Starting them off on the right path
Discussion
Time moves on for us all... what seemed like yesterday with the children being small all of a sudden the eldest hit 18, like most young boys from as an earliest age he's always had an interest in cars, sharing the same house as me, he was always going to...!!!
Every opportunity he would come out and "help", i say help, he'd watch but would soak it all up.
Entering into the teenage years it was much less so and we got the full on Kevin and Perry experience, until he hit 18... then the conversation started going more towards getting his license. So, what would any self respecting Petrolhead father do? yup start looking at suitable cars for the "son" of Petrolhead to be the new man about town.
Cursory questions (so as not to give any game away) asked about what he'd like...
I discovered that he'd like something black, ideally a SEAT Ibiza.
So off i went of the hunt for something VAG, being in my household it was only ever going to be from the VAG group.
Various cars identified and the the task of seeing what the insurance would be for both a provisional learner and then once passed as a new driver.
Polo's were ruled out very on as way too expensive to buy for something relatively new, by new i mean within the last 20 years and all i saw were beat to death by other new drivers.
I thought a Audi A2 would have made a funky first car but the wife pulled me a face like i was smoking crack.
The Ibiza was ruled out for similar reasons to the Polo...
I then discovered that a 1.6 Audi A3 (petrol or diesel) was actually cheaper to insure for him (with him as the registered keeper and the insurance in his name (fully comp) but with mum and dad on the policy).
So that was settled on what to buy, now ii had to find the perfect car.
Mechanically i wasn't to fussed, although i didn't want something knackered but cosmetically it needed to be ok.
for about the last 3 months i had been quietly browsing all the usual haunts and nothing really was ticking all the boxes. There was 1 local car i saw at the beginning of the hunt but had discounted it due to the price being way over budget.
For reference the budget was £2k but that would leave zero in the car fund for any remedial repairs needed. The local car was £2700. But i watched it, the advert remained every week. I got a ping on Friday that the price had been reduced, was it prefect timing, divine intervention or just actual luck falling right for us once in this miserable life...
So i contacted the seller, asking if i could come view it now, they replied immediately that yes i can....
So Mrs 89 was bundled into the car late Friday afternoon, with her ringing in my ears that "you know it'll be nearly dark and it's starting to rain when we get there"... now, my golden rules are never buy a car in the dark, or if it's raining... and here i am breaking them both...
The car belonged to an elderly gentleman who'd suffered a heart attack in the car, he'd just spent the last 3 months in hospital and his grandchildren had been trying to sell the car as the whole family felt it had bad ju ju for him...
On arrival the car was full on tatted up with s
te, stickers in the windows, on the bumpers, Halfords special seat covers and steering wheel cover etc... but she looked straight..
So, what was i looking at? she is a 2010 (on a 60 plate) Audi A3 1.6 Technik, 3 door, with 134k, MOT till 09/26 and 4 owners.
The past MOT history showed a reasonable cared for car, no finance, accident damage.
These are the pics from the advert
See what i mean about the tat, but she looked straight, no oil leaks, a couple of minor codes on VCDS (secondary air pump and air con).
I pointed these out to the grandchildren and the gentleman's wife, said they were minor but to be honest i could have been talking Japanese and they'd have understood me better.
They offered a test drive, and she drove fine except the brakes where shocking bad... they said that they'd been like that since a local garage had fitted rear discs, pads and a new caliper and they'd been convinced by the garage that they needed "bedding in". I said to them that they're not right but it's easily sorted if you know what you're doing.
The the fun part for me, the price... now, to me a car is only worth what someone is willing to pay, i offered them £1k and i'd take it now. The grandchildren went inside to speak with the grandfather (he was too ill to come outside). They accepted and thanked me for my honesty and not trying to rip them off with various faults, it seemed they'd been targeted by various Eastern European individuals (thank fully they'd been allowed nowhere near the car).
My wife's jaw hit the floor when she heard me utter my offer, after they'd gone inside to discuss she asked if i think we'd get it for that, i commented that we'll find out when they return....
All arrived safely home, the son at this point has no idea as he was at college... Wife goes to pick him up from the bus station and the look on his face when he arrived home to be presented with his first wheels was awesome... he was like a dog with 2 dicks...
Sadly it was all too dark to properly look that night so we'll roll on to Saturday morning....
Every opportunity he would come out and "help", i say help, he'd watch but would soak it all up.
Entering into the teenage years it was much less so and we got the full on Kevin and Perry experience, until he hit 18... then the conversation started going more towards getting his license. So, what would any self respecting Petrolhead father do? yup start looking at suitable cars for the "son" of Petrolhead to be the new man about town.
Cursory questions (so as not to give any game away) asked about what he'd like...
I discovered that he'd like something black, ideally a SEAT Ibiza.
So off i went of the hunt for something VAG, being in my household it was only ever going to be from the VAG group.
Various cars identified and the the task of seeing what the insurance would be for both a provisional learner and then once passed as a new driver.
Polo's were ruled out very on as way too expensive to buy for something relatively new, by new i mean within the last 20 years and all i saw were beat to death by other new drivers.
