Running a banger cost effective?

[Terzo123]

I bought a 07 plate 207 1.4s earlier this year to use as a commuter car.

What I'm into it for

Car - 400
Service and new sump - 200
MOT - 40 - passed recently with no advisories.
Wiper blades - 20
2 new tyres - 100
It will probably need the two front CV joint changing shortly.

The car when i bought it had only done 43k after sitting pretty much dormant for the past 5 years.

Ive done about 3k so far with a round trip of 46 miles per day and getting 45 mpg.

Barring a catastrophic engine failure I should get my money back if a wanted to get rid of it.

A short readers thread on it here

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Edited by Terzo123 on Wednesday 11th September 11:02

[Petrolsmasher]

will everyone just stfu about a bike for crying out loud i want a car.

Thinking of getting a 2k mx5, bit more expensive than a shed but at least it wont be a complete rotter and should give me a bit of driving enjoyment on the way to work

[Seesure]

Love bangernomics...

Bought a couple in the last 12 months from e-bay...

£500 51 plate Skoda for my lad to get up and down to Colchester for university... bought it July 2018 and it went through another MOT in June this year without too much trouble... Had the AA replace the alternator at the roadside last year and a small oil leak sorted but it's been pretty good bearing in mind he usually has half the Essex Uni rugby team in it... If my son had not had it I'd have used it as a tip car...



For £950 bought this 03 plate Mercedes as a spare car and also with a plan to run it across Europe, out to the Balkans and dropping down in to Turkey on a few road trips.



Both have half the mileage of my daily.... !!!

[djohnson]

Petrolsmasher said:

will everyone just stfu about a bike for crying out loud i want a car.

Thinking of getting a 2k mx5, bit more expensive than a shed but at least it wont be a complete rotter and should give me a bit of driving enjoyment on the way to work

Ok on the bike point (albeit you need to be a lunatic to ride one on the road - sorry couldn’t resist).

How on earth is buying two MX5s a better deal than buying one and just using it for everything?

[InitialDave]

Petrolsmasher said:

will everyone just stfu about a bike for crying out loud i want a car.

Thinking of getting a 2k mx5, bit more expensive than a shed but at least it wont be a complete rotter and should give me a bit of driving enjoyment on the way to work

Mate did that a few months back. Currently still running it. Certain amount of maintenance been needed, but he's put thousands of miles on it in that time and it's done the job fine.

[sjj84]

I tried bangers, didn't really work out for me. I was given a golf a few years back, had the cam belt done as it was well over due and fitted new tyres and gave it a service. Other than that and the obvious tax, mot and insurance it didn't cost anything for the 2 years I had it. Was ideal really as we'd just moved house so had lots of diy/tip runs to do and my other car was a 2 seater. I used it for the commute but always wanted to be in my better car so upgraded the banger, then upgraded it again. My banger went from being the cheapest, oldest, lowest powered car we owned to the most expensive, newest, most powerful car. Don't think I did the cost effective banger thing quite right.

[Down and out]

Petrolsmasher said:

will everyone just stfu about a bike for crying out loud i want a car.

Thinking of getting a 2k mx5, bit more expensive than a shed but at least it wont be a complete rotter and should give me a bit of driving enjoyment on the way to work

What about a banger bike?

[Bakazan]

Pothole said:

OP:

I'm running a 1998 civic at the moment. Total cost for 11 months has been £900ish plus petrol. It's not exciting but it is reliable and comfortable. It's reasonably quiet now I've put new tyres on it. I've not serviced it yet but I will as long as it passes the MOT in October without costing too much.

Costs:

purchase 175
ticket 100
MOT 190
tyres 160
fan resistor 12
flasher relays 24
tax 270 (12 months)


Would have been £100 less had I not been unlucky and got stopped for no MOT on the trip home from Poole to Cannock...

I only bought it to save riding my motorcycle in the winter but it's to good to let go and I'll use it this winter, too. I reckon the MOT will cost about the same as the same bits will be needed on opposite sides to what failed last time (a shock and a bush) I might even have a go at those myself. There's no glamour or fun attached but purely as a functional item I don't care enough about to even lock most of the time, it's perfect.

Sorry to go off topic (although I think that cause is lost already) - but is it only £100 fine to get caught without an MOT? Were there any other repercussions such as points or having to declare this to insurance?

For the record I cycle for some of my commute and use the phrase "push bike".

[Bakazan]

Pothole said:

OP:

I'm running a 1998 civic at the moment. Total cost for 11 months has been £900ish plus petrol. It's not exciting but it is reliable and comfortable. It's reasonably quiet now I've put new tyres on it. I've not serviced it yet but I will as long as it passes the MOT in October without costing too much.

Costs:

purchase 175
ticket 100
MOT 190
tyres 160
fan resistor 12
flasher relays 24
tax 270 (12 months)


Would have been £100 less had I not been unlucky and got stopped for no MOT on the trip home from Poole to Cannock...

