Ungrateful offspring....
Discussion
So ladies & gents -
Time to quite pleasurably update this thread - car has proven to be a real hit with jnr. He's now actively learning to drive, and detractors aside the banger has proven to be classified as Uber cool with his contemporaries and will be making a trip to Bristol Volksfest in June (where tons of godawful stickers accessories etc will doubtless be scored...
Best part of the experience thus far is recommissioning has been a doddle and jnr has helped throughout and LEARNED a lot after initial protest / reluctance.... (now knows "everything" hmmmm....
Recommissioning has needed (in no particular order) fuel filter x 3 (lots of crap in the tank), oil, HT Leads, plugs, oil & air filters, cambelt, alternator belt, carb flange, disks & pads, MP3 headunit, OE Alloys & new tyres, fuel pump, battery, brake flexi's, carb rebuild kit, servo & master (a la scrapyard) and sundry cleaners..... thank god for GSF weekend offer codes and fleabay (alloys with new tyres £26!!!) and the total cost - including buying the car stands me the grand total of £382.......including MOT fee....
Failed MOT on Friday with low handbrake efficiency.... (cable has no adjustment left ) so another £20 quid to come but should be sorted this week.....
Predictably desire for a little light lowering & roofrack has been voiced & rebuffed for the time being....
Insurance for me £81 a year... and including sir as a learner £403.....
He's busting to slap on the L plates..... currently despoiling my alfa and never to be applied to my mini (and before any comedian points out - yes they would stick to the mini - it's never welded solid steel....)
So with a year's tax, he'll be a mobile, insured, learner in his own car for under a grand - and loves it too .... dad did, I'd conclude... OK ...my nerves already shredded with the learning experience!!!...
Time to quite pleasurably update this thread - car has proven to be a real hit with jnr. He's now actively learning to drive, and detractors aside the banger has proven to be classified as Uber cool with his contemporaries and will be making a trip to Bristol Volksfest in June (where tons of godawful stickers accessories etc will doubtless be scored...
Best part of the experience thus far is recommissioning has been a doddle and jnr has helped throughout and LEARNED a lot after initial protest / reluctance.... (now knows "everything" hmmmm....
Recommissioning has needed (in no particular order) fuel filter x 3 (lots of crap in the tank), oil, HT Leads, plugs, oil & air filters, cambelt, alternator belt, carb flange, disks & pads, MP3 headunit, OE Alloys & new tyres, fuel pump, battery, brake flexi's, carb rebuild kit, servo & master (a la scrapyard) and sundry cleaners..... thank god for GSF weekend offer codes and fleabay (alloys with new tyres £26!!!) and the total cost - including buying the car stands me the grand total of £382.......including MOT fee....
Failed MOT on Friday with low handbrake efficiency.... (cable has no adjustment left ) so another £20 quid to come but should be sorted this week.....
Predictably desire for a little light lowering & roofrack has been voiced & rebuffed for the time being....
Insurance for me £81 a year... and including sir as a learner £403.....
He's busting to slap on the L plates..... currently despoiling my alfa and never to be applied to my mini (and before any comedian points out - yes they would stick to the mini - it's never welded solid steel....)
So with a year's tax, he'll be a mobile, insured, learner in his own car for under a grand - and loves it too .... dad did, I'd conclude... OK ...my nerves already shredded with the learning experience!!!...
Trying not to! as there are unconventional options with this car - such as classic insurance - conventionally (i.e no classic cover and no telematics) it's going to be in todays' quotes a whisker over £1800.... ouch! But uninformed as I am with such things - that's painful - but within reason.....
It's the principal reason lowering isn't occurring just yet!!!
It's the principal reason lowering isn't occurring just yet!!!
Older cars cost a lot more to insure these days. But it's offset by the cheaper purchase of the car.
My Son has just passed his test. £1500 on a 10 month bonus accelerator policy fully comp. It's a 2002 Fiesta Ghia 1.25 Zetec S 5 door that cost £100. He wins the top trump 'what optional extras does your car have' every time though.
My Son has just passed his test. £1500 on a 10 month bonus accelerator policy fully comp. It's a 2002 Fiesta Ghia 1.25 Zetec S 5 door that cost £100. He wins the top trump 'what optional extras does your car have' every time though.
whole thread tl;dr - my opinion of OP is that he is indeed a legend and I wish my family had supported getting me driving at that age in the same way... but that it might not have been the best way to do it, just buying a particular car without at least doing a bit of probing first to see if he would be seen dead in it. It's a bit like in Breaking Bad where Walt's son is made to drive a PT cruiser instead of something more 'manly'.
