Shedlife! Here we go!
Discussion
My daily commute involves a long stretch of the hideous M62 motorway, which is currently clogged up with 20 miles of contraflow, resulting in continual traffic jams and increasing my commute to around an hour and twenty minutes each way.
This is depressing. It is even more depressing being sat in that in my other car (the Porsche 911, read about it here) which should really be associated with fun and enjoyment, not frustration and misery. Something had to be done, so I decided that it was time to take up the bangernomics ethos and enter the world of ‘shedding’.
Sheding, as I understand it, means buying a very cheap car to do the daily trudge, whose sole objective is to get you through the soleless miles which you really don’t want to be doing.
My budget was £800 but I didn’t really want to spend that much if I could help it. As cheap as possible was the aim. I was looking at Mondeo’s as I quite like newer shape but it was only a half-hearted search as I’ve too much going on at the moment and time is very limited. Handily though, my brother-in-law had just bought a new Audi A4 and was about to put his old one up for sale. A 1997 1.8 Petrol in burnt Orange. “You can have it for £300 if you want it”, he suggested. This was met with approval from my good lady and the deal was done. The car needed a few bits sorting out, which I said I’d pay for if he could fit them (he is a mechanic). So the car had new spark plugs, new rear disks and pads and a few other things that I’ve forgotten.
In terms of provenance,it has 156,000 miles since its origin, but comes with electric everything, climate control with cold air conditioning, remote central locking and a CD player. It has a few months tax and 12 months test, recent new tyres and service and a stainless steel exhaust. And it feels like a 90’s car; the seats are small and the headrests only serve to prevent whiplash in your upper back – and it has that old-car smell. But it all adds to the character. It still looks good and has a private number plate which disguises its age. It also drives well, but there is a small coolant leak and the engine doesn’t like to be rushed; there is a notable dip in acceleration up to two thousand revs and you cannot get it to move until after that rev range. I knew this when I bought it though, so no big deal. Once it is up to temperature everything behaves itself. Great news.
Shedding also has many unforeseen plus sides. The first being that you feel so much happier spending just a fraction of the cost of a new car. Buying a car that you don’t really care about brings with it a huge amount of unexpected pleasure. For example the first day I bought the car, I had to call at the supermarket on the way home, and there was a space available right at the front of the car park. Never has one been so excited at the prospect of being able to park somewhere so close to my destination and be completely at ease with the world of selfishness that surrounds us these days. Chancing a car park ding on my motor is fine-and-dandy in the Shed. It already has several war wounds over the years from light scratches to a small dent in the front wing, a couple of door-dings will be barely noticeable.
Then there is the key turning gamble. Will it start or won’t it? Will the engine just refuse to work part way through a journey? Who knows. This is the fun of shedding, because with such a low price tag after a few months of ownership the car would become almost disposable.
Having said that, I don’t want to jinx it as I’m already becoming quite attached to my Orange Audi and so it was treated to a good clean at the weekend. Six minutes flat of glorious wash and wipe, a record for car cleaning here. The windows needed a good sorting though as they were filthy, so I spent 20 minutes getting these spick-and-span. Worthwhile as the car will be used primarily for motorways and I need to be able to see.
So, that’s the lengthy introduction to my initiation with Shedlife and still hard to believe that I bought an entire car for less than the price of one tyre for the Porsche. Total cost so far £400 plus £87 for 3 months insurance and as this is our third car, I guess that means I’ve formed the start of a ‘collection’ too. Happy days indeed.
Day Two. Fail.
I set off on the first work-journey using the Audi shed and regrettably it failed me. The indicators wouldn’t work and neither would the wipers, the latter being an essential requirement in 2012’s British summer. I did a u-turn back home and parked the car up. Except that I couldn’t get the key out of the ruddy lock. It was stuck fast in the ignition and wouldn’t budge. I tried to restart the car and the ignition turned and fired the engine, but wouldn’t ‘catch’ meaning the key went straight back down to the off position.
Not a great start. A call was put into my bro-in-law who promptly disassembled the steering column that evening and found the issue with the ignition switch. New one ordered, the car was back on the road again a couple of days later.
No problems since and I’ve used it a couple of times. I like my shed. The big test will be next week when it commences commuter duties. Fingers crossed everyone.
This is depressing. It is even more depressing being sat in that in my other car (the Porsche 911, read about it here) which should really be associated with fun and enjoyment, not frustration and misery. Something had to be done, so I decided that it was time to take up the bangernomics ethos and enter the world of ‘shedding’.
Sheding, as I understand it, means buying a very cheap car to do the daily trudge, whose sole objective is to get you through the soleless miles which you really don’t want to be doing.
My budget was £800 but I didn’t really want to spend that much if I could help it. As cheap as possible was the aim. I was looking at Mondeo’s as I quite like newer shape but it was only a half-hearted search as I’ve too much going on at the moment and time is very limited. Handily though, my brother-in-law had just bought a new Audi A4 and was about to put his old one up for sale. A 1997 1.8 Petrol in burnt Orange. “You can have it for £300 if you want it”, he suggested. This was met with approval from my good lady and the deal was done. The car needed a few bits sorting out, which I said I’d pay for if he could fit them (he is a mechanic). So the car had new spark plugs, new rear disks and pads and a few other things that I’ve forgotten.
In terms of provenance,it has 156,000 miles since its origin, but comes with electric everything, climate control with cold air conditioning, remote central locking and a CD player. It has a few months tax and 12 months test, recent new tyres and service and a stainless steel exhaust. And it feels like a 90’s car; the seats are small and the headrests only serve to prevent whiplash in your upper back – and it has that old-car smell. But it all adds to the character. It still looks good and has a private number plate which disguises its age. It also drives well, but there is a small coolant leak and the engine doesn’t like to be rushed; there is a notable dip in acceleration up to two thousand revs and you cannot get it to move until after that rev range. I knew this when I bought it though, so no big deal. Once it is up to temperature everything behaves itself. Great news.
Shedding also has many unforeseen plus sides. The first being that you feel so much happier spending just a fraction of the cost of a new car. Buying a car that you don’t really care about brings with it a huge amount of unexpected pleasure. For example the first day I bought the car, I had to call at the supermarket on the way home, and there was a space available right at the front of the car park. Never has one been so excited at the prospect of being able to park somewhere so close to my destination and be completely at ease with the world of selfishness that surrounds us these days. Chancing a car park ding on my motor is fine-and-dandy in the Shed. It already has several war wounds over the years from light scratches to a small dent in the front wing, a couple of door-dings will be barely noticeable.