I only bought it to save riding my motorcycle in the winter but it's to good to let go and I'll use it this winter, too. I reckon the MOT will cost about the same as the same bits will be needed on opposite sides to what failed last time (a shock and a bush) I might even have a go at those myself. There's no glamour or fun attached but purely as a functional item I don't care enough about to even lock most of the time, it's perfect.

Sorry to go off topic (although I think that cause is lost already) - but is it only £100 fine to get caught without an MOT? Were there any other repercussions such as points or having to declare this to insurance?

For the record I cycle for some of my commute and use the phrase "push bike".

[coffeebreath]

I bought a civic for £380, replaced a CV boot, tie rod end, and front springs for less than £80. Sold it a year and a half later for £490.

Looking forward to doing something similar this winter, except planning to buy something a bit more comfortable and unreliable this time round and hope it's good enough to last a few years.

[MC Bodge]

Bakazan said:

For the record I cycle for some of my commute and use the phrase "push bike".

Grandad, is that you?

[p4cks]

MC Bodge said:

Bakazan said:

For the record I cycle for some of my commute and use the phrase "push bike".

Grandad, is that you?

Give it a fking rest

[fernando the frog]

guy asks if running a banger is cost effective

is then told by multiple people to buy weatherproofs and a bicycle

you people are fking ridiculous

[anonymous-user]

After a few years of running new cars and not tinkering, I'm enjoying getting back to bangernomics. Being fussy isn't a great trait to go with it, though...

Bought a 1999 SLK a few weeks back for £1200. Just had it serviced and new disks/pads for £550.

Today superglued the driver's door rubber seal that had split, siliconed the same part afterward as the driver's door glass wasn't flushing into it. Needs tracking doing and probably front bearings. Washer bottle is pissing out and it's hidden in the front wing...

Will have to do all these jobs as things not working really pisses me off!

Also looking at replacing the cheap aftermarket head unit with a Bluetooth one... Another £150...

Loving the old school driving experience though.

[Monkeylegend]

janesmith1950 said:

After a few years of running new cars and not tinkering, I'm enjoying getting back to bangernomics. Being fussy isn't a great trait to go with it, though...

Bought a 1999 SLK a few weeks back for £1200. Just had it serviced and new disks/pads for £550.

Today superglued the driver's door rubber seal that had split, siliconed the same part afterward as the driver's door glass wasn't flushing into it. Needs tracking doing and probably front bearings. Washer bottle is pissing out and it's hidden in the front wing...

Will have to do all these jobs as things not working really pisses me off!

Also looking at replacing the cheap aftermarket head unit with a Bluetooth one... Another £150...

Loving the old school driving experience though.

As long as it is relatively rust free it's worth doing.

[anonymous-user]

Yeah, it's a push bike, not a bicycle.

[Fatlad1973]

singlecoil said:

MC Bodge said:

singlecoil said:

MC Bodge said:

...It's interesting how some people can be so scared of things that others just do...

Using emotive terms won't bolster your argument. Deciding that something isn't worth the risk (even if it's a small one) is not fear driven, it's a cost/benefit calculation.

Bolster my argument? Somebody asserted that riding bikes on the road was crazy and only lunatics would do it.

Ps. The cost of cycling to work is miniscule. The benefits are multiple. Even riding to work in the rain is better than driving to work in traffic.

You're ignoring the risk in that equation. The risk, I agree, is small but the consequences of being struck by a car with an inattentive driver are easily potentially life changing if not actually fatal. You choose not to concern yourself with that risk but it doesn't mean that it isn't there.

I'm not a cyclist but have toyed with the idea of cycling 12 mile into Manchester City centre to work. I doubt I'd ever do it and I would worry about the risk. However, really that's bullst as my drinking is way more of a risk to my health. For a serious analysis of the risks (and upside rewards to longevity) from cycling see: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/06/13/bicycli...

[MC Bodge]

Fatlad1973 said:

I'm not a cyclist but have toyed with the idea of cycling 12 mile into Manchester City centre to work. I doubt I'd ever do it and I would worry about the risk. However, really that's bullst as my drinking is way more of a risk to my health. For a serious analysis of the risks (and upside rewards to longevity) from cycling see: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/06/13/bicycli...

Where in Manc would you be riding from / to?

[p4cks]

To be straightforward, no one on here really cares. We’re discussing the pros and cons of a shed, which is a motor vehicle.

There’s a biking forum here I’m sure, where everyone who likes bikes can post about bikes, or push bikes, or bicycles or whatever the fk you want to call them.

The OP wants A CAR!

[MC Bodge]

p4cks said:

To be straightforward, no one on here really cares. We’re discussing the pros and cons of a shed, which is a motor vehicle.

There’s a biking forum here I’m sure, where everyone who likes bikes can post about bikes, or push bikes, or bicycles or whatever the fk you want to call them.

The OP wants A CAR!