For my 18th birthday I was given a 15 year old rusted to bits £600 electric blue micra 1.0 with an ex-OAP owner. I must admit I was a bit distraught, I was thrilled at the fact I was getting my first car, however we where literally just on the way to look at another £600 sunshine yellow Fiat Seicento 1.1 "Sporting" which 18 year old me absolutely LOVED. But no my dads friend called him well we where on the way to see the Fiat telling him he had a car in that would be "perfect". My heart still says I wish I had got the Fiat but my now mid 20s head says the year and a half of trouble free motoring I got out of the Micra was a god send.
My first car was an 1987 SJ410 that was an ex-farm beater ... It wasn't particularly cool and being 1998ish and all my friends had new micras and corsas that came with free insurance etc...
However 1yr on mine was immaculate and all my mates' cars were dinged to hell and a couple had been written off ... Eternally grateful to my parents for my first, and neatly bought it back very recently until the seller realised I had too much of a connection and yanked the price up for me ... b
d!
However 1yr on mine was immaculate and all my mates' cars were dinged to hell and a couple had been written off ... Eternally grateful to my parents for my first, and neatly bought it back very recently until the seller realised I had too much of a connection and yanked the price up for me ... b
d!jonah35 said:
wormus said:
Tim-D said:
Just for those that asked - this is the banger in question...... no sprog with thumbs up as he's out and has left me fettling the thing.... he gets to wash & polish tomorrow... :-)
http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/timduncan70/libr...
Fixed that for you...http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/timduncan70/libr...
Looks like a tidy little car, your son should be proud of his Dad!
That is a great first car. Cheap to buy, will be reliable and has decent image when tidied up.
F cking L'Oreal Generation - "we're worth it......"
Cocksocketry of the highest order.
Mr2Mike said:
StottyEvo said:
Do NOT let him put bonnet bra on.
Tell him that I say its super gay.
Quite agree. Car bras are single most tragic bit of car "styling" in existence. It almost makes the rest of the Dub crap seem reasonable. Almost.Tell him that I say its super gay.
Tell him to get a thong to complete the underwear set:
StottyEvo said:
Quite a happy ending
Indeed, amazing what a bit of quiet contemplation will do.VolvoT5 said:
I've never felt it was ungrateful to be honest if you didn't like a personal gift
I suspect that's where you and a lot of other people disagree. It is both rude and ungrateful.Edited by Mr2Mike on Friday 15th January 10:35
Personalising a 'crap' car is dead as far as i can tell, Kids want Ipod generation brands. I had this argument with a friend that insists because his car is brand new it is some how better than anything second hand. Its a hyundai i10 not a bad car but for under £10K you could get something really interesting
Step daughter decided she was going to sell everything she had and go travelling. Her plan was to sell her house (against all our efforts to persuade her otherwise), sell her car and move in with us till she goes in October.
In the interim she decided to go to Australia for a month as well and packed in her job (again against our advice).
Her idea was that when she sold the car she was quite happy to do without and just get us to run her about when she needed it!
Cue one shed Mercedes C Class. W203 2002 C180 with auto wipers/lights and dipping rear view, power fold mirrors, alloys bought for her to use for £250 and a £20 per month contribution to insurance.
She started using it and moaned about how expensive it was on fuel! To be fair its doing mid 20s on average on short hops but its her only cost aside from the £20 per month insurance. And when she got it I'd left half a tank of fuel in it. She left for Aus last Friday and it had 4 miles range showing on the computer, a chip in the screen I asked her to sort out before she went (it happened while she was driving) and hadn't been washed since I did it a month before. The boot is still full of stuff she assured me would be car booted before she left so I'm tempted to just empty it all at the tip....
Would it have been too much to ask of her to have just done the basics or am I being unreasonable?
In the interim she decided to go to Australia for a month as well and packed in her job (again against our advice).
Her idea was that when she sold the car she was quite happy to do without and just get us to run her about when she needed it!
Cue one shed Mercedes C Class. W203 2002 C180 with auto wipers/lights and dipping rear view, power fold mirrors, alloys bought for her to use for £250 and a £20 per month contribution to insurance.
She started using it and moaned about how expensive it was on fuel! To be fair its doing mid 20s on average on short hops but its her only cost aside from the £20 per month insurance. And when she got it I'd left half a tank of fuel in it. She left for Aus last Friday and it had 4 miles range showing on the computer, a chip in the screen I asked her to sort out before she went (it happened while she was driving) and hadn't been washed since I did it a month before. The boot is still full of stuff she assured me would be car booted before she left so I'm tempted to just empty it all at the tip....
