The Joy of Running an Old Shed

[STIfree]

g3org3y said:

I think that's fair tbh. Shed life is fine as a daily for yourself, but when transporting kids about it's reasonable/sensible to give strong consideration to safety. I don't mind driving a crap old car, but I wanted something decent for my wife when she got pregnant and now that we've got a baby. One of the reasons I got rid of the E36 328i and went for the E91 330i.

Parent + Child Parking FTW.

E9x are starting to become sub 1k motors these days. Thats a pretty well-kitted car for sub thousand. I was looking at them prior to buying a Mondeo of the same era. I only chose the Mondeo as for the price, the spec was a lot higher than similarly priced German cars.

slk 32 said:

I share your viewpoint.

I've got a 2008 polo bluemotion which I've taken from 118k to 170k. I put a new turbo on it a couple of years ago (£1500) and now try and change the oil every 5k. I'll look at refreshing the suspension next year, even if that costs me a grand it's still a drop in the ocean compared to what a newer car would cost in depreciation / lease payments.

For me, better the devil you know.

Oil every 5k? You do realise its a Polo, not an Evo or something very special?

I'm 99.9% sure you could get away with changing the oil every 10k at absolute minimum and have no problems. 5k seems to be a real overkill!

[g3org3y]

STIfree said:

E9x are starting to become sub 1k motors these days. Thats a pretty well-kitted car for sub thousand. I was looking at them prior to buying a Mondeo of the same era. I only chose the Mondeo as for the price, the spec was a lot higher than similarly priced German cars.

1k E9X will be high mile diesels or miserable 4 cylinder 320is. Obviously you need a 325 or ideally a 330 which are harder to find. But yes, it can be difficult to find one with a good spec (xenons, heated leather, Touring etc). Mondeo is a decent car.

My wife wasn't happy about the E36 being the baby car and she had a point. She feels (and is) safer in the newer car. Money well spent imo.

I'll still continue to drive my death trap E46 of course.

Even more of a death trap when the ABS/traction control is only intermittently working...



#shedlife #onlythebrave

[230TE]

slk 32 said:

I share your viewpoint.

I've got a 2008 polo bluemotion which I've taken from 118k to 170k. I put a new turbo on it a couple of years ago (£1500) and now try and change the oil every 5k. I'll look at refreshing the suspension next year, even if that costs me a grand it's still a drop in the ocean compared to what a newer car would cost in depreciation / lease payments.

For me, better the devil you know.

Same here. My daily driver is a 1999 Peugeot 106 diesel for which I paid all of £82 nearly four years ago. Over the summer it has had a timing belt change (which most people wouldn't bother with on a cheap old car) and a new rear axle, which was £200 and half a day to fit. Why bother? Because it's a good strong little car, does exactly what I need it to do, and I have no idea what I would replace it with if it broke. I like small, light, simple cars as commuter transport, and no-one has made anything like that for a long time now.

[slk 32]

STIfree said:

Oil every 5k? You do realise its a Polo, not an Evo or something very special?

I'm 99.9% sure you could get away with changing the oil every 10k at absolute minimum and have no problems. 5k seems to be a real overkill!

I work on the assumption that oil changes are dirt cheap, new turbos less so. Every 5k could be overkill but it gives me peace of mind.
The original turbo lasted 120k but I'm guessing it didn't receive much mechanical sympathy.. some of the oil changes were 20k apart.

The car is nothing more than a tool for me but I'm taking pleasure in seeing how many miles I can rack up.. looking forward to hitting 200k in late 2020 / early 2021

[Digby]

slk 32 said:

STIfree said:

Oil every 5k? You do realise its a Polo, not an Evo or something very special?

I'm 99.9% sure you could get away with changing the oil every 10k at absolute minimum and have no problems. 5k seems to be a real overkill!

I work on the assumption that oil changes are dirt cheap, new turbos less so. Every 5k could be overkill but it gives me peace of mind.
The original turbo lasted 120k but I'm guessing it didn't receive much mechanical sympathy.. some of the oil changes were 20k apart.

The car is nothing more than a tool for me but I'm taking pleasure in seeing how many miles I can rack up.. looking forward to hitting 200k in late 2020 / early 2021

One of many articles explaining why short changes make no difference to most and why it is like throwing money down the drain..

https://www.edmunds.com/car-maintenance/stop-chang...

What you are doing, even though it's up to you, is similar to changing brake pads when they are only half worn.

Edited by Digby on Saturday 30th November 08:57

[jagnet]

Digby said:

... changing brake pads when they are only half worn

oh



In fairness it does make a significant difference to heat transfer into the brake fluid.

[MrGTI6]

230TE said:

Same here. My daily driver is a 1999 Peugeot 106 diesel for which I paid all of £82 nearly four years ago. Over the summer it has had a timing belt change (which most people wouldn't bother with on a cheap old car) and a new rear axle, which was £200 and half a day to fit. Why bother? Because it's a good strong little car, does exactly what I need it to do, and I have no idea what I would replace it with if it broke. I like small, light, simple cars as commuter transport, and no-one has made anything like that for a long time now.

Those diesel 106s are brilliant little cars. Properly basic and dirt cheap to run.

[vikingaero]

The drivebelt in the Daihatsu Charade Shed has been a little vocal for 6 months at full load - power steering, lights, fan, defroster, stereo etc.

That corrected itself when a humpbacked bridge jumped out of nowhere and a the resultant air and hard landing probably bent everything back into line!

[aaron_2000]

rich12 said:

aaron_2000 said:

I had the 140bhp 5 pot in my V70 shed. The engine was so smooth I would've spread it over toast if I could. Made a great noise and had some poke too.

I do want a new shed but as soon as I get in the saab I just remember how rare to find a car in that condition for £450 would be again.

