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Am I insane or brave.

skraggy_uk

skraggy_uk

Active Member
North West
E51 Owner
Messages
137
Reaction score
260
Points
63
Location
Cheshire
First Name
Carl
Elgrand
E51
Region
North West
I've spent a few weeks going through here, eBay, Autotrader and Facebook market place looking for Elgrands that meet my admittedly low budget for an E51.

I've found one that meets what I'm after in budget. Not my ideal colour or interior but the listing on marketplace is genuine, not one of the scams. Looks to be a mechanic selling it. Probably a trader posing as an individual but he hadn't sold many cars so maybe not. Plus he is the only one to reply to my questions at all.

He sent me a few videos today of things I requested and that plus an ok-ish MOT history seem not too bad. I know if I travel to look I will end up buying and changing it.

So if you had a 4+ hour train journey to meet a Russian mechanic in Ramsgate to buy a car you've only seen in pictures and videos to then complete a 4 hour motorway journey back?

I've done similar in the past for an £800 car during the pandemic. But this is 4 figures and pretty much all my car buying budget at risk as I'm currently careless and driving a borrowed Audi TT after the aforementioned £800 died for good spectacularly just before Xmas.

So am I insane?
 
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Holdfast4130 said:
Maybe somebody on here lives near the listed vehicle, and can have a look on your behalf?
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The plan is to go down this Thursday as I need my own vehicle ASAP because every time I renew another month on the tempcover insurance for another month it takes £300 of the buying budget.
 
I took a train on my own from London to Cardiff with 8 k in my pocket only after seeing a few pictures and detailed video and knowing very little about Elgrands( or any other cars for that matter)
The vehicle was superb, all paperwork as discussed and the sellers were genuine and lovely Welsh- Norhern couple and I'm bloody Polish :joy:
It was probably irresponsible but I was fed up with fakes and dodgy dealers ( wish I knew about the forum back then)
Go with your gut, check as much as you can, if something off, walk away.
@Holdfast4130 idea is pretty good
Good luck
 
Doesn't 'cheapest car on the internet' and 'maybe the seller isn't telling me the whole truth' both tell you anything? I think desperation can cloud your judgement. Bad Elgrands are absolute money pits.
 
LeStempy said:
Even a good Elgrand is not the best choice if you are strapped for cash. They are expensive to run as a daily driver.
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I can vouch for this 💯. I've never had a car that needs so much money just to keep her going. Almost 500 quid a month in fuel, and being a broke as fuck father of 2 young kids, with the usual eye watering outgoings, I have to be on it with parts when they come up. @Winchester has helped me out with parts from @Crazycraig 's old bus which has saved me a few quid. Getting on the spanners to fix everything because garages see an import, and all of a sudden it's like they're performing fucking brain surgery.

But, I love it and so do my kids. If it gets to the point where I can't put food on the table, then she'll have to go. But, she'll be sorted for the next person, if and when she does.
 
I travelled from Wick to Leeds - 500 miles, 19hrs on the train with a stop overnight in between.

I was confident that it was a decent enough deal with the seller providing a lot of info after an hour on the phone, and lots of videos.

I went with my gut instinct and I feel it paid off, after walking away from 3 previous "deals" that looked great on the surface, not so underneath.

Listen to your own gut and the concerns you have raised.

I still needed to sink another £1200 on top of what I paid to make her a good car again.
 
I took the train from Bromley to Berwick upon Tweed to buy my E51. I was prepared to get the train home if absolutely necessary but of course I didn’t want to. It’s part of the fun! It has been the most reliable car I’ve owned, despite being 20 years old. I have not had to spend a single non-discretionary penny on the car in 3 and a half years, other than to replace a sensor which I think a fox chewed through (according to the garage). It’s been brilliant.
 
Always the luck of the draw, fate, voodoo, prayers.......whatever.

The first E51 i saw was at my local farm shop, the owners son abused it as a produce carrying van.

I spoke to him about it as he eyed up my Delica - he said had bought it from Gumtree, two years ago, no history, it had done 145000 miles ( which i would think was actually kilometres ) and he had never done anything to it.

He had covered 40,000 miles (KMs) in those two years and my conversation with him was before i had bought mine, so approx three years ago.

He still has it.......five years.

When he says he has done nothing to it, he means no maintenance other than rectifying MOT. failures or if something falls off it, how is it still running ?

And yet you get a fastidious owner on here sticking to service intervals, wrapping the van in cotton wool and it fails, often, or worse throws its hand in all together.

