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View Full Version : £1000, what state could I get a Williams in?



Chris197F1
12-04-2013, 09:09
Im not in a position yet but Im hoping to save £1000 and get myself a Clio Williams (at long last)

What sort of condition would it be in? Its a long term project but it would be nice if it was a runner at least.

Thanks for any help/advice :)

ThRaXaIR
12-04-2013, 09:20
A running but rusty and tatty round the edges one i would imagine. they do come up fairly frequently...at least once you've haggled. :P

Chris197F1
12-04-2013, 09:34
Yeah well rust wouldnt be the end of the world as thats something that could be sorted along the line rather than immediately if you know what I mean. An ideal situation would be having one that I can still run around in over the weekend and it still be a little project, fixing it up as and when I can. i have a garage so it would be stored and not left out in the elements.

talkingfish
12-04-2013, 09:50
serious project material.... more than likely a bit tatty around the edges and definately very full of rust.... as said, they do pop up every now and again...

p4cks
12-04-2013, 09:56
this
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/p4cks/Clio%20Williams%203/IMG_0634.jpg

or this
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/p4cks/Clio%20Williams%202/IMG_1552.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/p4cks/Clio%20Williams%202/IMG_1551.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/p4cks/Clio%20Williams%202/EB567A15-55C0-417B-B766-99041F8D96F6-36288-00003756AC5EDEAC.jpg

...and be prepared to spend muuuuch more than you are expecting. Trust me.

jamiecrookston83
12-04-2013, 10:01
+1 on that. I paid £1000 for mine and i've spent at least 3.5k+ getting it back to standard

Chris197F1
12-04-2013, 10:37
Cheers for the help so far, I think im dreaming a little with my budget then. Maybe I need to aim to save around £2000 then :(

Dean250
12-04-2013, 12:09
I would say 1800 - 2500 will get you a decent car, but don't be deterred, reasonable ones do come up for 1500 but depends how far you really want to go, you would need to spend 5k+ to make concourse

Chris197F1
12-04-2013, 12:33
I dont want to take it far to be honest. I just want it to look original and in good condition, I wont be showing it or anything. At the end of the day its going to be my fun weekend car so it will be treated like a b*tch lol

Vandella
12-04-2013, 13:29
i was luckily enough to get mine for next to nuthin as it was going to be traded in for a new clio rs (197).. but have easily spent 5k and there's more to go.. although 1500 went on having engine out, belts, pumps replaced and gbox recon'd. but still way more than I first expected to be spending.. the body has its bad points too but isn't too far from show material.. a decent paint job and wheels refurbd it may be closer still, but as your prob aware 20 year old cars can produce problems, and even ones that have money thrown at them occasionally have hiccups!!

andreas395
12-04-2013, 13:37
I still think with £2000 you will still need to spend on it, if the rust spots on these cars have not been delt with in the past it will need doing I'm afraid

Chris197F1
12-04-2013, 13:45
Thanks, all this help is priceless, I really appreciate it! Im happy to spend on the car, I just would like it to be running and useable at least so the moneypit is at least putting a smile on my face lol

p4cks
12-04-2013, 15:31
The first photo in my original post was the before shot. £5k later this is the after shot...

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d167/p4cks/Clio%20Williams%203/EA4A60CE-9BF3-401A-B0C6-3EA8A1C45A47-70035-000058EF4B096FEB_zpscd19aadf.jpg

stevie_b
12-04-2013, 15:54
I'd say save up as much as you can and buy the best one that you can. Unless you are doing all the work for the love of it then a cheap car plus all the expense of getting it sorted will usually add up to more than buying a decent example off someone for more money in the first place.

p4cks
12-04-2013, 15:59
^^^ this times 10!

Chris197F1
12-04-2013, 16:58
Yeah I agree, everyones views has made me think that ideally im going to need around £3000 as my skills are very minimal lol, I can clean the damn thing and change a few trims but thats it lol. It will work out far too costly to keep paying out for professionals to do the work (after researching on this site). Just a shame as I'll have to wait even longer now until I can afford one :(

northy
12-04-2013, 17:47
what you running around in now then - your budjet has dropped from looking at minters to looking at basket mot failures haha

Chris197F1
12-04-2013, 19:19
Yeah well I managed to sell the Clio 197 so im now in a MK7 Fiesta ZS TDCI. The budget has dropped due to me buying a larger house last month but the plus side is It has a garage lol.

FATBOY
12-04-2013, 20:05
i paid £1,100 for mine with not tax or mot and paid out 1.5K + getting arches and other bits sorted

http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?39329-clio-williams-0215-restoration

glyn211269
12-04-2013, 20:15
I back up everything said so far. I spent £2.5 on my first Willy and then another couple of grand on top fixing things over the next few years and it was still never as good as I wanted it to be :-/ You do need to spend as much as you can in the first place. That's what I ended up doing and should have done in the first place. But its all a learning process!!

