Guaranteed Second Hand Cars Are Best, Unless You Have Lots Of Time

When i was much younger, I clearly remember helping my big brother fix a second hand car that had been given to him, a real rust bucket – trully! It was towed to my parents house with parts of the engine lying in the back and holes everywhere – some big enough for you to fit a tennis ball through!  Not the kind of used car that you would give as a gift, but for a 16 year old the temptation of an iconic dream machine was really too hard to resist. I think he must have had  big dreams of road trips with surfboards on the roof and Bob Marley playing in the background, because I’m not too sure that there are many (if in fact any) teenagers who would gaze upon the rusty van as a favourable gift. Thankfully we weren’t your normal family, and we were blessed to have a father with probably the most organised workshop in the suburb if not within a 100km radius.  We had all the tools; sand blasters, grinders, 3 sorts of milling machines, spray painting guns and all manner of smaller power tools – we were an industrious family!We all helped out, this old second hand car was systematically taken to pieces, “brushed”, polished and put back in place: every single part of it.  It was a giant task, not only the engine rebuild, but the panel work was a giant task as it was crusted with rust that needed to be cut out, sand blasted, body fillered, sanded down, primed and then finally re-sprayed and buffed. It was tiring back breaking work, slowly it took shape (helped by visions of endless waves). It was a great education for all and I helped where ever I could, probably got in the way a few times, but small hands are useful when nuts drop down out of reach!Things were looking good, after what must have been a year of work, the van was taking shape – the motor had been taken out (that's another story), new parts found or old parts overhauled and the interior cleaned and rebuilt and seats replaced.  The back of the van had been re-carpeted complete with a few wet storage compartments, for used wetsuits (or whatever). And then the most awesome thing happened!  The engine was turned over a few times and the old van coughed to life!  Great cheers and hoots in a thick cloud of smoke – my brother had a set of wheels!!  Dream come true…Certainly most ordinary families do not have the time nor the inclination to completely rebuild old, second hand cars. Often guys would tell you that they “know cars”, but cars are just so complicated today, that opening the average cars bonnet is like looking into a computer – its quite frightening!  I don't advise buying a “engine needs some TLC” if you’re on a budget, it's far too expensive and time consuming to try and DIY – unless you are a mechanic of course.  However for most normal families, finding second hand cars for sale are going to come right by visiting their local second hand car dealer.