The Joy of Running an Old Shed (Vol 2)
Discussion
7 5 7 said:
Run the same engine in my Vectra, been quite happy with it, pretty robust, simple engines on the whole I have been led to believe.
how many miles is it on and how many have you put on it? An astra sri has now popped up actually which is tempting, it's a bit of a trek but seems good value, bit of service history,mot till Nov, good mot history and 113k miles. Will give the seller a message tomorrow and see what's what
7 5 7 said:
Ryyy said:
What are your thoughts on the 1.8 and the vvt engine ? I have sour memories of my 1.6 but did have a lot of bother with a couple of garages fixing/bodging/ripping me off and didn't really treat it well to be fair too it 
but I do have a bit of an itch for a 1.8 sri, I think they look really good
Run the same engine in my Vectra, been quite happy with it, pretty robust, simple engines on the whole I have been led to believe. but I do have a bit of an itch for a 1.8 sri, I think they look really good weeve said:
£300. Blimey. It’s like 2014 all over again. What year if you don’t mind me asking? Just last weekend my neighbours lad just bought one for £700 with 12 months MOT and new tyres and I thought that was decent…
Don't forget the clutch has gone, so it will be a reasonable job to sort that out, at least a morning on the lift, and 2 days if I'm unlucky. But believe me, it's very very hard to buy things at the moment. I think the Yaris is 2004 or something. I haven't seen it yet. I'm having a bit of a clear out of some of the rubbish that has accumulated here (basically stuff either I can't fix or CBA to fix). I have a Mk3 Megane that the replacement engine is too expensive for, a 5008 with no breaks (how hard can it be to fix breaks for gawds sake?), an old Scenic, a Xsara Picasso that the cam belt has gone on (my bad on that one). Should earn me enough cash to buy something that is working, or will at least need less work than that lot.
I go through phases of cleaning things out, and scrap prices are so high at the moment, it seems a shame not to take advantage.
The 1.8 Astra has 151k on it, and runs as sweet as a nut. I have to change the lower arms for the MOT (£40 each), and then sort out the ABS light (that the MOT tester failed to notice), and then a service and a cam belt.
Brother has a 2003 Mini Cooper manual with 130k miles, clutch done 2 years ago.
Interior is pretty messed up, door seals coming off, hole in carpet, door dented, bumper plastic splitter on with zip ties, rusty hole next to a rear light, speakers crackle on one side, boot latch temperamental about letting you open it.
Just a careless uni student who learnt to drive in it and served for 4 years without any love outside of services/things for mot.
Runs with no issues mechanically, 10 months mot.
What should he be trying to sell it for? Finishing uni shortly and has some money towards a new car but whatever he gets for it would help.
Interior is pretty messed up, door seals coming off, hole in carpet, door dented, bumper plastic splitter on with zip ties, rusty hole next to a rear light, speakers crackle on one side, boot latch temperamental about letting you open it.
Just a careless uni student who learnt to drive in it and served for 4 years without any love outside of services/things for mot.
Runs with no issues mechanically, 10 months mot.
What should he be trying to sell it for? Finishing uni shortly and has some money towards a new car but whatever he gets for it would help.
Ryyy said:
how many miles is it on and how many have you put on it? An astra sri has now popped up actually which is tempting, it's a bit of a trek but seems good value, bit of service history,mot till Nov, good mot history and 113k miles.
Will give the seller a message tomorrow and see what's what
137,000 miles, and put 10,000+ miles on it since last April, just make sure it's had a cambelt, if not stick one on. Mine hadn't had one in 120k miles, so was first thing I got done!Will give the seller a message tomorrow and see what's what
Not big job on these, don't need to change the water pump either as it doesn't run off the same belt, so even easier/cheaper.
Slow said:
Brother has a 2003 Mini Cooper manual with 130k miles, clutch done 2 years ago.
Interior is pretty messed up, door seals coming off, hole in carpet, door dented, bumper plastic splitter on with zip ties, rusty hole next to a rear light, speakers crackle on one side, boot latch temperamental about letting you open it.
Just a careless uni student who learnt to drive in it and served for 4 years without any love outside of services/things for mot.
Runs with no issues mechanically, 10 months mot.
