I am paranoid about my stuff so buying a shed, not a whatcar
Discussion
I hadn't done shedding since my teenage years, but back in 2014 I decided to buy the sports car I had always fancied (Z4 Coupe) but I had to have something a bit more normal for elderly parent taxi duty!
I found a 1996 Mazda 323f for about £700. As it had the 1,500cc engine road tax was cheap too! Having a car I could just park anywhere without worrying gave me a real sense of freedom, but it was so tedious to drive after 6 months I got fed up with it!
Replaced it with an E46 325ti Sport Compact - much better, more straight 6 manual gearbox RWD action!
And it cost less than £2,000. But it was a clean example so I didn't feel as comfortable treating it like a shed.
Still it served me well for over 3 years, but it was heading for loads of work being needed so I replaced it with a 325i Touring - much easier for loading walkers and wheelchairs! Although it's newer so it looks like I'm moving away from shedding.
I found a 1996 Mazda 323f for about £700. As it had the 1,500cc engine road tax was cheap too! Having a car I could just park anywhere without worrying gave me a real sense of freedom, but it was so tedious to drive after 6 months I got fed up with it!
Replaced it with an E46 325ti Sport Compact - much better, more straight 6 manual gearbox RWD action!
And it cost less than £2,000. But it was a clean example so I didn't feel as comfortable treating it like a shed.Still it served me well for over 3 years, but it was heading for loads of work being needed so I replaced it with a 325i Touring - much easier for loading walkers and wheelchairs! Although it's newer so it looks like I'm moving away from shedding.
RTB said:
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
But it was a shed then. A very capable one but when the so-called classic specialists latched on, prices soared arguably over and above what a flimsy but fairly rustproof lightweight was worth. However: supply and demand, etc... The most remarkable mark up though, and I had a one first time round is on warmed over fast(ish) Fords. Hindsight is a wonderful gift and I wonder if younger potential buyers don’t appreciate that these- 205GTI etc- threw up problems when current. Also it would be nice to have a Zoopla or Rightmove to see what these actually sell for. French cars seem fairly rustproof but when I looked round a well known classic auction house, feeling a sense of keen anticipation, most of the offerings were pretty much wrecks.
I should never have treated it as a shed, I should have chucked a sheet over it
But it was a shed then. A very capable one but when the so-called classic specialists latched on, prices soared arguably over and above what a flimsy but fairly rustproof lightweight was worth. However: supply and demand, etc... The most remarkable mark up though, and I had a one first time round is on warmed over fast(ish) Fords. Hindsight is a wonderful gift and I wonder if younger potential buyers don’t appreciate that these- 205GTI etc- threw up problems when current. Also it would be nice to have a Zoopla or Rightmove to see what these actually sell for. French cars seem fairly rustproof but when I looked round a well known classic auction house, feeling a sense of keen anticipation, most of the offerings were pretty much wrecks.
C70R said:
Life is much too short to be anal/stressed about something which isn't rare or exotic. Having a "perfect" car that also gets used is an entirely ridiculous desire, so just get on and use it as the manufacturer intended.
Each to their own I guess but I work and thus park is a rather undesirable location, spend most of my day to day driving clattering in to potholes and shoving a bike, half of Mothercare and assorted car parts in the thing and then frequent many car parks... it's nice to have something that I can just drive and not care about. Also nice to have something nice that isn't getting wrecked day in, day out. It much like why I don't wear a Rolex to do the garden or my finest tailored suit to cut about at work... neither of which I own but you get the point. 
TameRacingDriver said:
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 
I had one of those as a shed!! Drove it to the Ring, and the brakes went off in about 4 corners, other than that was a brilliant shed!C70R said:
Life is much too short to be anal/stressed about something which isn't rare or exotic. Having a "perfect" car that also gets used is an entirely ridiculous desire, so just get on and use it as the manufacturer intended.
Spoken exactly like the sort of person who would open their car door on to others. You are one of the reasons shedders exist.Khaki Suit said:
C70R said:
Life is much too short to be anal/stressed about something which isn't rare or exotic. Having a "perfect" car that also gets used is an entirely ridiculous desire, so just get on and use it as the manufacturer intended.
Spoken exactly like the sort of person who would open their car door on to others. You are one of the reasons shedders exist.Bottom line is you may care about your car but nobody else does and there's an increasing presence in society now who'd actually go out of their way to damage anything nice out of spite or jealousy. If you become a slave to your car by constantly worrying about the best oil to use or tyres to buy or spend all weekend obsessively polishing and cleaning it to perfection and then somebody smacks a door into it on Monday morning that's a weekend wasted and a whole pile of frustration and disappointment comes to your day bought on by nothing more that your own needs and expectations.
