1.1 with 28K miles for £3250 — fair price? + Pan Roof question

[whollyjordan]

Hello! I used to own a forfour Brabus, and a Roadster. But that was ~7 years ago, and now I own nothing. BUT, I'm open to buying a mk1 forfour again, (standard this time, not a Brabus.) AND I kinda fancy an automatic. Anyway, there's a 1.1 with 28K miles up for sale at £3250. That's out of my budget. But, do you folks think that's reasonably priced? I know "it depends what a buyer will pay," but cars tend to fall into a price bracket. And I guess there's not a bunch of these cars out there, making pricing a bit harder? So, just wanted to get some opinions (though weirdly, I paid the exact same for my Brabus back in 2017 ish, so, hmm.)

Another Q: My old Brabus had that awful "crazing" problem on the pan roof. And, I understand that's common. But, I now wonder if that problem could lead to *something* worse down the road? For example, does it affect the structural integrity of the roof? Could it lead to breakage?

Cheers!

[cecil]

That sounds like a garage price. I have just looked on facebook marketplace and there are a few 1.1s for sale from  £300 upwards. Your price seems to be in gen 2 territory. There are a number of things to look out for on gen1 cars: rear suspension bushes are expensive to replace and are often cracked- I do know one garage that did mine with a big improvement. They are roughly 20 year old cars with 20 year old parts. They will need a good going over before you buy.

[whollyjordan]

Hi, appreciate the reply.

You are correct that it is a dealer (mentions a warranty,) although there are no other details about the dealer/business in the ad or the seller's profile. It is on Facebook marketplace, and the seller has now reduced the price to £2925. This is the 2nd price drop I've seen.

Last week or so, I asked the seller a question about the car, and he ignored me. Hmm. Upon seeing the price drop, I sent another message â€" an upfront, "I have this much budget" message, to start a dialogue, and he just replied "no" â€"not the friendliest seller.

Thanks for mentioning the rear bushes; I'm not sufficiently endowed in the mechanic side of things to "go over" much, relying instead on other "signals" (e.g., evidence of good ownership, doing a MOT history check, and listening for any weird noises etc. in a test drive!)

I guess I'm hoping that if I find a low mileage example, I can lower the odds of expensive repair bills, like maybe those bushes you mentioned (if their decay is mileage related, rather than age.) But, I guess the flip side here is a higher mileage car may have had it done, + other things.

As for gen 2 prices, yeah... looks like £3K is near bottom end of the market for those.

[cecil]

Look up the website' how many left' and you will see that the numbers are falling quite quickly at the moment. 1.1s seem to be quite common ( 350 or so). There are only about 150 Brabus models. This pattern is repeated across many car ranges. The performance or luxury versions are kept but the base models tend to be forgotten.
I am not aware of particular issues with the crazing. Headlamps are a different matter. Keep us informed with your search. Best wishes with search.

[whollyjordan]

The "how many left" website is fascinating. Thank you for sharing that. A good way to kill an afternoon!

I did more research on the crazing; there were mentions of potential water leaks (seemed rare) and one that shattered (again, rare.) I guess for 99% of owners, it is "just" a matter of appearance.

The headlamps: I recall my old Brabus had fairly poor lights.

Cheers!

[mr singh]

id personally be cautious over facebook market place sellers, they are often scammers unless it is an ACTUAL dealer.

as for the price, for such a low mileage 1.1, it is a good price (as an owner), HOWEVER, given the general public, they wont pay £3k for a 20 year old car regardless of mileage, so on that basis its over priced. my mate has found some real gems with ridiculously low mileage car and he never paid more than £1800.

as for the pan roof, its nothing to worry about. and since you have left the forfour ownership, we have found improved headlight internals which really help night time driving.

[whollyjordan]

Yes, your caution over Facebook marketplace is well advised. Thank you.

You make a good point that the "general public" are unlikely to pay that much for an old car, regardless of mileage. Whereas, the more enthusiastic among us, can see the merit.

And thanks; If I do find another forfour, I'll definitely be looking into headlight improvements!

[whollyjordan]

Just popping back to update and conclude this thread: I ended up buying a fairly cheap Brabus, which I need to do a few bits and bobs on.

[mr singh]

well done on your brabus purchase.

[jmariog]

So you can bring it to the meeting that will be down your way

[whollyjordan]

So you can bring it to the meeting that will be down your way

Ha! Yes. I think this is a good idea. Also, my Brabus needs a little love. And perhaps I can learn a thing or two while I'm there, and be inspired.

[jmariog]

Put up some pictures