The Joy of Running an Old Shed

[Demelitia]

Pothole said:

Mrs P got me one of those little seats on wheels for Christmas! Does yours fart when you sit down?

Quit looking for people to back up your excuses and accept responsibility for your own emissions!

[STIfree]

Mondeo did top shed duties today!

A friends car had broken down at the beginning of the week an hour away. AA would only take them to a local garage so it's been parked up whilst he was away.

Purchased a solid bar (I also found out you can no longer legally tow with ropes now) from Screwfix for £28. Worked an absolute treat. 50-60mph most of the way home, the Mondeo even returned an average of 48mpg!

[magpie215]

STIfree said:

Mondeo did top shed duties today!

A friends car had broken down at the beginning of the week an hour away. AA would only take them to a local garage so it's been parked up whilst he was away.

Purchased a solid bar (I also found out you can no longer legally tow with ropes now) from Screwfix for £28. Worked an absolute treat. 50-60mph most of the way home, the Mondeo even returned an average of 48mpg!

Its crazy I have rescued so many friends and family with broken down vehicles much younger than my Galaxy......mines become legendary in my circle lol.

[STIfree]

Somehow I don't think I'd of been as likely to offer the tow if it was a £40k Audi

[anonymous-user]

STIfree said:

(I also found out you can no longer legally tow with ropes now)

Nothing stopping you using a rope, the only change is you need a trailer licence nowadays.

[The Mad Monk]

STIfree said:

Mondeo did top shed duties today!

A friends car had broken down at the beginning of the week an hour away. AA would only take them to a local garage so it's been parked up whilst he was away.

Purchased a solid bar (I also found out you can no longer legally tow with ropes now) from Screwfix for £28. Worked an absolute treat. 50-60mph most of the way home, the Mondeo even returned an average of 48mpg!

How did you fix the tow bar at each end?

[S100HP]

The Mad Monk said:

How did you fix the tow bar at each end?

They come with a clamp on each end.

[Aiminghigh123]

Looking at replacing tyres on my Saab shed 225/45/17 94. Rears are bold on the inner edge and front right is at 2mm.
Camskill are doing uniroyal £54 a corner or eagle F1 £62 a corner. ATS usual fit for £10 a corner. Not the cheapest but I tend not to skimp on tyres.

[Bonefish Blues]

I'm impressed with the RS5s I've fitted. Seem more secure than the RS3s, or perhaps just slightly stiffer in the sidewall.

[vikingaero]

Just got my reminder from MoneySupermarket to renew the insurance on the Daihatsu Shed. A whopping £127. Shed + Old Driver = Happiness.

[deltashad]

Our shed comes out when all the others are in the mechanics or broken. My wife passed her driving test in it and refuses to sell. Its had a new engine and about six months ago received a full respray. It's super reliable, cheap to run and completely invisible. Golf mk4 1.6, being a high line model was specced really well with climate, 4x leccy windows. Totally boring but totally dependable and probably the most comfortable car we have.

[Plate spinner]

New engine and full respray?? That’s not a shed.

Unless you bodged in the engine from your mate’s MOT failure on a Sunday morning and resprayed it yourself with Halfords rattle cans that afternoon.. Then it’s a shed

Edited by Plate spinner on Saturday 29th February 08:18

[Aiminghigh123]

Plate spinner said:

New engine and full respray?? That’s not a shed

I was thinking the same.

How much did that cost?

[gazapc]

magpie215 said:

STIfree said:

Mondeo did top shed duties today!

A friends car had broken down at the beginning of the week an hour away. AA would only take them to a local garage so it's been parked up whilst he was away.

Purchased a solid bar (I also found out you can no longer legally tow with ropes now) from Screwfix for £28. Worked an absolute treat. 50-60mph most of the way home, the Mondeo even returned an average of 48mpg!

Its crazy I have rescued so many friends and family with broken down vehicles much younger than my Galaxy......mines become legendary in my circle lol.

Snap. Latest rescue was a randomer stuck in their very modern car on a dual carriageway last Saturday. Not bad for a 22 year old shed.

[Jimmy Recard]

Thesprucegoose said:

Nothing stopping you using a rope, the only change is you need a trailer licence nowadays.

I was going to say! That was news to me. I would’ve broken the law a few times recently if that was the case

[M4cruiser]

Pothole said:

M4cruiser said:

LukeyP_ said:

I loved the 19s.

I remember my Dad having one from work at times when his van was in for service etc. Nice cars, think it was a K plate.

If there are some Renault shed experts on this thread then I have a question about my daughter's Clio shed: -
The orange coolant/antifreeze seems to have "bits" in it, we can see them in the translucent bit of the header tank, do we just leave it or does it really need a flush and some new proper Renault antifreeze (is the genuine Renault stuff orange, pink, blue or green?)
(Not sure where else to post this question!)

Do you think Renault make coolant? A flush is unlikely to hurt, but then neither are the bits, assuming it runs at a "normal" temperature and the cooling system has no leaks. In which case, this is purely a financial consideration.

No, I wasn't suggesting Renault actually make coolant, just that they have some stuff made for them and are sufficiently sure of the quality to put their brand on it. (I'm not even sure if Renault actually make cars, they just assemble them from bits they buy in from other companies.)
In the past I have bought Vauxhall/Opel/GM-branded coolant for the shed Vauxhall and also VW/Skoda-branded coolant for the Skoda shed, so I was guessing Renault have some too.
I find it best to run our sheds like that, i.e. I've saved so much on depreciation that I can afford to usually obtain the main dealer parts for things like oil filter, air filter, brake pads and coolant.
I think that's a better way of running a car than having something much newer but then buying bits like that from Halfords for it!
However if I put the shed into an independent garage for work I can't do myself, then I know they will just use a local motor factor for some cheepie blue-print parts, and I can't do a lot about that. They don't seem to like me supplying the official parts, possibly because they make a mark-up on the factor ones.

[jagnet]

Whilst I can see the value in using OE for some things, coolant wouldn't be one of them. It's just there to provide sub zero protection and anti corrosion which Triple QX or similar will manage just fine. Just choose one that meets the appropriate specs for that manufacturer as appears in the handbook.

[Cads]

It goes against the grain but treated the wife’s shed to a quick wash this morning. Granted I needed a break in the rain to snap some photos as it’ll be up for sale soon.
But it scrubs up pretty well to be fair!

[loskie]

it's always impressive how well VAG cars spruce up

[MrGTI6]

deltashad said:

Our shed comes out when all the others are in the mechanics or broken. My wife passed her driving test in it and refuses to sell. Its had a new engine and about six months ago received a full respray. It's super reliable, cheap to run and completely invisible. Golf mk4 1.6, being a high line model was specced really well with climate, 4x leccy windows. Totally boring but totally dependable and probably the most comfortable car we have.

If you've treated it to a full respray, then it's definitely not a shed. And if you've had to replace the engine, it's probably not "super reliable" either.