An England based post today, where old cars can be purchased ridiculously cheap. This is an introduction to the art known as 'Bangernomics'. This is also the first part of a story about a £600 Volvo estate. As we shall see, buying a banger (cheap old car) ended up working out well in my case. This post discusses buying and selling old cars in England for the purpose of cheap or temporary transportation. In another post, I'll be going through the V70 in more detail. Swedish Gods will be introduced, how they forged the car seen below out of such solid metal, zero traces of any rust 21 years on ... is the next post! Today, just more about how it's possible to get a lot of car for very little - If you are savvy and daring enough. Welcome to the world of Bangernomics!
This cost me £600! Then I sold it for £500, only after it had made me another £500 on top, just by being so awesome. How this Volvo paid for itself with beer money to spare, is next story coming soon.
You'd be amazed at what didn't yet appreciate to crazy prices. Reasonable examples seen for under £2000.
Above, an Alfa Romeo Spider from the 1990s, they're a very nice sports car which can still be picked up as a bargain weekend car in the UK! Possibly something which can increase in value if you have somewhere to keep it.
Volvo was a comfortable place to be, especially for long drives.
Will elegantly transport large loads and can be picked up fully road legal and working for under a £grand. Nice to drive, strong performance yet can still give 30mpg - what's not to like?
How come so little can get you so much?
The answer lies with the British car industry. Government incentives and scrapping schemes which get people into new 'more environmentally friendly' models being one factor also. Generally that not everyone is an enthusiast, a majority fear catastrophically expensive repairs or overdue maintenance might be needed. There are risks involved, so you need some knowledge to pick well. A general high level of consumer spending power and disposable income, added to some of the cheapest ever leasing deals means people now just pay only around 10% of salary per month to drive something brand new all the time. They can have a BMW, Volvo, Mercedes, Ford or what they choose. With a higher monthly outlay you can drive the car of your dreams. But hey - remember it will *never* actually be *yours*....
General Pointers in Buying Cheap Motors
Provided you have some knowledge to spot any serious problems, plus research all 'known issues' check and sort and maintain a car well, many older cars will in fact just go on and on. Maintenance is everything. With a used bargain, you get to keep it, improve it, or do what you like to it - perhaps even see it increase in value one day. Most of all, it really is all yours.
A BMW competitor in it's day. Nice car, the Lexus IS200. Available also for under £1000, ideal project cars. Interesting 3-series alternative with the best Japanese reliability and build quality of the time.
Collectors and Enthusiasts
Some of us are the other way around, you could say, ones in another dimension. A niche who like to get the most expensive-when-new machines at their rock bottom depreciation value. That's the aim, getting a lot for the smallest outlay and figuring out the rest with some detailing and home mechanics. Many are old enough to have waited 10, 15, 20 years for the cars they desire to filter down. Cars of the 1990s which 10 years ago were these prices, are now appreciating like crazy. 2000's bargains of today, are the next ones for long term investors who have the means to stash them away.
With new car financing and leases being just a couple of hundred a month, and 'all inclusive', there is a glut of unloved 10 years and older cars on the UK car market. Depreciation is heavy.
6 cylinder BMW 320i from 1994 is now appreciating fast. This car would have cost peanuts just a few years ago. Many have been "bangernomicked" into oblivion. Survivors are get rarer, and thus more coveted.
How do you find a banger?
Nowadays, Facebook Marketplace is your friend. It's probably one of the most populous right now and certainly you have to be quick, people are often listing old vehicles for a quick sale.
The search I performed here - around my home area of England for cars < £900 and by tomorrow some of them will have gone, new ones in their place. If it's road legal, without major flaws it will go quickly if it's at this price point.
Beyond that, you may find some on other classified ads or word of mouth. One of the best types of contacts to have is ex-main-dealership mechanics, who still have relationship to get part exchanges the dealer has no margin in and has been taken in from the buyer of a new car as part of the package, and now basically just needs 'disposing of'. This is how I was lucky with my 1 owner for past 20 years, 80% service history, mechanically sound Volvo.
Facebook is a bargain hunters paradise these days
Avoid premium models which can be too complicated. They're enticingly cheap, because they break.
It can be useful to have a good source of parts for your chosen banger. Here is a Mondeo graveyard, if you like Mondeo's.
Conclusion - Environmentally Friendly
The strongest argument yet for bangernomics is up-cycling. These cars are being saved from a scrapyard and delaying the need to manufacture a replacement. Doubly saving the world as manufacturing a new car of any kind, creates a great deal of CO2 and more. Making an electric automobile is even more polluting than producing a conventional petrol or diesel. The theory is these new vehicles are supposed to make up for it in emissions savings over their lifetime. Herein the controversy lays. There are so many millions of very high quality and good shape cars of the past 20 years, the best thing for the environment is to just repair, maintain, and improve them to go on as long as possible. However, consumer demand and the need for these brands to keep pleasing shareholders (capitalism) continues to drive the insanity of people changing into new cars every couple of years. NewtonClassics is all about the once loved, forgotten, remembered, renovated, rejuvenated, and loved once again. Now to find my next banger ...
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