The Joy of Running an Old Shed

[Jimmy Recard]

stickleback123 said:

Rover 800s used to rot through on the filler neck, but I certainly haven't heard of any other cars doing it!

Didn't the Ford Ka do that too? Could be thinking of something else

[ajprice]

carinaman said:

Does the filter work for double i? Shiite?

You're a winner!!

[OMITN]

Jimmy Recard said:

OMITN said:

(In shed news, my new rear wiper has arrived for the 307 - going to try to get to the bottom of why, using the correct parts, the blade goes above the top of the rear screen.)

How far above? Assuming the blade definitely is the correct length, maybe a bend in the spindle?

Far enough..!

So, I went to fit the new blade. Same length as the old blade I put it back in its box and back into the open Amazon box it came in, ready to return it. The cat pissed in the box....

Some furious googling tells me that the blade is right but that there are two wiper arm lengths. I’ve just had delivered this evening a random pattern item that looks like it might be the right thing. Just need to fit it ahead of the 10am MOT....

[carinaman]

ajprice said:

carinaman said:

Does the filter work for double i? Shiite?

You're a winner!!

That's a real word and an unsuitable alternative.

[sparkythecat]

Jimmy Recard said:

stickleback123 said:

Rover 800s used to rot through on the filler neck, but I certainly haven't heard of any other cars doing it!

Didn't the Ford Ka do that too? Could be thinking of something else

Rotting fuel filler and breather pipes are a common problem on the Mk3 Shogun.
The rust from them drops into the fuel tank and is sucked into the injection pump. An exchange pump costing an eye watering £1500, causes a lot to be scrapped if it fails.

[loskie]

we should start a new thread: How To Circumvent The Swear Filter"

It always amuses me when Shorpe is filtered out by certain filters. Who would think there was a cant in Shorpe?

[OMITN]

So Jean Shedley (Pug 307) failed its MOT this morning - cracked front spring.

I don’t (yet) have the tools to sort, so will need to find a local garage who isn’t busy (they’re all busy right now!) to sort before the ticket expires in a week. Though I am considering buying the tools and tackling it myself....

Note to self - get the MOT done early so I have time to get it sorted without being off the road..!

[M4cruiser]

OMITN said:

Far enough..!

So, I went to fit the new blade. Same length as the old blade I put it back in its box and back into the open Amazon box it came in, ready to return it. The cat pissed in the box....

Some furious googling tells me that the blade is right but that there are two wiper arm lengths. I’ve just had delivered this evening a random pattern item that looks like it might be the right thing. Just need to fit it ahead of the 10am MOT....

As far as I know the MoT doesn't test the rear wiper.

[Eyersey1234]

M4cruiser said:

OMITN said:

Far enough..!

So, I went to fit the new blade. Same length as the old blade I put it back in its box and back into the open Amazon box it came in, ready to return it. The cat pissed in the box....

Some furious googling tells me that the blade is right but that there are two wiper arm lengths. I’ve just had delivered this evening a random pattern item that looks like it might be the right thing. Just need to fit it ahead of the 10am MOT....

As far as I know the MoT doesn't test the rear wiper.

No it's only the front wipers that are testable

[OMITN]

Eyersey1234 said:

M4cruiser said:

OMITN said:

Far enough..!

So, I went to fit the new blade. Same length as the old blade I put it back in its box and back into the open Amazon box it came in, ready to return it. The cat pissed in the box....

Some furious googling tells me that the blade is right but that there are two wiper arm lengths. I’ve just had delivered this evening a random pattern item that looks like it might be the right thing. Just need to fit it ahead of the 10am MOT....

As far as I know the MoT doesn't test the rear wiper.

No it's only the front wipers that are testable

Cheers both. Will remember that and pay more attention to the front springs in future

[Shieldsy94]

Looking at reducing my commuting bill whilst saving for a house. Currently have a Mazda 6 2016 on finance and have worked out I can save roughly £300 a month between finance, tax, fuel, insurance & depreciation. I do 14k a year just commuting plus anything else so maybe 18k in total. Would you do that mileage in a sub £1500 diesel?

I was looking at 1.6 Focus'. Fiesta's and Polo Bluemotions. Don't really like the idea of a bigger car as they bump up the insurance, tax and running cost.

