The Joy of Running an Old Shed (Vol 2)
Discussion
NialOx said:
Possibly looking for a comfy soft derv estate and I've been looking at old Mercs. Any input from fellow shed runners?
Wow, what a nice collection and superb purchase prices.I have nowhere near your experience but have had a 2005 e-class estate in very nice condition,115,000 miles with full Merc service history. This particular model (up until 2007) has an SBC brake pump which is designed by Merc to fail depending on the number of accuations. It's usually from about 125,000 onwards. If this fails you will be left with no brakes immediately and with no warning. I was on holiday with wife, dog and children when it happened to me. Cost was nearly £1000 for a recon unit which had to come from Germany and about £400 to fit it. No way out. No quick fix.
Next horror a few months later was the Black Death, where all my injectors had to be replaced - 6 @ £186 per injector plus lots of labour.
Lovely cars when they're not draining your wallet though. My God.
993kimbo said:
Wow, what a nice collection and superb purchase prices.
I have nowhere near your experience but have had a 2005 e-class estate in very nice condition,115,000 miles with full Merc service history. This particular model (up until 2007) has an SBC brake pump which is designed by Merc to fail depending on the number of accuations. It's usually from about 125,000 onwards. If this fails you will be left with no brakes immediately and with no warning. I was on holiday with wife, dog and children when it happened to me. Cost was nearly £1000 for a recon unit which had to come from Germany and about £400 to fit it. No way out. No quick fix.
Next horror a few months later was the Black Death, where all my injectors had to be replaced - 6 @ £186 per injector plus lots of labour.
Lovely cars when they're not draining your wallet though. My God.
It's not too bad a collection. I have a significant amount of freetime at work. At this point browsing marketplace and ebay has become a profession for me so If i see something I'll buy it even if there's no need! I have nowhere near your experience but have had a 2005 e-class estate in very nice condition,115,000 miles with full Merc service history. This particular model (up until 2007) has an SBC brake pump which is designed by Merc to fail depending on the number of accuations. It's usually from about 125,000 onwards. If this fails you will be left with no brakes immediately and with no warning. I was on holiday with wife, dog and children when it happened to me. Cost was nearly £1000 for a recon unit which had to come from Germany and about £400 to fit it. No way out. No quick fix.
Next horror a few months later was the Black Death, where all my injectors had to be replaced - 6 @ £186 per injector plus lots of labour.
Lovely cars when they're not draining your wallet though. My God.
Brilliant - This is the sort of information I need. I've always been a self confessed BMW lover so this would be my first foray into to the world of mercs.
Current work routes make me want a soft, auto estate. I'd look at volvos but the gearboxes hiding issues on test drives by not warming up fully makes me want to stay clear.
I'm inclined to stay clear of 4x4's. Unnecessary fuel consumption and twice the moving parts to go wrong.
Open to other options of course.
andrebar said:
My shed is wearing the scars of a poorly reversed recycling truck. The drivers knocked on my door to fess up/ apologise so I wanted to be reasonable about it & suggested £200 would cover a diy repair. Of course the council insisted on going through their insurers who wouldn’t listen to common sense & coughed up nearly 7 times the amount I’d asked for.
So my car still looks like this but my next shed has been largely paid for.
Nick Jupp in the E46 owners group would be able to get you a wing in that colour for next to nothingSo my car still looks like this but my next shed has been largely paid for.
993kimbo said:
Wow, what a nice collection and superb purchase prices.
I have nowhere near your experience but have had a 2005 e-class estate in very nice condition,115,000 miles with full Merc service history. This particular model (up until 2007) has an SBC brake pump which is designed by Merc to fail depending on the number of accuations. It's usually from about 125,000 onwards. If this fails you will be left with no brakes immediately and with no warning. I was on holiday with wife, dog and children when it happened to me. Cost was nearly £1000 for a recon unit which had to come from Germany and about £400 to fit it. No way out. No quick fix.
Next horror a few months later was the Black Death, where all my injectors had to be replaced - 6 @ £186 per injector plus lots of labour.
Lovely cars when they're not draining your wallet though. My God.
Here’s some photos of the arches on the 330. Panels and paint + some consumables probably cost about £150 for both sides and took me a day per side. I have nowhere near your experience but have had a 2005 e-class estate in very nice condition,115,000 miles with full Merc service history. This particular model (up until 2007) has an SBC brake pump which is designed by Merc to fail depending on the number of accuations. It's usually from about 125,000 onwards. If this fails you will be left with no brakes immediately and with no warning. I was on holiday with wife, dog and children when it happened to me. Cost was nearly £1000 for a recon unit which had to come from Germany and about £400 to fit it. No way out. No quick fix.
Next horror a few months later was the Black Death, where all my injectors had to be replaced - 6 @ £186 per injector plus lots of labour.
Lovely cars when they're not draining your wallet though. My God.
Quick rattle can paint job. After all it’s a shed. The winter road dirt blended the paint nicely!
