I am paranoid about my stuff so buying a shed, not a whatcar

[Shnozz]

KM666 said:

Between that and the fleet sector flooding the market with year old cars we enjoy a used car market kept as artifically low as housing is kept artificially high. Want to buy a 18 year old Golf GTI in Europe? Certainly sir, that'll be 5000 euros thank you very much.

Indeed. I saw an old MR2 for sale at a local dealer and excitedly thought about the idea of a cheap bit of fun.

112k on the clock for the bargain price of....€13k

https://www.autocentermontesinos.com/ad/toyota-mr2...

[Pothole]

Cars and bikes are things, insured things. I enjoy them and park them all over the place. I must have been lucky but no issues so far
(£27k SUV and £7k bike)

I ran a shed last winter to save the bike being eaten by salt. (£200 civic) I never locked it in 5 months. That was fun.

[Jaguar steve]

Baldchap said:

Pistonheader101 said:

It's why a lot of 911 turbo owners have a golf gti/r as their daily drivers.

Very true indeed, though not necessarily just Porsches.

Problem is you end up getting rid of the posh car and keeping the Golf.

I've done that on more than one occasion - waved goodbye to the over polished and needy P&J after another big bill or getting fed up with the commitment demanded and collapsed into a battered old Shed with an enormous sigh of relief.

It's not a problem at all...

[Davie]

Jaguar steve said:

I've done that on more than one occasion - waved goodbye to the over polished and needy P&J after another big bill or getting fed up with the commitment demanded and collapsed into a battered old Shed with an enormous sigh of relief.

It's not a problem at all...

Completely agree.

Currently finding myself swaying that direction... as much as I love the glorified ornament in the garage, that's pretty much where it is 99% of the time as the majority of car based usage these days involves a boot full of crap or a baby or a mountain bike or a random car park or indeed, all of the above. I still consider myself a car guy and still hang on to the belief I have the time for a nice sunny day drive, several hours polishing and faffing around and going to assorted events but the reality is... I don't have the time, life has changed and hacking about in a 13yr old Volvo estate that I don't have to worry about is very very liberating!

[Pat H]

Yep.

If you are absolutely honest with yourself, then owning a flash car is a bit of a dick waving exercise.

As a kid, I always wanted Magnum's Ferrari 308. When I was 36, I finally got there.

And it was very nice, and I really enjoyed poncing about in it for a couple of years.

But a Turbo Esprit was just as much fun, and that was half the price of the Ferrari.

And a Caterham Seven was more fun than the Esprit. And that was half the price of the Lotus.

And a 1979 Triumph Bonneville was even more fun than the Caterham, yet only cost £3000.

And now I've just bought a Moto Guzzi 750 Strada for £1400, and I have no doubt that it will be as much fun as the Bonnie.

Spending shed type money doesn't mean that you have to endure motoring purgatory. Quite the opposite. If you have a cheap car or bike which is a hoot to use, then the pleasure is far sweeter. No worries about it being damaged. No worries about it being pinched. No worries about expensive repairs and no nagging guilt that you should have paid a big chunk off the mortgage or into the pension.

[V8RX7]

It does depend upon the shed - a diesel or Corsa - no thanks

A Clio 172, LS400, Jeep V8, MX5 etc can all be found under £2k

[Blayney]

Shnozz said:

Indeed. I saw an old MR2 for sale at a local dealer and excitedly thought about the idea of a cheap bit of fun.

112k on the clock for the bargain price of....€13k

https://www.autocentermontesinos.com/ad/toyota-mr2...

And it's an auto. My manual same year was £2300 with hardtop.

[Shnozz]

Blayney said:

And it's an auto. My manual same year was £2300 with hardtop.

Its utter madness.

The ironic thing is you can hire cars in Spain for next to nothing (as in €10 a week with the right deals) so owning a car there at those prices makes no sense at all at the cheaper end of the spectrum.

[The Selfish Gene]

Ok it wasn't a 'whatshed' but now it is...........

When did used cars get so expensive? Maybe it's because i'm looking on PH.............

