Newbie in the market to buy - advice needed please

Crowey26 said

hope to check out fromet17's I hope this weekend:

Ok it’s another Clipper
Not noticed asking price on this.
However the roof is badly fitted on this.
Not sitting right at the passenger front bit. The hood corner is pointed upwards so any water there pools and often tracks back into the car.
Couple reasons for this are it wasn’t fitted properly or the roof has shrunk.  If it’s been like for a while it’ll be a pig to sort out.
Plus it don’t look right at the main hinge pivot areas?
Hard to tell from photos.
There’s often rust at these points too. Where the curved trim fits with the press stud in it. These are screwed into a secondary flap behind the body. These rust away often so the screw has nothing to hold it in place.
I’d ask the age of the roof too.
I’d certainly check Headliner interliner padding and rear window frame too.



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The general rule of thumb for GTI non special edition cabs should be the newer they are the less they cost.

Where the hell are these prices being picked from, especially as its the worst time of year to sell any car, let alone an elderly convertible

These should all be very cheap (possibly with the exception of the sportline)

I'd honestly wait, you could buy before February and if the weather is as bad as last year maybe March and get something with genuine honest issues.

I'd actually question if these are being turned out to pay for an over extravagant christmas that only the seller's wife wants.

Personally I'd turn my thoughts back to the sport line and quickly before someone else does and stop looking so hard.

You initially said you wanted a GTi (I think?) So stick to that idea, anything carb'd just leave alone otherwise you'll fall into the trap that I've fallen into several times when you broaden your search to wide and buy something that isnt quite what you want and end up selling it 6mths later

back to the Sportline then and got it on a ramp. The to do list looks like this:
Cam belt
Engine flush and tune & all fluid change
Key for boot
Cable for back seat fix
boot light fix
steering colum fix
new trim and clips
new thermostat
battery tray needs attention
new fan
Right driver door drop needs attention
Steering rack (!)
Radiator card missing
clutch cable / brake cable / master cylinder clip
Shocks and springs on all 4 corners
full body detail with dent on divers door needing attention
internal fans not working
finally had rust on top of front panel where the bonet clips in - possible new front panel.

Awaiting for a quote for this work before putting an offer in. I have the car checked by a mechanic who has owned countless Mark1s.

One question for you guys - how can I double check its a genuine Sportline? I think the Sportline 'stikcers' are the wrong way round

as ever - comments and feedback apprecaited

came across this - look at the asking price!
Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Crowey26 said

came across this - look at the asking price!
Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

That's the same age and colour of mine and that’s a lot of cash for that… after market electric windows, odd headlight, bents and scuffs on car, wipers parked in the wrong place, broken hazard light switch, hole in trim by light switch, dash vent peel, been parked up since 2013 and no MOT…apart from that it's alright. I'll be selling mine for £30,000 next week.  

Good lord. 

That's 1500 quid and no more. 

Crowey26 said

It is a genuine sportline just the decals are wrong. There’s two different ones with the colours swapped around.  Those on there are for a red sportline.
As for the scab on the slam panel most cabs have them and it doesn’t warrant a whole new front end.

It’s an old car and as an old car purchase first thing you do is change the fluids and cambelt.
I garuantee from the list you’ve put up the garage bill would be huge.
 



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Crowey26 said

came across this - look at the asking price!
Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Total lunacy
Never worth that much for a car that’s been stood 5 years…
As others have pointed out.



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thank you
Ah yes, I am awaiting the quote - gonna be telephone numbers!
As per my breif, Im not buying this to make money and no doubt, as someone who is not skilled or experienced to carry out the work myself, I apprecaite I have to pay.

Can you recommend where to purhcase the following:
- New, correct Black Sportline decals
- Car Cover
- Retro-type DAB car radio
- Parcel shelf
- car mats
 

Sent you a message mate.


