The Joy of Running an Old Shed
Discussion
CinnamonFan said:
My 07 shed avensis estate just reached 180k. Bought at 162k.
Battery and a host of other dash lights appeared. 9 volts from the battery. Suspected alternator.
Friendly mechanic pal agreed. So it got replaced. I took one look at the alternator being down the back of the engine with a driveshaft in the way. I paid a friend of my friend to change it. £384 for a new unit & belt fitted.
Paid £1250 for the car and its had 2 tyres and 2 oil changes in 18k miles. No other issues with it, apart from some squeaking suspension from the rear when i go over bumps.
Would you have paid to change it or scrapped and bought another?
You might get 300K plus out of this car Battery and a host of other dash lights appeared. 9 volts from the battery. Suspected alternator.
Friendly mechanic pal agreed. So it got replaced. I took one look at the alternator being down the back of the engine with a driveshaft in the way. I paid a friend of my friend to change it. £384 for a new unit & belt fitted.
Paid £1250 for the car and its had 2 tyres and 2 oil changes in 18k miles. No other issues with it, apart from some squeaking suspension from the rear when i go over bumps.
Would you have paid to change it or scrapped and bought another?
Unless you are fully loaded like many pretend to be or you just want to keep cash in the bank and not waste it on cars. Then I would say this Toyota will last you as long as you want it too. If i was my car I would look after it and drive it everywhere and anywhere .
I had a Totota PriviaI brought it with 180 K on the clock and scrapped it with 330K on the clock . As I used it for work because the aircondition was cold and I put a digital radio in !
Edited by jeremyh1 on Monday 11th May 10:36
Thanks all. A correction to the pricing earlier. Its £324 all in. Didnt realise id get £60 back for returning the old alternator.
In total its costs me 10.5p a mile in purchase and all maintenance. £1984 / 18000 miles.
I hope it lasts a long time, the estate is always useful and its cost buttons to run so far. Its an endearing thing, not bad, but not good. Boring but reliable-ish.
In total its costs me 10.5p a mile in purchase and all maintenance. £1984 / 18000 miles.
I hope it lasts a long time, the estate is always useful and its cost buttons to run so far. Its an endearing thing, not bad, but not good. Boring but reliable-ish.
The one that got away. Or has it?
Browsing classifieds earlier today as usual and spotted a Lexus LS430 for £1000. I've always hankered after an LS400/430 after owning a GS300 for a couple of years, but the prices have risen a lot since then. So I was suprised to see one for the £1k price tag. It'd only been listed a couple hours before and a quick read of the advert I knew I wanted it, but I didn't 'need' it. A quick check at others for sale and most seem to be around the £2k mark, so this did seem like a real bargain even if it had an undiagnosed noise.
I've always wanted a V8 and I've only ever heard good things about the Lexus V8's so I thought now could be the time to tick that box at shed money.
I sent a message asking if I could come view.
15 minutes went by, which felt like an eternity as my want for this Lexus grew by the second.
I sent another message and included my phone number and asked if he could call me if the car was still available. Just as I hit send, the advert was marked as sold. Damn!
I headed off to see what spec they have from factory just to rub salt into my wounds, heated/cooled front and rear seats, massaging functions, automatic privacy blinds, mini fridge, rear climate control, the list went on.
Oh did I mention it was LPG converted too?
Then I started to ask myself the hypathetical question, which shed would it replace? The Mondeo I like, it's 99% sorted now, does 55mpg and has 11 months MOT, great car for me to drive to Germany and back in. The BMW E91 that cost only £350 had its MOT extended to September now, I've only had to spend £20 on a new exhaust flexi and a few hours sorting it. I like the car but it only does 50-100 miles a week, I could sell it for a decent profit too.
Anyway, nevermind, the car has sold now.
...half past midnight though, my phone pings. Its the guy. The message reads "I'll ring you tomorrow, thanks".
The saga continues...
Browsing classifieds earlier today as usual and spotted a Lexus LS430 for £1000. I've always hankered after an LS400/430 after owning a GS300 for a couple of years, but the prices have risen a lot since then. So I was suprised to see one for the £1k price tag. It'd only been listed a couple hours before and a quick read of the advert I knew I wanted it, but I didn't 'need' it. A quick check at others for sale and most seem to be around the £2k mark, so this did seem like a real bargain even if it had an undiagnosed noise.
I've always wanted a V8 and I've only ever heard good things about the Lexus V8's so I thought now could be the time to tick that box at shed money.
I sent a message asking if I could come view.
