Tom,
For a start, try and find as many advertisments for Spitfires for sale, so
you can be sure your colleague is asking a reasonable price. It is not
always easy trying to haggle with someone you work with every day! As a
VERY rough idea, for an unmodified car, prices in the UK tend to be around:
#500 Basket case that might be restorable by a dedicated enthusiast, but is
really only fit for dismantling as a parts car
#1000 Complete running car, little or no MOT, very tatty but useable with a
little work
#1500 Complete running car with a reasonable length MOT, tatty-looking,
noticeable surface rust and paint bubbling, but fit for use right away, or
suitable for thorough cosmetic make-over to turn into a reasonable car
#2000 Looks good at 10 yards away, but closer inspection shows faded paint,
the start of some rust patches, worn seats etc. A $1500 car with evidence
of recent money spent (e.g reconditioned engine etc.) may approach this
value.
#3000 Should look pretty good, be clearly well-looked-after, reliable, no
faults, but not a show-winner
#4000-#5000 Perfect car, could have just rolled off the production line.
If there is a hard-top with the car you can add 10% to these prices - but
don't bother paying extra for a hard-top if you don't intend to use it!
How generally mechanically competant are you? The Spitfire is a very simple
little car, and anyone with a basic toolkit, some mechanical nouse, a Haynes
manual, and the advice of the friendly guys and gals on this website, can
fix most things. However, if the car has a number of small but niggling
things wrong with it when you buy it, the initial process of fixing them all
can be too down-heartening - a common experience amongst those of us buying
at the cheaper end of the market (I speak from experience).
Things to worry about if you find them on the car when checking it out:
Sills with rust-holes or crumbly seams - these will need replacing, and
while the parts are cheap the labour isn't (unless you can weld). Surface
rust is not too late to treat and paint, if the price is right.
What looks like mayonnaise under the oil cap, or oily water in the radiator
- you are looking at having to pull the engine apart very soon.
Blue smoke out of the exhuast - engine worn, will need work within a few
thousand miles.
Plumes of white smoke out of the exhuast - blown head gasket, and possibly
warped head. Small amounts could just be condensation on a cold day, so
don't worry!
A large puddle of oil under the engine.
A gearbox that is hard to engage or change - you are looking at replacing
the gearbox, or at least the clutch, in the near future.
A single clunk from the rear of the car when pulling away and when lifting
off the accelerator - a UJ in the driveshaft has gone. These only cost #7
to replace, but it is a major pain-in-the-arse job. Ask the seller to fix
it before you take possession of the car (and give him your money).
A hood with cracked or opaque windows, tears, any other problems.
Replacements cost between #100 and #250 depending on quality (there is quite
a choice), so use this to haggle with.
Make sure you fit in it!! The Spitfire is a small car, you don't want to end
up in something that you will not be comfortable in. I can just get
comfortable in mine at 6'2", and that is probably the limit (in fact
recently replacing my seats with thicker padded ones has made mine a bit too
small for me), although there's probably someone out there taller than me
who will disagree!
Things not to worry about too much:
A small puddle of oil under the engine - the Spitfire that doesn't leak at
all is a rare thing.
A temperature gauge that reads up to 3/4 under normal driving conditions -
they all (well, a lot of them) do that. Above 3/4 and there is a problem
there.
A slight lean to the drivers side - very common, not a big problem. If the
lean is significant use it as a haggle point to knock #100 off for a new set
of springs all round.
A slight tap-tap-tap noise from top of the engine when running - all
Spitfire engines sound a bit tappety, and if it is too loud the chances are
that the tappets just need adjusting (a VERY easy job). However, if it is
loud, remove the rocker cover (the cover at the very top of the engine) and
try and wiggle the rockers on their shaft - if they move about a bit then
the rocker shaft may need replacing, although this is not too major a job.
This advice is far from exhaustive, and I hope some others will pipe up with
further advice, but at least there are a few pointers here.
Good luck!!
Richard & Daffy (Inca Yellow 1500 Spitfire)
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