The Joy of Running an Old Shed (Vol 2)
Discussion
Raccaccoonie said:
shed dilemma. i have a 207 1.4 hdi, run pretty faultless 2 years but has a slipping clutch, not al the time, and unknown timing belt history. Few other minor faults, like loose exhaust suspension etc.
Looking for the two around 900 quid, which i could probably sell and buy another with issues solved for.. i like 30 quid tax and 50 mpg, so not sure what to do, money is tight as lost my job is it worth just getting another?
Given that this will possibly be Euro 4, as such not ULEZ compliant, you'll be better off scrapping it and buying a petrol as it'll be worth nothing anyway. Looking for the two around 900 quid, which i could probably sell and buy another with issues solved for.. i like 30 quid tax and 50 mpg, so not sure what to do, money is tight as lost my job is it worth just getting another?
bearman68 said:
Bad news fellow sheders, very bad news indeed.
So last week, I was very pleased with myself that I had bought a S40 1.8 petrol, in pretty decent condition, with no MOT for £400.
Well, I went to collect it today. And things were not very good at all.
Not only was there no car, but no garage. The address was actually a shopping mall in Yate. I had fallen for a scam, and my (please note) personal credit card had been used to directly buy money through Western Union.
Barclaycard, were extremely helpful, and pointed out to me that since I had transferred money directly through Western Union, it counted as a cash withdrawal.
That means (apparently) not only is there no cover on the money spent, but I am immediately charged eye watering interest, plus a fee.
Gutted I fell for such a scam, and a bit embarrassed I've been singing my own praises on what a good buy it was.
FFS. So last week, I was very pleased with myself that I had bought a S40 1.8 petrol, in pretty decent condition, with no MOT for £400.
Well, I went to collect it today. And things were not very good at all.
Not only was there no car, but no garage. The address was actually a shopping mall in Yate. I had fallen for a scam, and my (please note) personal credit card had been used to directly buy money through Western Union.
Barclaycard, were extremely helpful, and pointed out to me that since I had transferred money directly through Western Union, it counted as a cash withdrawal.
That means (apparently) not only is there no cover on the money spent, but I am immediately charged eye watering interest, plus a fee.
Gutted I fell for such a scam, and a bit embarrassed I've been singing my own praises on what a good buy it was.
Hope your loss is limited!Alickadoo said:
bearman68 said:
Gutted I fell for such a scam, and a bit embarrassed I've been singing my own praises on what a good buy it was.
Sorry to hear about that.What is the answer for the future? Do the transfer when you are actually standing over the car?
Pieman68 said:
Only current issue I have is a headlight out. I replaced bulb but still not working, however the other bulbs in the cluster are. I thinking a touch of corrosion so a nail file into the connectors to rub down a bit and see if it works. Any other ideas?
Check fuses, not visually but for continuity with a multimeter, sometimes each side is run through a different one. You could also swap fuses around.Check if you are actually getting 12v at the connector with a multimeter and work back from there if not.
If the photo uploader works then somewhere under the snow from a few weeks ago is my shed behind my discovery (arguably another shed!)
It's a B6 Audi A4 1.9tdi Quattro Manual Avant, currently just shy of 132k.
I bought it in the middle of 2021 for around shed budget with a cracked windscreen and little history, but 12months MOT having previously stood for a couple of years.
I had the windscreen replaced by a local firm for relatively cheap (£160ish) and then did the cambelt and waterpump with genuine VAG parts, along with a service.
It's needed a fair few things fixing in my ownership, as I do all the work myself I do tend to take my time sourcing parts if I think they'll soon need doing to shop around for good deals and I do tend to do preventative stuff as well, for example the alternator pulley and AC pulley were noisy, so all rollers on the aux system and the belt were replaced.
So far it's had:
Genuine injector loom
Thermostat
Coolant Temp Sensor
Full Aux system (mostly genuine parts)
Rear Springs
Rear Brake Hoses
Rear number plate light housings
Dipstick
Refurbished steering rack (old one sprang a leak and ran the pump dry)
Refurbished PAS Pump
Steering arms
Rocker Cover Gasket
Set of rear tyres
Yearly servicing, Alignment etc.
Around a year ago, I was rear-ended, and received an insurance payout of £750ish without writing the car off to use my own repair route, the total damage is a scuffed rear bumper so I've left it for now. That makes it overall a pretty cheap car to have owned despite having had to do a fair bit of work on it, which I don't mind too much, I do have access to a Hunter Rig and a 2-post lift for free when I need it.
It returns lower MPG than FWD ones due to it being a full-time quattro system (unlike newer iterations), and being non-sport spec it has a very soft ride with high profile tyres etc so it's great for long trips. Being a manual quattro estate does make it vaguely interesting. The cloth seats are comfortable, and it has cruise control.
It is very, very good at covering distance on country roads, as the softly sprung suspension makes poor and variable surfaces very comfortable and the lack of harsh inputs means you can make fairly good pace without it skipping around on you and having very variable grip as a result.
Every now and then I consider selling, but it's worth so much as a car that ticks every box for me. The only reason to sell would be to have a more fun daily, but everything is hideously expensive at the moment and I do have two other cars I enjoy using so it suits me quite nicely having this as a "do everything" vehicle- daily hack, decent boot for tip runs and long trips, comfy cruiser for long trips seeing friends around the country and so on.
It's a B6 Audi A4 1.9tdi Quattro Manual Avant, currently just shy of 132k.