Why put yourself in such a vulnerable position by being precious about your car when there's a perfect solution in a tatty Shed staring you in the face? After all, you'll get exactly the same dents and scratches in a perfect car or a Shed, however one really hurts and the other doesn't at all.
Khaki Suit said:
C70R said:
Life is much too short to be anal/stressed about something which isn't rare or exotic. Having a "perfect" car that also gets used is an entirely ridiculous desire, so just get on and use it as the manufacturer intended.
Spoken exactly like the sort of person who would open their car door on to others. You are one of the reasons shedders exist.I'm a realist, and don't buy into this idea that everyone has the time/energy/desire in their lives to care about my precious (yet entirely undesirable) car. When I have owned more desirable/special cars, I don't take them to the kinds of places or use them for the kinds of things which might get them damaged.
For relatively humdrum cars that I want/need to use, I simply don't bother to care about where they get used.
Jaguar steve said:
Khaki Suit said:
C70R said:
Life is much too short to be anal/stressed about something which isn't rare or exotic. Having a "perfect" car that also gets used is an entirely ridiculous desire, so just get on and use it as the manufacturer intended.
Spoken exactly like the sort of person who would open their car door on to others. You are one of the reasons shedders exist.Bottom line is you may care about your car but nobody else does and there's an increasing presence in society now who'd actually go out of their way to damage anything nice out of spite or jealousy. If you become a slave to your car by constantly worrying about the best oil to use or tyres to buy or spend all weekend obsessively polishing and cleaning it to perfection and then somebody smacks a door into it on Monday morning that's a weekend wasted and a whole pile of frustration and disappointment comes to your day bought on by nothing more that your own needs and expectations.
Why put yourself in such a vulnerable position by being precious about your car when there's a perfect solution in a tatty Shed staring you in the face? After all, you'll get exactly the same dents and scratches in a perfect car or a Shed, however one really hurts and the other doesn't at all.
C70R said:
Khaki Suit said:
C70R said:
Life is much too short to be anal/stressed about something which isn't rare or exotic. Having a "perfect" car that also gets used is an entirely ridiculous desire, so just get on and use it as the manufacturer intended.
Spoken exactly like the sort of person who would open their car door on to others. You are one of the reasons shedders exist.I'm a realist, and don't buy into this idea that everyone has the time/energy/desire in their lives to care about my precious (yet entirely undesirable) car. When I have owned more desirable/special cars, I don't take them to the kinds of places or use them for the kinds of things which might get them damaged.
For relatively humdrum cars that I want/need to use, I simply don't bother to care about where they get used.
If you cannot understand that no-one has the right to damage someone elses property, regardless of what it is, then my original statement stands.
clayts450 said:
All three of my cars are sheds, but on a scale of 'master shed' (PT Cruiser), 'wafty barge cruiser shed remix' (Rover 45 V6), and 'semi-shed but secretly throwing money at it cos future classic innit mate' (Rover Streetwise).
I'd probably be upset if something happened to the Streetwise, but the V6 has a whopping dent in it from the previous owner and the PT Cruiser I couldn't care less about - it was a stopgap car but seems to be hanging around like a bad smell due to it's usefulness as a quasi-van. The latter two get parked where I land, the Streetwise parked up on its lonesome as far away from humanity as it's possible to be.
What... you must have gone out of your way to find the most hideous monstrosities ever to crawl of a production line. I'd probably be upset if something happened to the Streetwise, but the V6 has a whopping dent in it from the previous owner and the PT Cruiser I couldn't care less about - it was a stopgap car but seems to be hanging around like a bad smell due to it's usefulness as a quasi-van. The latter two get parked where I land, the Streetwise parked up on its lonesome as far away from humanity as it's possible to be.
Khaki Suit said:
C70R said:
Khaki Suit said:
C70R said:
Life is much too short to be anal/stressed about something which isn't rare or exotic. Having a "perfect" car that also gets used is an entirely ridiculous desire, so just get on and use it as the manufacturer intended.
Spoken exactly like the sort of person who would open their car door on to others. You are one of the reasons shedders exist.I'm a realist, and don't buy into this idea that everyone has the time/energy/desire in their lives to care about my precious (yet entirely undesirable) car. When I have owned more desirable/special cars, I don't take them to the kinds of places or use them for the kinds of things which might get them damaged.