Then there is the key turning gamble. Will it start or won’t it? Will the engine just refuse to work part way through a journey? Who knows. This is the fun of shedding, because with such a low price tag after a few months of ownership the car would become almost disposable.
Having said that, I don’t want to jinx it as I’m already becoming quite attached to my Orange Audi and so it was treated to a good clean at the weekend. Six minutes flat of glorious wash and wipe, a record for car cleaning here. The windows needed a good sorting though as they were filthy, so I spent 20 minutes getting these spick-and-span. Worthwhile as the car will be used primarily for motorways and I need to be able to see.
So, that’s the lengthy introduction to my initiation with Shedlife and still hard to believe that I bought an entire car for less than the price of one tyre for the Porsche. Total cost so far £400 plus £87 for 3 months insurance and as this is our third car, I guess that means I’ve formed the start of a ‘collection’ too. Happy days indeed.
Day Two. Fail.
I set off on the first work-journey using the Audi shed and regrettably it failed me. The indicators wouldn’t work and neither would the wipers, the latter being an essential requirement in 2012’s British summer. I did a u-turn back home and parked the car up. Except that I couldn’t get the key out of the ruddy lock. It was stuck fast in the ignition and wouldn’t budge. I tried to restart the car and the ignition turned and fired the engine, but wouldn’t ‘catch’ meaning the key went straight back down to the off position.
Not a great start. A call was put into my bro-in-law who promptly disassembled the steering column that evening and found the issue with the ignition switch. New one ordered, the car was back on the road again a couple of days later.
No problems since and I’ve used it a couple of times. I like my shed. The big test will be next week when it commences commuter duties. Fingers crossed everyone.
Edited by Paul O on Tuesday 30th October 12:07
Next update (I wrote the first one above a couple of weeks ago)...
July 2012: Week One! Success!
Now finally on the road after the debacle with the ignition switch and the Audi is behaving with impeccable manners.
When running from cold, keeping the acceleration above 2,000 revs all is well. A few miles into the motorway drive, the car got up to temperature. The engine note changed to more of a calm, confident rumble that you'd associate with any modern motorway mile-muncher.
The gear changes were smooth and it was, well, very nice to drive. It inspired confidence to the point that I actually relaxed into the drive and started to enjoy it.
After the recent ignition disaster though, the battery had been removed so the radio needed a code. Happily, I have the code. Regrettably, I didn't have the instruction on how to enter the code.
My bro-in-law did tell me what to do, but I'd forgotten and he was now on holiday. A call to the internet was required, which provided me with lots of false and inaccurate information.
Eventually, through pressing lots of random buttons I found the combo that allows code entry. For reference, with "Safe" lit up on the display, you press and hold "TP" and (the button below TP).
Code entered, the radio sprung back to life and I now had musical choonage for the journey home.
The Shed has now been my faithful daily companion for a couple of weeks. The motorway journeys have provided ample charge into the battery and it starts with confidence and once to temperature, the acceleration problems disappear.
I still haven't got complete trust to fill the car with a full tank of fuel, but I was confident enough to commit £40 of unleaded at the petrol station last week. It's record so far is starting to give me the increasing assurance that I need to ultimately come to rely on it without trepidation that inevitably still creeps into the thought process in the morning.
Long may it continue!
July 2012: Week One! Success!
Now finally on the road after the debacle with the ignition switch and the Audi is behaving with impeccable manners.
When running from cold, keeping the acceleration above 2,000 revs all is well. A few miles into the motorway drive, the car got up to temperature. The engine note changed to more of a calm, confident rumble that you'd associate with any modern motorway mile-muncher.
The gear changes were smooth and it was, well, very nice to drive. It inspired confidence to the point that I actually relaxed into the drive and started to enjoy it.
After the recent ignition disaster though, the battery had been removed so the radio needed a code. Happily, I have the code. Regrettably, I didn't have the instruction on how to enter the code.
My bro-in-law did tell me what to do, but I'd forgotten and he was now on holiday. A call to the internet was required, which provided me with lots of false and inaccurate information.
Eventually, through pressing lots of random buttons I found the combo that allows code entry. For reference, with "Safe" lit up on the display, you press and hold "TP" and (the button below TP).
Code entered, the radio sprung back to life and I now had musical choonage for the journey home.
The Shed has now been my faithful daily companion for a couple of weeks. The motorway journeys have provided ample charge into the battery and it starts with confidence and once to temperature, the acceleration problems disappear.
I still haven't got complete trust to fill the car with a full tank of fuel, but I was confident enough to commit £40 of unleaded at the petrol station last week. It's record so far is starting to give me the increasing assurance that I need to ultimately come to rely on it without trepidation that inevitably still creeps into the thought process in the morning.
Long may it continue!
Month 1 - Steady away.
I am now one month into shedding and things have gone pretty well so far. The car is used for daily work-duties, with a 60 mile round trip on the days when I need to be present in the office.
I have been regularly checking the status of the Audi's coolant leak and it duly required a top up a couple of weeks ago. Having done this now a couple of times - and thereby improving my mechanic-like ability ten-fold, (removing coolant lid, filling up bottle, replacing said lid and securing tightly) I'm feeling more confident with the car. So confident, that it had an extra £40 of fuel put in, taking it to three-quarters of a tank full. Now that's commitment.
For extra coolant top-ups, I have a 2-litre lemonade bottle. The contents have been replaced with the finest of tap water for the summer months. This bottle lives in the car and is ready and waiting to top up on demand.
There is also a slow puncture on one of the tyres, so a call to the petrol station to fill that up was required.
Costs to date: 1 litre of council pop and fifty pence-worth of air.
I am now one month into shedding and things have gone pretty well so far. The car is used for daily work-duties, with a 60 mile round trip on the days when I need to be present in the office.
I have been regularly checking the status of the Audi's coolant leak and it duly required a top up a couple of weeks ago. Having done this now a couple of times - and thereby improving my mechanic-like ability ten-fold, (removing coolant lid, filling up bottle, replacing said lid and securing tightly) I'm feeling more confident with the car. So confident, that it had an extra £40 of fuel put in, taking it to three-quarters of a tank full. Now that's commitment.
For extra coolant top-ups, I have a 2-litre lemonade bottle. The contents have been replaced with the finest of tap water for the summer months. This bottle lives in the car and is ready and waiting to top up on demand.
There is also a slow puncture on one of the tyres, so a call to the petrol station to fill that up was required.
Costs to date: 1 litre of council pop and fifty pence-worth of air.
