :)
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Oh ok, fair enough, hope things pick up for you soon. Clouds and silver linings etc hopefully !
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Thanks Humph.
This is probably a daft question, but is there any reason why I shouldn't cancel my car insurance? For example, will it affect my position regarding driving Mrs F's Colt (I'm a named driver on her policy)?
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If you are the named driver on another policy, then you may drive that vehicle with no insurance of your own.
If you have maximum no claims discount, then there is no reason to continue your insurance when you do not have a car.
Of course you will not have the Driving Other Cars (DOC) extension, but that shouldn't be relied on in any case. Nonetheless, it is useful in sort notice emergencies.
However, you will not receive a pro rata refund, you will cancel on short term rates. Those rates, and the period of time before you get a second car, may make it worthwhile or not to cancel your insurance.
Do be careful of the use of your wife's vehicle. If you become the main user of that vehicle, or start driving it to and from work, especially if various places of work, or you use it for business, then please make sure that use is covered for you on her policy.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Tue 30 Oct 12 at 13:49
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Many thanks for that Mark.
I think it makes sense to cancel - if/when we can afford another car then I suspect the losses incurred by canceling now won't be a significant fraction of the total cost.
I'll bear in mind your points about driving my wife's Colt; they're not applicable at the moment.
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Also bear in mind your NCB is usually only valid for two years.
When I've only had one car in the household SWMBO and I would insure it alternate years to maintain our NCBs - not really a fiddle as we tend to do near identical mileage as drivers.
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>> Also bear in mind your NCB is usually only valid for two years.
Thanks tom - just canceled my esure policy, and they confirmed this.
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>> However, you will not receive a pro rata refund, you will cancel on short term
>> rates. Those rates, and the period of time before you get a second car, may
>> make it worthwhile or not to cancel your insurance.
Canceled too late to stop the next month's payment going out. But as that was £32, and the cancellation fee is £27.50, the esure person I spoke to said the 2 amounts should pretty much cancel each other out.
So I was a bit surprised to get a final request for £25.61. I rang them up, but I had trouble understanding their explanation, so they kindly offered to send me a letter with all the figures written down.
The letter arrived today, and I guess it's unlikely they've made a mistake. However, given that the esure person I spoke to commented on how long I'd been with them - I think it was 7+ years, at approx £300 per year? - this bit made me smile, albeit in a gritted teeth sort of way:
"Outstanding amount: £25.62
Please note, as we previously advised that the outstanding amount was £25.61, we have adjusted the balance on your policy to reflect this."
:)
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Cancelling an insurance policy mid-term has always worked out substantially in everybody else's favour, especially the brokers.
But these days with instalments on everything then they seem to make a damned fortune out of it.
It may be worth a pop at them along the lines of "I was told that.....". Not much chance, but probably worth one phone call or e-mail.
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>> It may be worth a pop at them along the lines of "I was told
>> that.....". Not much chance, but probably worth one phone call or e-mail.
Yes, thanks - I'll mention it tomorrow evening, before (probably) giving them my card number.
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There is a trick that has come from India and it is mostly Asians who do it, but now other people are copying.
If someone wants to buy a house or car, they send various relatives round to see it at intervals and they criticise it heavily and offer much lower prices than the asking price. The seller becomes dejected and wonder if the asking price is too optimistic.
Then the people who want to buy it come round and make an offer higher than the others but still low and make no criticisms, and the seller tends to be so uplifted they accept the offer.
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Not sure if that's a comment on my car selling experience, but I only had the one offer (and he wasn't Asian).
Last edited by: Focusless on Thu 15 Nov 12 at 19:38
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>> There is a trick that has come from India and it is mostly Asians who
>> do it, but now other people are copying.
>>
I should think that is just complete utter racist bunkum that someone has fed to you.
Last edited by: John H on Thu 15 Nov 12 at 19:47
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Its not bunkum, and its not racist. Me and my mates used to do that years ago when buying local motors in exchange and mart....
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 15 Nov 12 at 20:09
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Loss of Focus - Meldrew
