pslewis

The current market conditions with fuel prices, insurance rates and general lack of willingness of car buyers to buy, has thrown up some spectacular bargains!!

Today I was looking through a forecourt at BMW's, Lexus's, Mercs. and yes, even a Hawkeye Scooby with less than 25k miles on it .............. for what can only be described as amazingly low prices.

Thinking of a summer plaything I was drawn to a Lexus SC430 Convertible 4.3 Litre - 2003 - 37,000 miles .... Ivory Leather and an interior to die for .... £10,000

WTF - has the world gone completely MAD!!??? £10,000!!!!!

Dip Yer Bread!!

What's your bargain of the moment?

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

Rather a similar thread already running

https://www.scoobynet.com/other-marq...r-saloons.html

bighead

iTrader: (1)

hopefully a Porsche 997 turbo

zip106

There'll be none of those under £40k anytime soon. (unless a V-car)

Another 18 months, perhaps...

john banks

SC430 gets very bad write ups for ride quality, the looks I could put up with for the quality and value otherwise. The looks are what make it such excellent VFM.

LS460 is one I'm watching and considering buying when I grow up, prices getting tempting. No cambelt, fair bit more power than the 4.3, not bad looking.

Boyakasha

iTrader: (2)

The SC430 is a dog, mother in law had one and I hated it. Couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. Thankfully they saw sense and got an RS4 Avant.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Yes - the SC430 is cheap for a reason!

bighead

iTrader: (1)

I don't want a lemon car(as the guys in the USA refer them as )....willing to pay abit more.

997 turbo was on my list when i purchase my M3(as was the C63 amg), but just out of budget

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

If I had room on the driveway for a third car and the time to teach myself some of the servicing basics, I'd be looking at late S2 928 myself. Definitely not to everyone's tastes, but with an engine and mechanicals supposedly able to handle virtually limitless amounts of extra power even from stock, massive potential as a weekend drag car. Some very keenly priced examples of these about at the moment.

bighead

iTrader: (1)

love the 928....but its will cost you big time to fix them as they are that old ........just the engine alone is worth the asking of some now

pslewis

I'm mainly looking at expensive to run cars as a plaything - to do maybe 3,000 miles a year in - what about Jag XKR's?

I also have no interest in changing it ... just drive it on high days and Sundays!

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

Problem (from my perspective) with those is that first production run didn't begin 'til late 90s, which means it probably won't qualify for classic car insurance, whereas any porker (or Merc, or Beemer, or other Euro/Jap 2-door or sports saloon) on a 91H or earlier plate would. For two otherwise virtually identical cars, that would mean the difference between paying under 2 quid a week for your insurance and 5 or 6 times that much. Trivial sums to a multi-millionaire like you though, obviously

pslewis

Classic car insurance doesn't build up any NCD so is a false economy in truth ... the premiums never drop!

I had my MX5 on Classic Car Insurance - was paying £250 for 2,500 miles a year .... went to normal cover with no NCD (as it can only apply to one car and I had my Scooby with Full NCD) - cost was £250 1st year - now, £180 and I have Full NCD to apply to any other car

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

Err, if it's costing you less than 2 quid a week to start off with, why would you need or care if it goes down? Straight up, I was quoted £85 a year on a 928, as a second car and therefore with no NCD at all, for 6000 miles a year. Not bad for a 4.7L V8, with 310bhp on tap from factory and a price-tag to rival a semi-detached house when it was new.

I seriously recommend you hear one of these babies start up and rev before you dis it completely - pure beastliness of the absolute bestest kind

rickya

iTrader: (18)

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2337281.htm

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

It is ten grand because its crap, ugly and nobody wants them ! makes the Chrysler Crossfire look positively enticing, but if you want an old ladies Bridge Chariot/Gin Palace in Metallic Beige that doesnt corner, isnt that fast and rides badly the go for it !

I am sure its nice enough but they are cheap for a reason, we know someone who sold a self destructing Range Rover depreciation disaster and bought one of these for 25 grand, now wonders why she gets trade in offers that dont cover half a Yaris.

what would scooby do

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2210872.htm

pslewis

Yes, it's ugly ... but, so am I!!

A bug eye Impreza is uglier - by quite a margin - but people still love them.

As for not fast - I think it's 6 seconds 0-60? Pretty much up there in Scoobie territory then?

The suspension was sorted in 2005 I understand?

Anyway - I used it to open up a conversation about the falling prices of gas guzzlers and what bargains are about.

They have a way to fall yet ...

mattsan

You lot don't know how lucky you are to have cars so cheap, here's a merc in Oz. Ok the mileage is less but it's a year older

http://carsales.mobi/cars/details/?R...0&Cr=3&trecs=7

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Golf R32.
Monaro VXR.

Oh, No wait.....I've already done that

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Have you ever worked on a 928 engine with it still fitted in the car?

You needs hands of a 3yr old to get round the engine bay.

EddScott

Not really sure any of the above cars are really a "bargain" in the true sense. If they have depreciated that quickly since original sale they are only ever going to continue - the Lexus is truly hideous.

A better list would be cars that have stopped depreciating. Jeep Cherokee for me - cheap as chips, very reliable, different to the overpriced jap imports and not a Freelander head gasket failure on wheels. It makes impreza MPG look stunning but get one with LPG which takes the sting out a little.

Frosticles

iTrader: (1)

Mk2 escort.

SimonD

Don't be swayed by the Lexus reputation either. They are no better than any other car for reliability or build quality. I got a s/h IS250 as a runabout and while it is smooth and mechanically quiet, the whole thing creaks and squeaks its way around our pot-holed roads. I have subsequently heard that the RX, GS and even some late model LS cars having similar problems. Plenty of stories about dashboards being re-fitted on nearly new cars.
Not that bad but definitely not as well put together as a Subaru or BMW/Merc.

stef_2010

iTrader: (3)

If not got quite as much spare cash as some of you but I bought this a few days ago for £1100, thought it was a bargain myself

bighead

iTrader: (1)

nice

pslewis

Anything stand out this weekend?

Moley

iTrader: (9)

You can get a lot of Porsche for your money these days

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

RX8's are buttons, not surprising as thought they have a lot going for them in terms of being unique, quite nice looking, well made, decent handling and a fair bit of performance they are not very torquey, are crap on fuel, use lots of oil, have starting issues and this is the killer, all are taxed at £400 plus a year.

Some of the above is internet Folklore but there must be some truth in it, teens MPG being typical for a lot of owners, 25 mpg an absolute best.

Shame as very tempting, but if it didnt have the issues it wouldnt be cheap.

Honestly, two and a half grand they start at, suspect some people selling them will take silly offers just to get shut.

bighead

iTrader: (1)

depends on which models ...as some have gone up in price !!!!