The Joy of Running an Old Shed

[bungz]

Have parted company with my slightly sheddy Mk4 Mondeo.

So the obvious thing to now do is go "full Shed" in buying one of the cheapest Mk4 Mondeos in the midlands complete with broken bits and short MOT.

Wish me luck, full shed ahoy!

[gman88667733]

Captain Answer said:

Gen 3 is nice, I really like the Nissan X-Trail also but don't find them in auto and want something easy as possible for towing - manual with any weight behind is just a chore

Have a look at gen 1 Kia Sorento's. We had one and it really wasn't bad. Very comfy, good auto gearbox, strong 2.5L engine. First year a few bits went wrong, second year it was faultless. Can be had for very cheap now too, we sold ours for £500 with about 130k miles on. Still see it pootling around now.
It was used in the family as a tow car before and was replaced by them with a slightly newer one. Shows how much they got on with it! Worth a look.

[Fuzzy69r]

M4cruiser said:

Maybe you're not cut out for shedding any more!
The rest of us are quite happy to spend £40 a year on good oil, so saving £3,000 a year on depreciation.

Got it in one but saving 3k on depreciation is a broad statement is it not ?

[gman88667733]

Fuzzy69r said:

Got it in one but saving 3k on depreciation is a broad statement is it not ?

From my experience, it probably isn't far off, sadly!

I purchased a 2014 Skoda Yeti, for essentially £12,995. (it was a replacement for a rejected diesel version, so I probably lost out a tad in that) But then I sold it 1 year later for £8k. Had I kept it for another year, I doubt it'd have dropped below £7k, but still, depreciation accounts for a lot!

I wince every time I think about it. Never again will I buy a car of that price or more unless I know that it is a keeper.

[CDP]

Fuzzy69r said:

I used to enjoy shed motoring but just completely bored of it now as life is too short to be driving about in dreary old crap ( done enough of this when I was in the trade) but addressing the 5k oil change especially on a shed is just plain mental and throwing money away. Putting in new oil isn’t going to clean out the coaked up oil that’s in the turbos bearing housing , and using engine flushes on a Old shed car can lead to earlier engine failure if you’re not careful

5k oil changes do seem silly. The interval was short many years ago but with today's metallurgy, manufacturing tolerances, electronic control and the advances in lubricants I had no reason to believe the 20k recommendation for my Vectra was a problem. The car was running well at 172,000 when I sold it and running a couple of years after.

Sticking with the manufacturer schedule and recommended lubricants is my preference.

[Fuzzy69r]

For me 10k per annum or yearly is perfectly acceptable when it comes to oil changes, Pretty sure I remember some service internals in the trade of a oil change every 18k which for me is leaving it way too long.

Think my shed mojo has gone especially after my last one decided to leave me stranded after putting a leg out of bed and creating quite a fair trail down the road .

[g3org3y]

Fuzzy69r said:

I used to enjoy shed motoring but just completely bored of it now as life is too short to be driving about in dreary old crap ( done enough of this when I was in the trade) but addressing the 5k oil change especially on a shed is just plain mental and throwing money away. Putting in new oil isn’t going to clean out the coaked up oil that’s in the turbos bearing housing , and using engine flushes on a Old shed car can lead to earlier engine failure if you’re not careful

That's definitely true.

£900 BMW 330Ci shed passed its MOT yesterday. No bills

As for oil changes, annual for me regardless of mileage (or every 10k).

Doing the above schedule, took my E36 328 to 214k (from 126k) with no engine problems. Current 330Ci is on about 162k.

[Captain Answer]

EHHH saying I was gonna wait I just bought a 2003 Mercedes ML270, MOT till Nov, needs something sorting in the steering but for £575 I really don't mind and can hang on to SAAB till its sorted

[giblet]

Toaster Pilot said:

Swapping a known good for an unknown to save fuel is a good way to spend any savings on repairs

That’s what I tell myself with my 20mpg X5 anyway.

