RE: The joy of Shed
Discussion
Hellbound said:
Can we change the shed format now it's 2013?
I think we should alternate between a £750 (or even £500) shed and a £1500 shed. The latter being a little more substantial and the former being a bit of a lark.
good callI think we should alternate between a £750 (or even £500) shed and a £1500 shed. The latter being a little more substantial and the former being a bit of a lark.
btw, you lot should never forget how lucky you are with these cheap old motors in the UK
Shedding is epic. I bought a 1997 Compact Sport Ti for the square root of f**k all in 2008 and it had it's fifth consecutive MOT pass yesterday. I've done almost 60'000 in it and it is not worth replacing. Normally dirty with the odd ding and rust spot and I don't give a monkeys. It costs me around £2-300 a year in maintenance. I used to have nice daily cars but I just can't be bothered anymore.
W124 said:
Sir, I salute you.
I had a basic 1.4 petrol 306 once and it was the best car I've owned by some margin. There is a road near hear, a fairly nondescript road that links Chenies with Chesham - but it's savage! A real test of a car's chassis and the 306 is still the only car I've been able to tame that road in.
For true shedding I would take the route of a deeply unhip Merc in a dodgy colour (say a 1997 C200 in bright blue) - £500 or therabouts - and just drive it very slowly. In my long experience of cheap, cheap motoring I've learned driving slowly is the key. Suddenly change the usage pattern of a car and it will disintegrate pretty quickly.
I agree with the above post about changing the pattern of use.I had a basic 1.4 petrol 306 once and it was the best car I've owned by some margin. There is a road near hear, a fairly nondescript road that links Chenies with Chesham - but it's savage! A real test of a car's chassis and the 306 is still the only car I've been able to tame that road in.
For true shedding I would take the route of a deeply unhip Merc in a dodgy colour (say a 1997 C200 in bright blue) - £500 or therabouts - and just drive it very slowly. In my long experience of cheap, cheap motoring I've learned driving slowly is the key. Suddenly change the usage pattern of a car and it will disintegrate pretty quickly.
We have an 850 T5 as our 'shed' car, but only tootle about in it, with the odd blast to clear the cobwebs out. It feels as though it is happier tootling about. It would eat tyres, for example, if driven hard. Been all over the country in it, and in many ways prefer it to my e46 M3. Fuel consumption more or less the same with both cars, so flawed from that perspective maybe. On a long motorway run (boring talk alert) it is worse than m3, as that has 6 gears, so I stick to 65-70mph, as per the law of course.
We have had many sheds over the years, including a cheeky little Renault Extra van 1991 vintage, but the only downside I find is that my 'tootling about' still means I get stuck behind some half-asleep dimwit doing 40mph everywhere. At least in the Volvo I have enough poke to get by safely, instead of a run-up job if the road is clear.
And the original poster says that people have an inclination to overtake him, regardless of how fast he's going, which I don't mind at all from experience. It is when they sit 3 feet from the back of my car (particularly the Renault Van I had) for mile after mile even when I'm making good progress (60mph-good lines etc to preserve momentum etc) that gets on my wick. Like they have entered a trance-like state after catching me up.
Windymiller said:
Touring442 said:
I used to have nice daily cars but I just can't be bothered anymore.
Thought of giving up on life too? 
Your cars sound fantastic but in reality I think I would be a bit scared to use them
Edited by SuperHangOn on Tuesday 15th January 12:27
Shedding is EPIC!
The best shed I owned as an all round package was a 1994 'L' Reg BMW E34 525 TDS SE Saloon...
12 Months MOT / 6 Months Tax / Silver with Black Buffalo Hide all for £580!
This was 3 years ago, so was a good bargain back then.
As with most E34s, it felt solid.
I did over 30k miles in 18 months, and it never once let me down, always started first turn of the key, and did over 45 mpg all days long.
Was quick enough, still had the six cylinder grunt and saved me from getting my E34 M5 clogged up on the miles!
And yes, as someone has correctly pointed out, we are very LUCKY to be able to buy cars like these sheds as these silly low prices. Elsewhere in Europe, you would pay almost 4 times that amount for the same car!
KEEP ON SHEDDING!
The best shed I owned as an all round package was a 1994 'L' Reg BMW E34 525 TDS SE Saloon...
12 Months MOT / 6 Months Tax / Silver with Black Buffalo Hide all for £580!
This was 3 years ago, so was a good bargain back then.
As with most E34s, it felt solid.
I did over 30k miles in 18 months, and it never once let me down, always started first turn of the key, and did over 45 mpg all days long.
