Cars

[dryfter]

With the variety of festivals, and hopefully some random (ie. illegal) outdoor summer parties, coming up soon, I'm vaguely wondering about picking up a cheap car for the summer. (Parking isn't a problem where I live)

It appears you can get nice BMWs for well under a thousand pounds.
Hmm.

It's a thought, anyway.

Edit: Drivers of England, fill me with your knowledge!

What do parking permits cost around here?
What do you pay for rego tax on a car with a two litre engine? Do you pay extra for cars with only two doors, or anything else silly like that?
I'm assuming that third-party insurance (ie. not even for theft and fire) isn't going to be too heinous for someone in their later-20s with about three years no-claim-bonus. Am I wrong?

Comments

[-lexx.livejournal.com]

Vrum Vrum

I once had an old BMW it was a most satisfying vehicle.

It was an E REG 316 (E30 body) for which I paid about £400. They're lovely to drive and the engines go forever. It's worth looking hard at the suspension of any prospective purchase, older ones can have problems and it's not a cheap fix.

The 1.8 liter engine is plenty powerfull wether you get the injected or the twin carb, pull well and will easily top a ton (I had the twin carb, never a squeak from it)

Happy motoring.

[fnoo.livejournal.com]

I have the '84 e30 323i. Engine's solid as a rock. Can't say the same about the body, the electrics, the gearbox, or the shocks, though.

Dependable car that I will drive until it breaks and then buy something cheaper to maintain.

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

Luckily, BMWs (and other German cars) are really, really cheap over here, compared to in Australia. I'm thinking of getting something for 500-800 quid, and throwing it away in six-eight months time, or maybe getting a few hundred quid back if it's still running ;)

I find it amusing that the equivelent of a ford falcon or old commodore here is a 1990s Merc.(Badly maintained, mismatched mag wheels, amateur tinted windows, broken exhaust, and being driven by an angry teenager)

[fnoo.livejournal.com]

Funny you should say that - one of the things I found about moving to Melbourne is the 90's Merc or e36 BMW is _the_ car to be seen in if you're an angry teenager from upper-middle Melbourne.

Complete with, yes, badly tinted windows, improvised stereo, etc. I suspect hand-me-downs from mum+dad.

You don't see the 80's/90's Falcodore much here except out in the suburbs.

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

oh no, i'm not talking upper-middle class at all.. I'm talking, the kids who can't afford anything other than the cheapest, shittiest piles of junk, but still want something with an engine with more capacity than a pint.

[fnoo.livejournal.com]

I envy you and your cheap European cars.

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

there's a flipside to it, though. Let me elaborate:

If you bought a BMW in Australia (especially a few years back when import duty was higher), you could be fairly sure it had been serviced and kept fairly well, even if it was old. It was because they cost so much upfront that buyers could afford to service it - and would be silly not to, with the size of the investment required for a new BMW.

Over here, they're more expensive than some cars, but on the whole, the 3-series are quite affordable. As they should be, for what is essentially the "economy" range from BMW.

And, cars in general just rust and don't last so long here.

If your car is cheap and you know it'll rust away before too long anyway, why maintain it? (Which of course just accellerates the decay even further).

erm, i've forgotten where i was going with this. i'm going to go find some coffee.

[-lexx.livejournal.com]

Oh Tax is about £160 pa I think and they'll take your legs off to insure it in London. This is why I no longer have a car.

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

Ah, damn.. it's always the bloody insurance..

I used to have a 320i E21 years ago, as a second car.

[fnoo.livejournal.com]

Yes you did. And I bought it off you and sold it to Alisdair!

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Insurance will be more expensive than you think it will, much more. It just is, here, just like cars are more expensive, and clothes and cameras and life. Every immigrant I've talked to about this has said "car insurance is SO expensive here".

[reddragdiva]

Yeah. E17 in particular is in the highest-risk bands for every other form of insurance, so it'll be a fucker. OTOH, a car is still going to enhance the quality of Liz's life immeasurably, so ...

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

Well, if you do insist on living in the 'burbs.. ;)

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

The cars are actually a lot *cheaper* here, believe it or not!

but the insurance.. oh god, the insurance.. yeah, everything else I've insured has always been massive.

[gothbabe.livejournal.com]

Cars mean only one thing of course... ROAD TRIP!

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I love road trips :)

[gothbabe.livejournal.com]

ps why was that BMW so cheap? I would guess either it's hot or it has no engine ; )

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

Nah, it was just getting old; Older cars here seem to be really quite cheap, usually.

Of course, that's probably because they're all at the end of their economic lifetime..