The Joy of Running an Old Shed

[James_N]

darkyoung1000 said:

That sounds like the start of head gasket problems to me, as I had similar on my TU1 Citroen AX. Overheated, then started losing coolant, but with no signs of mixing or vapour.
Any signs of oil leakage from the front of the block?

On the plus side for you, mine was fine for months with just top ups until I got round to replacing it (which was a saga in itself…)

There is a bit of an oil leak around the sump gasket but that has been there pretty much since i bought the car and to be fair, i've never had to top the oil up or anything. oil level seems fine.

The overheating light hasn't actually come on again. I've not checked the coolant today, i've just driven it, and its been fine. Fan has come on a few times in heavy traffic but gone off again, and its been bloody hot today, so i would have thought if its going to overheat, it would have been today.

I usually have a 100 mile round trip to see my dad, and i'm going this weekend with it being fathers day. I'm just going to drive it now and see what happens. If it overheats and the light comes on, i have water with me to get me home, and the father in law will have to sort the HGF one sunny weekend!

Thanks for the opinion. I'm still surprised it hasn't overheated today, especially since i've just been ambling around town at 20-30mph. Maybe i'm paranoid and nothing is wrong!

[mercedeslimos]

ghost83 said:

Ok my shed isn’t a patch on my old 2016 mk7 GTI performance pack golf but I’m saving £500 a month which has made sure I’ve got through lockdown without taking a mortgage holiday as I’d saved everything from when I sold it,

Focus estate Shed cost £750 (2013 car)
It’s just had a new clutch and flywheel (the original had done 247,000 miles £500

And aircon regas £40

It’s honestly sweet as a nut

I’m attached I’m saving money in all areas with it although I do fancy trying a Mondeo estate next

Jesus, 750 quid.

The same car here is about ten times that

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-focus-d...

The cheapest 2013 for sale is €5,600...

This is why I tend to look after cars much better as the cost of replacement has rocketed over the last decade. a 500-1000 quid car was maybe 10-12 years old in 2011. The same 10-12-year-old car now in 2021 would be €3-4k

[bearman68]

V6todayTurboManana said:

bearman68 said:

I'd prefer to pay someone to paint, and to run a shed rather than a 'nice' car.

I love running sheds. I'm currently experimenting with finding the cheapest car I can, and seeing what that's like. [b]I've bought a 2.0 petrol Focus for £70, got 12 months MOT on it, and I've been running that around. [\b]
What a revelation that car is. It's absolutely brilliant. I really like it. I have forgotten how bloody good the Mk1 Focus was (is). I'm running around in a car I love for the price of a tyre.
That's me winning at life I think.
If I wanted to spend big money, I think I'd buy a glider, where extra performance actually makes a difference to the outcome of a journey. But I'm not good enough a pilot for that just yet.

Did you miss a zero out on that price. If not, then where did you find a bargain like that and have you posted photos.

Nahh, £70. In fact it didn't really actually cost me that in hard cash. As has been noted on here before, I run sheds as a business, offering the great British public the chance to drive a shed for a fixed monthly cost. Pay me some money every month, and I'll give you a working shed, and maintain it when it needs it, to make sure it runs nicely. I've got about 60 at the moment. The focus was a swap for half a months rent on a Volvo S60. It had 3 days MOT, no service history, and a wheel bearing gone. new wheel bearing, new MOT, and a few thousand miles later, a new cam belt, and it's a wonderful drive. The cam belt was interesting - about 20 years of service, and it really was on it's last legs. Full of cracks and just about to go pop. The Mk1 focus is and was a brilliant car. I had forgotten how bloody good it was.

[Arnie Cunningham]

I'm still struggling to get my head round your business model.
So you charge 100-150 per month for a shed, I think you said?
But on carwow I can see a few cars for <150 per month - which are brand new.

I'm obviously missing an important point somewhere in here.

[V6todayTurboManana]

Arnie Cunningham said:

I'm still struggling to get my head round your business model.
So you charge 100-150 per month for a shed, I think you said?
But on carwow I can see a few cars for <150 per month - which are brand new.

I'm obviously missing an important point somewhere in here.

Have you checked the full offers for carwow?

Usually a few thousands up front for a deposit.

Then limited mileage maybe 8k miles.

I’m assuming the Bearman doesn’t have those charges or limits

[cknotty]

V6todayTurboManana said:

Nice millage you've achieved on that Focus, did it require much work to be done?

Which Astra is that?