I thought a Audi A2 would have made a funky first car but the wife pulled me a face like i was smoking crack.
The Ibiza was ruled out for similar reasons to the Polo...
I then discovered that a 1.6 Audi A3 (petrol or diesel) was actually cheaper to insure for him (with him as the registered keeper and the insurance in his name (fully comp) but with mum and dad on the policy).
So that was settled on what to buy, now ii had to find the perfect car.
Mechanically i wasn't to fussed, although i didn't want something knackered but cosmetically it needed to be ok.
for about the last 3 months i had been quietly browsing all the usual haunts and nothing really was ticking all the boxes. There was 1 local car i saw at the beginning of the hunt but had discounted it due to the price being way over budget.
For reference the budget was £2k but that would leave zero in the car fund for any remedial repairs needed. The local car was £2700. But i watched it, the advert remained every week. I got a ping on Friday that the price had been reduced, was it prefect timing, divine intervention or just actual luck falling right for us once in this miserable life...
So i contacted the seller, asking if i could come view it now, they replied immediately that yes i can....
So Mrs 89 was bundled into the car late Friday afternoon, with her ringing in my ears that "you know it'll be nearly dark and it's starting to rain when we get there"... now, my golden rules are never buy a car in the dark, or if it's raining... and here i am breaking them both...
The car belonged to an elderly gentleman who'd suffered a heart attack in the car, he'd just spent the last 3 months in hospital and his grandchildren had been trying to sell the car as the whole family felt it had bad ju ju for him...
On arrival the car was full on tatted up with s
te, stickers in the windows, on the bumpers, Halfords special seat covers and steering wheel cover etc... but she looked straight..So, what was i looking at? she is a 2010 (on a 60 plate) Audi A3 1.6 Technik, 3 door, with 134k, MOT till 09/26 and 4 owners.
The past MOT history showed a reasonable cared for car, no finance, accident damage.
These are the pics from the advert
See what i mean about the tat, but she looked straight, no oil leaks, a couple of minor codes on VCDS (secondary air pump and air con).
I pointed these out to the grandchildren and the gentleman's wife, said they were minor but to be honest i could have been talking Japanese and they'd have understood me better.
They offered a test drive, and she drove fine except the brakes where shocking bad... they said that they'd been like that since a local garage had fitted rear discs, pads and a new caliper and they'd been convinced by the garage that they needed "bedding in". I said to them that they're not right but it's easily sorted if you know what you're doing.
The the fun part for me, the price... now, to me a car is only worth what someone is willing to pay, i offered them £1k and i'd take it now. The grandchildren went inside to speak with the grandfather (he was too ill to come outside). They accepted and thanked me for my honesty and not trying to rip them off with various faults, it seemed they'd been targeted by various Eastern European individuals (thank fully they'd been allowed nowhere near the car).
My wife's jaw hit the floor when she heard me utter my offer, after they'd gone inside to discuss she asked if i think we'd get it for that, i commented that we'll find out when they return....
All arrived safely home, the son at this point has no idea as he was at college... Wife goes to pick him up from the bus station and the look on his face when he arrived home to be presented with his first wheels was awesome... he was like a dog with 2 dicks...
Sadly it was all too dark to properly look that night so we'll roll on to Saturday morning....
So Saturday morning arrives and with a day of brightness and no rain it was time to de-tat the poor thing...
on removing the floor mats, seat covers etc, whilst the interior was in good condition it was minging and dirty. Seats out....
before
during
after
that was 6 hours well spent on both front seats
all the stickers removed and all electronic aids and wires removed.
tomorrow if the weather plays nice then it's onto the carpets
There was absolutely no service history so the priorities are
full service with all fluids and filters
cambelt, water pump and thermostat
spark plugs
front discs, pads and all brake flexis and new fluid (the rears are basically brand new, so other than a clean up and refit they're good to go)
new number plates
new tyres all round, it's currently on various makes of ditchfinders of varying ages on each corner (oldest is 7 years old)
a pair of boot lid gas struts
then as we get into the warmer months bringing the paintwork back to life, there's no rust, or dents she just needs a clay and polish....
But she's good, safe base for the son to learn the spanners on and a decent sized car with enough metal around him to learn to drive and be a great first car....
I'm stoked...!!! even Mrs 89 is happy which makes a rare occasion...!!!
on removing the floor mats, seat covers etc, whilst the interior was in good condition it was minging and dirty. Seats out....
before
during
after
that was 6 hours well spent on both front seats
all the stickers removed and all electronic aids and wires removed.
tomorrow if the weather plays nice then it's onto the carpets
There was absolutely no service history so the priorities are
full service with all fluids and filters
cambelt, water pump and thermostat
spark plugs
front discs, pads and all brake flexis and new fluid (the rears are basically brand new, so other than a clean up and refit they're good to go)
new number plates
new tyres all round, it's currently on various makes of ditchfinders of varying ages on each corner (oldest is 7 years old)
a pair of boot lid gas struts
then as we get into the warmer months bringing the paintwork back to life, there's no rust, or dents she just needs a clay and polish....
