Final opinions on a car before taking the plunge (Potential gear box issue)

[Barney626]

Hi all,

Finally looking at actually buying one of these gems. Found this one on auto trader:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...aultsport&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1

Not the ideal colour but willing to compromise as I need to get the car fairly soon. The plan is to go have a look in the next day or two.

Dealer says they have full service history with cambelt done (Going to get pictures before driving there). It's quite a long drive for me to get there so going to be a case of test drive and buy.

Apparently 3rd has a slight crunch to it. I don't know the severity of this but would this be a total deal breaker for most? I'd be willing to get the gearbox done (Obviously get the price dropped to compensate for this) but not sure if this is going to cause recurring problems.

Another fairly minor thing, but the plastic covering for the aircon/radio seems to have a small crack around the starter button. Assuming replacement parts are easy enough/cheap to get?

Any advice?

 

[link]

The cambelt should have been done twice by now... And quite recently I would say otherwise its going to need doing at 72k so that's £600 minimum to shell out. The gearbox issues aren't uncommon but personally I wouldn't buy a car knowing it needs a new gearbox, have the garage replace it as part of the sale and get some kind of guarantee thrown in to be on the safe side, finding a decent gearbox and then fitting ain't going to be cheap!

Plastics can be had from a scrap yard but they do tend to scratch easily, don't be in a rush find the right car and save yourself a lot of hassle, also read the buyers guide on here!

 

[nutnutwelshman]

WALK A WAY AND FIND A BETTER ONE

 

[Barney626]

already walked away from that one, looks like it got nicked at some point (Door handle lock had been hammered out)...

Unrelated question, but how easy/expensive is it to get a tear in the recaro seats fixed?

 

[link]

There are a few well known places you can get them repaired, capital seating, edge automotive, R-Sport etc. See here:

http://www.clio197.net/threads/recaro-repair-pack-offer-alloy-wheel-refurb-offer.24635/

It's a few hundred quid usually...

 

[Jimmy]

I think you did the right thing walking away from that one. There are too many very well-cared for examples to have to make compromises, and therefore potentially causing you headaches down the line. It may take a little longer to find the 'right' one, but it is out there and it will be 100% worth the wait. Best of luck.