15 minutes went by, which felt like an eternity as my want for this Lexus grew by the second.
I sent another message and included my phone number and asked if he could call me if the car was still available. Just as I hit send, the advert was marked as sold. Damn!
I headed off to see what spec they have from factory just to rub salt into my wounds, heated/cooled front and rear seats, massaging functions, automatic privacy blinds, mini fridge, rear climate control, the list went on.
Oh did I mention it was LPG converted too?
Then I started to ask myself the hypathetical question, which shed would it replace? The Mondeo I like, it's 99% sorted now, does 55mpg and has 11 months MOT, great car for me to drive to Germany and back in. The BMW E91 that cost only £350 had its MOT extended to September now, I've only had to spend £20 on a new exhaust flexi and a few hours sorting it. I like the car but it only does 50-100 miles a week, I could sell it for a decent profit too.
Anyway, nevermind, the car has sold now.
...half past midnight though, my phone pings. Its the guy. The message reads "I'll ring you tomorrow, thanks".
The saga continues...
I've done a few bits on my 110,000 mile Pug 307 1.6 petrol during lockdown. Parts are really silly cheap now. E.g. Radiator £22, rear springs £12 each, a kit to fix the climate control motors £30. Set of front discs and pads £40. Then two new Pirellis on ebay for £20 each. Worst job was a leaking sump gasket which cost £16 but was a bit fiddly but combined with an oil and filter change at £20 didn't break the bank.
I thought the clutch needed doing at 104,000 (£350) but it's still ok at 110,000 so I'll leave it until it becomes tricky to drive at which point I'll decide whether to keep it or have a change.
Overall it's an easy car to work on and has the classic shed advantage of being able to leave it anywhere. Inside is ok and it's quite a refined ride for what it is. MPG not much better than 35mpg overall but who is going anywhere and petrol £1.02 per litre.
Only thing I need to do is a power steering o-ring to fix a tiny leak (30 minutes and less than £5). CD multi change is bust so will stay that way unless ebay throws up one for a tenner.
I thought the clutch needed doing at 104,000 (£350) but it's still ok at 110,000 so I'll leave it until it becomes tricky to drive at which point I'll decide whether to keep it or have a change.
Overall it's an easy car to work on and has the classic shed advantage of being able to leave it anywhere. Inside is ok and it's quite a refined ride for what it is. MPG not much better than 35mpg overall but who is going anywhere and petrol £1.02 per litre.
Only thing I need to do is a power steering o-ring to fix a tiny leak (30 minutes and less than £5). CD multi change is bust so will stay that way unless ebay throws up one for a tenner.
STIfree said:
...half past midnight though, my phone pings. Its the guy. The message reads "I'll ring you tomorrow, thanks".
The saga continues...
Keep us posted, I reckon you are in there The saga continues...
My 1.9 Leon shed has finally had a airbag sensor so is back fighting on full form.
Mental MPG, no dpf to worry about, aircon and aux cable for less than a deposit on a lease.
Can't complain
Literally last week I was praising the Mazda's bulletproof reliability and dependability to a work mate and what does it do? f
king breaks itself whilst sat doing nothing!
Got in sunday to fill up before work on Monday and thought 'it seems a bit gutless' Pulled the codes and lots of DPF errors. Oh dear. I'm hoping its a pressure sensor (14 quid) and not the DPF (338 quid)
king breaks itself whilst sat doing nothing!Got in sunday to fill up before work on Monday and thought 'it seems a bit gutless' Pulled the codes and lots of DPF errors. Oh dear. I'm hoping its a pressure sensor (14 quid) and not the DPF (338 quid)
Taylor James said:
I've done a few bits on my 110,000 mile Pug 307 1.6 petrol during lockdown. Parts are really silly cheap now. E.g. Radiator £22, rear springs £12 each, a kit to fix the climate control motors £30. Set of front discs and pads £40. Then two new Pirellis on ebay for £20 each. Worst job was a leaking sump gasket which cost £16 but was a bit fiddly but combined with an oil and filter change at £20 didn't break the bank.
I thought the clutch needed doing at 104,000 (£350) but it's still ok at 110,000 so I'll leave it until it becomes tricky to drive at which point I'll decide whether to keep it or have a change.
Overall it's an easy car to work on and has the classic shed advantage of being able to leave it anywhere. Inside is ok and it's quite a refined ride for what it is. MPG not much better than 35mpg overall but who is going anywhere and petrol £1.02 per litre.
