The Joy of Running an Old Shed
Discussion
Fire99 said:
mmm-five said:
Found some pictures of the old girl at the Ring - on Michelin Cross-Climates - can't believe anyone would take photos of it though 
There is something very cool about seeing a relatively 'ordinary' car giving it the berries on the track. I miss my old BMW 320i E36 Coupe. It had 15" standard alloys on fairly high profile tyres, but I had a blast in it at Snetterton, chasing after much quicker (and better handling) cars..Also have an E36 328 on 15" wheels and that too is a joy. Oversteers everywhere!
We've an old rav4, was my dads, then my mums, now ours.
Thought it could sit around as a dog chariot/tip run/station/etc vehicle...I use it every day.
Park wherever, potholes don't matter, washed once a month, total reliability, pennies to run. Totally stress free and aery liberating. Should have done it years ago.
Thought it could sit around as a dog chariot/tip run/station/etc vehicle...I use it every day.
Park wherever, potholes don't matter, washed once a month, total reliability, pennies to run. Totally stress free and aery liberating. Should have done it years ago.
I've got a 306 GTI-6 which I've had for coming up to two years now. It might be old and French but I enjoy driving it every day. Someone drove into the side of it last year and wrote it off. I got an insurance payout of roughly double what I paid for it. Even after buying it back and getting it repaired it owes me less than nothing!
It's 21 years old, on 153k, and is now recorded as a Category N, so it's worth very little! But it's got years left in it yet, so I intend to keep using it!
It's 21 years old, on 153k, and is now recorded as a Category N, so it's worth very little! But it's got years left in it yet, so I intend to keep using it!
SidewaysSi said:
Love it! Alfa 147s are great cars and lots of fun! I have a 2.0TS as a runabout and it's a proper laugh. Very underrated IMO.
The only way mine could be more underrated is if it was the base model - mine was a 'lusso' 
Quick off the line, but no top-end power - all over by 4,000rpm, but will rev to almost 6,000rpm - and 10mph higher top speed on the sat-nav than the official book figure, so I guess the 160,000 miles on it had loosened it up a little.
mmm-five said:
SidewaysSi said:
Love it! Alfa 147s are great cars and lots of fun! I have a 2.0TS as a runabout and it's a proper laugh. Very underrated IMO.
The only way mine could be more underrated is if it was the base model - mine was a 'lusso' Quick off the line, but no top-end power - all over by 4,000rpm, but will rev to almost 6,000rpm - and 10mph higher top speed on the sat-nav than the official book figure, so I guess the 160,000 miles on it had loosened it up a little.
Mine has power up to 6k revs + and and very smooth engine. The quick steering and short wheelbase does make them very agile and chuckable. Lots more fun than an equivalent Focus or Golf.
Will miss it when it goes - which needs to be soon unfortunately.
Bought a 2003 Mk 1 Skoda Superb for Mrs O back in 2016 for £1,050 (a few months earlier, we got a taxi back from the pub in one and were impressed at the comfort and space ). It drove well, had a few dings from previous owners but nothing dramatic, everything worked and was as "wafty" as expected. Looked a little tired aesthetically, though.
Anyway. we spent a lot of elbow grease the following Saturday with shampoo / T-Cut / polish / wheel cleaner and took it to the lad at the local garage to restore the milky headlight lenses. It looked really good for a 13 year old car with 103,000 miles on it.
Now on 132,000 it has cost nothing but consumables, has no advisories on the ticket, has taken us from Shropshire to Bruges and back twice, and is still rides almost as well as the Jag XJ40 we used to have some years ago. And - at night - when you turn the headlights on, the little white LED's behind the interior door handles still work! Amazingly now being 16 years old, there is no sign of rust. At all. Anywhere.
Anyway. we spent a lot of elbow grease the following Saturday with shampoo / T-Cut / polish / wheel cleaner and took it to the lad at the local garage to restore the milky headlight lenses. It looked really good for a 13 year old car with 103,000 miles on it.
Now on 132,000 it has cost nothing but consumables, has no advisories on the ticket, has taken us from Shropshire to Bruges and back twice, and is still rides almost as well as the Jag XJ40 we used to have some years ago. And - at night - when you turn the headlights on, the little white LED's behind the interior door handles still work! Amazingly now being 16 years old, there is no sign of rust. At all. Anywhere.
I run a Clio 5 door as my 3 rd car for general duties, love it. It’s 2007 1.4 it’s by no means a shed it’s in fantastic condition, service and cam belt done, new tyres, taxed on the road for £1500 and the a/c works.
My best car is a Z4 which can stay in the garage during the winter months, and Keep nice for me to enjoy in the summer..
My best car is a Z4 which can stay in the garage during the winter months, and Keep nice for me to enjoy in the summer..
Paid £700 for a neighbour's Clio when he was looking rid of it. Had just been serviced and had the timing belt changed. It's been a fairly decent little motor. £30 tax, £250 insurance and 50-55MPG.
