The Joy of Running an Old Shed

[egor110]

CJ1 said:

Just swapped a 2016 Golf R for a 2005 BMW 330i N52.

Unfortunately the shed life just isn’t for me! It spent its first week under my ownership having its climate control unit replaced as it decided the AC didn’t exist and all the Brakes were warped. Now all that is sorted it seems like a pretty solid car, but just doesn’t excite me... it’s a nice locally owned car, loads of paperwork including the original window sticker for £39000 and Supaguard ceramic coating booklet!

Already looking at leasing a new Megane R.S for £200 a month...

Make sure you let us know in here when it's up for sale

[vikingaero]

tomble22 said:

I think shedding relies on the ability to cope with lower levels of excitement (married...children...joke etc) ....I get excited when I drive my Accord and the battery light only comes on a couple of times!!

The converse side is that you drive a Shed and get into a normal car and you truly revel in the lack of suspension knocks, no will it won't it thoughts, NVH that is several generations above the Shed, and the power, and the smoothness, and then you get to a stty car park and wish you were in the Shed.

[Jimmy Recard]

Thick_Troll said:

OK, new rear rotors with bearings on the way for the Megane.

I suppose AU$289 isnt a massive cost (about 155 quid) but it got me thinking about what sort of repair or parts cost would be a deal breaker for the Renault. I keep mulling the likely cost of a clutch replacement and would I just deliver the car to 't scrappy instead.

The thing that might prevent me from doing this would be the availability of a replacement shed. This Megane was a darn good buy when you look at it. Maybe it's 16 years old but it had only covered 133,000Km (82,000Mi) in that time. The interior was spotless and the exterior was in sparkling condition save one ding in the passenger door.

So for AU$2400 purchase, what if a new clutch was say $1500 fitted, ( I could fit it myself but my ability to lift the car or engine is limited). What do other shedders think? Is a repair over half the initial purchase price beyond the strictures of proper shedding? Fix or scrap?

Edited by Thick_Troll on Thursday 21st May 06:20

Would the $1500 get you something better? If you spent $2400 on something else, is it likely you’d have a $1500 bill fairly soon?

I think the answer to the first is “no” and to the second is “yes”

On that basis, I’d probably repair. Unless you just want a new car anyway, in which case use that as the justification

[tomble22]

vikingaero said:

tomble22 said:

I think shedding relies on the ability to cope with lower levels of excitement (married...children...joke etc) ....I get excited when I drive my Accord and the battery light only comes on a couple of times!!

The converse side is that you drive a Shed and get into a normal car and you truly revel in the lack of suspension knocks, no will it won't it thoughts, NVH that is several generations above the Shed, and the power, and the smoothness, and then you get to a stty car park and wish you were in the Shed.

I think that's why breakdown cover is an essential expense while shedding, you never know when you might need it!!

[Mrtank]

I've got nearly 20year old shed Toyota. Great, never had any problems. Only issue is I've got to drive across Europe during summer. Finding something more fresh seems really difficult with my budget (6k).. Car prices are going up!! Other option is drive the shed and if it breaks down just leave it on the side of the road??

[magpie215]

Took the Galaxy out today.......its not turned a wheel for about 7 weeks.

Been keeping the battery topped up...

Surprisingly no issues or niggles apart from rusty brakes........thats sorted now :-)

[matchmaker]

My Octavia is now into shed territory - I've had it from new and it's now 16 years old with 186,000 miles on the clock. I'm rather attached to it, so think I'll hold on to it for now. The steering rack unfortunately decided to spring a leak last week and the hydraulic fluid consumption is therefore about 2 miles/litre!

A rebuilt rack (£130) arrived today but I can't get it into a garage until next week. At one time I'd have done it myself, but at 62 years old lying on my back in a lane under a car is now out of the question.

[Oxford1971]

Mrtank said:

I've got nearly 20year old shed Toyota. Great, never had any problems. Only issue is I've got to drive across Europe during summer. Finding something more fresh seems really difficult with my budget (6k).. Car prices are going up!! Other option is drive the shed and if it breaks down just leave it on the side of the road??

I used to drive my 20 yr old Toyota across Europe. Never a problem, even the AC was ice cold

[greenarrow]

egor110 said:

CJ1 said:

Just swapped a 2016 Golf R for a 2005 BMW 330i N52.

Unfortunately the shed life just isn’t for me! It spent its first week under my ownership having its climate control unit replaced as it decided the AC didn’t exist and all the Brakes were warped. Now all that is sorted it seems like a pretty solid car, but just doesn’t excite me... it’s a nice locally owned car, loads of paperwork including the original window sticker for £39000 and Supaguard ceramic coating booklet!

Already looking at leasing a new Megane R.S for £200 a month...

Make sure you let us know in here when it's up for sale

Is a N52 330i a true shed? I've never seen one for sale at less than £2,000, most are £3,000 upwards.

[anonymous-user]

vikingaero said:

tomble22 said:

I think shedding relies on the ability to cope with lower levels of excitement (married...children...joke etc) ....I get excited when I drive my Accord and the battery light only comes on a couple of times!!

The converse side is that you drive a Shed and get into a normal car and you truly revel in the lack of suspension knocks, no will it won't it thoughts, NVH that is several generations above the Shed, and the power, and the smoothness, and then you get to a stty car park and wish you were in the Shed.

Totally agree, whenever I drive a hire car no matter how rubbish it is I am amazed at the smoothness and the NVH. On every other level a shed wins, but there is something about driving a new car, plus I adore new car smell.