Only thing I need to do is a power steering o-ring to fix a tiny leak (30 minutes and less than £5). CD multi change is bust so will stay that way unless ebay throws up one for a tenner.
My daughter has the 20 HDI I did the heater loom ,heater resistor ,new blower, cam belt water pump idlers , all discs and pads ,exhaust. I then topped up the AC and give it a service . it has 210K on it but I am confident that it could do that again and this is another car that would I take on the ferry and drive anywhere in Europe. I thought the clutch needed doing at 104,000 (£350) but it's still ok at 110,000 so I'll leave it until it becomes tricky to drive at which point I'll decide whether to keep it or have a change.
Overall it's an easy car to work on and has the classic shed advantage of being able to leave it anywhere. Inside is ok and it's quite a refined ride for what it is. MPG not much better than 35mpg overall but who is going anywhere and petrol £1.02 per litre.
Only thing I need to do is a power steering o-ring to fix a tiny leak (30 minutes and less than £5). CD multi change is bust so will stay that way unless ebay throws up one for a tenner.
I dont know too much about the 1.6 petrol but I am aware that gearbox oil seeps through the drive shaft seals meaning that the life long oil is no longer in the box but on the road . This is worth checking once a month .
swampy442 said:
Literally last week I was praising the Mazda's bulletproof reliability and dependability to a work mate and what does it do? fking breaks itself whilst sat doing nothing!
Got in sunday to fill up before work on Monday and thought 'it seems a bit gutless' Pulled the codes and lots of DPF errors. Oh dear. I'm hoping its a pressure sensor (14 quid) and not the DPF (338 quid)
I think the long lockdown has done cars no favours. The Wife's shed Fiesta ST broke down today. Alternator went on it. Absolutely no warning either. Started fine this morning for her shopping trip, but died suddenly on way back to shops. Power steering went and she nearly lost it on a corner, which was a bit scary! RAC call out not what you want really at the moment, but what can you do. She was on hold to the RAC for 20 mins just trying to get connected, they were so busy!!king breaks itself whilst sat doing nothing!Got in sunday to fill up before work on Monday and thought 'it seems a bit gutless' Pulled the codes and lots of DPF errors. Oh dear. I'm hoping its a pressure sensor (14 quid) and not the DPF (338 quid)
greenarrow said:
swampy442 said:
Literally last week I was praising the Mazda's bulletproof reliability and dependability to a work mate and what does it do? fking breaks itself whilst sat doing nothing!
Got in sunday to fill up before work on Monday and thought 'it seems a bit gutless' Pulled the codes and lots of DPF errors. Oh dear. I'm hoping its a pressure sensor (14 quid) and not the DPF (338 quid)
I think the long lockdown has done cars no favours. The Wife's shed Fiesta ST broke down today. Alternator went on it. Absolutely no warning either. Started fine this morning for her shopping trip, but died suddenly on way back to shops. Power steering went and she nearly lost it on a corner, which was a bit scary! RAC call out not what you want really at the moment, but what can you do. She was on hold to the RAC for 20 mins just trying to get connected, they were so busy!!king breaks itself whilst sat doing nothing!Got in sunday to fill up before work on Monday and thought 'it seems a bit gutless' Pulled the codes and lots of DPF errors. Oh dear. I'm hoping its a pressure sensor (14 quid) and not the DPF (338 quid)
greenarrow said:
I think the long lockdown has done cars no favours. The Wife's shed Fiesta ST broke down today. Alternator went on it. Absolutely no warning either. Started fine this morning for her shopping trip, but died suddenly on way back to shops. Power steering went and she nearly lost it on a corner, which was a bit scary! RAC call out not what you want really at the moment, but what can you do. She was on hold to the RAC for 20 mins just trying to get connected, they were so busy!!
I've been working throughout so being sat isnt the problem, and the car's use is probably 80/90% motorway so I dont think its the DPF, but it may have done 150k miles, so it could be! Ill find out on fridayv15ben said:
My dad's 2011 CRV had a flat battery over the weekend after a week sat on the drive.
Micra Shed seems to be taking lockdown in its stride so far, no issues.
(It'll inevitably break down tomorrow now I've said that).
Have you bought the Lexus yet, Kurt?
Yes I did! Had a phone call about 9am this morning from the chap, went to see it shortly afterwards and now its parked outside. Spent the past few hours giving it a good scrub as it was pretty minging inside and out but its come up really well. Micra Shed seems to be taking lockdown in its stride so far, no issues.
(It'll inevitably break down tomorrow now I've said that).
