Car over 15 years old? What are your workshop costs?
Discussion
I've been totting up my garage maintenance and repair costs over the past 3 years for my now 17-year old 4x4 and come up with a figure of around £350 per year (not including tyres). I thought this was pretty reasonable (especially since reading some eye-poppingly HUGE figures mentioned on the Best Smoker Barges thread).
The car is a 1994 Mercedes G350 turbo diesel, it is looked after by the local Merc specialist, it has an annual MB specification service and it has been in one other time in the last 3 years for fitting a high-level MB brake light plus a few other minor jobs like changing the rear brake cylinders (because I thought that would be a good idea to change them after 17 years).
So if your car is over 15 years old, I'm curious to hear what are your garage maintenance and repair costs?
The car is a 1994 Mercedes G350 turbo diesel, it is looked after by the local Merc specialist, it has an annual MB specification service and it has been in one other time in the last 3 years for fitting a high-level MB brake light plus a few other minor jobs like changing the rear brake cylinders (because I thought that would be a good idea to change them after 17 years).
So if your car is over 15 years old, I'm curious to hear what are your garage maintenance and repair costs?
We got 4 cars, 3 are 20-22, last one is 11.
I think in the last year the wife's 1990 Nova needed new stem seals, so a head set + bolts was £30.
I change oil about the 3k mark, and it's about £10 a time, so lets say it's had 3 of them.
£60.
We renewed cam belt and water pump at some point, that was about £50.
Gave the carb a clean out, found a spider in the float chamber! £6 for a can of carb cleaner.
And we discovered the rear brake hoses were very tired and cracked. £12 for a pair.
So that's £128 in roughly a year and 14k odd miles.
I think in the last year the wife's 1990 Nova needed new stem seals, so a head set + bolts was £30.
I change oil about the 3k mark, and it's about £10 a time, so lets say it's had 3 of them.
£60.
We renewed cam belt and water pump at some point, that was about £50.
Gave the carb a clean out, found a spider in the float chamber! £6 for a can of carb cleaner.
And we discovered the rear brake hoses were very tired and cracked. £12 for a pair.
So that's £128 in roughly a year and 14k odd miles.
21 Year old Corrado,
Gearbox Rebuilt
Top end rebuild (head was scored between cylinders after hgf)
Full front end suspension refresh
Umpteen bearings
New Fuel Lines
New rear brake lines
There's a few more jobs and niggles I couldn't do that I had garage attention for over the last year. Certainly racks up to a few thousand I should imagine.
I try to avoid taking mine to the garage as much as possible, service it myself and try to tackle as many jobs as possible otherwise it would be a complete moneypit. Should imagine the yearly running cost (minus these "Unfortunate" issues and fixing non critical niggles) would probably be around £500 - £600 for maintainance/Tyres/Tax
Gearbox Rebuilt
Top end rebuild (head was scored between cylinders after hgf)
Full front end suspension refresh
Umpteen bearings
New Fuel Lines
New rear brake lines
There's a few more jobs and niggles I couldn't do that I had garage attention for over the last year. Certainly racks up to a few thousand I should imagine.
I try to avoid taking mine to the garage as much as possible, service it myself and try to tackle as many jobs as possible otherwise it would be a complete moneypit. Should imagine the yearly running cost (minus these "Unfortunate" issues and fixing non critical niggles) would probably be around £500 - £600 for maintainance/Tyres/Tax
Exactly. We couldn't afford to run 4 cars 'normally', i.e. ship them off to a garage once a year for MOT/ service and occasional repairs.
A normal garage would charge, what, £3-400 to change the stem seals, even on a 8V engine and would have insisted that the bloody head be skimmed.
Our theory is we'd rather have 4 old, slightly crap cars instead of 2 newer, more common ones. We can afford to have them off the road if needs be (my GTE isn't a winter car).
Although sourcing parts is getting difficult now.
A normal garage would charge, what, £3-400 to change the stem seals, even on a 8V engine and would have insisted that the bloody head be skimmed.
Our theory is we'd rather have 4 old, slightly crap cars instead of 2 newer, more common ones. We can afford to have them off the road if needs be (my GTE isn't a winter car).
Although sourcing parts is getting difficult now.