What should he be trying to sell it for? Finishing uni shortly and has some money towards a new car but whatever he gets for it would help.
Get Webuyanycar quote, and start eBay bidding at that price, stick it up with honest description.Interior is pretty messed up, door seals coming off, hole in carpet, door dented, bumper plastic splitter on with zip ties, rusty hole next to a rear light, speakers crackle on one side, boot latch temperamental about letting you open it.
Just a careless uni student who learnt to drive in it and served for 4 years without any love outside of services/things for mot.
Runs with no issues mechanically, 10 months mot.
What should he be trying to sell it for? Finishing uni shortly and has some money towards a new car but whatever he gets for it would help.
bearman68 said:
Off to buy a Yaris tomorrow. Looks quite tidy from the pics. 125k miles, but the clutch has gone. £300.
It will go with the Astra H 1.8 petrol I bought yesterday. Absolutely cracking car (bought with no MOT, and an ABS light on) for £800. Really pleased with that one.
Less pleased to be selling my IS220d Lexus after lots of work, it decided to dump the engine oil into the coolant. Oil cooler or cracked head? I favour the later.
No more diesel Toyotas for me (unless it's the 1.4).
Cracked head on the Lexus. There was a recall in 2011. It will go with the Astra H 1.8 petrol I bought yesterday. Absolutely cracking car (bought with no MOT, and an ABS light on) for £800. Really pleased with that one.
Less pleased to be selling my IS220d Lexus after lots of work, it decided to dump the engine oil into the coolant. Oil cooler or cracked head? I favour the later.
No more diesel Toyotas for me (unless it's the 1.4).
Davie said:
And so yes, as an ex single bloke who liked his cars and now as a dad who still likes his cars, I do battle with myself almost daily about what is the ideal set up for my / our needs and no matter what I do and how much man maths I deploy, it somehow just keeps coming back to the fact that really, the V50 is doing everything needed and wanted and for next to zero cost.
I mean this is the eternal struggle isn't it. Not to look too deeply at it but because it's an area we're all interested in and in a lot of cases are financially responsible for to some degree - it's always going to occupy the mind as to what is the best option/combo/way of managing the situation.I miss not having complete freedom to drive what I want though to be honest. I do envy those people whose other halves don't mind driving the bus/practical motor (and bearing some of the maintenance cost
), thereby also opening up their own option as the wildcard. Having waved the Lexus off yesterday, today I welcomed a little 1.0 53 plate Yaris. Apparently it has no clutch, but no-one has told it this, because I drove the the hilly 20 miles home with no issues whatsoever. Another Yaris win I feel. In the end it came down from £300 to £280, which again I felt as if I was winning at life (and it drove home on the petrol in the tank).
And just to show that really, I am a car buying guru of unbelievable skill and patience, tonight I bought a S40 Volvo. Not seen it yet, but it's in a lovely moonstone blue (loved that colour on the Peugeots), with no MOT and 80k miles 40 miles away, for £400. It was such a bargain, I decided to pay for it on credit card over the phone, since it was being sold by a dealer. What could possibly go wrong? It's a 1.8 petrol, and is mid range spec. Looks great on the pics, so it will probably be caved in on the side that wasn't pictured.
. Updates to follow.
The Astra 1.8 passed it's MOT today, and now has no advisories, for the grand total of £80 spend.
I feel on a bit of a roll at the mo, Astra, Yaris, and now a Volvo, for a grand total of £1500. (Plus MOT and fixing fees).
And just to show that really, I am a car buying guru of unbelievable skill and patience, tonight I bought a S40 Volvo. Not seen it yet, but it's in a lovely moonstone blue (loved that colour on the Peugeots), with no MOT and 80k miles 40 miles away, for £400. It was such a bargain, I decided to pay for it on credit card over the phone, since it was being sold by a dealer. What could possibly go wrong? It's a 1.8 petrol, and is mid range spec. Looks great on the pics, so it will probably be caved in on the side that wasn't pictured.
. Updates to follow.The Astra 1.8 passed it's MOT today, and now has no advisories, for the grand total of £80 spend.
I feel on a bit of a roll at the mo, Astra, Yaris, and now a Volvo, for a grand total of £1500. (Plus MOT and fixing fees).