I feel you regarding your criteria, my first turbo car just shocked me with cost on replacing the turbo which seems a very mechanical device.

Edited by V6todayTurboManana on Tuesday 15th June 15:19

Surprisingly perhaps for the DV6 engine not a huge amount over the 7 years I’ve had it, mostly consumables. Probably helped that it used to belong to a friend of the family so knew it had been looked after (got it on 74k). Only left me stranded once when the alternator went which knackered the battery leading to various systems shutting down due to a lack of volts. DPF needed replacing at 106k, went for a reconditioned one at half the price and has held up since, the 35 mile motorway journey each way definitely helps it regenerate properly. Usual injector seals and EGR valve replaced too.

It’s an Astra J I’ve replaced it with, it’s totally vanilla white goods but as (I think!) Jaguar Steve has said previously, I’ve got nothing to prove to anyone

[Arnie Cunningham]

I have to admit, having never leased a car, I don't know what all the small print and extra guff they require is.
So it's a few thousand extra up front just to lease it? Oh. Wow.

[ghost83]

mercedeslimos said:

Jesus, 750 quid.

The same car here is about ten times that

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-focus-d...

The cheapest 2013 for sale is €5,600...

This is why I tend to look after cars much better as the cost of replacement has rocketed over the last decade. a 500-1000 quid car was maybe 10-12 years old in 2011. The same 10-12-year-old car now in 2021 would be €3-4k

It has done 247k and will have probably 270k on it by next year and the drivers side bolster has a tear in it but other than that it’s absolutely brilliant, I am going to sell it next year for a mondeo estate but yeah this is brilliant and still averages 50-55mpg

[Digby]

Arnie Cunningham said:

I have to admit, having never leased a car, I don't know what all the small print and extra guff they require is.
So it's a few thousand extra up front just to lease it? Oh. Wow.

There are plenty with no up front costs, it just means you pay more a month. Many lease sites offer sliding bars etc to adjust how much you want to put down, whether you want a maintenance package, yearly mileage and length of term etc and they will calculate the monthly cost as you adjust.

[anonymous-user]

SidewaysSi said:

I fancy getting a shed - no need for it but just something to thrash mercilessly!

Probably will keep it 6 months - 1 years then sell. Focus MK1, Pug 406, 107/C1 all look good. Needs to be fun as this will only be about driving the wheels off the thing

Budget is around £1k and running costs need to be tiny. Anything else worth a shout?

We initially looked at Yaris and jazz but good god the prices ! 2-3k for 16 years+ cars !

[OllieJolly]

cknotty said:

It’s an Astra J I’ve replaced it with, it’s totally vanilla white goods but as (I think!) Jaguar Steve has said previously, I’ve got nothing to prove to anyone

What spec/engine, cknotty?

My partner's is a '60 1.4 (NA) SRI.
"Dangerously underpowered", apparently. 99bhp mustn't be enough these days, even though it feels perfectly zippy to me.

Oil filter is on top though with easy access, so it only took me a few minutes the other day to change the oil.

[Arnie Cunningham]

I see. That makes it quite a compelling model then if no upfront, no mileage limit and so forth.

Digby said:

There are plenty with no up front costs, it just means you pay more a month. Many lease sites offer sliding bars etc to adjust how much you want to put down, whether you want a maintenance package, yearly mileage and length of term etc and they will calculate the monthly cost as you adjust.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Iwantafusca said:

SidewaysSi said:

I fancy getting a shed - no need for it but just something to thrash mercilessly!

Probably will keep it 6 months - 1 years then sell. Focus MK1, Pug 406, 107/C1 all look good. Needs to be fun as this will only be about driving the wheels off the thing

Budget is around £1k and running costs need to be tiny. Anything else worth a shout?

We initially looked at Yaris and jazz but good god the prices ! 2-3k for 16 years+ cars !

I don't think it's a great time to buy a shed on a whim, just for a laugh. As already mentioned, all the cars that used to be readily available for less than a grand are now £1995.

Coronavirus has done crazy things to used car prices. Wait it out for another six months, unless you really need something right now!

[shedweller]

I haven't posted our 1997 Subaru here for 3yrs but we were admiring it the other day so here it is...
Bought for £600 7yrs ago with just under 40k on the clocks (dead man's car)
It is my Mrs car and she loves it although I am conscious that we smoke about in a ratty old Subaru and sometimes I can be guilty of feeling self conscious about its sheddiness.