I can live with the mpg it’s the road tax that pisses me off every 12 months. One thought I had was to flog it and find a pre 08 non aero that has cheaper tax but that in itself seems like a faff so I might as well just stick with it.

The recent servicing chat is interesting. I’ve used a local Saab specialist for both services, the first when I bought and the second a year later. Not sure if I’ll do the same for this years service in November or if I should use my usual reasonably priced garage or even just go down the DIY route

[gman88667733]

Captain Answer said:

EHHH saying I was gonna wait I just bought a 2003 Mercedes ML270, MOT till Nov, needs something sorting in the steering but for £575 I really don't mind and can hang on to SAAB till its sorted

Nice one! Really like the looks of the older ML's. Details?

[Captain Answer]

gman88667733 said:

Nice one! Really like the looks of the older ML's. Details?

Not seen it in the flesh yet, I spotted it low on eBay yesterday as I was looking for a cheap tow car to move a box trailer for my folks and thought it might end low due to the steering and it's in arse end of nowhere

Black paintwork but silver bumpers (might get them sprayed at some point to match body if its with me long enough), black leather interior, walnut dash by look of it, light tint in the back, cruise & sat-nav, auto, just ticked 200k mileage

[Captain Answer]

giblet said:

I can live with the mpg it’s the road tax that pisses me off every 12 months. One thought I had was to flog it and find a pre 08 non aero that has cheaper tax but that in itself seems like a faff so I might as well just stick with it.

The recent servicing chat is interesting. I’ve used a local Saab specialist for both services, the first when I bought and the second a year later. Not sure if I’ll do the same for this years service in November or if I should use my usual reasonably priced garage or even just go down the DIY route

Whats the band on the newer ones? My 2000 plate Aero is just over £250

[grantone]

gman88667733 said:

I'd highly recommend a petrol auto. Lovely to drive, very smooth gearbox.The petrols are very, very revvy
But I don't think you can go wrong with any of the configurations tbh. Obviously the diesels have more to go wrong.

Although mine is 18 years old, I never worry about it not working, or breaking down at all. Everything works and still feels solid. I'd expect it is cheaper to run than an ML, not sure about an X-Trail. Rav 4's get a good write up too, to be fair.

Edited by gman88667733 on Tuesday 18th August 11:02

I'm after something cheap, petrol & auto that's big enough to take 3 kids in (narrow) car seats and a double pushchair, I hadn't really considered a CRV for some reason. I only need the car until early December, so something easy to sell on.

Any reason not to get this 2004 / 126k one with reasonable MOT history at £1500?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007030...

Any other recommendations of other CRVs or suitable cars? I live in Wetherby, between Leeds and Harrogate, mileage is going to be pretty low, main duties will be ~5 mile school run twice a day and ~10-20 mile weekend outings.

[gman88667733]

grantone said:

gman88667733 said:

I'd highly recommend a petrol auto. Lovely to drive, very smooth gearbox.The petrols are very, very revvy
But I don't think you can go wrong with any of the configurations tbh. Obviously the diesels have more to go wrong.

Although mine is 18 years old, I never worry about it not working, or breaking down at all. Everything works and still feels solid. I'd expect it is cheaper to run than an ML, not sure about an X-Trail. Rav 4's get a good write up too, to be fair.

Edited by gman88667733 on Tuesday 18th August 11:02

I'm after something cheap, petrol & auto that's big enough to take 3 kids in (narrow) car seats and a double pushchair, I hadn't really considered a CRV for some reason. I only need the car until early December, so something easy to sell on.

Any reason not to get this 2004 / 126k one with reasonable MOT history at £1500?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007030...

Any other recommendations of other CRVs or suitable cars? I live in Wetherby, between Leeds and Harrogate, mileage is going to be pretty low, main duties will be ~5 mile school run twice a day and ~10-20 mile weekend outings.