I found the V70 for £300, passed an MOT with 1 advisory on the tyre.

[Steve91]

Put the Focus in for an MOT today and it passed with only a couple of minor advisories. Really happy with that!

[p4cks]

Happy days!

[mike9009]

Just joining in, as I like a shed too - and my fleet is bordering on this territory.

Latest purchase was a £1400 smart roadster in Feb this year (does this count??). So far after about 2500 miles and it has not let me down once. Happy days.

RE : safety with kids.

I have a sheddy 1982 VW camper with lap belts at the rear. We travel with our two kids down to Devon and the Vendee in France annually. I do have concerns about this (and the minuscule smart roadster) but driving to the conditions (including vehicle condition) is what keeps my sanity. I admit you have to account for idiots which is my main concern. (Like the idiot in an mx5 who overtook me on a steep hill in the camper, pulled in front and brake checked me. Luckily I look after my vehicles and a full emergency brake to miss him. Kids launched forward on the lap belts. No harm done, but.......)

Mike

[g3org3y]

mike9009 said:

RE : safety with kids.

I have a sheddy 1982 VW camper with lap belts at the rear. We travel with our two kids down to Devon and the Vendee in France annually. I do have concerns about this (and the minuscule smart roadster) but driving to the conditions (including vehicle condition) is what keeps my sanity. I admit you have to account for idiots which is my main concern. (Like the idiot in an mx5 who overtook me on a steep hill in the camper, pulled in front and brake checked me. Luckily I look after my vehicles and a full emergency brake to miss him. Kids launched forward on the lap belts. No harm done, but.......)

My concern also, especially given that everyone else appears to have joined the 4x4/SUV arms race.

[MrGTI6]

Went out to my car earlier to see that it's gained a dent and a large scrape along the nearside rear quarter. I'm more annoyed that someone would do that and drive off than I am about the damage itself.

I suspect a drink-driver did it last night. Hopefully they spent the remainder of the evening choking on their own chunder.

[p4cks]

We're in an era where no one seems to take responsibility for anything anymore

[Jimmy Recard]

I’m deliberating three jobs on my shed (Mercedes ML270 CDI on 134k, fully working and MOT until July 2020). Any thoughts would be welcome!

1) thermostat. Heater blows warm but the coolant temperature doesn’t really get above 60 deg C and never up to the 85 it should be. Coolant is of indeterminate age so it’s a good excuse to change that. Thermostat is £60.60 inc VAT from Mercedes dealership.

2) transmission fluid change. It shifts nicely but I don’t know how old it is. I have heard too many stories of gearboxes failing after this!

3) it’s telling me (based on condition monitoring) that it wants new oil in 12k miles. I changed it around 7k ago. Worth changing sooner or rely on computer? I suppose I do about 25k miles a year in it.


I really like the car and plan to drive it until it dies, for amazing value. I don’t want to do jobs that are unnecessary, I just want to do jobs that are good value for money in extending the life of the car.

[rich12]

Jimmy Recard said:

I’m deliberating three jobs on my shed (Mercedes ML270 CDI on 134k, fully working and MOT until July 2020). Any thoughts would be welcome!

1) thermostat. Heater blows warm but the coolant temperature doesn’t really get above 60 deg C and never up to the 85 it should be. Coolant is of indeterminate age so it’s a good excuse to change that. Thermostat is £60.60 inc VAT from Mercedes dealership.

2) transmission fluid change. It shifts nicely but I don’t know how old it is. I have heard too many stories of gearboxes failing after this!

3) it’s telling me (based on condition monitoring) that it wants new oil in 12k miles. I changed it around 7k ago. Worth changing sooner or rely on computer? I suppose I do about 25k miles a year in it.


I really like the car and plan to drive it until it dies, for amazing value. I don’t want to do jobs that are unnecessary, I just want to do jobs that are good value for money in extending the life of the car.

Ooh I like ML's. How's it been overall, what engine is it?

[Jimmy Recard]

rich12 said:

Ooh I like ML's. How's it been overall, what engine is it?

2.7 diesel. I’ve had it nearly a year and changed the engine oil and filter, front brake discs and front brake pads. Other than that, just diesel in the tank

One of the best cars I’ve had, let alone sheds!

ETA: I also put new wiper blades on it

Edited by Jimmy Recard on Saturday 30th November 15:40

[Demelitia]

slk 32 said:

Aiminghigh123 said:

I share your viewpoint.

I've got a 2008 polo bluemotion which I've taken from 118k to 170k. I put a new turbo on it a couple of years ago (£1500)

Just out of curiosity, do you know why the turbo replacement cost that much? Seems very expensive. Is it in an awkward place requiring a lot of labour or something?

[A500leroy]

Jimmy Recard said:

I’m deliberating three jobs on my shed (Mercedes ML270 CDI on 134k, fully working and MOT until July 2020). Any thoughts would be welcome!

1) thermostat. Heater blows warm but the coolant temperature doesn’t really get above 60 deg C and never up to the 85 it should be. Coolant is of indeterminate age so it’s a good excuse to change that. Thermostat is £60.60 inc VAT from Mercedes dealership.

2) transmission fluid change. It shifts nicely but I don’t know how old it is. I have heard too many stories of gearboxes failing after this!

3) it’s telling me (based on condition monitoring) that it wants new oil in 12k miles. I changed it around 7k ago. Worth changing sooner or rely on computer? I suppose I do about 25k miles a year in it.


I really like the car and plan to drive it until it dies, for amazing value. I don’t want to do jobs that are unnecessary, I just want to do jobs that are good value for money in extending the life of the car.

1. This year, a engine likes to be warm.
3. next year before next winter sets in
2. the year after (at least its worked for another year if it borks after the change)