2k.............. not embarrassing, RWD , petrol and Manual.

Mx5.....
some form of BMW

is there anything else??!?

don't even mind classic - but everything seems to be tweltvy million quid.

I'd rather buy an S2000 for 10 or a Abarth Spider thing than pay too much for a sheddy shed

[PixelpeepS3]

The Selfish Gene said:

Ok it wasn't a 'whatshed' but now it is...........

When did used cars get so expensive? Maybe it's because i'm looking on PH.............

2k.............. not embarrassing, RWD , petrol and Manual.

Mx5.....
some form of BMW

is there anything else??!?

don't even mind classic - but everything seems to be tweltvy million quid.

I'd rather buy an S2000 for 10 or a Abarth Spider thing than pay too much for a sheddy shed

I'm afraid you've answered your own question... MX-5

it really is the answer to this thread. lol

[The Selfish Gene]

yeah I think they're a bit small for me.

likewise the Z3

Z4s look a good sheddy mcShed bet.................but then I don't want a pissy little engine.

I think I'm learning i'm crap at Shed buying

[Pat H]

One of my better sheds was this 1.6 Twinspark Alfa.

I paid £1000 for it, back in about 2012.

It was a bit rough round the edges and was overdue a timing belt.

Once I had done the belt and pump, I thoroughly enjoyed thrashing it's arse everywhere.

It had loads of brio, just like a scruffy old Alfa should.

[RTB]

Nothing wrong with having a shed, it makes driving the good car more fun.

Although you do have to drive the good cars

[The Selfish Gene]

RTB said:

Nothing wrong with having a shed, it makes driving the good car more fun.

Although you do have to drive the good cars

currently looking at 944s...........as although not a 'shed' they are quite sheddy for low money and if reliable could be a good fun shed.

[AudiSport]

I like the idea of a shed, and something nice for the weekend. Trouble is I just don’t have time to drive for fun at the weekend, and enjoy something special. So my every day driving needs to do it all. So I keep my investment low, but go for something fun. Current transport is a leggy S5 V8.

[RTB]

The Selfish Gene said:

currently looking at 944s...........as although not a 'shed' they are quite sheddy for low money and if reliable could be a good fun shed.

I agree, there's more to being a shed than sheddy money. Many years ago I had a 1.9 205 GTI that I picked up for shed money (think I paid about 950 quid for it). I considered it a shed. Now, that same car would probably be worth £5k and be a "restoration project"

I should never have treated it as a shed, I should have chucked a sheet over it

[S2r]

I've recently bought my first shed as I needed a cheap car and so far have replaced the radiator (£50), oil and filters, some gaskets and spent some time hovering cat hairs out of it. It gets parked all day with the roof down at work and abandoned in supermarket car parks.

Trouble is, I now find myself looking at clay bars and machine polishers so I can improve the paint amongst other things, something I have not done on any other car or bike I have ever owned. I think I may be doing the 'shed' thing wrong...

[swisstoni]

This was my problem. I would get attached to them and start to spend unnecessary money and time.
I still miss my old Vel Satis a bit.

[Lester H]

S2r said:

I've recently bought my first shed as I needed a cheap car and so far have replaced the radiator (£50), oil and filters, some gaskets and spent some time hovering cat hairs out of it. It gets parked all day with the roof down at work and abandoned in supermarket car parks.

Trouble is, I now find myself looking at clay bars and machine polishers so I can improve the paint amongst other things, something I have not done on any other car or bike I have ever owned. I think I may be doing the 'shed' thing wrong...

Nothing wrong with valeting if you do it yourself....no labour charges. Can be therapeutic. I assume the car is a bit unusual

[TameRacingDriver]

My “shed” is an MR2 Roadster. One of the most fun cars I’ve had, excellent driving machine. As others say, liberating to not be precious or paranoid about it. I’ve had flasher cars (previous car a Z4 Coupe) but you are definitely more paranoid about it, and that was still a car under £10k, never mind one worth a lot more. My MR2 has dents, scrapes and all sorts, just character really on that car