Baked_bean said:
I have recently been shedding across a variety of cars and have two very different sheds, not sure which one to keep…enjoy this thread so wanted to get involved.
I have a Mondeo ST TDCI that has just passed its MOT, smokes a little on cold start, but is a solid efficient cruiser…owes me very little.
I also have a mk3 MX5 which is a lot of fun, but not very efficient and can be a little tiresome on long journeys- it is the 1.8 5 speed.
What would you keep?
Depends if you have anything else to use?I have a Mondeo ST TDCI that has just passed its MOT, smokes a little on cold start, but is a solid efficient cruiser…owes me very little.
I also have a mk3 MX5 which is a lot of fun, but not very efficient and can be a little tiresome on long journeys- it is the 1.8 5 speed.
What would you keep?
I have a shedx5 of the same vintage - it’s quite good fun to drive as you can thrash the hell out of it and still only be doing 70! Handles half decent as well.
But it’s not very practical, be a push to go away for the weekend with the amount of crap my wife takes. So if I had your choice I’d probably wait 4-6weeks for the sun to come out and sell the MX5.
Slow said:
Brother has a 2003 Mini Cooper manual with 130k miles, clutch done 2 years ago.
Interior is pretty messed up, door seals coming off, hole in carpet, door dented, bumper plastic splitter on with zip ties, rusty hole next to a rear light, speakers crackle on one side, boot latch temperamental about letting you open it.
Just a careless uni student who learnt to drive in it and served for 4 years without any love outside of services/things for mot.
Runs with no issues mechanically, 10 months mot.
What should he be trying to sell it for? Finishing uni shortly and has some money towards a new car but whatever he gets for it would help.
Get rid before the timing chain goes, my 193k 2012 Mini decided to let go of the timing chain despite a full main dealer service history as required. I imagine he will get £350 (as i did) from a scrap merchant. Good luck to himInterior is pretty messed up, door seals coming off, hole in carpet, door dented, bumper plastic splitter on with zip ties, rusty hole next to a rear light, speakers crackle on one side, boot latch temperamental about letting you open it.
Just a careless uni student who learnt to drive in it and served for 4 years without any love outside of services/things for mot.
Runs with no issues mechanically, 10 months mot.
What should he be trying to sell it for? Finishing uni shortly and has some money towards a new car but whatever he gets for it would help.
I have been looking for a Yaris shed, but found non I liked the look of.
My son yesterday landed on his feet and bought his Grandmothers Titanium fiesta eco boost 5 door motor off her for £8k with a staggering 3270 miles on the clock on a 2015 plate!
So being a generous dad I gave him £2k for his 1.2 2010 VW polo with 103k on the clock to reduce the pressure of my beloved MX5 having to be on the roads during the now nearly ended winter. It has rotting on the front of the sills that didn't get picked up on it's recent MOT, and other than it gets a load of condensation on the windscreen is OK. Any ideas where this moisture is coming from?
I would have still preferred an old Yaris as (they appear to be bomb proof). But I know my son has looked after his car and drives like a granny so the car will be OK I hope for a few years yet, and better you know the history of something than buying a shed and having to fork out
My son yesterday landed on his feet and bought his Grandmothers Titanium fiesta eco boost 5 door motor off her for £8k with a staggering 3270 miles on the clock on a 2015 plate!
So being a generous dad I gave him £2k for his 1.2 2010 VW polo with 103k on the clock to reduce the pressure of my beloved MX5 having to be on the roads during the now nearly ended winter. It has rotting on the front of the sills that didn't get picked up on it's recent MOT, and other than it gets a load of condensation on the windscreen is OK. Any ideas where this moisture is coming from?
I would have still preferred an old Yaris as (they appear to be bomb proof). But I know my son has looked after his car and drives like a granny so the car will be OK I hope for a few years yet, and better you know the history of something than buying a shed and having to fork out
Majorslow said:
I have been looking for a Yaris shed, but found non I liked the look of.
My son yesterday landed on his feet and bought his Grandmothers Titanium fiesta eco boost 5 door motor off her for £8k with a staggering 3270 miles on the clock on a 2015 plate!