[PistonAFC]

Shieldsy94 said:

Looking at reducing my commuting bill whilst saving for a house. Currently have a Mazda 6 2016 on finance and have worked out I can save roughly £300 a month between finance, tax, fuel, insurance & depreciation. I do 14k a year just commuting plus anything else so maybe 18k in total. Would you do that mileage in a sub £1500 diesel?

I was looking at 1.6 Focus'. Fiesta's and Polo Bluemotions. Don't really like the idea of a bigger car as they bump up the insurance, tax and running cost.

18k in a fiesta...???

Sheds are usually for lower mileages I would think and £1500 won't do 18k /yr without issues.

If you that many miles and use it for work, you probably want to be in a comfortable place when driving.

[Raymond Reddington]

I do that sort of mileage in a cheap diesel, 1.7 astra.. Its very reliable, and hideously dull.

[W00DY]

My Golf Bluemotion 1.9 estate is very cheap to run and will happily do 2k miles in a month when I want it to, but is also comfier and less tiring than a Fiesta or Polo.

[A.J.M]

For the swift owner.

My mate has the same car, he got his very rotten subframe replaced with a brand new one for £300 inc Labour.

[A500leroy]

PistonAFC said:

Shieldsy94 said:

Looking at reducing my commuting bill whilst saving for a house. Currently have a Mazda 6 2016 on finance and have worked out I can save roughly £300 a month between finance, tax, fuel, insurance & depreciation. I do 14k a year just commuting plus anything else so maybe 18k in total. Would you do that mileage in a sub £1500 diesel?

I was looking at 1.6 Focus'. Fiesta's and Polo Bluemotions. Don't really like the idea of a bigger car as they bump up the insurance, tax and running cost.

18k in a fiesta...???

Sheds are usually for lower mileages I would think and £1500 won't do 18k /yr without issues.

If you that many miles and use it for work, you probably want to be in a comfortable place when driving.

yaris

[v15ben]

I've done 18-20K pa for the last few years in a Yaris, Jazz, Pixo and Micra.
Covered around 100K between those four cars, all in the c. £1500 bracket or less.
They weren't highly entertaining, but were very reliable and cheap for those miles.

[Pat H]

A.J.M said:

For the swift owner.

My mate has the same car, he got his very rotten subframe replaced with a brand new one for £300 inc Labour.

Thank you, that's good to know.

It failed its MOT on a ball joint, so I spent an hour yesterday afternoon in the pissing rain replacing a track control arm.

So the total damage has been £65 for a fuel filler neck and £48 for a new bottom arm. Not too bad, I suppose.

I also had to replace the rear fog lamp bulb holder, which had corroded into a horrible rotten mess. By a stroke of good fortune, it is exactly the same as the indicator bulb holder on a 1985 Honda CB350. And I just happened to have one of them in my box of useful bits and pieces. It's great when that happens.

[Jaguar steve]

Raymond Reddington said:

I do that sort of mileage in a cheap diesel, 1.7 astra.. Its very reliable, and hideously dull.

Pre Covid I was doing about 20k every year including road trips round southern France in a old Roomster diesel.

Comfy, cheap and totally reliable. Back of a fag packet I'd guess that mileage was costing me region of £15/1600 a year all in

[slk 32]

Shieldsy94 said:

Looking at reducing my commuting bill whilst saving for a house. Currently have a Mazda 6 2016 on finance and have worked out I can save roughly £300 a month between finance, tax, fuel, insurance & depreciation. I do 14k a year just commuting plus anything else so maybe 18k in total. Would you do that mileage in a sub £1500 diesel?

I was looking at 1.6 Focus'. Fiesta's and Polo Bluemotions. Don't really like the idea of a bigger car as they bump up the insurance, tax and running cost.

I would recommend a polo bluemotion 1. I did 24k in mine in the year prior to lockdown. Zero roadtax, 75mpg+ sat on the M3 at 65mph.. 14 inch wheels so 4 michelin cross climates £240. Plus it has plenty of poke and will happily tick along at 95-100.

Mine has been pretty reliable and has just hit 180k.. bought it at 118k, the only major expense was a new turbo at 135k, other than that pretty much just consumables.