Edited by Paul O on Tuesday 14th August 13:56
Update
It's been a few months since my last post and I've hit 159,000 miles of M62 to-and-fro with lots of M62 stoppage and startage during every outing. My journey is consumed by the enforced 50mph speed limit currently and almost every day the motorway a god awful nightmare. This made me wonder what the point of Active Traffic Management is. The idea of ATM is that traffic speeds are reduced at busy times, thereby keeping a constant, steady flow of traffic. Anyone who uses the M62 will know that the current enforced 50mph is anything but constant and most of the time those 50mph signs are just a pipedream target that you can only wish to come close to. Waste of money then? We'll see.
Back to the Audi, I took Wormburners advice and, with a planned work trip further afield to Cheshire I had a little chat with my Shed. I promised Audi a full tank of fuel if it delivered me there and back safe and sound without problem. It indeed did this – despite an extra dose of traffic hell from all the gods of rush hour, coupled with a sprinkling of lane closures and dash of bad weather. Not a hitch of a problem from happy Shed though!
Audi received a full tank of fuel and a lot of confidence from me.
It has also had its second bath – and I'll provide it with a third in a few weeks time.
Emeye had a good point with the Anti Freeze. I took a trip to Asda and a £5 bottle now travels on the back seat with my water bottle, being used intermittently to stop the rads freezing.
Tax was due last month too - I took 6 months out (£110, I think). I know half-year purchases are a false economy, but it 'felt' cheaper than 12 months.
Insurance was due this month -£350 thereabouts. A fair bit of spending recently then, but the bulk has been on admin and tax.
On a separate note, this car is covering only the miles to and from the office. It does little else. I am able to do flexible working and do work from other offices (including home) but am still obliged to turn up at my main office a few days a week. It is these trips that I use the Audi. So, in that respect, the Audi is documenting the amount of miles that aren't really necessary and are more management 'asks' than business 'needs'. With that in mind, I wonder just how many people on the roads every day really don't need to be there to do their job. For me so far, it's around 3,000 miles of time, financial and environmental waste and counting.
But the Audi is taking it all in its stride. Let's see how it fares through winter....
Total so far
£110 tax
£350 insurance + £87 original insurance
£5 anti freeze
£1 (2x tyre air)
=
£553
It's been a few months since my last post and I've hit 159,000 miles of M62 to-and-fro with lots of M62 stoppage and startage during every outing. My journey is consumed by the enforced 50mph speed limit currently and almost every day the motorway a god awful nightmare. This made me wonder what the point of Active Traffic Management is. The idea of ATM is that traffic speeds are reduced at busy times, thereby keeping a constant, steady flow of traffic. Anyone who uses the M62 will know that the current enforced 50mph is anything but constant and most of the time those 50mph signs are just a pipedream target that you can only wish to come close to. Waste of money then? We'll see.
Back to the Audi, I took Wormburners advice and, with a planned work trip further afield to Cheshire I had a little chat with my Shed. I promised Audi a full tank of fuel if it delivered me there and back safe and sound without problem. It indeed did this – despite an extra dose of traffic hell from all the gods of rush hour, coupled with a sprinkling of lane closures and dash of bad weather. Not a hitch of a problem from happy Shed though!
Audi received a full tank of fuel and a lot of confidence from me.
It has also had its second bath – and I'll provide it with a third in a few weeks time.
Emeye had a good point with the Anti Freeze. I took a trip to Asda and a £5 bottle now travels on the back seat with my water bottle, being used intermittently to stop the rads freezing.
Tax was due last month too - I took 6 months out (£110, I think). I know half-year purchases are a false economy, but it 'felt' cheaper than 12 months.
Insurance was due this month -£350 thereabouts. A fair bit of spending recently then, but the bulk has been on admin and tax.
On a separate note, this car is covering only the miles to and from the office. It does little else. I am able to do flexible working and do work from other offices (including home) but am still obliged to turn up at my main office a few days a week. It is these trips that I use the Audi. So, in that respect, the Audi is documenting the amount of miles that aren't really necessary and are more management 'asks' than business 'needs'. With that in mind, I wonder just how many people on the roads every day really don't need to be there to do their job. For me so far, it's around 3,000 miles of time, financial and environmental waste and counting.
But the Audi is taking it all in its stride. Let's see how it fares through winter....
Total so far
£110 tax
£350 insurance + £87 original insurance
£5 anti freeze
£1 (2x tyre air)
=
£553
Edited by Paul O on Tuesday 30th October 12:17
Edited by Paul O on Tuesday 30th October 12:18
Well after a long period of minimal costs, the Audi has required a few essentials. The always required insurance and tax have been paid in the past month or two (£350 insurance once again, £260 road tax) and this month the exhaust has sprung a leak in the form of a gaping hole in the flexi joint at the front. It has been fixed before but bodged by welding the new flexi to the middle section Catalytic converter.
I'm not a DIY'er so had to buy a new one as the garage wouldn't do a welding job, citing it needed both new front and cat parts to seal the deal. This was £280.
I pondered over the cost for a few weeks, using my other car whilst I decided what to do and in that time one of the front tyres went flat! My other car then hit a problem on the way to work with a "Check Engine, visit workshop" light instilling immediate panic of expensive bills too. The joys of motoring indeed.
So, after abandoning the Porsche at Revolution in Brighouse, a long train journey home it was time to get the Audi fixed pronto. I bought a foot pump and pumped up the tyre then, after a few calls around for quotes I booked it in with the original garage for the exhaust and tyre repair.
The repair was £15 plus £20 for tracking, totalling £320.
This got me thinking about whether it is worthwhile, so I've calculated the total cost of ownership in 16 months and 12,000 miles. It goes like this;
16 months, 12k miles
Year 1
£230 tax
£350 insurance
£87 insurance
£5 anti freeze
£10 air (to check/fill the tyres at 50p a go)
40 MOT
Year 2
280 exhaust
25 tyre fix and balance
260 tax
350 insurance
That works out at about £1637 - or £102.31 per month. In addition, travelling 12,000 miles at approximately 30mpg works out at about 1800 litres of fuel at, say £1.30 per litre. That equates to £2340 fuel. Add the lot together and we've down for 33p per mile. Oh, there was also £30 of oil too, which I'd forgotten about.
A quick look online at new cars for comparison and nothing comes close, so shedding still remains good value it would seem, even though it still makes me wince having to fork out for a car that I don't want to spend anything on.
Now for the overtime, to pay for the inevitable financial doom that the Porsche bill will bring....
I'm not a DIY'er so had to buy a new one as the garage wouldn't do a welding job, citing it needed both new front and cat parts to seal the deal. This was £280.
I pondered over the cost for a few weeks, using my other car whilst I decided what to do and in that time one of the front tyres went flat! My other car then hit a problem on the way to work with a "Check Engine, visit workshop" light instilling immediate panic of expensive bills too. The joys of motoring indeed.
