WHEN planning a male-bonding road trip through Europe, most people would pick an open-topped luxury car to cruise through the Riviera – but a pair of neighbours are planning the trip of a lifetime in a clapped-out, mould-ridden banger that cost them £181.54 on eBay.

Kieron Quin and Sean Quigley, both from Banstead, are hoping to cough and splutter their way to Barcelona in a deliberately awful car to raise money for charity.

Kieron, 42, said: "I think it's probably a little bit of a mid-life crisis thing. Well, for me, anyway – I can't speak for Sean. But this is something I never got to do as a kid. Buying a car and fixing it up, mending the engine and all that. It's been brilliant fun."

The pair's mission is to take part in the Urban Allstar Rally, in which contestants have to drive a car they bought for less than £200.01 to Barcelona and back.

Sean, 40, said: "It all started on New Year's Eve. Kieron knew someone who had done something similar and he came over and slurred something like, 'I have got a really good idea.' He told me about the rally and I thought, 'Why not?' I don't think he expected me to say yes."

The neighbours started bidding for old cars on eBay – and eventually bought their Mazda MX-6 for £181.54.

Kieron, a project manager, said: "On the advertisement online it said 'the head gasket has gone, it needs a new radiator, and it's covered in oil' – and we were like, 'perfect'."

After picking up the car earlier this year, they've spent one night a week replacing the radiator, head gasket and rocker gaskets, replacing some of the exhaust system, fixing the sun roof, adding a new sound system and "demoulding" the interior.

Sean, who owns his own construction company, said: "We still need to pull out the engine and clean it. Whenever we find something wrong with the engine, we pull it out, mend it, put it back in – and then find something else has broken.

"My biggest fear is that we'll break down and not make it to Barcelona. That would be such a shame as we've put so much into making this car work."

The pair plan to decorate the car to look like Lightning McQueen from the film Cars.

They're hoping their snazzy design and motoring skills will help them secure lots of sponsorship for their chosen charities, Surrey SCAMPPS and the Alzheimer's Research Trust.

Kieron said: "We want to raise awareness of the charities and get as much money as possible. Then, even if we break down horribly, it will all be worthwhile."

You can follow their progress at www.teamlightningmcq. org.uk