For relatively humdrum cars that I want/need to use, I simply don't bother to care about where they get used.
If you cannot understand that no-one has the right to damage someone elses property, regardless of what it is, then my original statement stands.
We don't live in some kind of ridiculous utopia - I suggest you go and look up the definition of the word "accident", and then come back with an apology.
C70R said:
Silly boy.
We don't live in some kind of ridiculous utopia - I suggest you go and look up the definition of the word "accident", and then come back with an apology.
When I drive a shed nothing ever happens to it, when I have owned brand new cars they seem to be magnets for damage.We don't live in some kind of ridiculous utopia - I suggest you go and look up the definition of the word "accident", and then come back with an apology.
2 day old Impreza at work, came out to find two dents in the drivers door from the person next to me being careless. 4 month old Clio, van driver not paying attention drove into the back of it cracking the bumper. He wanted to pay cash until the quote was over £500 (15 years ago)
My daughter opened the door of my parents shed scenic into a concrete bollard, not a single mark or scratch. If that was a new car I bet it would have bent the door.
Personally I am not prepared for the hassle of driving something decent verses the warm fluffy feeling it gives you.
That sick feeling you get the first time you kurb a brand new alloy and spotting it every time you walk to the car.
I love the shed & nice car 2 car garage.
Only downsides is the extra cost of 2 x tax, insurance, and the pain in the ass of having 2 cars MOT due the same week!
- Nice car is more special when you drive it (although I drive mine to work everyday now, but we have a covered car park with loads of free spaces)
- shed car can be left without worry, including using those cheapy airport car parks where they just dump it in a field somewhere
- shed car can be parked at the supermarket as close to the doors as possible, load up with shopping, dogs, in laws, tip runs, doesn't matter
- shed car is fixed with cheap parts from ebay, no need for service history from garages
- shed car cost £290 to buy (sold the stereo it came with for £100!) and has just cost tyres since owned, so basically free motoring, actually worth easily double what I paid for it
- Nice car can be up on stands in the garage being undersealed while shed car is used, no need to rush to get it back on the road in time for work etc
Only downsides is the extra cost of 2 x tax, insurance, and the pain in the ass of having 2 cars MOT due the same week!
Living in a downtown with lots of vandalism and theft is S challenge. My street over the years has hsd breakins , theft, tires slashed and a wonderful human who walked along and keyed every new car.
Still, I like good cars. I street park a ten year old Cayenne which is mechanically perfect but has nicks, scratches and minor dents all over it. Similarly a 14 year old Smart For Two.
The better cars (GT3RS x2 and a Panamera Sport Turismo Turbo) are generally parked in secure parking in a nearby condo I own and use as an office. I do not over worry about normal wear - occasionsally track cars, so not a perfectionist.
The balance is of course the immense pleasure of driving these cars for me against the risk of damage. In the end we all die and leave it all behind. Would prefer the experience.
Still, I like good cars. I street park a ten year old Cayenne which is mechanically perfect but has nicks, scratches and minor dents all over it. Similarly a 14 year old Smart For Two.
The better cars (GT3RS x2 and a Panamera Sport Turismo Turbo) are generally parked in secure parking in a nearby condo I own and use as an office. I do not over worry about normal wear - occasionsally track cars, so not a perfectionist.
The balance is of course the immense pleasure of driving these cars for me against the risk of damage. In the end we all die and leave it all behind. Would prefer the experience.
C70R said:
Khaki Suit said:
C70R said:
Khaki Suit said:
C70R said:
Life is much too short to be anal/stressed about something which isn't rare or exotic. Having a "perfect" car that also gets used is an entirely ridiculous desire, so just get on and use it as the manufacturer intended.
Spoken exactly like the sort of person who would open their car door on to others. You are one of the reasons shedders exist.I'm a realist, and don't buy into this idea that everyone has the time/energy/desire in their lives to care about my precious (yet entirely undesirable) car. When I have owned more desirable/special cars, I don't take them to the kinds of places or use them for the kinds of things which might get them damaged.
For relatively humdrum cars that I want/need to use, I simply don't bother to care about where they get used.
If you cannot understand that no-one has the right to damage someone elses property, regardless of what it is, then my original statement stands.
We don't live in some kind of ridiculous utopia - I suggest you go and look up the definition of the word "accident", and then come back with an apology.
I'm not entirely sure at this stage if you're a really good troll or just plain stupid. I'm edging towards the latter but do like to give people the benefit of the doubt.
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