So, after abandoning the Porsche at Revolution in Brighouse, a long train journey home it was time to get the Audi fixed pronto. I bought a foot pump and pumped up the tyre then, after a few calls around for quotes I booked it in with the original garage for the exhaust and tyre repair.
The repair was £15 plus £20 for tracking, totalling £320.
This got me thinking about whether it is worthwhile, so I've calculated the total cost of ownership in 16 months and 12,000 miles. It goes like this;
16 months, 12k miles
Year 1
£230 tax
£350 insurance
£87 insurance
£5 anti freeze
£10 air (to check/fill the tyres at 50p a go)
40 MOT
Year 2
280 exhaust
25 tyre fix and balance
260 tax
350 insurance
That works out at about £1637 - or £102.31 per month. In addition, travelling 12,000 miles at approximately 30mpg works out at about 1800 litres of fuel at, say £1.30 per litre. That equates to £2340 fuel. Add the lot together and we've down for 33p per mile. Oh, there was also £30 of oil too, which I'd forgotten about.
A quick look online at new cars for comparison and nothing comes close, so shedding still remains good value it would seem, even though it still makes me wince having to fork out for a car that I don't want to spend anything on.
Now for the overtime, to pay for the inevitable financial doom that the Porsche bill will bring....
Sir Fergie said:
Just wondering - what do you guys think of the ride quality of the Mk 1 Audi A4.
I'd say it depends on what you are coming from as to whether its a good ride or not.It is 'ok' in my opinion. If you are tall, the seats aren't terribly comfy as the design is of its time - nowadays seats seem to better cater for tallies. But it isn't bad.
It cruises along the motorway nicely, if a little noisy, but I'd imagine compared to a car of similar age it's probably quite good. Compared to newer cars, it is probably significantly behind the competition (progress for you).
Mercedes/Volvo will undoubtably be a better ride, but I find mine perfectly acceptable if nothing special. But for 300 notes, I can't complain really.
Vince70 said:
I don't know about yourself but I couldn't part with my A4 shed now as I've never known a car so reliable mine is now semi retired and only used from sept through till march.
I hope your old girl carries on giving you faithful service, I think you were on a winner getting a £300 A4 and I love the colour much more than my typical Audi green mines in.
Good luck with the old girl.
Thanks Vince, yeah have to agree at £300 it did seem good value. I've not used it for about 3 weeks now. I've not used the Porsche either. The Porker was stored in the garage, nice and toasty warm - and the battery was flat. Put it back on life support to keep it happy.I hope your old girl carries on giving you faithful service, I think you were on a winner getting a £300 A4 and I love the colour much more than my typical Audi green mines in.
Good luck with the old girl.
Edited by Vince70 on Thursday 31st October 21:45
Came to do the same with the Audi today, having been stood for so long out in the cold - silly me, no need. Fired up first time without hesitation. It does seem to be built very well, although I'm expecting a lot of age related stuff to come up for repair soon, ball joints etc probably.
I shall report back the progress
Just before Christmas, one of our bins (the cardboard recycling one) was damaged as it went into the bin lorry. I called the council who advised a two month turnaround for a new bin. 2 months! Blimey. This meant recycling was on hold as I didn’t fancy cardboard flying everywhere over the next few months as the biggest waste during Christmas is good ol’ boxes of packaging.
So instead, we loaded sacks and dumped them in the Audi for safe keeping. A trip to the tip was in order after Christmas and, following a clearout in the loft since the Christmas decorations were down, we ended up with a fair amount of rubbish – confirmed by the assistant at the Recycling Centre who looked in amazement as I kept returning to the car time after time to empty the load and advised “I thought my car was bad”!
.
Also headed for the electronics landfill in the sky is a now-dead microwave, which melted inside after my two-year old daughter decided to "cook an egg" (it was actually a sock).
That journey aside, the Audi has been parked for about a month but today was an extended 120 mile trip and the odometer is nudging at 170,000 miles. A quick once over with a top up of the oil, water, petrol and tyre air and we were ready to go.
The exhaust makes an annoying rattle when cold and idle, but fine when on the move. That has developed since I had the new one put on, but they did mention one of the brackets is a bit loose so I put it down to that. Job added to the to-do list.
It’s not terribly comfy on these long journeys and I do get backache after more than an hours drive but apart from the seating position the whole interior is really nice. True, it is well aged, but the plastics are nice and the beige interior lifts the mood beyond a standard black affair.
Shed Audi doing good. The council weren't bad either - exceeding their quote time immensely and delivering a new bin last week.
So instead, we loaded sacks and dumped them in the Audi for safe keeping. A trip to the tip was in order after Christmas and, following a clearout in the loft since the Christmas decorations were down, we ended up with a fair amount of rubbish – confirmed by the assistant at the Recycling Centre who looked in amazement as I kept returning to the car time after time to empty the load and advised “I thought my car was bad”!
.Also headed for the electronics landfill in the sky is a now-dead microwave, which melted inside after my two-year old daughter decided to "cook an egg" (it was actually a sock).
That journey aside, the Audi has been parked for about a month but today was an extended 120 mile trip and the odometer is nudging at 170,000 miles. A quick once over with a top up of the oil, water, petrol and tyre air and we were ready to go.
The exhaust makes an annoying rattle when cold and idle, but fine when on the move. That has developed since I had the new one put on, but they did mention one of the brackets is a bit loose so I put it down to that. Job added to the to-do list.
It’s not terribly comfy on these long journeys and I do get backache after more than an hours drive but apart from the seating position the whole interior is really nice. True, it is well aged, but the plastics are nice and the beige interior lifts the mood beyond a standard black affair.
Shed Audi doing good. The council weren't bad either - exceeding their quote time immensely and delivering a new bin last week.
Edited by Paul O on Tuesday 7th January 20:20
Audi Clean!
Well, after a period of prolonged illness which is now subsiding slowly but surely it's got me thinking about germs. Furthermore, perhaps that as the Audi hasn't had a clean inside or outside for about nine months, that maybe I should address that and get rid of anything that might be causing an irritation to the ol' lungs.
As my innards are not fully fixed as yet, I decided to take the car to our local hand car wash. Now, our local guys are particularly brilliant and they are real hard workers. For five Great British Pounds the exterior of the car is worked on thoroughly. Starting with a degrease spray, the car is then jet-washed with a spray that could be used to overturn tanks should it ever be necessary. Once completed, the car is then shampooed top to bottom - including wheels - before being fully rinsed.