Completely depends upon the car, between me/one mate/my father we own 5cars in this category:
1) 1996 bmw 320i touring - owes me 1x caliper and some pads, for 5months. a service at £75. and thats it.
2) 1996 Nissan 200SX - £14,000 of bills in as many months.
3) Fathers Jag Xk8 - 1995 (24k on clock, 1owner before him) - in 2years it's had its services by a local indy. and a water-pump.
4) 1995 Ford escort 1600 - work mate - paid £125 for it 2years ago. Serviced yearly at £60. thats it
5) Pug 405 1.9d (non turb) - paid £136 off ebay for it - 1x service @ £35, and 1x diesel solenoid at £8. Did 3,000 miles around europe for charity in it. Never missed a beat, even got 115mph out of it on the autobahn. Mate bought it of us and got a years worth of life out of it as a builders wagon whilst doing his house up. Patio slaps and bricks finally brought its life to an end.
6) fathers 1984 merc 280CE - owned 10years. major restoration inside and out costing around £10k all in. But in terms of yearly servicing and "must do's" it costs a service at £60 at the indy who does the Jag
Each one varies dont it?
1) 1996 bmw 320i touring - owes me 1x caliper and some pads, for 5months. a service at £75. and thats it.
2) 1996 Nissan 200SX - £14,000 of bills in as many months.
3) Fathers Jag Xk8 - 1995 (24k on clock, 1owner before him) - in 2years it's had its services by a local indy. and a water-pump.
4) 1995 Ford escort 1600 - work mate - paid £125 for it 2years ago. Serviced yearly at £60. thats it
5) Pug 405 1.9d (non turb) - paid £136 off ebay for it - 1x service @ £35, and 1x diesel solenoid at £8. Did 3,000 miles around europe for charity in it. Never missed a beat, even got 115mph out of it on the autobahn. Mate bought it of us and got a years worth of life out of it as a builders wagon whilst doing his house up. Patio slaps and bricks finally brought its life to an end.
6) fathers 1984 merc 280CE - owned 10years. major restoration inside and out costing around £10k all in. But in terms of yearly servicing and "must do's" it costs a service at £60 at the indy who does the Jag
Each one varies dont it?
1994 Green Cappuccino. My last one cost me £300~ for the parts to replace rear calliper seals/boots/pins and a new set of disc's and pads.
1994 Red Cappuccino. This one has cost me £60 in oil and £20 for a new set of front pads...
HOWEVER! there's a need for some welding before the next MOT and I think a new set of front Callipers.... which you can't buy new anymore...
1994 Red Cappuccino. This one has cost me £60 in oil and £20 for a new set of front pads...
HOWEVER! there's a need for some welding before the next MOT and I think a new set of front Callipers.... which you can't buy new anymore...
I have been looking at this, as my old prelude needs love, but as i am looking to replace it with something a lot newer and far better, i was just going to sell it on for what i can get.
But i did toy with the idea of what would need done if i kept it, as it doesn't cost much to run.
it cost £600 to buy (non runner) turns out it was a snapped timing belt, but as the engine is non interference under 5k rpm, it just needed a new belt! result.
So i replaced oil, plugs and filters and all belts as a matter of course.
However the main issues would be to remove the 4WS system as its just going to ruin me if i try and fix it (and i know about soldering the control board). would need new dampers and springs all round, and new bushes all round, probably a respray as there is a lot of bubbles on the paint but feel solid, so probably just moisture under paint and rust starting, but would need to rub down paint to treat metal, also the windscreen has swirls all over it and thousands of little nicks (in direct low sun its not funny!!) so would replace windscreen too.
All in thats about £2-2.5K i would have said to bring it back to tip top running straight.
But car would only still be worht about £1.5k and i would get bored with it.
Its not a rare enough or excitring enough car to justify it, so shall sell and see what happens in august.
But i did toy with the idea of what would need done if i kept it, as it doesn't cost much to run.
it cost £600 to buy (non runner) turns out it was a snapped timing belt, but as the engine is non interference under 5k rpm, it just needed a new belt! result.
So i replaced oil, plugs and filters and all belts as a matter of course.