ThRaXaIR
12-04-2013, 22:14
Dont get me wrong i love my money pit of a williams but.... Buy a 172... probably no rust and about 1500 quid. Good cars.

Jamie.
12-04-2013, 22:21
Spend more on one with good body work. Expect to pay £3k as a minimum IMO - pay less and you may pay much more in the long run repair and maintenance costs. One with fsh and mint body work has to be worth >£4k.

Chris197F1
12-04-2013, 22:42
Its not about buying a fun car though, I would have stuck with the 197 if that was the case, its about buying a classic car that Ive wanted since I was 17 years old :)

FATBOY
12-04-2013, 22:51
Its not about buying a fun car though, I would have stuck with the 197 if that was the case, its about buying a classic car that Ive wanted since I was 17 years old :)


go with your instinct mate!!! but dont fall for the first one you see......... and make sure you read the buyers guide. alot of helpful hints :)

Chris197F1
12-04-2013, 23:26
Will do mate cheers. Just bought my membership too :)

Dean250
13-04-2013, 11:21
Chris I am in a similar position at the moment

I started looking at cars at around 1.5 and thinking il spend the same again sorting the car out, now Im thinking I need to spend 3k+ for a reasonable one and take it from there.

Chris197F1
13-04-2013, 14:16
when do membership accounts become active as I still cant view that project thread that was linked but I paid up last night?

Dean250
13-04-2013, 14:56
I sent a PM to Northy he updates them manually mate

FATBOY
13-04-2013, 15:48
pmnorthy mate. if you dont hear from him just send me a message and i will give him a kick up the ass ;)

Elaine1983
13-04-2013, 16:00
Ive got a Williams 3 and I paid £800 for it, but ive spent about a grand on it so far and I still need to have the arches done and have it resprayed. You can get them cheap enough, but be prepared to spend money on it. I doubt you would ever lose money on it though. I know one sold the other day which was a non-runner, no tax or MOT for about £600-£700, but the shell was solid (no rust).

Chris197F1
13-04-2013, 17:22
What condition was it in Elaine for it to be £800? What have you done so far?

I have PM'd Northy btw guys, thank you

Elaine1983
13-04-2013, 17:58
To be fair it wasn't in bad condition at all, apart from the arches and some stone chips. It had tax and MOT and was running fine (I had to drive a long way for it though) and mileage is ok 96k and has full service history. Ive had the wheels refurbished to how they should be, major service including cambelt changed, water pump, power steering pump and new tyres (all genuine parts) and also some performance parts.

talkingfish
13-04-2013, 19:29
I back up everything said so far. I spent £2.5 on my first Willy and then another couple of grand on top fixing things over the next few years and it was still never as good as I wanted it to be :-/ You do need to spend as much as you can in the first place. That's what I ended up doing and should have done in the first place. But its all a learning process!!

It's had another £1.5k spent on it since then, lol!! :winkey:

Chris197F1
15-04-2013, 11:51
Just had a look through a few project threads and really impressed with the dedication and work you guys have carried out :)

Dean250
15-04-2013, 22:20
Great threads, Robi's thread is unbelievable!

acerimmer
16-04-2013, 23:33
like folks have been saying, if you want the car for the long run then its not too bad, like yourself i liked these when i was 18/19 so when hit 30 i brought myself a willy 3 for ok money, but like everyone said spent loads on it, even more if i didnt work at a garage, so all the parts at trade price n free labour, have been buying bits for it over last few years, seats, seat belts, suit carrier refurb wheels and the like.
not touched it for a year but the sills n aches need doing so that will be a winter job lol. In time in will get done prob when my boy is old enought to drive, n hes a year old lol

Chris197F1
17-04-2013, 08:05
In it for the long haul then Ace! I cant wait now, im checking websites every day to see what price they are coming up at in regards to there condition. Whats annoying is theres one available now which suits my needs and its local too and its at a good price IMO

pvsmark
17-04-2013, 10:03
I paid around £800 for mine and have spent over £2k at least since then and I haven't even got it resprayed yet! The main costs were changing all the suspension, wheels, cambelt, sunroof and getting some welding done. Have a look at my project thread to get an idea of what is involved.

Chris197F1
17-04-2013, 10:09
Will do Mark thanks. What are the requirements for the cambelt change? i.e. mileage or years old

Chris197F1
17-04-2013, 10:20
Have you got a link Mark, I cant find it in the project section?

pvsmark
17-04-2013, 10:44
Will do Mark thanks. What are the requirements for the cambelt change? i.e. mileage or years old

Here you go mate: http://williamsclio.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?41570-The-Midget

Cambelt wise I just got it done as there was nothing in the history but its normally 5 years after the last change

Chris197F1
17-04-2013, 11:10
Ha ha ive actually already read that project and commented lol. Just read through it again though and its given me some great ideas on what to do with mine. I think the trims came up great that you did with that stuff off ebay. Also the arches look great now they have been treated and protected.