[Jimmy Recard]

Oxford1971 said:

I used to drive my 20 yr old Toyota across Europe. Never a problem, even the AC was ice cold

I was thinking that. Nothing wrong with an old Toyota

[LukeyP_]

matchmaker said:

My Octavia is now into shed territory - I've had it from new and it's now 16 years old with 186,000 miles on the clock. I'm rather attached to it, so think I'll hold on to it for now. The steering rack unfortunately decided to spring a leak last week and the hydraulic fluid consumption is therefore about 2 miles/litre!

A rebuilt rack (£130) arrived today but I can't get it into a garage until next week. At one time I'd have done it myself, but at 62 years old lying on my back in a lane under a car is now out of the question.

MK1? What engine?

[Thick_Troll]

matchmaker said:

My Octavia is now into shed territory - I've had it from new and it's now 16 years old with 186,000 miles on the clock. I'm rather attached to it, so think I'll hold on to it for now. The steering rack unfortunately decided to spring a leak last week and the hydraulic fluid consumption is therefore about 2 miles/litre!

A rebuilt rack (£130) arrived today but I can't get it into a garage until next week. At one time I'd have done it myself, but at 62 years old lying on my back in a lane under a car is now out of the question.

I,m with you matchmaker. There are jobs I'll take on (@57) but I draw the line when it comes to major stuff, spending all day crawling in and out from under the car. The thing I notice most is how less able I am to crouch for long periods of time. When I straighten up I need a minute or so to just let my muscles reset!

[STIfree]

Oxford1971 said:

Mrtank said:

I've got nearly 20year old shed Toyota. Great, never had any problems. Only issue is I've got to drive across Europe during summer. Finding something more fresh seems really difficult with my budget (6k).. Car prices are going up!! Other option is drive the shed and if it breaks down just leave it on the side of the road??

I used to drive my 20 yr old Toyota across Europe. Never a problem, even the AC was ice cold

I've taken a -

14 year old Saab, 21 year old Volvo, a 13 year old Volvo and a 12 year old Ford across Europe in the past 4 years. All of which were under £1k and 160,000miles+ with minimal service history.

The only one that failed me was the Saab.


The way I see it, I could take a 5-10k car which is just as likely to break as a 1-2k car. Then if the expensive car breaks, I will have to pay the repair bill no matter what (Obivously it'll be inflated due to the speed it's required and you being a foriener).

Or, I take a 1k car that if it breaks instead of spending 2k on a repair bill I spend much less than that flying home/renting a car and dump/sell the car there.


The Saab mentioned, £650 to buy. Turbo went, was quoted 1500euro to repair. Managed to get it sold on a classifieds site (with a bit of help from Google translate) within 10 mintues of listing it for 300euro. Flight home was less than £100.


I'd also recomend some breakdown cover and check the fine print if you get one with a hire car as some don't give you a hire car if your car is over 10-20 years old (can't remember exactly).

[tomble22]

For some reason, it appears I have bought an Audi A2 diesel for £550 which is located about 200 miles away from me.

I'm not entirely sure why, but I'll use the velominati cycling rule of n+1 for the timebeing!!

[martin mrt]

tomble22 said:

For some reason, it appears I have bought an Audi A2 diesel for £550 which is located about 200 miles away from me.

I'm not entirely sure why, but I'll use the velominati cycling rule of n+1 for the timebeing!!

If that runs and is motd then it’s a bargain at £550

TDIs are sought after

[tomble22]

martin mrt said:

tomble22 said:

For some reason, it appears I have bought an Audi A2 diesel for £550 which is located about 200 miles away from me.

I'm not entirely sure why, but I'll use the velominati cycling rule of n+1 for the timebeing!!

If that runs and is motd then it’s a bargain at £550

TDIs are sought after

Runs and MOT'd until August. 150k on the clock and seems tidy enough. Clutch done last year but might be playing cambelt roulette.

The current owner is also having a new windscreen put in before collection as it's got a big crack in it at the moment.

[Exboxster1]

tomble22 said:

Runs and MOT'd until August. 150k on the clock and seems tidy enough. Clutch done last year but might be playing cambelt roulette.

The current owner is also having a new windscreen put in before collection as it's got a big crack in it at the moment.

Love a high mile hero !
This is my 210k mile c30. D5. Very fond of it.

[martin mrt]

tomble22 said:

martin mrt said:

tomble22 said:

For some reason, it appears I have bought an Audi A2 diesel for £550 which is located about 200 miles away from me.

I'm not entirely sure why, but I'll use the velominati cycling rule of n+1 for the timebeing!!

If that runs and is motd then it’s a bargain at £550

TDIs are sought after

Runs and MOT'd until August. 150k on the clock and seems tidy enough. Clutch done last year but might be playing cambelt roulette.

The current owner is also having a new windscreen put in before collection as it's got a big crack in it at the moment.

For £550 you’d be mad to chance a belt, with that done it would be £850 all in factoring approx £300 from an independent

You could run that for a year and still be in profit

[Khaki Suit]

tomble22 said:

I think shedding relies on the ability to cope with lower levels of excitement (married...children...joke etc) ....I get excited when I drive my Accord and the battery light only comes on a couple of times!!

There is a weird satisfaction to shedding when it all goes well.

TBH my shedding is alongside a better car for fun. Keeps the mileage down on the other, it works out cheaper, and also makes the better car more fun when I do use it.