Would it have been too much to ask of her to have just done the basics or am I being unreasonable?
My son bought a ratty old Clio (older than him!) for £300 when he was 17.
He wasn't a natural driver and tends to give up on things he doesn't immediately excel at, so having a car that we could tootle around the countryside in getting miles under his wheels was a huge boon for his confidence.
He took 3 goes to pass his test (in the Clio), but is a pretty competent (and really quite experienced) new driver now.
The Clio didn't last long after his test and he has a newer Hyundai Getz (ABS, airbags, CD player) now, but having access to that old Clio was worth every penny of the £300 5 times over!
My daughter wanted a Puma as her first car - Remarkably we found a 1.4 and it was her first car, but it died as a result of her parking it on someone's wall! She then wanted a 1.7 Puma, but as she was off to University I persuaded her to consider (at least) a cheaper to run Ka. When she drove it, she loved it - She could see out of it, it was as much fun to drive as the Puma and cheaper to run. That died of rust, but the Mk2 Clio we replaced it with (by now she had no cash, still studying), whilst a better car in most respects, isn't loved the way the tatty Fords were...
Still Uni finishes in a couple of months, so she can buy herself something nicer with her salary!
M.
He wasn't a natural driver and tends to give up on things he doesn't immediately excel at, so having a car that we could tootle around the countryside in getting miles under his wheels was a huge boon for his confidence.
He took 3 goes to pass his test (in the Clio), but is a pretty competent (and really quite experienced) new driver now.
The Clio didn't last long after his test and he has a newer Hyundai Getz (ABS, airbags, CD player) now, but having access to that old Clio was worth every penny of the £300 5 times over!
My daughter wanted a Puma as her first car - Remarkably we found a 1.4 and it was her first car, but it died as a result of her parking it on someone's wall! She then wanted a 1.7 Puma, but as she was off to University I persuaded her to consider (at least) a cheaper to run Ka. When she drove it, she loved it - She could see out of it, it was as much fun to drive as the Puma and cheaper to run. That died of rust, but the Mk2 Clio we replaced it with (by now she had no cash, still studying), whilst a better car in most respects, isn't loved the way the tatty Fords were...
Still Uni finishes in a couple of months, so she can buy herself something nicer with her salary!
M.
Edited by marcosgt on Tuesday 3rd May 12:10
[quote=marcosgtShe then wanted a 1.7 Puma, but as she was off to University I persuaded her to consider (at least) a cheaper to run Ka. When she drove it, she loved it - She could see out of it, it was as much fun to drive as the Puma and cheaper to run.
[/quote]
Both the Puma and Ka are based on the Mk4 fiesta platform, so i'd imagine they both handle well.
And now i want a dirt cheap little box to play around with, one of those ancient polos looks pretty cool, although i'd prefer the coupe over the "shooting break" :P
[/quote]
Both the Puma and Ka are based on the Mk4 fiesta platform, so i'd imagine they both handle well.
And now i want a dirt cheap little box to play around with, one of those ancient polos looks pretty cool, although i'd prefer the coupe over the "shooting break" :P
I'm going out on a limb here, but I wouldn't want my kid driving round in a C reg VW. Crash protection has moved on so much during the years. Something from the early 2000's will offer significantly better protection and can be picked up for a similar amount, and is probably the sweetspot between protection vs value. I'd be more worried about the damage someone in their newer car could do to my son. At least if he was in a newer car he'd have more of a chance.
Edited by S10GTA on Tuesday 3rd May 15:29
When the currant bun started getting driving lesson I told him I would buy him a run about when he passed his pass plus rather than his test.
Bought him a 1.0l Vw Polo , not negotiable , that or nothing your choice.
Keep it in good condition, cleaned every other week and maintained properly and I promised him I would buy him a decent car for his 21st.
He kept his side of the bargain and so did I .
Bought him a 1.0l Vw Polo , not negotiable , that or nothing your choice.
Keep it in good condition, cleaned every other week and maintained properly and I promised him I would buy him a decent car for his 21st.
He kept his side of the bargain and so did I .
andy_s said:
God one OP, I've a series 2 Landy lined up for my boy - not fast but can fix with hammer....
Check the insurance quotes first. All 4x4's tend to be expensive to insure based on the amount of damage they can potentially do to other cars.Cool choice if its financially do able though!
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