Next comes the wheel treatment whilst another guy hand dries the car. Guy number three appears momentarily armed with a window spray gun and all the exterior glass is polished. Once the wheels are done, it’s time to tackle the door shuts, and these are all wiped down whilst back-to-black is simultaneously pasted around the tyre walls. Oh, and you get a free air freshener and once you have collected five of these, you get a free wash too. All for five quid, amazing
Being my Shed, the Audi has never had such glorious treatment. In fact, I time myself when washing the trusty A4 and try to beat the previous effort; we are comfortably into single digits on the minute hand.
But today, its having a pamper session so I handed the guys an extra fiver and they get to work on the interior too. A complete vacuum (including boot) ensues, along with cleaning of all dash plastics and polishing the inside of all the glass.
The Audi did need a good clean to be honest and the difference is remarkable. Although I normally pride myself on having a fully-fledged shed, whose job it is to only be a shed, the exterior orange paintwork hides all manner of road dirt very well ordinarily, but now clean it positively shines. The interior has come up lovely, as best a 171,000 mile workhorse can do at least. The plastics are shiny black once again and there isn't a speck of dust anywhere. It smells lovely too.
Coincidentally I've also found a more comfortable driving position after accidentally adjusting the height mechanism on the seats. We'll see how that fares on the next long distance commute, scheduled for a few weeks’ time.
That aside, nothing major to report. It has hardly been used for about a month now due to this disease that just won’t let go but trusty Audi still starts first time. A small top-up of oil was required and the standard bi-weekly top up of water before taking it out and we are good to go once again.
MOT time soon though (I don’t know when, I must check this!) and I'm expecting a few things might crop up on there. I'll keep you posted.
Well, after a period of prolonged illness which is now subsiding slowly but surely it's got me thinking about germs. Furthermore, perhaps that as the Audi hasn't had a clean inside or outside for about nine months, that maybe I should address that and get rid of anything that might be causing an irritation to the ol' lungs.
As my innards are not fully fixed as yet, I decided to take the car to our local hand car wash. Now, our local guys are particularly brilliant and they are real hard workers. For five Great British Pounds the exterior of the car is worked on thoroughly. Starting with a degrease spray, the car is then jet-washed with a spray that could be used to overturn tanks should it ever be necessary. Once completed, the car is then shampooed top to bottom - including wheels - before being fully rinsed.
Next comes the wheel treatment whilst another guy hand dries the car. Guy number three appears momentarily armed with a window spray gun and all the exterior glass is polished. Once the wheels are done, it’s time to tackle the door shuts, and these are all wiped down whilst back-to-black is simultaneously pasted around the tyre walls. Oh, and you get a free air freshener and once you have collected five of these, you get a free wash too. All for five quid, amazing
Being my Shed, the Audi has never had such glorious treatment. In fact, I time myself when washing the trusty A4 and try to beat the previous effort; we are comfortably into single digits on the minute hand.
But today, its having a pamper session so I handed the guys an extra fiver and they get to work on the interior too. A complete vacuum (including boot) ensues, along with cleaning of all dash plastics and polishing the inside of all the glass.
The Audi did need a good clean to be honest and the difference is remarkable. Although I normally pride myself on having a fully-fledged shed, whose job it is to only be a shed, the exterior orange paintwork hides all manner of road dirt very well ordinarily, but now clean it positively shines. The interior has come up lovely, as best a 171,000 mile workhorse can do at least. The plastics are shiny black once again and there isn't a speck of dust anywhere. It smells lovely too.
Coincidentally I've also found a more comfortable driving position after accidentally adjusting the height mechanism on the seats. We'll see how that fares on the next long distance commute, scheduled for a few weeks’ time.
That aside, nothing major to report. It has hardly been used for about a month now due to this disease that just won’t let go but trusty Audi still starts first time. A small top-up of oil was required and the standard bi-weekly top up of water before taking it out and we are good to go once again.
MOT time soon though (I don’t know when, I must check this!) and I'm expecting a few things might crop up on there. I'll keep you posted.
Edited by Paul O on Monday 7th April 20:36
Unfortunately, this month there are a few problems to report. The first being that I discovered a puncture over the course of the weekend on the front tyre. I pumped this up but then wanted to take it to the garage for the electronic pressure gauge to get it to accurate pressure levels.
I turned the key but the car wouldn't start!
Instead I was greeted with a whirring sound and nothing else. A quick call to my brother in law and he said it would likely be the battery or the starter motor. It turned out not to be the former so he came over and performed a type of bump-start which fix the problem. He said that the motor had probably ceased and the bump start forces the problematic component loose.
Great stuff! So Audi now starting happily again and still looking good from its clean a few weeks ago. But the tyre is flat again.
The next day I decided to head out to the local ATS for a puncture repair but the Audi won't start again! This time it is the battery – perhaps caused in (large) part due to letting my two year old daughter 'play' inside the car whilst I was pumping the tyre up that morning (lights on everywhere, wipers, radio etc). I also discovered that night that the interior lights were permanently on, so that wouldn't have helped matters either.
Battery conditioner plugged in a few hours later all is well again. Except that with one last check on the tyres I noticed they are getting pretty close to legal limit. And THAT then reminded me - finally – that I must check the MOT. The MOT sheet told me that I was well overdue - it ran out a month ago. Doh!!
So my Shedlife A4 will be booked in for its MOT tomorrow (and won't be used until then), whilst I also check for some tyres. I've been told of a part-worn shop that offers tyres at half the price of brand new ones. So the question now is, part-worn’s for £25 each, or brand new cheapo's for £51 each.
The 911 will be pulled from its slumber to take up daily duties whilst I get it all sorted over the next few weeks.
I'll let you know what happens next...!
I turned the key but the car wouldn't start!
Instead I was greeted with a whirring sound and nothing else. A quick call to my brother in law and he said it would likely be the battery or the starter motor. It turned out not to be the former so he came over and performed a type of bump-start which fix the problem. He said that the motor had probably ceased and the bump start forces the problematic component loose.Great stuff! So Audi now starting happily again and still looking good from its clean a few weeks ago. But the tyre is flat again.
The next day I decided to head out to the local ATS for a puncture repair but the Audi won't start again! This time it is the battery – perhaps caused in (large) part due to letting my two year old daughter 'play' inside the car whilst I was pumping the tyre up that morning (lights on everywhere, wipers, radio etc). I also discovered that night that the interior lights were permanently on, so that wouldn't have helped matters either.
Battery conditioner plugged in a few hours later all is well again. Except that with one last check on the tyres I noticed they are getting pretty close to legal limit. And THAT then reminded me - finally – that I must check the MOT. The MOT sheet told me that I was well overdue - it ran out a month ago. Doh!!