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|https://thumbsnap.com/xjUDcz1B[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/3K9qJTvQ[/url]aaron_2000 said:
andrebar said:
My shed is wearing the scars of a poorly reversed recycling truck. The drivers knocked on my door to fess up/ apologise so I wanted to be reasonable about it & suggested £200 would cover a diy repair. Of course the council insisted on going through their insurers who wouldn’t listen to common sense & coughed up nearly 7 times the amount I’d asked for.
So my car still looks like this but my next shed has been largely paid for.
Nick Jupp in the E46 owners group would be able to get you a wing in that colour for next to nothingSo my car still looks like this but my next shed has been largely paid for.
NialOx said:
Here’s some photos of the arches on the 330.
Commendable work.What you will find with the Mercs is a better ride and will generally feel a bit more comfortable than the 330. I had the same car as you on 17" wheels and even then found the ride a bit harsh and the seats not very comfortable either. Mind you Merc seats aren't much better and neither are Audis. I find cloth comfier.
993kimbo said:
Commendable work.
What you will find with the Mercs is a better ride and will generally feel a bit more comfortable than the 330. I had the same car as you on 17" wheels and even then found the ride a bit harsh and the seats not very comfortable either. Mind you Merc seats aren't much better and neither are Audis. I find cloth comfier.
I'll have a look. I'm open to petrol variants but obviously fuel comes into it. What you will find with the Mercs is a better ride and will generally feel a bit more comfortable than the 330. I had the same car as you on 17" wheels and even then found the ride a bit harsh and the seats not very comfortable either. Mind you Merc seats aren't much better and neither are Audis. I find cloth comfier.
In terms of seats I don't think anything will beat the SAAB. That was truly a comfy place to sit
NialOx said:
I'll have a look. I'm open to petrol variants but obviously fuel comes into it.
In terms of seats I don't think anything will beat the SAAB. That was truly a comfy place to sit
My base model 93 2.0i had amazing seats and tbh i often look for another 2.0i in the classifieds.In terms of seats I don't think anything will beat the SAAB. That was truly a comfy place to sit
The 95 aero i had later was a nightmare and joint most unreliable car with my Volvo 850
NialOx said:
993kimbo said:
Commendable work.
What you will find with the Mercs is a better ride and will generally feel a bit more comfortable than the 330. I had the same car as you on 17" wheels and even then found the ride a bit harsh and the seats not very comfortable either. Mind you Merc seats aren't much better and neither are Audis. I find cloth comfier.
I'll have a look. I'm open to petrol variants but obviously fuel comes into it. What you will find with the Mercs is a better ride and will generally feel a bit more comfortable than the 330. I had the same car as you on 17" wheels and even then found the ride a bit harsh and the seats not very comfortable either. Mind you Merc seats aren't much better and neither are Audis. I find cloth comfier.
In terms of seats I don't think anything will beat the SAAB. That was truly a comfy place to sit
Had a 2011 9-3 last year, and a 2012 318d with the Alcantara M sport seats (still own this car), and jumping back to back at times from one car to the other as I owned both simultaneously, the BMW won hands down for comfort on longer journey, maybe it's the fact the BMW's seat can really tuck down low, where as the SAAB felt I was sat on the roof by comparison
757 said:
SAAB do/did have great ergonomic seats, but think they may of been overated a little.
Had a 2011 9-3 last year, and a 2012 318d with the Alcantara M sport seats (still own this car), and jumping back to back at times from one car to the other as I owned both simultaneously, the BMW won hands down for comfort on longer journey, maybe it's the fact the BMW's seat can really tuck down low, where as the SAAB felt I was sat on the roof by comparison
2011 and 2012 is too new for me! I've only experience in pre 2002 vintage of both cars. Can't say I had a problem with the Saab and I'm a hair under 6ft2. Must be all in the legs! Had a 2011 9-3 last year, and a 2012 318d with the Alcantara M sport seats (still own this car), and jumping back to back at times from one car to the other as I owned both simultaneously, the BMW won hands down for comfort on longer journey, maybe it's the fact the BMW's seat can really tuck down low, where as the SAAB felt I was sat on the roof by comparison
NialOx said:
Hello all.
I live in Huddersfield where roads are known to be horrendous
Possibly looking for a comfy soft derv estate and I've been looking at old Mercs. Any input from fellow shed runners? I've had derv 320d's and 330'd in the past when they were cheap (especially 330d I fancy a change.
Rough roads you say, Youll be needing a sheddy Peugoet/citroen estate. Simply the most comfortable cars ever built.I live in Huddersfield where roads are known to be horrendous
Possibly looking for a comfy soft derv estate and I've been looking at old Mercs. Any input from fellow shed runners? I've had derv 320d's and 330'd in the past when they were cheap (especially 330d I fancy a change.
Edited by A500leroy on Wednesday 4th May 15:05
A500leroy said:
Rough roads you say, Youll be needing a sheddy Peugoe/citroent estate. Simply the most comfortable cars ever built.