The games not straight.😡
 
Tim C said:
Doesn't 'cheapest car on the internet' and 'maybe the seller isn't telling me the whole truth' both tell you anything? I think desperation can cloud your judgement. Bad Elgrands are absolute money pits.
Click to expand...

Oh it isn't cheapest by any means. Just under £4k for 53 plate E51. I've seen fair ones being sold from £2k upwards for private sales.

I know I'm not looking at specialist dealer new import or 2 UK owner prices. I used to take risks a lot that paid off but hot burned about 8 years ago by dealer "not dealer" on a TDi Octavia. Car was great except it blew 2 turbos in 3 months. Didn't drive much more than 1000 miles between turbos.

I guess after the Octavia I just got a bit more wary. Having said that I travelled to London for an £800 Daewoo Musso that did me 3 years. Spent about £1300 in various repairs in that time but couldn't rent a car for that. I think when you go over a grand it becomes less of a disposable vehicle.

LeStempy said:
Even a good Elgrand is not the best choice if you are strapped for cash. They are expensive to run as a daily driver.
Click to expand...
I'm limited by choice as to what is suitable for my needs. High driving position, not truck style, comfy auto, loads of room for allotment stuff, Costco runs and tip runs.

Spent the last three years driving weird but practical. As I might have less than a year to go, "life's too short for dull cars" has never been more appropriate. I want a lot more luxury than a van. The Elgrand or Alphard are both perfect for what I want. Had an Estima diesel before. I loved it but the head cracked. After 18months it was the best £250, yes £250 I ever spent. But now it wouldn't be big enough or grunty enough.


Would it be ok to post a link to the add to see what anyone thinks of it. If It looks good please don't steal it from under me lol.
 
jboy72 said:
I took the train from Bromley to Berwick upon Tweed to buy my E51. I was prepared to get the train home if absolutely necessary but of course I didn’t want to. It’s part of the fun! It has been the most reliable car I’ve owned, despite being 20 years old. I have not had to spend a single non-discretionary penny on the car in 3 and a half years, other than to replace a sensor which I think a fox chewed through (according to the garage). It’s been brilliant.
Click to expand...
See this has been my experience in the past except getting burned by an Octavia that kept breaking Turbos in half.
 
WhatsThisFor said:
Always the luck of the draw, fate, voodoo, prayers.......whatever.

The first E51 i saw was at my local farm shop, the owners son abused it as a produce carrying van.

I spoke to him about it as he eyed up my Delica - he said had bought it from Gumtree, two years ago, no history, it had done 145000 miles ( which i would think was actually kilometres ) and he had never done anything to it.

He had covered 40,000 miles (KMs) in those two years and my conversation with him was before i had bought mine, so approx three years ago.

He still has it.......five years.

When he says he has done nothing to it, he means no maintenance other than rectifying MOT. failures or if something falls off it, how is it still running ?

And yet you get a fastidious owner on here sticking to service intervals, wrapping the van in cotton wool and it fails, often, or worse throws its hand in all together.

The games not straight.😡
Click to expand...
Yeah used cars can be fun. It never ever goes the way you expect.
£300 Saab 900 Turbos fantastic.
£250 Estima Diesel great small van
£800 Daewoo Musso got me to over a year of cancer treatment without missing a beat even though the last freezing winter. Owned for 3½ years total.
£600 Toyota Celsior absolutely stunning car. Sold just before the MOT due for the fear of big bills.
All brilliant with just running repairs.
£2500 Saab convertible with new ticket, rusted and deformed windscreen surround.
£1800 Octavia TDi appetite for eating turbos within 2 months of owning.
 
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Sounds like the seller is trying hard but don't expect any come back if you buy it and then have problems. I once went down to Weston Super Mare from Nottingham to look at a Toyota Sera many years ago and after test driving it only then spotted a huge dent repair in one sill so came home empty handed. Another time I found out the hard way with a seller of a Rover Tourer in Luton on ebay that adverts may only show the good bits. Are you sure the running costs of an E51 are in your budget?
 
Cato Fong said:
Sounds like the seller is trying hard but don't expect any come back if you buy it and then have problems. I once went down to Weston Super Mare from Nottingham to look at a Toyota Sera many years ago and after test driving it only then spotted a huge dent repair in one sill so came home empty handed. Another time I found out the hard way with a seller of a Rover Tourer in Luton on ebay that adverts may only show the good bits. Are you sure the running costs of an E51 are in your budget?
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Yes running costs are fine. It's buying it up front that pushes the budget.
 
Oh is it normal to have the key built into the fob? Asked him and said 1key/fob combined like a BMW.
 
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