Buying a banger...car help required.

I'm not a car person, and we havn't had a car for nearly 2 years I don't miss it but the Mrs is getting a bit bored getting buses/walking/trains with the kids etc
BUT...we are not a rich family.
I thought we would just get something small for local trips etc but no....the boss has always driven big cars and wants a big car. Fair enough...its not for me.

Heres the problem. Budget....considerably below £1000...£500/£600 would be good.

She has been looking at old Mercedes Estates like this for example
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MERCEDES-7-SEATER ... 2c5292515f

I have been looking at old Volvos.

Fuel consumption isn't really a problem as we won't cover many miles.
Reliability in the face of poor maintainence is a must.

You know what I mean...a strong old horse that will take a bit of punishment.

Whatcha reckon....anything come to mind?

Any experiences...are you in the trade and know of a modelthat just keeps on going regardless...or ones to avoid?

Much appreciated.
Carl

Those W124 Mercs are something else, they are the last of the over engineered Mercs before the accountants moved in and the quality went. The later e-classes are poo to say the least.

I recently picked up a '94 E320 Coupe for my brother for not much money either and was pretty impressed with the car. He drove it back to Denmark with him and the only problem he had with it was a fuse!

You can check the MOT history online, it show all the failures and advisories so you can get an idea if it's a dog or not, only problem is you need some extra info from the seller, like the MOT certificate number. It's good to check the mileage too.

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/html/home.html

The only problems I recall with W124's are rusty front wings. The engines last forever. They are a nice big barge

Excellent, thanks ER

Edit....if you can help my search...what years are we looking at and what do the different model letters/numbers represent.

I'm a numpty

My dad had a G reg 300D E-class (before it was called an e class?), it did 250k and the only problem was an area of rust about the size of a 5p, solid as fook....

Old Volvo's go on for ever too

I think you're looking at the right sort of cars!

Also, I can remember Clarkson saying how he'd bought a trade in from a Volvo garage for £1 or something silly, worth looking into perhaps? Or perhaps auctions are an option although they are riskier as the car is sold as seen

Volvo 740.

Bought a Turbo for £300 for a Le Mans trip - NA would be even cheaper!

Heated half leather seats, alloys, huuuuuuge boot, QE2 spec suspension, but so much car for the money - & it was in great nick.
Would also be tempted by a BMW E34/E32, but the Volvo is honestly a better bet if you're not fussy about minor things like handling.

I ran a Volvo 940Gl estate for about 5 years with the minimum annual maintenance. Totally reliable, and the perfect mountainbiking car: If you took both wheels off the bikes, you could stack 5 bikes (and wheels) in the boot and have seats for 5 full size people.

Even better for in the winter, it had heated front seats: a back saver after cold winter rides when you are old and decrepit like me.

Get one in white (or silver), wear a white shirt and a dark tie when driving it, and people just get out of your way on the motorway as they make some assumptions about your job .

The handling isn't sporty, but one new years eve we were the last car to safely leave the Lecht ski area after a big dump of snow towards the end of the day.

I was looking at this one which is close to me.
Rattly engine? Well on my CX that was just the cam chain and nothing to worry about but I don't know Volvos

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1992-VOLVO-940-SE ... 33595716c3

Saab 900 or Early 93 - great cars and plenty of space - mine was reliable and I rarely serviced it - got new pads and such when needed but that was about it. Miss it loads, traded it in for a 7 seater when the family got bigger.

Has a timing chain so no fears of the belt going.

have a look on parkers website. you used to be able to access a bit of a write up, performance data, typical running costs, reliability data, insurance groups and owners reviews free of charge.

I say get some insurance quotes also, esp if you havent had a car and the NCB isnt complete. Never owned one, but I'd have thought the cost for a premium marque like Merc would be far in excess of the cost of the car.

I would say no to that particular volvo unless you get someone who really knows cars to check it out for you.

Questions to ask yourself:
The owner has only had it 3 months - why is he selling if he has just MOT'd it?

Rattle in the engine, might be minor but removal of an engine to rebore or fit new pistons rings isn't cheap.

The mileometer has stopped working at 153000 how far has it gone since?