Bangernomics/ Shedding 2025

[Gordon Hill]

I'm not starting this thread as a replacement for the joy of running an old shed thread of which I have been an active follower and participant for quite a while now, more to focus on the changes especially since covid.

For those of us who run cheap cars as a daily whether out of necessity or just because we prefer to it seems long gone are the days when a few hundred quid would get you transport that could potentially last 3 or 4 years in fact looking at what's available then sub a grand is basically scrap with a few exceptions.

Then there is the difference between bangernomics ( buy cheap, spend nothing, scrap, repeat) and shedding ( buy a bit better car, look after it mechanically and keep). Seems the sweet spot is now between £1500 to £2000 so double pre covid.

Many have felt the pinch financially over the last 5 years so cheap cars have become more wanted, they are becoming more complicated so less home spanner friendly, this will only get worse, and as a society we tend to throw away now rather than mend.

I love running cheap cars, as a young man out of financial necessity but as I got older and more affluent couldn't get out of the mindset so just carried on, I love doing my own servicing and repairs too, will this mindset die out as we progress to EV's?

[charltjr]

I don’t see why, if anything EVs should be simpler to maintain at home. It’s a different skill set to learn for sure, but the power train is inherently simpler than any modern ICE car.

[Evercross]

charltjr said:

I don’t see why, if anything EVs should be simpler to maintain at home. It’s a different skill set to learn for sure, but the power train is inherently simpler than any modern ICE car.

The problem I foresee is not the powertrain but the associated electronics and software. It is too easy now for the gatekeepers to prevent the end user/consumer being able to just swap parts out, and if support completely disappears for the cloud servers (see Fisker as an example) then an EV goes from sophisticated product to scrap metal overnight.

[Baldchap]

I bought a cheap eBay Volvo 2.3 T5 C70 Pubka with more history than I've ever seen and it was a money pit within three months. I got rid after spending money on a cam belt and a service. Bad call despite the fact it was lovely to drive barring the wet arse.

My current PubKa is a Nissan Leaf on a 2017 plate that does 80ish real world miles on a 'tank' and it was embarrassingly cheap.

It's brilliant. The nav is modern, it syncs with my phone, it goes, stops and turns without the drama normally associated with cheap cars. Unlike the C70 my arse is dry when I get out. I don't feel guilty from a mechanical perspective driving it 1/2 a mile to the shop in a rush.

I'm about to pop some new discs and pads on it, which are absolutely normal to swap and not weirdly electric in may way. Beyond that it'll just go until it stops.

I think 'leccy' is the perfect Pubka/shed if you don't need big range.

Sorry Lee.