Was quick enough, still had the six cylinder grunt and saved me from getting my E34 M5 clogged up on the miles!
And yes, as someone has correctly pointed out, we are very LUCKY to be able to buy cars like these sheds as these silly low prices. Elsewhere in Europe, you would pay almost 4 times that amount for the same car!
KEEP ON SHEDDING!
or am i being cinical! I'm perhaps older than most on here, but I can say, that the golden age for shedding, seems to have been the mid 70's to 80's.
We didn't call them sheds then, just wrecks , or scrappers, mainly because they were and should have been. Myself and several frinds had an unwritten competition between ourselves, as to who could drive the biggest wreck for the longest time. Happy days, the joys of the Minor with the wings held together by concrete, painting faces arouund the body rot holes, in the wings doors etc. ( a sort of anti customisation). Door hinge problems and its not the drivers door? Couple of minutes drilling, in with the self tappers. Hinge only a problem if door being opened, cannot open door, no problem.
Oh yes, the joys of flapping doorskins, body rot holes in the roof, yep! the roof! The bag of cement thats "gone off" in the boot and made the spare impossible to remove. Cue the bemused onllokers looking at car owner (me) jackhammerring away inside the boot!. The repair skills available with self tapping screws and gas fire ally closure plates, the individuality otf the smeared brush painted finish. The sheer adaptability, my mate kept 2 chickens in his Viva van for some months. The delight of the decision curve, something has fallen off, will the car work without it? If Yes, sling it in the hedge, If No!..Bodge it, or scrap the lot and find another.
Back then of course, the MOT was not as stringent, neither was it computerised, so part of the secret was knowing an MOT tester who had a guide dog, or was partial to a pint or two. It was amazing what could be "ok" as long as it did not involve brakes or steering.
My best buy, was a Marina, paid £40 for it, ran it for near 2 years, electrics went up in smoke, so that went for razorblades. Yet, all those years I drove wrecks, I only got stranded once, wheel fell off (another marina) front uj snapped, quite common apparently,I actually fixed it as well, lasted another year or so.
All good fun
We didn't call them sheds then, just wrecks , or scrappers, mainly because they were and should have been. Myself and several frinds had an unwritten competition between ourselves, as to who could drive the biggest wreck for the longest time. Happy days, the joys of the Minor with the wings held together by concrete, painting faces arouund the body rot holes, in the wings doors etc. ( a sort of anti customisation). Door hinge problems and its not the drivers door? Couple of minutes drilling, in with the self tappers. Hinge only a problem if door being opened, cannot open door, no problem.
Oh yes, the joys of flapping doorskins, body rot holes in the roof, yep! the roof! The bag of cement thats "gone off" in the boot and made the spare impossible to remove. Cue the bemused onllokers looking at car owner (me) jackhammerring away inside the boot!. The repair skills available with self tapping screws and gas fire ally closure plates, the individuality otf the smeared brush painted finish. The sheer adaptability, my mate kept 2 chickens in his Viva van for some months. The delight of the decision curve, something has fallen off, will the car work without it? If Yes, sling it in the hedge, If No!..Bodge it, or scrap the lot and find another.
Back then of course, the MOT was not as stringent, neither was it computerised, so part of the secret was knowing an MOT tester who had a guide dog, or was partial to a pint or two. It was amazing what could be "ok" as long as it did not involve brakes or steering.
My best buy, was a Marina, paid £40 for it, ran it for near 2 years, electrics went up in smoke, so that went for razorblades. Yet, all those years I drove wrecks, I only got stranded once, wheel fell off (another marina) front uj snapped, quite common apparently,I actually fixed it as well, lasted another year or so.
All good fun
Cheese Mechanic said:
We didn't call them sheds then, just wrecks , or scrappers, mainly because they were and should have been.
This is so true. I remember when i was a kid of 17 and me and the lads had all just started driving, we were not poor or from poor families, but we all drove what i would now describe as Sheds (in actual fact sub shed if £1k is the benchmark), from memory no one had anything sub 10 years old or without at least some corrosion, most struggled to hit the magic ton without gravity and and a following wind to lend a hand, as most had carbs, there was mandatory tinkering required at regular intervals to keep them running alright.Lanci Y10, Nova (saloon), Metro, fiesta, 2cv, Suzzy SJ, Uno, Panda... basically cars that never made it much past 15 years before they gave into to rust!
Shed standard is so much higher now!