So my Shedlife A4 will be booked in for its MOT tomorrow (and won't be used until then), whilst I also check for some tyres. I've been told of a part-worn shop that offers tyres at half the price of brand new ones. So the question now is, part-worn’s for £25 each, or brand new cheapo's for £51 each.
The 911 will be pulled from its slumber to take up daily duties whilst I get it all sorted over the next few weeks.
I'll let you know what happens next...!
Edited by Paul O on Monday 21st April 20:02
Edited by Paul O on Thursday 24th April 16:19
A step closer to roadworthiness.
The MOT was duly booked in, with it's appointment scheduled for Monday 28th April and it's decision time on the tyres. I opted for news tyres rather than part-worns as I could get these quickly, guaranteed, and wouldn’t have to travel very far. Without an MOT and with a puncture I wanted it as local as possible.
Looking online for prices and Black Circles could supply and fit the tyres for £55 per corner. Kwik Fit could also do something similar but these had to be ordered. The only ones they had in stock at the local shop were Michelin’s – too posh for the Audi Shed and wouldn’t have been far off the price of the car by the time we’d done.
A final call, before hitting the button on Black Circles, was to my local MotoSave – handily just down the road from me. To my surprise they were actually cheaper than anyone else at £50.01 per tyre – and they had them in stock!
I checked the rear tyres and they were looking pretty close to wear too and the shop confirmed they were at 3mm. So whilst a bit of life left in them, I thought it was worth my time to just get them all done now and not have to worry.
Tyre pumped up again, only to find the battery was once again flat (playing in the cars again. Doh!) I put the thing on charge for a few hours then drove it down to Motosave.
I’ve now got a set of 4 budget tyres complete with oodles of tread from those rubber specialists Lanvigator!
Cost: £200.02.
MOT Monday, lets hope this doesn’t become a spiralling account of pounds, shilling and pence.
The MOT was duly booked in, with it's appointment scheduled for Monday 28th April and it's decision time on the tyres. I opted for news tyres rather than part-worns as I could get these quickly, guaranteed, and wouldn’t have to travel very far. Without an MOT and with a puncture I wanted it as local as possible.
Looking online for prices and Black Circles could supply and fit the tyres for £55 per corner. Kwik Fit could also do something similar but these had to be ordered. The only ones they had in stock at the local shop were Michelin’s – too posh for the Audi Shed and wouldn’t have been far off the price of the car by the time we’d done.
A final call, before hitting the button on Black Circles, was to my local MotoSave – handily just down the road from me. To my surprise they were actually cheaper than anyone else at £50.01 per tyre – and they had them in stock!
I checked the rear tyres and they were looking pretty close to wear too and the shop confirmed they were at 3mm. So whilst a bit of life left in them, I thought it was worth my time to just get them all done now and not have to worry.
Tyre pumped up again, only to find the battery was once again flat (playing in the cars again. Doh!) I put the thing on charge for a few hours then drove it down to Motosave.
I’ve now got a set of 4 budget tyres complete with oodles of tread from those rubber specialists Lanvigator!
Cost: £200.02.
MOT Monday, lets hope this doesn’t become a spiralling account of pounds, shilling and pence.
Edited by Paul O on Thursday 24th April 16:20
Edited by Paul O on Thursday 24th April 16:24
Problems!
The starter motor had been playing up on the Audi, and after the second time of failure, my brother in law (a mechanic by trade) collected the car to fix the starter motor with my father in law.
My Father in law asked for the MOT test sheet as well and whilst he had the car, he went through everything on there and fixed for me. Most kind! So, the upper and lower suspension arms were fixed too and whilst he had the wheels off checked the brakes. The front ones had about 3 miles left on them before disaster – there was almost nothing left on the brake pads and the front disks were heavily used. So new ones ordered and fitted too.
The starter motor was reconditioned and put back on, all good!
Fixed!
So great news, I picked the car back up yesterday and all was well.
Comparing the prices too, shows just how much DIY can save you….
Quotes from a local garage;
Front disks and Pads supply + fit(£150). Paul O price £32.50 (ebay)
Upper and lower arms supply + fit (£240). Paul O price £54.00 (parts only from local shop)
Total saving: £304
Bargain!!!
Very Not fixed.
Well, it is a bargain until;
Whilst travelling on the motorway at 70mph, the whole car simply shut down. The electrics went off, I lost power. There was nothing at all would work. I coasted to a stop, right next to the SOS box as it happens and put a call in via the Highways Agency to my breakdown provider AutoAid. Both teams were very efficient. I had a call back from AutoAid within 5 minutes confirming they had received the instruction and a truck would be with me within an hour. The Highways Agency called me back 5 minutes after that to check that AutoAid had called me. 5 minutes later and the recovery garage were on the phone to say someone would be with me by 7.15pm (45 minutes away). They arrived just 5 minutes outside of this time, so couldn’t complain really.
It was a lovely evening, so I just sat at the side of the hard shoulder and watched the world go by. It did perhaps highlight that the danger of hard shoulder running though. I believe that only a small percentage of people who stop on the hard shoulder actually need to be there but in this case I was definately one of them. And without any electrics (no brake lights, hazard lights) I had no way to warn anyone. Had this been 10 miles up the road where the hard shoulder would have probably been a live running lane the outcome could have been much worse.
When recovery arrived, he promptly put the car onto the trailer and towed the Audi to the next Services. From here he had a closer look at the problem. Believing it to be battery related, he tested it with a meter which showed the battery had 0.00 Volts in it. One very dead battery. However, the fact there was no warning of this and that it just died suggested a short somewhere.
Trying to revive the battery with a remote power pack let loose large sparks and the odd small fire. That also shorted out the power pack and that was the end of that! He towed the car back to my in-laws house and suggested that we remove the battery and try and charge it to see if there is any life left in it at all. He also noted that the connection points on the battery were still warm – even one hour after I had broken down. He found this unusual and thought something was shorting the battery – possibly the starter motor.
The starter motor, oh dear. My bro-in-law is going to have a look today at his handywork. I don’t know – you can’t get the staff.
The starter motor had been playing up on the Audi, and after the second time of failure, my brother in law (a mechanic by trade) collected the car to fix the starter motor with my father in law.
My Father in law asked for the MOT test sheet as well and whilst he had the car, he went through everything on there and fixed for me. Most kind! So, the upper and lower suspension arms were fixed too and whilst he had the wheels off checked the brakes. The front ones had about 3 miles left on them before disaster – there was almost nothing left on the brake pads and the front disks were heavily used. So new ones ordered and fitted too.
The starter motor was reconditioned and put back on, all good!
Fixed!
So great news, I picked the car back up yesterday and all was well.
Comparing the prices too, shows just how much DIY can save you….