It's a Dynamique S with a mighty 86 french horses from it's 1.5 DCi engine. Full leather interior and factory fitted rear parking sensors are the only real notable things about it. It's been fairly dependable bar when the headlights started coming on and off by themselves, even with the engine off. Needed a new loom, stalk and something else to fix it. That's the only proper thing that needed fixed. The blower for the heater only worked on 1 and 3, so I paid to have that fixed whilst they were sorting the headlights.
The aircon doesn't work but I don't particularly care about that. Probably needs more than a regas and I don't want to spend the money on it. The rear window demister has a mind of its own. It'll come on by itself, go off, get stuck on and sometimes refuse to come on. When you give the car full steering lock the heater cuts out, another quirk.
Still, for the £700 it cost it's been fine. I even have a set of winter tyres for it and alloys that I got from a friend for free, so handy car to have about in winter.
I did stumble across it on the internet in a previous life. It was... tastefully modified
https://www.cliosport.net/threads/project-renny-ii...
It's a Dynamique S with a mighty 86 french horses from it's 1.5 DCi engine. Full leather interior and factory fitted rear parking sensors are the only real notable things about it. It's been fairly dependable bar when the headlights started coming on and off by themselves, even with the engine off. Needed a new loom, stalk and something else to fix it. That's the only proper thing that needed fixed. The blower for the heater only worked on 1 and 3, so I paid to have that fixed whilst they were sorting the headlights.
The aircon doesn't work but I don't particularly care about that. Probably needs more than a regas and I don't want to spend the money on it. The rear window demister has a mind of its own. It'll come on by itself, go off, get stuck on and sometimes refuse to come on. When you give the car full steering lock the heater cuts out, another quirk.
Still, for the £700 it cost it's been fine. I even have a set of winter tyres for it and alloys that I got from a friend for free, so handy car to have about in winter.
I did stumble across it on the internet in a previous life. It was... tastefully modified
https://www.cliosport.net/threads/project-renny-ii...
This was my old shed a year or two ago -
(The Corsa isn't mine)
I enjoyed parking against kerbs or walls by simply driving until I heard a bang, opening farm gates by driving into them, and making my own spaces by driving into big puddles or overgrown hedges. Put simply, I quite enjoyed driving into things.
Also great fun at merges where people don't understand the "zip" rule - 1 car at a time. As mentioned before, angry businesswoman Zara or angry dad Alfie quickly work out that their financed £30k German cars are probably a little more at risk than some t
t in a hoody in a £300 battle-scarred Rover.
When I see something nice parked up in a supermarket car park etc, I like to park my shed next to it (assuming it's not parked out of the way etc). Only because I'm careful around others' property and I'd rather take that space instead of some bint with a hundred kids flinging the doors into it instead - although I admit, I do chuckle when I think of the owners returning and looking aghast at the state of the car that's parked next to them.
Similarly, if someone who can't drive takes two spaces when parking (note: simply through ineptitude, not those who park at the back of the massive car park to stay out of the way), I don't mind parking the shed as close as I can to the driver's door.
(The Corsa isn't mine)
I enjoyed parking against kerbs or walls by simply driving until I heard a bang, opening farm gates by driving into them, and making my own spaces by driving into big puddles or overgrown hedges. Put simply, I quite enjoyed driving into things.
Also great fun at merges where people don't understand the "zip" rule - 1 car at a time. As mentioned before, angry businesswoman Zara or angry dad Alfie quickly work out that their financed £30k German cars are probably a little more at risk than some t
t in a hoody in a £300 battle-scarred Rover.When I see something nice parked up in a supermarket car park etc, I like to park my shed next to it (assuming it's not parked out of the way etc). Only because I'm careful around others' property and I'd rather take that space instead of some bint with a hundred kids flinging the doors into it instead - although I admit, I do chuckle when I think of the owners returning and looking aghast at the state of the car that's parked next to them.
Similarly, if someone who can't drive takes two spaces when parking (note: simply through ineptitude, not those who park at the back of the massive car park to stay out of the way), I don't mind parking the shed as close as I can to the driver's door.
We did the shed thing for years, loads of variety and of varying quality. Had a couple of really really sheddy cars and a few that where a little cleaner.
We jumped onto the PCP bandwagon last year and both wifey and I agree that one if not both cars will be handed back and it'll be shedding again. It's just such a liberating way to be instead of obsessing about little marks or scratches etc
We jumped onto the PCP bandwagon last year and both wifey and I agree that one if not both cars will be handed back and it'll be shedding again. It's just such a liberating way to be instead of obsessing about little marks or scratches etc
Alex_225 said:
Olivera said:
A shed is fine as an everyday runabout, but dreadful from an enthusiasts perspective if you have no more interesting cars.
I might argue that depending on what you opt for.
Old BMW + straight six + manual + estate = PH Shed happiness. 210k miles. Put some fancy Michelin Cross climates on it a few months back. Very frivolous for a shed.
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