Love these shed stories, warms the heart 
It's amazing how some people can't comprehend the simple economics. The year before last we were looking at house with the missus's parents and the joint purchase was nearly scuppered because it was 1/2 mile down a private road that didn't get gritted i.e potentially at some point during the year the combination or BMW's/MX5/GTR etc wouldn't be able to get out to the main road. As mother-in-law is a headmistress this was deemed unacceptable and a dealbreaker.
My simple answer was that we just buy a car between us for such days! £250 x 4 people buys you a perfectly usable subaru 4x4 automatic legacy. I do an oil/filter change every year, MOT and checkover by my mate and is just taxed for the winter period. It can then sit down the side of the house on trickle charge. With insurance on my trade policy I reckoned the tax and running costs would be buttons between us. If it blows up/disintegrates, go and buy another one...in the big scheme of things compared to the house purchase it was relatively insignificant.
It's true what another poster said about how we should count ourselves lucky though. My Russian friend was over a while ago and could not comprehend how my rather mint BMW 740i cost £1500 and how my rather smart Mk4 Golf GTI cost £600.
With the arrival of twins though, I could do with something bigger for day to day so was attempting to upscale to that Saab in SOTW but suspect owner has been barraged with calls as not answering phone or emails...bah
It's amazing how some people can't comprehend the simple economics. The year before last we were looking at house with the missus's parents and the joint purchase was nearly scuppered because it was 1/2 mile down a private road that didn't get gritted i.e potentially at some point during the year the combination or BMW's/MX5/GTR etc wouldn't be able to get out to the main road. As mother-in-law is a headmistress this was deemed unacceptable and a dealbreaker.
My simple answer was that we just buy a car between us for such days! £250 x 4 people buys you a perfectly usable subaru 4x4 automatic legacy. I do an oil/filter change every year, MOT and checkover by my mate and is just taxed for the winter period. It can then sit down the side of the house on trickle charge. With insurance on my trade policy I reckoned the tax and running costs would be buttons between us. If it blows up/disintegrates, go and buy another one...in the big scheme of things compared to the house purchase it was relatively insignificant.
It's true what another poster said about how we should count ourselves lucky though. My Russian friend was over a while ago and could not comprehend how my rather mint BMW 740i cost £1500 and how my rather smart Mk4 Golf GTI cost £600.
With the arrival of twins though, I could do with something bigger for day to day so was attempting to upscale to that Saab in SOTW but suspect owner has been barraged with calls as not answering phone or emails...bah
hmmmm. Im thinking about converting to shed-onomics - did a quick check for everything under £500 within a few miles and came up with this....
Somethin' aint right. £130 for a decent lookin' Bora and a boast of 'Under Manufacturers Warranty' - for a car thats 10years old!? Even Kia aint that good. My sheddy sense is tingling. This one is a wrong'un right?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Somethin' aint right. £130 for a decent lookin' Bora and a boast of 'Under Manufacturers Warranty' - for a car thats 10years old!? Even Kia aint that good. My sheddy sense is tingling. This one is a wrong'un right?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
Bjam99 said:
hmmmm. Im thinking about converting to shed-onomics - did a quick check for everything under £500 within a few miles and came up with this....
Somethin' aint right. £130 for a decent lookin' Bora and a boast of 'Under Manufacturers Warranty' - for a car thats 10years old!? Even Kia aint that good. My sheddy sense is tingling. This one is a wrong'un right?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
That obviously should be £1300, typo I'm sure.Somethin' aint right. £130 for a decent lookin' Bora and a boast of 'Under Manufacturers Warranty' - for a car thats 10years old!? Even Kia aint that good. My sheddy sense is tingling. This one is a wrong'un right?
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...
For me this I missing the point of shedding. Cheap fun with strangely cheap formerly glorious metal is the theme.
Old alfa's, bm's, Merc's etc are where it's at.
On this point, I would personally never keep a car long enough (5 years+?) for avoiding winter use yielding any benefits. If you love driving, every journey is special! Why drive something dull when we are blessed with so many wonderful options.
Old alfa's, bm's, Merc's etc are where it's at.
On this point, I would personally never keep a car long enough (5 years+?) for avoiding winter use yielding any benefits. If you love driving, every journey is special! Why drive something dull when we are blessed with so many wonderful options.
My £250 of sheddage that i happily clean and wax... i like shiny cars lol ... and knowing how these things rust if you sneeze at em, it will make it last so much longer
both sheds together
I love not worrying about them, getting into a panic about car park dinks, or having to give way to morons in expensive cars!!
Outta my way, shed comming through!!
both sheds together
I love not worrying about them, getting into a panic about car park dinks, or having to give way to morons in expensive cars!!
Outta my way, shed comming through!!
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