I'm going to catch flack for this. There is the occasional peugeot / citroen I'll entertain but they are out of the question. Partially there has to be some interest or desire to buy it but there's nothing about them I want. It's not a brand thing. We had a Peugeot Partner for years which was brilliant. But most of them I find quite hateful NialOx said:
757 said:
SAAB do/did have great ergonomic seats, but think they may of been overated a little.
Had a 2011 9-3 last year, and a 2012 318d with the Alcantara M sport seats (still own this car), and jumping back to back at times from one car to the other as I owned both simultaneously, the BMW won hands down for comfort on longer journey, maybe it's the fact the BMW's seat can really tuck down low, where as the SAAB felt I was sat on the roof by comparison
2011 and 2012 is too new for me! I've only experience in pre 2002 vintage of both cars. Can't say I had a problem with the Saab and I'm a hair under 6ft2. Must be all in the legs! Had a 2011 9-3 last year, and a 2012 318d with the Alcantara M sport seats (still own this car), and jumping back to back at times from one car to the other as I owned both simultaneously, the BMW won hands down for comfort on longer journey, maybe it's the fact the BMW's seat can really tuck down low, where as the SAAB felt I was sat on the roof by comparison
757 said:
Yeah maybe the pre years were better in this respect, do like SAABs though, and glad I scratched that itch, driving SAABs poor brother at the moment a 2008 Vectra, pretty good steer tbh despite the ridicule they got.
SAAB Was great minus constant vaccum leaks. Unfortunately it was no match for the local potholes A500leroy said:
We both know this happening Davie, just crack on with it and keep us posted.
Didn't buy it at the 11th hour. The voices of reasons managed to get through my rose tinted force field and pointed out that a) it was dog arse rough b) was a 2.5 N/A and thus a bit crap and c) it was a lot of hassle to get it, then get rid of the unflapable V50 and then be left with something that was neither tidy nor exciting... obviously I knew all this but had ignored it all in favour of thinking it's a white 850 estate and therefore I am Rickard Rydell.
Then Mrs Davie, now utterly fed up of my constant procrastinating said why nit go and actually buy a nice V70, ideally one that I can clean at the weekends and not have to weld for arse to tit first and why not get a fast one so it can be exciting as and when the urge arises. And in some ways, I like this idea and it's something I've toyed with for a while... and I know where there's a couple of candidates.
And then I threw several massive boulders in the V50, uprooted a decent bush with it, Mrs Davie went off to drive it into stuff at Tesco and it's since been lying in the garage again since last Thursday with a large picnic bench, a rolled up carpet and a Little Tykes Cosy Coupe chucked on the roof. And that's when I immediately decide something nicer and quicker would be a chore and shed life is awesome.
And repeat....
Davie said:
Then Mrs Davie, now utterly fed up of my constant procrastinating said why nit go and actually buy a nice V70, ideally one that I can clean at the weekends and not have to weld for arse to tit first and why not get a fast one so it can be exciting as and when the urge arises. And in some ways, I like this idea and it's something I've toyed with for a while... and I know where there's a couple of candidates.
I had a voice in my head that said stuff like this once. I ended up working my way up the performance/price ladder until I ended up with a cheap C5 RS6 (With a Saab 9-5 Aero Hot & Noobtune somewhere as a stepping stone)How bad can it be, I thought? Well, the only thing I didn't have to do was weld it!
It's now excellent, finally...but a lot of work went in to getting it so.
Truckosaurus said:
Indeed. I think a good way to look at repair costs is that if the vehicle is fundamentally reliable (ie. doesn't keep breaking down) then any expenditure other than complete engine/gearbox replacement is going to be cheaper than buying another car with unknown issues and component lifespan.
As long as you don't sell the car after spending the money - as many people seem to...
That said we are funny creatures in our view of money, I was looking at my car the other day and thinking it would be a shame to replace it just yet as there was still plenty of wear left in the tyres (c. 3 years old) whereas I thought nothing of spending the cost of a single tyre on filling the tank with petrol yesterday.
Although I don't consider my car (1998 Volvo V70 T5) a shed, the purchase price just about fits into the shed budget (£1,750). Car is currently in the garage for a service and investigation into some suspension knocks. They have just called to say my total bill will be circa £1,600, which on the face it, seems daft to spend that much given the value (which is probably closer to £3,500) but the way i'm looking at, is it's an interesting car, rare and I could go out and buy a £1,000 shed and have similar issues, maybe. That said, it's a huge amount of money! The body work I was planning on doing might have to wait...As long as you don't sell the car after spending the money - as many people seem to...
That said we are funny creatures in our view of money, I was looking at my car the other day and thinking it would be a shame to replace it just yet as there was still plenty of wear left in the tyres (c. 3 years old) whereas I thought nothing of spending the cost of a single tyre on filling the tank with petrol yesterday.
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