But she's good, safe base for the son to learn the spanners on and a decent sized car with enough metal around him to learn to drive and be a great first car....
I'm stoked...!!! even Mrs 89 is happy which makes a rare occasion...!!!
Edited by 89forever on Tuesday 27th January 14:41
Congrats! Especially to your son. That tat mostly looks removable, then he can add his own tat. My “system Porsche” Ibiza 1.5, back when it was a standalone brand, suffered from me adding a massive Oakley sticker on the back. Not really sure why I did that.
I need to learn to buy cars more like this and less like I have done so far, I will have a son car purchase to do in the next year…
Hope it serves him well.
I need to learn to buy cars more like this and less like I have done so far, I will have a son car purchase to do in the next year…
Hope it serves him well.
Thankfully he takes after me in that regard and will largely keep it "tat" free... he's not one to show off but i do imagine there might be a Norwich City badge placed somewhere... no idea who he takes after with the football liking as it's certainly not me...
It'll remain standard bar a Carplay upgrade at some point.
It'll remain standard bar a Carplay upgrade at some point.
That's an awful lot of car for a bag, and being an Audi decent for street cred, son will love it and nice and tough, will give parents peace of mind.
My eldest son passed his test recently and now my daughter's looking for her own wheels, which I'm trying to steer her in the right direction, which is fun.
My eldest son passed his test recently and now my daughter's looking for her own wheels, which I'm trying to steer her in the right direction, which is fun.
There is an absolute peach under all the tat, stickers all over the bodywork, bumpers and windows…
but with an application of heat from a hair dryer, alcohol wipes and a bit of a polish it all came off.
The worst bit was all the black duct tape applied over the parcel shelf and interior plastics and dashboard. They’d used the duct tape to hold down all the cameras and cables.
That took an age to remove… one of their cameras must have caused them grief on the parcel shelf as they’d affixed that with bloody superglue…. I’m still working on that little nugget…!!!
but with an application of heat from a hair dryer, alcohol wipes and a bit of a polish it all came off.
The worst bit was all the black duct tape applied over the parcel shelf and interior plastics and dashboard. They’d used the duct tape to hold down all the cameras and cables.
That took an age to remove… one of their cameras must have caused them grief on the parcel shelf as they’d affixed that with bloody superglue…. I’m still working on that little nugget…!!!
That looks very satisfying, I love cleaning old cars when I get them, new mats, service etc.
And this is why I prefer cloth seats, as long as they are not ripped you can always get them looking brand new with a decent carpet shampooer.
Amazed you could insure this, my daughter is 18 and even a Clio 1.2 is over £2000 a year.
And this is why I prefer cloth seats, as long as they are not ripped you can always get them looking brand new with a decent carpet shampooer.
Amazed you could insure this, my daughter is 18 and even a Clio 1.2 is over £2000 a year.
ThingsBehindTheSun said:
That looks very satisfying, I love cleaning old cars when I get them, new mats, service etc.
And this is why I prefer cloth seats, as long as they are not ripped you can always get them looking brand new with a decent carpet shampooer.
Amazed you could insure this, my daughter is 18 and even a Clio 1.2 is over £2000 a year.
it is very much so, i find it therapeutic, almost a zen lol....And this is why I prefer cloth seats, as long as they are not ripped you can always get them looking brand new with a decent carpet shampooer.
Amazed you could insure this, my daughter is 18 and even a Clio 1.2 is over £2000 a year.
this is my first car since the late 90's with a cloth interior (1985 ur quattro for those who are geeky) but i've always had good results with leather interiors too, i've documented this on other build threads of mine but yes as long as not ripped.
I'm happy with how these are coming up. Smells much better too.
For the policy in his name, fully comp is about £1200pa with a full license, which is what cemented the idea of us getting this as his first car for him.
as the sun was shining today and having a couple of hours spare i thought i'd make a start on the carpets, the over mats had already been put through the washing machine, much to the annoyance of Mrs 89... but what's a life without a little danger?
3 hours just flew by, air pods on and off into the universe, oblivious to the world outside....
will leave it to dry, then do another dry hoover and see if any stains remain and tackle again. Water again was black....
I do question my sanity and seriously think there are times i need to see someone but i had to remove the pedal rubbers and deep clean them...
thankfully SWMBO is out so no earache for doing them inside...
don't look too bad for 134k miles...
3 hours just flew by, air pods on and off into the universe, oblivious to the world outside....
will leave it to dry, then do another dry hoover and see if any stains remain and tackle again. Water again was black....
I do question my sanity and seriously think there are times i need to see someone but i had to remove the pedal rubbers and deep clean them...
thankfully SWMBO is out so no earache for doing them inside...
don't look too bad for 134k miles...
89forever said:
For the policy in his name, fully comp is about £1200pa with a full license, which is what cemented the idea of us getting this as his first car for him.
Just did a search for my daughter. She hasn't passed her test yet, but did a quote with her pass date as last week and the quote was very similar.I really fancy doing exactly what you have just done, she might be getting an upgrade from her Ford Ka courtesy of dad once she passes her test.......
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