This is a new feeling, my Mrs doest give a toss but I seem to think that the car doesn't reflect our 'status' adequately (too much time on PH) but then I remember that we've done 75k in it with no failures and just routine maintenance........never washed it..... Ever, The inside is mint leather..

So here she is again, pictured yesterday....... A £600 pound car that hasn't been washed in 7yrs outside our £1500 a week holiday let and relaxing on the beach...... Next door have a RR

[Captain Answer]

Arnie Cunningham said:

I see. That makes it quite a compelling model then if no upfront, no mileage limit and so forth.

Digby said:

There are plenty with no up front costs, it just means you pay more a month. Many lease sites offer sliding bars etc to adjust how much you want to put down, whether you want a maintenance package, yearly mileage and length of term etc and they will calculate the monthly cost as you adjust.

Bearman is probably not forcing anyone into a lease/pcp for years at a time either, some people can't pass credit checks (or don't want credit showing on their finances)

[ooid]

Is it me or vw golf mk4s, still a bit under-valued? I justchecked recently, most of them are still around 1k or even less...I've been driving two of them for years now, can't see any big maintenance bills with them thinking of now getting another one just to keep a second spare set of wheels!

[Arnie Cunningham]

I was pondering this. It's the same thing in boats - my mate has just sold his boat for 20K. 2 years ago it would have been worth 12K. If you want a new outboard from mercury, it's an 18 month lead time in some cases.

I wonder if people will learn the joy of running an old shed and tend to stick with older cheaper cars rather than move to hybrids & electrics - meaning that older car prices will stay higher?

[cedrichn]

Arnie Cunningham said:

I see. That makes it quite a compelling model then if no upfront, no mileage limit and so forth.

Digby said:

There are plenty with no up front costs, it just means you pay more a month. Many lease sites offer sliding bars etc to adjust how much you want to put down, whether you want a maintenance package, yearly mileage and length of term etc and they will calculate the monthly cost as you adjust.

You can go and have a look at the "lease" part of PH: they developed their own dialect when it comes to comparing lease deals :P
It is the same as "New Car from £20 000 only" which after you put Air Con + Sat Nav + Cruise control (which add mandatory 20" wheels) comes up at £35 000: lease company are hiding everything....
It is funny how people are so proud to say "I pay only £300 per month for this shinny [whatever]", but forget to tell you how much they put down as a first payment, and that they are stuck with this car for 3 years, for a grand total of 8 or 12k miles per year max. Somehow, these are details to them...

Anyway, I now have Air Con back in my french saloon! Let's see how long it last this time Pipes looks alright (already changed one), and can't see any leak, so I suspect the condenser is on its way out... If it hold all summer, I will be more than happy, and will play with the condenser this winter (bumper off job). Until then, the OH and me now have sore throat, which I suspect it is the AC fault... I didn't tell her that playing so much with AC pipes is not really good, and I couldn't be arsed to pay £6 premium for the anti bacterial treatment Anyway, she is conviced it is something else, so me too

[spreadsheet monkey]

shedweller said:

This is a new feeling, my Mrs doest give a toss but I seem to think that the car doesn't reflect our 'status' adequately (too much time on PH) but then I remember that we've done 75k in it with no failures and just routine maintenance........never washed it..... Ever, The inside is mint leather.

That sunset picture is great!

Clearly you need to read some of the "old money" or inverse snobbery threads which crop up regularly on PH, that will tell you that old Volvo 240s and Legacies are all driven by loaded members of the aristocracy who could easily afford a new Range Rover but choose to keep an old car as they don't want to flaunt their wealth

[spreadsheet monkey]

ooid said:

Is it me or vw golf mk4s, still a bit under-valued? I just checked recently, most of them are still around 1k or even less...I've been driving two of them for years now, can't see any big maintenance bills with them thinking of now getting another one just to keep a second spare set of wheels!

Depends who you ask. I had a Jazz Blue Mk4 GTI 1.8T back in the day and loved it.

But others will tell you that the Mk2 and the Mk5 were the best Golfs (both the GTIs and the vanilla models).

The latest Mk4s are not far off 20 years old, but the VW "scene" is a powerful thing and one day even a bog standard 1.6 Golf Mk4 will be considered a classic and put on display at a VW show somewhere.

But until it hits classic status, £1k (or less) sounds about right for a non-sporty Golf Mk4 that isn't pristine or a "time warp" low mileage car. If you like them, go ahead and hoard them!