Quotes from a local garage;
Front disks and Pads supply + fit(£150). Paul O price £32.50 (ebay)
Upper and lower arms supply + fit (£240). Paul O price £54.00 (parts only from local shop)
Total saving: £304
Bargain!!!
Very Not fixed.
Well, it is a bargain until;
Whilst travelling on the motorway at 70mph, the whole car simply shut down. The electrics went off, I lost power. There was nothing at all would work. I coasted to a stop, right next to the SOS box as it happens and put a call in via the Highways Agency to my breakdown provider AutoAid. Both teams were very efficient. I had a call back from AutoAid within 5 minutes confirming they had received the instruction and a truck would be with me within an hour. The Highways Agency called me back 5 minutes after that to check that AutoAid had called me. 5 minutes later and the recovery garage were on the phone to say someone would be with me by 7.15pm (45 minutes away). They arrived just 5 minutes outside of this time, so couldn’t complain really.
It was a lovely evening, so I just sat at the side of the hard shoulder and watched the world go by. It did perhaps highlight that the danger of hard shoulder running though. I believe that only a small percentage of people who stop on the hard shoulder actually need to be there but in this case I was definately one of them. And without any electrics (no brake lights, hazard lights) I had no way to warn anyone. Had this been 10 miles up the road where the hard shoulder would have probably been a live running lane the outcome could have been much worse.
When recovery arrived, he promptly put the car onto the trailer and towed the Audi to the next Services. From here he had a closer look at the problem. Believing it to be battery related, he tested it with a meter which showed the battery had 0.00 Volts in it. One very dead battery. However, the fact there was no warning of this and that it just died suggested a short somewhere.
Trying to revive the battery with a remote power pack let loose large sparks and the odd small fire. That also shorted out the power pack and that was the end of that! He towed the car back to my in-laws house and suggested that we remove the battery and try and charge it to see if there is any life left in it at all. He also noted that the connection points on the battery were still warm – even one hour after I had broken down. He found this unusual and thought something was shorting the battery – possibly the starter motor.
The starter motor, oh dear. My bro-in-law is going to have a look today at his handywork. I don’t know – you can’t get the staff.
Edited by Paul O on Thursday 22 May 12:01
Dave200 said:
The thought of you plodding along at ~70mph behind me on the motorway and suddenly having no brakes when something happens, worries the hell out of me...
It wouldn't happen - I've got new brakes. On a serious note, they were heavily worn (accept a little artisctic licence in the previous commentary
) but I was aware of this. Tyres and brakes are not something I care to risk and when I had the exhaust fitted the garage told me the disks were due - as did the MOT a few weeks later, so it was on the to-do list for this month regardless.All was well at the last MOT in 2013 so it's not like I have simply ignored the advice. I'm more concerned about me ploughing into your boot to be honest - those metal objects don't look like bouncy castles from behind.
However, in the interests of shedding, things like minor radiator leaks and using oil, dents and scrapes, they won't be fixed. Caus' its a shed. That is what I consider the essence of shedding.
It's aliiiive!!
Audi Shed is once again back on the road. The issue was indeed a short-connection between the starter motor and the engine block. Fixed by Father in law, battery recharged all is well again. Hurrah!
So we are back on the road, but having several weeks using the other cars, it has highlighted just what a shed this car is. Its noisy, not particularly comfortable and the recent breakdowns have blighted it's workhorse CV. The air conditioning is still spectacurlaly good though.
It only needs to go for another 12 months and then it's changeover time. However Mrs Paul O spied a nice Mini Convertible this weekend, so it might depart before then if we can make the numbers work.
For now though, back on track!
Audi Shed is once again back on the road. The issue was indeed a short-connection between the starter motor and the engine block. Fixed by Father in law, battery recharged all is well again. Hurrah!
So we are back on the road, but having several weeks using the other cars, it has highlighted just what a shed this car is. Its noisy, not particularly comfortable and the recent breakdowns have blighted it's workhorse CV. The air conditioning is still spectacurlaly good though.
It only needs to go for another 12 months and then it's changeover time. However Mrs Paul O spied a nice Mini Convertible this weekend, so it might depart before then if we can make the numbers work.
For now though, back on track!
Thanks for the comments BlimeyCharlie
Happy Birthday, Audi Shed!
OK, so its not technically it’s birthday, but it has now been in my ownership for 2 whole years!! Well, about 25 months to be exact, close enough for an update though.
Reflecting on this, it has been a period of ups and downs, but mainly it has been right across the middle being a relatively reliable and dependable car – albeit not a particularly comfortable one, it has to be said.
But, with the onset of this anniversary, I thought I’d knock up a quick list showing the approximate costs to date. So without further adue…
Audi A4 Costs:
Year 1:
Purchase cost: £300
Work at purchase: £100
Insurance (3 months): £87
Ignition Switch: (unsure)
Insurance: £350
MOT: £40
TOTAL: £877
Year 2:
Tyre fix and balance: £25
Car Tax: £260
Insurance: £350
Mini-Valet: £12
MOT: £45
4 tyres: £200.02
Discs and pads (front): £32.50
Upper and lower arms: £54
TOTAL: £978.52
Ancillary costs:
Air over 2 years: Approx £5
AutoAid Breakdown cover: £39 per year.
Total of two years ownership: £1899.52
Approximate value of the car now: £300
Final Standing: £1599.52 in 25 months, not including fuel. = £63 per month.
Shedding looks to still be the cheapest mode of transportation! However, I suspect that running the Porsche as the only car rather than the Audi might have been cheaper than this, or if not not much more expensive overall. However, that would ruin the fun of the Porsche – and of course having a variety on the driveway is more fun.
Happy Birthday, Audi Shed!
OK, so its not technically it’s birthday, but it has now been in my ownership for 2 whole years!! Well, about 25 months to be exact, close enough for an update though.
Reflecting on this, it has been a period of ups and downs, but mainly it has been right across the middle being a relatively reliable and dependable car – albeit not a particularly comfortable one, it has to be said.
But, with the onset of this anniversary, I thought I’d knock up a quick list showing the approximate costs to date. So without further adue…
Audi A4 Costs:
Year 1:
Purchase cost: £300
Work at purchase: £100
Insurance (3 months): £87
Ignition Switch: (unsure)
Insurance: £350
MOT: £40
TOTAL: £877
Year 2:
Tyre fix and balance: £25
Car Tax: £260
Insurance: £350
Mini-Valet: £12
MOT: £45
4 tyres: £200.02
Discs and pads (front): £32.50
Upper and lower arms: £54
TOTAL: £978.52
Ancillary costs:
Air over 2 years: Approx £5
AutoAid Breakdown cover: £39 per year.