Looks good. I do like them in silver. Check the AC, that's about the only common fault worth investigating on these.
The factory mats tend to go orangey with wear, but that's obviously not really an issue at all.
Properly nice cars in my opinion.
126k is nothing really, I've seen plenty on 200k. Overall condition of that looks very good. Decent car for £1500, much better than other options at that price.
Sensible to stick with petrol at that mileage. I believe X-Trail petrol autos are also fairly decent too. But I prefer the CRVs to be honest.
Guarantee you'll get attached to it!

Edited by gman88667733 on Tuesday 18th August 17:20

Edited by gman88667733 on Tuesday 18th August 17:22

[giblet]

Captain Answer said:

Whats the band on the newer ones? My 2000 plate Aero is just over £250

£555 last year!

[Captain Answer]

grantone said:

I'm after something cheap, petrol & auto that's big enough to take 3 kids in (narrow) car seats and a double pushchair, I hadn't really considered a CRV for some reason. I only need the car until early December, so something easy to sell on.

Any reason not to get this 2004 / 126k one with reasonable MOT history at £1500?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007030...

Any other recommendations of other CRVs or suitable cars? I live in Wetherby, between Leeds and Harrogate, mileage is going to be pretty low, main duties will be ~5 mile school run twice a day and ~10-20 mile weekend outings.

Check your seats go in, not many cars out there that can take 3 child seats in the back row.. might squeak it in a CR-V looking at the size

[200Plus Club]

grantone said:

gman88667733 said:

I'd highly recommend a petrol auto. Lovely to drive, very smooth gearbox.The petrols are very, very revvy
But I don't think you can go wrong with any of the configurations tbh. Obviously the diesels have more to go wrong.

Although mine is 18 years old, I never worry about it not working, or breaking down at all. Everything works and still feels solid. I'd expect it is cheaper to run than an ML, not sure about an X-Trail. Rav 4's get a good write up too, to be fair.

Edited by gman88667733 on Tuesday 18th August 11:02

I'm after something cheap, petrol & auto that's big enough to take 3 kids in (narrow) car seats and a double pushchair, I hadn't really considered a CRV for some reason. I only need the car until early December, so something easy to sell on.

Any reason not to get this 2004 / 126k one with reasonable MOT history at £1500?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007030...

Any other recommendations of other CRVs or suitable cars? I live in Wetherby, between Leeds and Harrogate, mileage is going to be pretty low, main duties will be ~5 mile school run twice a day and ~10-20 mile weekend outings.

It's got a mileage flag up for one year with 2k miles less than the year before. Mot history is typical with advisories for same thing each year around anti roll bar links . No corrosion mentioned, try finding an xtrail without something at that same price range!
Looks tidy otherwise

[Aiminghigh123]

What about one of these?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[covmutley]

grantone said:

Any reason not to get this 2004 / 126k one with reasonable MOT history at £1500?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007030...
.

I got an 04 manual petrol crv last month. 146k miles with loads of history for £1600.

I am getting strangely attached to it! Kids hate it because I had a much fancier car before but even they admit they like sitting in the back. The rear seats are jacked up a bit and windows are massive, so they get a great a view out.

I also like that its spacious inside but quite narrow to thread down the lanes where I live. Where it ends inside is pretty much where it ends on the outside. Of course, these particular features make it less safe i guess!

Its a Petrol engined Honda. Surely got to be a decent bet?

Edited by covmutley on Tuesday 18th August 20:28

[martin mrt]

I picked up my latest shed a few weeks back, unseen and on the island of Orkney. My wife is from there so I tied collection in with a visit

Mk4 GT TDi 130bhp, loads and loads of history, 150k, 6 months MOT, needed rear wheel bearings and a brake pedal switch. Completely standard, bar a tow bar which was used for shifting a small boat

All this for £300

My mate is using it at the moment but I intend to press it into daily service in October