Have you bought the Lexus yet, Kurt?
Before -
5 mins later with a jet wash -
More pictures and more info coming soon!
(although should I be posting this in here or the barge thread?
I suppose it is still a shed as it has a small list of issues and is well within shed limit at a grand)STIfree said:
5 metres long and just shy of 2 tonnes.
It's a reasonable walk around it I'm loving the wafty-ness of it though.
Wow, just <2 tonnes back in the day seemed like an absolute tank, seems about par for the course nowadays even for stuff that you think should be no more than 1.5 tonnes, progress eh?It's a reasonable walk around it
I'm loving the wafty-ness of it though.Taylor James said:
I've done a few bits on my 110,000 mile Pug 307 1.6 petrol during lockdown. Parts are really silly cheap now. E.g. Radiator £22, rear springs £12 each, a kit to fix the climate control motors £30. Set of front discs and pads £40. Then two new Pirellis on ebay for £20 each. Worst job was a leaking sump gasket which cost £16 but was a bit fiddly but combined with an oil and filter change at £20 didn't break the bank.
I thought the clutch needed doing at 104,000 (£350) but it's still ok at 110,000 so I'll leave it until it becomes tricky to drive at which point I'll decide whether to keep it or have a change.
Overall it's an easy car to work on and has the classic shed advantage of being able to leave it anywhere. Inside is ok and it's quite a refined ride for what it is. MPG not much better than 35mpg overall but who is going anywhere and petrol £1.02 per litre.
Only thing I need to do is a power steering o-ring to fix a tiny leak (30 minutes and less than £5). CD multi change is bust so will stay that way unless ebay throws up one for a tenner.
Interesting...I thought the clutch needed doing at 104,000 (£350) but it's still ok at 110,000 so I'll leave it until it becomes tricky to drive at which point I'll decide whether to keep it or have a change.
Overall it's an easy car to work on and has the classic shed advantage of being able to leave it anywhere. Inside is ok and it's quite a refined ride for what it is. MPG not much better than 35mpg overall but who is going anywhere and petrol £1.02 per litre.
Only thing I need to do is a power steering o-ring to fix a tiny leak (30 minutes and less than £5). CD multi change is bust so will stay that way unless ebay throws up one for a tenner.
I've been driving my wife's Pug 307 1.6 petrol pretty much daily to work just lately. It's an auto, 07 reg with about 68k miles on the clock.
Had it for 5 years come next month and I really can't recall any issues in that time (though annual mileage is pretty low).
Just wondering if you (or anyone else) knows the cambelt interval on these. It was done before we got it on around 50k miles. I must have looked it up in the past, I'm thinking 5 years so probably due really.
But given the low miles covered and the value of the car, I'm thinking I might not bother.
STIfree said:
I spent almost an hour writing a big description on the car then accidentally closed the wrong tab, deleting everything I'd written.
So bugger it, he's some basic info and pics.
It has a bunch of issues, nothing major, something from the rear, diff/wheel bearing. A noise from the front when turning right, leaky steering rack also, related? I'm not sure. One of the rear air struts has a leak (the airline to it apparently) so drops a couple of inches when stood for a few hours but pumps right up once started. ABS/VSC on from something damaged when replacing a rear wheel bearing.
It LPG converted. Done in 2018 at £1100.
It's got a fridge and massage rear reclining seats along with a million other extras that i'll (re)write about and post in Readers Rides some time.
Drives nice, super soft and quiet. Maybe too quiet for my first V8, might have to address that.
More pics here if you want a look - https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurt_blythman/albums...
I still can't get over it having 5 months MOT, running and driving with all these specs for £1k. They were £50k new in 2001.
I’m well jel, you got yourself a cracker there! So bugger it, he's some basic info and pics.
It has a bunch of issues, nothing major, something from the rear, diff/wheel bearing. A noise from the front when turning right, leaky steering rack also, related? I'm not sure. One of the rear air struts has a leak (the airline to it apparently) so drops a couple of inches when stood for a few hours but pumps right up once started. ABS/VSC on from something damaged when replacing a rear wheel bearing.
It LPG converted. Done in 2018 at £1100.
It's got a fridge and massage rear reclining seats along with a million other extras that i'll (re)write about and post in Readers Rides some time.
Drives nice, super soft and quiet. Maybe too quiet for my first V8, might have to address that.
More pics here if you want a look - https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurt_blythman/albums...
I still can't get over it having 5 months MOT, running and driving with all these specs for £1k. They were £50k new in 2001.
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