So being a generous dad I gave him £2k for his 1.2 2010 VW polo with 103k on the clock to reduce the pressure of my beloved MX5 having to be on the roads during the now nearly ended winter. It has rotting on the front of the sills that didn't get picked up on it's recent MOT, and other than it gets a load of condensation on the windscreen is OK. Any ideas where this moisture is coming from?
I would have still preferred an old Yaris as (they appear to be bomb proof). But I know my son has looked after his car and drives like a granny so the car will be OK I hope for a few years yet, and better you know the history of something than buying a shed and having to fork out
That's a good way to Shed. We rarely sell cars in our family as they handed down/on. The provenance of knowing that a car has been serviced every year, faults fixed immediately and never broken down is a more attractive proposition than trawling ads for dross. The only downside is no travel/roadtrips to collect. My son yesterday landed on his feet and bought his Grandmothers Titanium fiesta eco boost 5 door motor off her for £8k with a staggering 3270 miles on the clock on a 2015 plate!
So being a generous dad I gave him £2k for his 1.2 2010 VW polo with 103k on the clock to reduce the pressure of my beloved MX5 having to be on the roads during the now nearly ended winter. It has rotting on the front of the sills that didn't get picked up on it's recent MOT, and other than it gets a load of condensation on the windscreen is OK. Any ideas where this moisture is coming from?
I would have still preferred an old Yaris as (they appear to be bomb proof). But I know my son has looked after his car and drives like a granny so the car will be OK I hope for a few years yet, and better you know the history of something than buying a shed and having to fork out
bearman68 said:
Having waved the Lexus off yesterday, today I welcomed a little 1.0 53 plate Yaris. Apparently it has no clutch, but no-one has told it this, because I drove the the hilly 20 miles home with no issues whatsoever. Another Yaris win I feel. In the end it came down from £300 to £280, which again I felt as if I was winning at life (and it drove home on the petrol in the tank).
And just to show that really, I am a car buying guru of unbelievable skill and patience, tonight I bought a S40 Volvo. Not seen it yet, but it's in a lovely moonstone blue (loved that colour on the Peugeots), with no MOT and 80k miles 40 miles away, for £400. It was such a bargain, I decided to pay for it on credit card over the phone, since it was being sold by a dealer. What could possibly go wrong? It's a 1.8 petrol, and is mid range spec. Looks great on the pics, so it will probably be caved in on the side that wasn't pictured.. Updates to follow.
The Astra 1.8 passed it's MOT today, and now has no advisories, for the grand total of £80 spend.
I feel on a bit of a roll at the mo, Astra, Yaris, and now a Volvo, for a grand total of £1500. (Plus MOT and fixing fees).
Great stuff bearman, love reading your updates. Wish I had your nose, skill and tools to do what you do!And just to show that really, I am a car buying guru of unbelievable skill and patience, tonight I bought a S40 Volvo. Not seen it yet, but it's in a lovely moonstone blue (loved that colour on the Peugeots), with no MOT and 80k miles 40 miles away, for £400. It was such a bargain, I decided to pay for it on credit card over the phone, since it was being sold by a dealer. What could possibly go wrong? It's a 1.8 petrol, and is mid range spec. Looks great on the pics, so it will probably be caved in on the side that wasn't pictured.
. Updates to follow.The Astra 1.8 passed it's MOT today, and now has no advisories, for the grand total of £80 spend.
I feel on a bit of a roll at the mo, Astra, Yaris, and now a Volvo, for a grand total of £1500. (Plus MOT and fixing fees).
Have you ever come across a Suzuki Splash in your time? Bit of a leftfield car I know, but I quite fancy one for my daughter. In my imagination it will be reliable, easy to maintain and practical. They seem very roomy inside, yet very compact on the outside, and I expect only ever owned by old biddies, so unlikely to come across one that's been seriously raced or crashed. Any thoughts?
Bannock said:
Great stuff bearman, love reading your updates. Wish I had your nose, skill and tools to do what you do!
Have you ever come across a Suzuki Splash in your time? Bit of a leftfield car I know, but I quite fancy one for my daughter. In my imagination it will be reliable, easy to maintain and practical. They seem very roomy inside, yet very compact on the outside, and I expect only ever owned by old biddies, so unlikely to come across one that's been seriously raced or crashed. Any thoughts?