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Think the company continental as in tyres, do a retro looking head unit, available through amazon.

https://www.continental-automotive.com/en-gl/Trucks-Buses/Interior-Cabin/Infotainment/Radios/DAB-FM-AM-Radio-with-USB-Bluetooth

Bit board at work so having a read through this thread, what did you do in the end? Just wanted to point out no matter what car you buy its always going to need work even the really good ones you can always find fault with or want to put yoru own touch on. Looking at the list of jobs you have on a 5k car, your not talking much money I replaced radiator and fan for £150, screw and clips, well they shouldnt even be metioned as easy 2 min jobs to sort, set of stickers £40…. these arnt new cars so keep that in mind.  I spent 18months finding my sportline as I wanted a low mileage one as I dont plan to sell for a long time and also they are 'the most desired' of the cabs. Mine was considerably more money then that and now owes me close to 10k (I did get a bit carried away) with all the work I have done to her and only cover 300 miles since buying (red face, I love the little details), but shes pretty well sorted now with new fuel tank, filler kneck, all new engine parts to ensure the rusted tank doesnt kill the engine, was also flushed along with coolent, servo/MC upgrade to 22/9inch, no rust at all on mine as spent half its life in france dry stored (hence the rusted tank), H+R suspension all round with new mounts and rubbers, new brakes pads/ disks, full interior rip out and refurb with new parts like carpet plus 1 inch underlay (important), steering wheel new gaitors, had to have work done to seats/ sliders on seats, new rocker cover and sump gaskets, electric aerial, some electrical work to bring up to standrd along with new speakers the list goes on and on…… . What im trying to say is for 5k, well its a 5k car either run it and enjoy it as it is, if you want a more finished product spend the money yourself (you have 8k budget) just dont let the little things put you off buying a decent car as non are perfect! Prices are all in what someone wants to pay and the amount of work involved. I think sportlines start around 5k and go as high as 12k in current world, although there is a genuine 17,000 mile one for sale at 25k. I went to see one that i would say was the worst car I even saw, didnt run, needed everything doing like roof, repaint ect and that sold on ebay for £4,600, hell the interiors alone go for £1500+.

Oh and the brakes are rubbish do the servo upgrade and replace the rubber hoses that go to calipers with braided…….. as for hard to steer at low speeds, yup thats the joys im afraid, but I class parkign it as my gym work out for the day so saving £50 a month on gym membership!!!

Thanks
I got the sport line last month
I negotiated with my mechanic a deal for the work I wanted doing and it's due out this weekend I hope
Will share pics soon

 Very excited

Congratulations. Hit me up if you need any advise on anything.

Congratulations 

Only just seen this post and you have had a journey in your search !

I know your car well as it was previously owned by a club member in the Southwest 

Take a look at my Sportline link in my signature and might give you some ideas on bits u want to do / sympathetic restoration 

Main thing is get the roof down and enjoy it 👍👌

Hi all
Finally got around to posting an update
Been pretty busy since new year

Sportline ownership going well. Really enjoying it. Done 200 miles and she ticked over to 129k

Had the engine flushed, full service, fan fix,  steering rack, battery, plugs, new leads, cam timing belts, shocks and springs on all 4 corners, mounts, two new front tyres, and a few other bits and bobs.
Got it under a storm force cover and picked up some nice car cleaning products to keep it looking clean
Had two people offer to buy it off me already - not sure just how serious they were but nice to get that attention.

Picked up a mis fire this week. Quick fix I'm sure

Getting it detailled at a coach works mid feb with the right decals being put on, scratches sorted and if budget allows two dents sorted,

Other stuff On the to do list over the next couple of months:
Radio and parcel shelf
Exhaust - think I ve got a blowing at manifold end
Security - still not sure where to go on this on still
Just got a highly rated crook lock for a little extra protection in the meantime

Goal is to enjoy, keep it running well and looking smart

As ever
Always value your comments and advice

Glad to see you stuck to your guns and got what you wanted to start with and it looks like a nice one.

As for security I'm still in favour of removeable steering wheels.

I know it means stepping away from OEM but you can still get a period wheel and its obvious only a 5min job to return to standard.

You can not steal a car without a steering wheel and its a massive visual deterant as well

Congrats pal. I have an autowatch alarm and immobilizer on my sportline Google them pretty much bullet proof and also gives you central locking on the fob as well. Have a look at my thread in the your car project category as only got mine last August and doing lots too it. A badge refurb kit is a defo buy for you pal. £20 and gets you badges looking like new. Also buy some autosol £3 for the aluminium lips on the wheels brings them up a treat.