Total of two years ownership: £1899.52
Approximate value of the car now: £300
Final Standing: £1599.52 in 25 months, not including fuel. = £63 per month.
Shedding looks to still be the cheapest mode of transportation! However, I suspect that running the Porsche as the only car rather than the Audi might have been cheaper than this, or if not not much more expensive overall. However, that would ruin the fun of the Porsche – and of course having a variety on the driveway is more fun.
Edited by Paul O on Tuesday 22 July 11:31
October: Another Breakdown
A few things have gone wrong recently with the ol’ Audi shed, causing me to rethink the long term ownership plans of this car. It started with the remote central locking becoming intermittent, and ended with the car being locked in a car park in the centre of Leeds – with no way to unlock it without the alarm going off. More on that later.
Whilst the intermittent central locking provided something of a warning of future problems, a more immediate issue following a relatively long drive home from Manchester airport after a short business trip to Rome, manifested itself with a flashing red light on the dashboard just as I pulled onto the driveway. A check of the manual showed that this indicates the brake fluid is low. One solution would be to simply top it up, but the correct solution is to find out why it’s used the fluid in the first place.
An internet post – and a call to my brother in law (a mechanic by trade) suggested that the brakes might be due replacement. I hadn’t replaced the rear brakes in my tenure with the car, so assumed these must be due. £39 of eBay magic later and I had myself a new set of disks and pads. I enlisted the skills of my father in law to complete the replacement duties, but he duly informed that both discs and pads are in full tact and don’t require replacement. However, there was a ceased brake calliper, which he fixed, and noted that there was a small leak on the handbrake, so might explain the dip in fluid – which was topped up with a tiny drop of fluid and the light immediately went out. The brakes are working fine but will monitor closely incase the leak issue hasn’t been fully resolved.
The final issue to date – which had me cursing furiously, was the remote central locking keyfob failing completely, and being unable to get into the car without the alarm going off. This ended in a recovery truck being called (exceptional service once again from AutoAid) and me considering a change of car in the near future. I managed to eventually get the secondary keyfob working on the aftermarket alarm to unlock the car, and am now using the key in the door rather than risk the same issue occurring again.
So for now, we are back on the road safely, but two recoveries is one too many for my liking, so am on the lookout for a replacement. Watch this space…
A few things have gone wrong recently with the ol’ Audi shed, causing me to rethink the long term ownership plans of this car. It started with the remote central locking becoming intermittent, and ended with the car being locked in a car park in the centre of Leeds – with no way to unlock it without the alarm going off. More on that later.
Whilst the intermittent central locking provided something of a warning of future problems, a more immediate issue following a relatively long drive home from Manchester airport after a short business trip to Rome, manifested itself with a flashing red light on the dashboard just as I pulled onto the driveway. A check of the manual showed that this indicates the brake fluid is low. One solution would be to simply top it up, but the correct solution is to find out why it’s used the fluid in the first place.
An internet post – and a call to my brother in law (a mechanic by trade) suggested that the brakes might be due replacement. I hadn’t replaced the rear brakes in my tenure with the car, so assumed these must be due. £39 of eBay magic later and I had myself a new set of disks and pads. I enlisted the skills of my father in law to complete the replacement duties, but he duly informed that both discs and pads are in full tact and don’t require replacement. However, there was a ceased brake calliper, which he fixed, and noted that there was a small leak on the handbrake, so might explain the dip in fluid – which was topped up with a tiny drop of fluid and the light immediately went out. The brakes are working fine but will monitor closely incase the leak issue hasn’t been fully resolved.
The final issue to date – which had me cursing furiously, was the remote central locking keyfob failing completely, and being unable to get into the car without the alarm going off. This ended in a recovery truck being called (exceptional service once again from AutoAid) and me considering a change of car in the near future. I managed to eventually get the secondary keyfob working on the aftermarket alarm to unlock the car, and am now using the key in the door rather than risk the same issue occurring again.
So for now, we are back on the road safely, but two recoveries is one too many for my liking, so am on the lookout for a replacement. Watch this space…
December 2014
Following a change of the fleet (selling the Porsche for an as yet unknown replacement), and a new car being purchased in the shape of a Mini (running report coming soon), the Audi is now surplus to requirements. A friend of mine recommended Gumtree as a great free way to sell cheap cars.
I put the Audi up for sale, detailing its problems, and the phone was like a hotline for several days. I had a lot of offers, but they were too low and I chose to wait for a little while longer (although the local scrapyard offered £160, which I thought a surprisingly good offer).
But a few days ago, I had a visit from a young chap who immediately liked the car, despite its issues with the brakes and the vibrating type noise from the front wheels. And the coolant leak. And the hesitent start. The car was up for sale at £350, and we negotiated to £300.
It will be collected next Tuesday, so I’ll give it a quick wash and clean in advance of that for its new owner. I’ll post again once the deal has been done to close the A4 blog, but as of this moment, the writing is on the wall for Shedlife. But fear not, the Mini will be starting up a new blog in the very near future. Stay tuned for more updates, and of course, a new blog on my next sports car of choice - whenever (and whatever) that may be.
Following a change of the fleet (selling the Porsche for an as yet unknown replacement), and a new car being purchased in the shape of a Mini (running report coming soon), the Audi is now surplus to requirements. A friend of mine recommended Gumtree as a great free way to sell cheap cars.
I put the Audi up for sale, detailing its problems, and the phone was like a hotline for several days. I had a lot of offers, but they were too low and I chose to wait for a little while longer (although the local scrapyard offered £160, which I thought a surprisingly good offer).
But a few days ago, I had a visit from a young chap who immediately liked the car, despite its issues with the brakes and the vibrating type noise from the front wheels. And the coolant leak. And the hesitent start. The car was up for sale at £350, and we negotiated to £300.
It will be collected next Tuesday, so I’ll give it a quick wash and clean in advance of that for its new owner. I’ll post again once the deal has been done to close the A4 blog, but as of this moment, the writing is on the wall for Shedlife. But fear not, the Mini will be starting up a new blog in the very near future. Stay tuned for more updates, and of course, a new blog on my next sports car of choice - whenever (and whatever) that may be.
The buyer couldn't complete the sale unfortunately. FFS. So, its back up for sale, now £250, but I'm not sure I can be arsed given the calls I've had so far.
Scrapyard has offered £160 and I'm thinking for an extra £90, is it worth the effort?
So.. if anyone on here fancies a shedding bargain for 250 notes, let me know!
Scrapyard has offered £160 and I'm thinking for an extra £90, is it worth the effort?
So.. if anyone on here fancies a shedding bargain for 250 notes, let me know!
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