I would imagine that your thoughts are entirely justified, and I would definitely be willing to take a punt. But I can also imagine that rust might be an issue. Have you ever come across a Suzuki Splash in your time? Bit of a leftfield car I know, but I quite fancy one for my daughter. In my imagination it will be reliable, easy to maintain and practical. They seem very roomy inside, yet very compact on the outside, and I expect only ever owned by old biddies, so unlikely to come across one that's been seriously raced or crashed. Any thoughts?
The world of bear towers is of course not completely dominated by buying piles of old scrap metal in the hope of making it run. Occasioanlly I have to sell things as well.
The Astra that I have been boasting about is currently on the lift having a cam belt, and a general service, and all the usual gubbins.
It's a decent looking car, and one of my longer term female customers saw it, and has wanted to trade her Fiesta in for the Astra. I asked her to come with me to test drive the Fiesta to check it for the faults that she claimed. (None found).
During the journey, she was explaining why she 'needed' the Astra - she wants something to look good, because appearance is very important given the job she does. 'What do you do' I asked. Oh, I make adult entertainment videos.
Just so many questions, so many.
Anyway, we hastily agreed a deal, and the Astra is off next week to be a porn star. (Maybe I can get a little advertising sticker in somewhere).
I have lived a sheltered life - I've never met a porn star before.
The Astra that I have been boasting about is currently on the lift having a cam belt, and a general service, and all the usual gubbins.
It's a decent looking car, and one of my longer term female customers saw it, and has wanted to trade her Fiesta in for the Astra. I asked her to come with me to test drive the Fiesta to check it for the faults that she claimed. (None found).
During the journey, she was explaining why she 'needed' the Astra - she wants something to look good, because appearance is very important given the job she does. 'What do you do' I asked. Oh, I make adult entertainment videos.
Just so many questions, so many.
Anyway, we hastily agreed a deal, and the Astra is off next week to be a porn star. (Maybe I can get a little advertising sticker in somewhere).
I have lived a sheltered life - I've never met a porn star before.
Hopefully this is the one because I'm sick of having no vehicle. Any pointers to be looking out for?bearman68 said:
The world of bear towers is of course not completely dominated by buying piles of old scrap metal in the hope of making it run. Occasioanlly I have to sell things as well.
The Astra that I have been boasting about is currently on the lift having a cam belt, and a general service, and all the usual gubbins.
It's a decent looking car, and one of my longer term female customers saw it, and has wanted to trade her Fiesta in for the Astra. I asked her to come with me to test drive the Fiesta to check it for the faults that she claimed. (None found).
During the journey, she was explaining why she 'needed' the Astra - she wants something to look good, because appearance is very important given the job she does. 'What do you do' I asked. Oh, I make adult entertainment videos.
Just so many questions, so many.
Anyway, we hastily agreed a deal, and the Astra is off next week to be a porn star. (Maybe I can get a little advertising sticker in somewhere).
I have lived a sheltered life - I've never met a porn star before.
Because of how much I've picked up from this thread I am more than happy to volunteer to monitor those websites and see if it appears. The Astra that I have been boasting about is currently on the lift having a cam belt, and a general service, and all the usual gubbins.
It's a decent looking car, and one of my longer term female customers saw it, and has wanted to trade her Fiesta in for the Astra. I asked her to come with me to test drive the Fiesta to check it for the faults that she claimed. (None found).
During the journey, she was explaining why she 'needed' the Astra - she wants something to look good, because appearance is very important given the job she does. 'What do you do' I asked. Oh, I make adult entertainment videos.
Just so many questions, so many.
Anyway, we hastily agreed a deal, and the Astra is off next week to be a porn star. (Maybe I can get a little advertising sticker in somewhere).
I have lived a sheltered life - I've never met a porn star before.What colour Astra is it?
bodhi said:
Because of how much I've picked up from this thread I am more than happy to volunteer to monitor those websites and see if it appears.
What colour Astra is it?
In the interests of looking after the company assets, I too have been spending some time looking for the Astra.What colour Astra is it?
It's a Black 60 plate H SRi (rare enough in it's own right), with 18 inch silver wheels.
Should you find it, you must of course post it, so we can all admire the bodywork, and the short throw gear lever.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff