1K in... 1K out

[Shortcut]

I have decided to look for a cheap run around to use while whatever happens to the old 104 happens, so likely something that will trundle round for about 6 months. The plan is to drop £1000 on it and then when the 104 is done sell it and retrieve the £1000 and use that to finish the 104. So essentially free transport for 6 months.

Whatever it is needs to be retro, because, well it does. It needs to be reliable for a given value of reliable and I would prefer it not to drain every last penny out of me in fuel. Other than that it doesn't have to be a saloon, hatch, estate, convertible or whatever although a soft top I assume will not return my money in the winter at sale time.

Anyway, my initial quick foray into spend land came back with Mercedes 190E, and why not. So, bingo!

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-190e-LE-W201-1-1000-Made-Rare-Car/293653919960?hash=item445f2338d8:g:FVMAAOSwrb5fFFYK

So a double pronged question then.
1) What else am I ignoring

2) classic RR thread material, explain why I am mad as a founder member of madness OR why I am Captain Sensible (to cram 2 80s pop references into one humble thread).

190E pics appreciated.





EDIT - Not a 190E then. Seriously underestimated the prices of semi decent examples there. Maybe something still Merc but newer from the curse word years?

[Mercdan68]

Great choice I had a lovely one
Sadly that LE won’t be near a grand
I’d say it’ll reach £2000ish
I am watching it too, the 190E Mercs are In demand now with a noticeable hike in prices over the last year

[scimjim]

I bought a 6 pot durbo tiesel W124 estate for £500 last year with decent MOT - drove it to Spa, Nurburgring, Riems, Paris, Thiepval, Dunkirk over a week, then sold it for £500 when we got back 👍 There are still genuine bargains out there if you’re not in a massive rush.

[Mercdan68]

I’ll also add it’s worth looking In paper shop windows for ads
And any local papers you can get
eBay very rarely turns up bargains nowadays

[Deleted]

I have a W - year 2000 Volvo V70 2.3 Auto Estate arriving on Monday - test to Dec and very tidy / solid - just under 120k miles good MOT history - its for sale on behalf of one my fellow car club members who is retiring from driving - superb parts hauler - why invest £1k when you can invest half of that and still have your money back at the end of it - please advise if you want further details - Chris

[joem83]

Cant go far wrong with a Polo 6n2 1.4 8v, nothing great about them but easy to buy/fix & sell

I had one as a stop gap a while ago, paid £100 with 6ish months MOT left on it, spent £40 on it over 6 months (needed a tyre & battery - yes I used the cheapest stuff) sold it with no MOT for £100 (It's still in use by someone as it was outside my work one day lol)

[Shortcut]

Jul 23, 2020 15:49:44 GMT @grumpynorthener said:

I have a W - year 2000 Volvo V70 2.3 Auto Estate arriving on Monday - test to Dec and very tidy / solid - just under 120k miles good MOT history - its for sale on behalf of one my fellow car club members who is retiring from driving - superb parts hauler - why invest £1k when you can invest half of that and still have your money back at the end of it - please advise if you want further details - Chris

That sounds really interesting. Does it have a tow bar? That would be the icing on the cake.
Any more info gratefully received.

[Deleted]

Jul 23, 2020 19:01:54 GMT Shortcut said:

Jul 23, 2020 15:49:44 GMT @grumpynorthener said:

I have a W - year 2000 Volvo V70 2.3 Auto Estate arriving on Monday - test to Dec and very tidy / solid - just under 120k miles good MOT history - its for sale on behalf of one my fellow car club members who is retiring from driving - superb parts hauler - why invest £1k when you can invest half of that and still have your money back at the end of it - please advise if you want further details - Chris

That sounds really interesting. Does it have a tow bar? That would be the icing on the cake.
Any more info gratefully received.

You have icing on your cake & a incoming PM - Chris

[Shortcut]

Jul 23, 2020 19:15:21 GMT @grumpynorthener said:

Jul 23, 2020 19:01:54 GMT Shortcut said:

That sounds really interesting. Does it have a tow bar? That would be the icing on the cake.
Any more info gratefully received.

You have icing on your cake & a incoming PM - Chris

Fantastic!! One of the required duties is to take a trailer to southern France and return with a French Peugeot 104. A Volvo v70 is born for that job.

[Phil H]

Jul 23, 2020 14:53:56 GMT scimjim said:

I bought a 6 pot durbo tiesel W124 estate for £500 last year with decent MOT - drove it to Spa, Nurburgring, Riems, Paris, Thiepval, Dunkirk over a week, then sold it for £500 when we got back 👍 There are still genuine bargains out there if you’re not in a massive rush.

That was a W210...