However the main issues would be to remove the 4WS system as its just going to ruin me if i try and fix it (and i know about soldering the control board). would need new dampers and springs all round, and new bushes all round, probably a respray as there is a lot of bubbles on the paint but feel solid, so probably just moisture under paint and rust starting, but would need to rub down paint to treat metal, also the windscreen has swirls all over it and thousands of little nicks (in direct low sun its not funny!!) so would replace windscreen too.
All in thats about £2-2.5K i would have said to bring it back to tip top running straight.
But car would only still be worht about £1.5k and i would get bored with it.
Its not a rare enough or excitring enough car to justify it, so shall sell and see what happens in august.
mgmrw2003 said:
why do you have to make it mint?
why not do the bare minimum and see how long it lasts?
BANGERNOMICS!
now you see... i dont get bangernomics. I can understand why people do it. Buy the cheapest car possible and run it until it dies.why not do the bare minimum and see how long it lasts?
BANGERNOMICS!
I dont consider my 328 sport as a banger. Maybe its due to the fact i have OCD but i cant physically drive my car if it looks a state and im constantly worrying it will break. As such ive spent nearly £3k on the car which cost me £1800 a year ago.
Therefore if you buy a sporty old car... when does it become a banger?
Because i am sick of running about in sheds TBH, i made my last Integra almost showroom condiotion from what was a very taty and unloved car, it was so straight i loved it, but i was made a cash offer i couldn't refuse so sold it, and picked up the lude as a stop gap.
I now find myself in the position to buy something i have always wanted (M3\996\boxter\brera V6...dont ask) so i fancy getting something i will really enjoy, relatively reliable and may want to keep.
But yeah, i have done bangernomics for 12 years since i was 17, love working on cars and doing my own repairs, but i am 30 next year and i always wanted to have a car that was a bit special by that time.
i may go back top bangernomics after this, but i wanted to do something nice before i hit the big 30..if that makes sense
I now find myself in the position to buy something i have always wanted (M3\996\boxter\brera V6...dont ask) so i fancy getting something i will really enjoy, relatively reliable and may want to keep.
But yeah, i have done bangernomics for 12 years since i was 17, love working on cars and doing my own repairs, but i am 30 next year and i always wanted to have a car that was a bit special by that time.
i may go back top bangernomics after this, but i wanted to do something nice before i hit the big 30..if that makes sense
S3_Graham said:
now you see... i dont get bangernomics. I can understand why people do it. Buy the cheapest car possible and run it until it dies.
I dont consider my 328 sport as a banger. Maybe its due to the fact i have OCD but i cant physically drive my car if it looks a state and im constantly worrying it will break. As such ive spent nearly £3k on the car which cost me £1800 a year ago.
Therefore if you buy a sporty old car... when does it become a banger?
Never said it had to be. And in some ways I agree, but with SOME careful shopping around you can find something that will look nice, drive nice, and live for ages.I dont consider my 328 sport as a banger. Maybe its due to the fact i have OCD but i cant physically drive my car if it looks a state and im constantly worrying it will break. As such ive spent nearly £3k on the car which cost me £1800 a year ago.
Therefore if you buy a sporty old car... when does it become a banger?
case study:
my E36 320i tourer. Bought as a works hack to get filthy, and transport 1x alsatian/leonberger cross weighing in at 10st.
got a couple of rust scabs on the arches, but nothing you can see from 2cars length away. So all I spend on it are ESSENTIAL stuff to keep it running and driving nice.
I did indulge in a set of new shocks from a motorfactors, and some new bushes at £9 each. BUT the paintwork WILL NOT be getting touched, nor will the tired interior.
Servicing I do myself......... just indy it for big jobs that aren't street friendly.
Until the engine dies or the chassis corrodes through, it will keep getting minimal spend, hoovered monthly, and washed weekly. ALWAYS serviced impeccably.
Wouldn't dream of running it into the ground.
(in all honesty, it gets better loving than the 2006 SAAB)
Monkeylegend said:
mgmrw2003 said:
2) 1996 Nissan 200SX - £14,000 of bills in as many months.
er why would you spend all that on a 200SX ?Parts fitted: brake kit was 1500quid.... box' were £300 each. suspension was over a grand. wheels & rubber £1500. respray because previous owner did it in PO red with a rattle can, in the dark, outside, when raining.
Pair of corbeau seats. strut braces. complete handmade exhaust inc. manifold and heat wrap (£2k)
I could continue, but got bored of crying.
