Hi all,

Myself and a few friends are looking ahead to next year and the 2013 Krakow Ramshackle rally. For those who don't know what it is, the idea is you buy a banger for under £200 and you decorate it in an interesting way and then meet the other members of the rally at Calais. You then set out across Europe stopping off at a number of predetermined locations with a number of challenges along the way. (A bit like Top gear)

anyway we're looking into getting a motor, As im the most mechanically minded in the group ive suggested a Skoda Fabia (mk1 of course) because i have had my previous two fabias stripped down and put back together so much i know them quite well.

But! we're having a bit of trouble finding a suitable place to get one. There's the obvious choices such as Ebay, AutoT, Gumtree etc, however alot of these are auctions that pretty quickly end up over budget or are stupidly overpriced to start with.

So does anyone have any suggestions on where to get a Skoda Fabia for Under £200? Or would you recommend a different car?

a guy from work did it in 2008 with a mk3 Vauxhall caviler, low and behold he did'nt make it after a HGF in Austria.

There is no limit a such to how much we can spend on getting the car road worthy i.e we could buy a car for £1 but spend £400 getting it road worthy as long as its final value isnt too far from £200.

on a slightly different note, has anyone done this before?

Speak to some local dealers.

They'll possible get a shonky old box in part exchange and they'll be happy to get rid of it if the car can't be sold on, other than for scrap (about £100 or so)

Shame you don't want a crusty old minibus...

I like that idea! thanks Rich!

I'll mention it to Preston Motors when I'm in there next week too.

You never know. More you ask, more chance of success.

haha thanks, were only looking at the moment as we will need to arrange a garage to store it! :p but if we find a nice cheap gem we may have to arrange something quickly

We will mostly be looking for an early 1.4 Petrol Fabia, either the 16V or 8V MPI engines

doubt you'd get a fabia for that money..... not one that would work!

a felicia maybe? with an indestructable SDI engine?

my bet would be a honda civic, circa "p" reg (97?) I bought one for under £300 and ran it for 2 years! they are VERY reliable........

Any idea on the actual time of year?

Can't see it on their website yet.

good point, but when i inquired about a Part/ex deal for my last fabia. Skoda offered me £120 for it, i.e scrap value. I think there is some potential in Richards idea as it doesnt matter really how much you spend on getting the car road legal.

The last few trips to Krakow have been in Aug/Sept time.

As myself n my friends are apprentices for a few different companies, were looking at it long term, as were not on the highest wages, we want to get certain things bought n paid for well in advance e.g the motor

I was going to offer to help with storage short term if you get stuck, but not for a year.

Personaly I'd start looking around Feb/March next year. But your plan, your call.

If you get stuck nearer the time let me know and I'll see what I can do. Most things can be sorted.

CDT123 is doing this, Not sure which destination his is, but he and his team got a Renault Laguna from somewhere. I'm sure he won't mind letting you know where he got it from.

Oh yea we are still number crunching at the moment, we intend on keeping an eye out for a car, but we just needed some suggestions on the best places.

Thanks Dudeoli, ill have to drop him a P'M

Another idea if you got stuck is the salvage auctions. Just be wary what you bid on.

Copart alone has 13 Skodas over 10 years old listed currently including a Y plate red Fabia with a very minor bump on the rear bumper that wouldn't need to be fixed. Cat D.

Bidding starts on these at £175.

Just an idea.

I don't think you'll have a problem finding something myself.

Felicia definitely more in keeping I would think. People will always look at a fabia, even a skanky one, and think "£200 car? I don't think so!"

Something like this Jason?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1996-SKODA-FELICIA-LXI-WHITE-/251141750257?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3a7936fdf1

What about a little Citroen AX or something? Simple to maintain as it is very basic. I got mine for £100 and lasted me 2 years.

Pretty good for a first car!

That looks like fun.

Oktoberfest would be my choice.

I love charities and love fun or adventures, so this is not peeing on a parade.

How many are going?

3, 4, 5?

The more the merrier, & get 2 cars.

It is not very far that you are driving..

More friends will have more contacts & family to find a cheap car, work space & raise more money.

??Who is paying the Insurance, 2 drivers minimum for the car.

the fines/tolls, ferry, the fuel, the fares home,

&

can the car be scrapped at the other end,

donated/transfered to someone or do you intend just dumping it?

Just practicality.

Buying the car £200, that is the cheap part.

Get help to fix it. that should be Free & free parts.

(Road Tax current or 6 months bought & MOT before the event,

or long before the event and someone going can run it for a while.)

Talk to a Local Scrap yard Breakers/Garage on sponsorship, or getting a bargain.

if you dont know the places or any of the friends do, then i would not ask for Freebies.

Ferry, Fuel, & flight home.

(so how many miles, how much fuel & how much to get home?)

Is it going to be 1200-1400 miles one way for the car & yourselfs and a flight home?

40 gallons @ £6.00 = £240 only.

56 gallons @ £6.00 = £336

Krakow-London single flight £50 max each.

Ferry.

Food-drink.

I reccon that £350-400 each for 3 people should do it & be a great holiday.

IMHO, Raise the money for charity,

& do not use the Money raised to have a Free Holiday or Jolly.

A 4600 round trip for charity cost 'me and my co-driver £3000'. We paid for our Adventure from our pockets..

& we raised over £6000 which all went to the charity.

Good luck and have fun planning & doing it.

george

Something like this Jason?

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3a7936fdf1

Yeah probably. On the last Prague roadtrip, 3 mates got a 1.3 MPI felicia FREE, and did a lairy paintjob on it, rattle can rough and it drove to Prague and back without any serious issue. 1.3 engine is fairly bulletproof.

Felicia definitely more in keeping I would think. People will always look at a fabia, even a skanky one, and think "£200 car? I don't think so!"

Too true, our SDI was pretty knackered by the time we sold it and we still

got 900 quid for it despite the odd mirrors, scrape down the whole near side,

failed AC compessor and bent passenger door. Was leaking like a sieve when we

got shot as well.

http://krakow.ramshacklerally.com

http://krakow.ramshacklerally.com/faqs

how much is the entry on this one?

george

Rover 200 Diesel, pick those up for 200 nicker.

Engine runs on veggie oil, literally indestructable, and either version (83bhp/103bhp) can be taken to 120bhp for the cost of an hour (and in the 103bhp, the cost of a £30 resistor box).

It'll be a pre 2004 ****e quality Rover as well.

Or how about a bit of comfort & space for aIl of you? ebay item number: 190719798657 pretty economical (it's even got half a tank of deisel in it) you've got months to sort the engine out, plenty of old 1.9tdi bits around. If the value goes above £200 just take a hammer to the panels & have a smashing time till it drops to the value you want!

Superb!!

I'd place an add in your local free newspaper or somewhere else it may catch the attention of someone with a banger to shift.

I guess the problem with a £200 car is that a lot of them won't even male it to market with the owners choosing to scrap them for not a lot less and save on the hassle of the sale.

Contact dealers and tell them what your doing, they may throw the car in if you put there sticker on it great advertisement ? , try the skoda dealer that sponsors the site, I think bossfox eluded to this ? Have a great adventure and doing good at the same tie well done you