As to why? I was bored/single/fresh out of uni and courtesy of 72hours a week at work, making more money than I could spend so blew most of it with Sumo Power, a fair wack on labour bills (probably shot through £3500 at indys)........ errm yeah.
PaulB81 said:
More to the point, how do you spend that on it? Surely wouldnt have been much more than that to buy the damn thing new when it came out?
See response to previous poster.By the way... a lot went on fixing other people's bodging and f
k ups.3 trips to a rally prep centre for corner weighting, tracking, fuelling set up, dyno runs and so on.................... It soon adds up
G350 said:
I've been totting up my garage maintenance and repair costs over the past 3 years for my now 17-year old 4x4 and come up with a figure of around £350 per year (not including tyres). I thought this was pretty reasonable (especially since reading some eye-poppingly HUGE figures mentioned on the Best Smoker Barges thread).
The car is a 1994 Mercedes G350 turbo diesel, it is looked after by the local Merc specialist, it has an annual MB specification service and it has been in one other time in the last 3 years for fitting a high-level MB brake light plus a few other minor jobs like changing the rear brake cylinders (because I thought that would be a good idea to change them after 17 years).
So if your car is over 15 years old, I'm curious to hear what are your garage maintenance and repair costs?
Well straight off you have an advantage over most, you've got one of the best built vehicles going, even better that Merc saloons of the 80's I reckon. I've seen a few of these G-Wagen's doing massive mileage with just preventive maintenance and the odd repair. So, 350 p.a. plus tyres I reckon is peanuts. Mind you all is relative to the mileage p.a., type of storage if any & general care taken with the vehicle. I say that as I put up 60k miles on my old Merc in 2.5 years, driven hard, stored mainly outside in all weathers and it probability cost on basic servicing & repairs 3k p.a.The car is a 1994 Mercedes G350 turbo diesel, it is looked after by the local Merc specialist, it has an annual MB specification service and it has been in one other time in the last 3 years for fitting a high-level MB brake light plus a few other minor jobs like changing the rear brake cylinders (because I thought that would be a good idea to change them after 17 years).
So if your car is over 15 years old, I'm curious to hear what are your garage maintenance and repair costs?
12 months
1990 peugeot 205 1.1
2x services £80
Both driveshafts at £50 each £100
Brake pads £20
Starter motor £40
Alternator £80
Clutch £50
Wheel bearing £15
Tie rod end £4
£389 not bad for 12 months of motoring
I'm lucky my brother is a mechanic and have friends that are handy with spanners to help out I think i'd of scrapped or tried to sell soon as the clutch went as thats £300 right there.
1990 peugeot 205 1.1
2x services £80
Both driveshafts at £50 each £100
Brake pads £20
Starter motor £40
Alternator £80
Clutch £50
Wheel bearing £15
Tie rod end £4
£389 not bad for 12 months of motoring
I'm lucky my brother is a mechanic and have friends that are handy with spanners to help out I think i'd of scrapped or tried to sell soon as the clutch went as thats £300 right there.
Johnboy Mac said:
Well straight off you have an advantage over most, you've got one of the best built vehicles going, even better that Merc saloons of the 80's I reckon. I've seen a few of these G-Wagen's doing massive mileage with just preventive maintenance and the odd repair. So, 350 p.a. plus tyres I reckon is peanuts. Mind you all is relative to the mileage p.a., type of storage if any & general care taken with the vehicle. I say that as I put up 60k miles on my old Merc in 2.5 years, driven hard, stored mainly outside in all weathers and it probability cost on basic servicing & repairs 3k p.a.
Washed it yesterday for the first time in three months and went for drive.
1994 MX-5
Clutch slave cyl - ~£15
Brake pads - £40
Oil & filter - £35
Springs - ~£50
Alignment - £100
Exhaust - £140
So about £380 in about 9 months so far, but I'm hoping that this is an "expensive" year for it!
I do keep thinking about suspension upgrades and a turbo/supercharger though...
Clutch slave cyl - ~£15
Brake pads - £40
Oil & filter - £35
Springs - ~£50
Alignment - £100
Exhaust - £140
So about £380 in about 9 months so far, but I'm hoping that this is an "expensive" year for it!
I do keep thinking about suspension upgrades and a turbo/supercharger though...
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