I bought it in the middle of 2021 for around shed budget with a cracked windscreen and little history, but 12months MOT having previously stood for a couple of years.
I had the windscreen replaced by a local firm for relatively cheap (£160ish) and then did the cambelt and waterpump with genuine VAG parts, along with a service.
It's needed a fair few things fixing in my ownership, as I do all the work myself I do tend to take my time sourcing parts if I think they'll soon need doing to shop around for good deals and I do tend to do preventative stuff as well, for example the alternator pulley and AC pulley were noisy, so all rollers on the aux system and the belt were replaced.
So far it's had:
Genuine injector loom
Thermostat
Coolant Temp Sensor
Full Aux system (mostly genuine parts)
Rear Springs
Rear Brake Hoses
Rear number plate light housings
Dipstick
Refurbished steering rack (old one sprang a leak and ran the pump dry)
Refurbished PAS Pump
Steering arms
Rocker Cover Gasket
Set of rear tyres
Yearly servicing, Alignment etc.
Around a year ago, I was rear-ended, and received an insurance payout of £750ish without writing the car off to use my own repair route, the total damage is a scuffed rear bumper so I've left it for now. That makes it overall a pretty cheap car to have owned despite having had to do a fair bit of work on it, which I don't mind too much, I do have access to a Hunter Rig and a 2-post lift for free when I need it.
It returns lower MPG than FWD ones due to it being a full-time quattro system (unlike newer iterations), and being non-sport spec it has a very soft ride with high profile tyres etc so it's great for long trips. Being a manual quattro estate does make it vaguely interesting. The cloth seats are comfortable, and it has cruise control.
It is very, very good at covering distance on country roads, as the softly sprung suspension makes poor and variable surfaces very comfortable and the lack of harsh inputs means you can make fairly good pace without it skipping around on you and having very variable grip as a result.
Every now and then I consider selling, but it's worth so much as a car that ticks every box for me. The only reason to sell would be to have a more fun daily, but everything is hideously expensive at the moment and I do have two other cars I enjoy using so it suits me quite nicely having this as a "do everything" vehicle- daily hack, decent boot for tip runs and long trips, comfy cruiser for long trips seeing friends around the country and so on.
BenS94 said:
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
Make sure that EcoBoost is serviced properly, no matter the mileage, the wet belt can disintegrate and clog the oil pickup. Rubber (mixed with other composites) really does not like being run in oil. 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:
BenS94 said:
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
Make sure that EcoBoost is serviced properly, no matter the mileage, the wet belt can disintegrate and clog the oil pickup. Rubber (mixed with other composites) really does not like being run in oil. 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
RetroPug said:
It is very, very good at covering distance on country roads, as the softly sprung suspension makes poor and variable surfaces very comfortable and the lack of harsh inputs means you can make fairly good pace without it skipping around on you and having very variable grip as a result.
Every now and then I consider selling, but it's worth so much as a car that ticks every box for me. The only reason to sell would be to have a more fun daily, but everything is hideously expensive at the moment and I do have two other cars I enjoy using so it suits me quite nicely having this as a "do everything" vehicle- daily hack, decent boot for tip runs and long trips, comfy cruiser for long trips seeing friends around the country and so on.
That's pretty much exactly where I'm at with the sheddy V50 diesel I have... I've tried to convince myself to part with it for the past few years and even now, with very limited use, it's just too good at doing what I need it to do to actually get rid of it. Plus, advertising it... sod that. I'm not sure what would be worse, the "It's done 250k m8 so can you do £150 cash, 2nyte" or the utterly soul destroying drips who want to know if there's a Volvo invoice to confirm the slightly pale indicator bulb that was advised back in 2013 has been replaced. Every now and then I consider selling, but it's worth so much as a car that ticks every box for me. The only reason to sell would be to have a more fun daily, but everything is hideously expensive at the moment and I do have two other cars I enjoy using so it suits me quite nicely having this as a "do everything" vehicle- daily hack, decent boot for tip runs and long trips, comfy cruiser for long trips seeing friends around the country and so on.
I'd sooner drop kick it on to the back of a Car Take Back lorry in exchange for £375 (their current bid, not that I check before it's MOT last week) and save myself the hassle, however for what it's worth, ie such a low amount... it's worth way more to me as a thing. Like you, I've debated selling it and getting something newer, faster, shinier but I keep talking myself out of it with tragic thought processes like "Yes but do you really need to go any faster" or "You'd just be annoyed if a new car got scratched... when you were using the bonnet as a makeshift workbench to cut kitchen work tops on"
Occasionally I have rash thought processes including a nice set of OEM 18" alloys... which it had back in the day, but it's now on much more shed acceptable spec 16" versions, kerbed to buggery and flaking nicely, obviously. I even had a mad plan to put the facelift front end on it, whilst thinking "Yeah, that'd freshen it up..." before having visions of my wife ramming the gate in the field open with it. You laugh, but that's how she opens it using the "decent" XC70 and to be honest, any car that has survived my care free usage for more than a year is doing something right... but the V50 has managed that for 6 years but has also shrugged off 6 years of utter abused courtesy of my wife and kids too so to be honest, when it does finally go, it better be to the Volvo museum in Gothenburg as it deserves it.
Majorslow said:
Hi Ben, It has been serviced, but not since 2021 and it has done less than 700 miles since then, and on checking the oil it is still yellow. Should he wait until his MOT in November for a service? Should he consider a belt change?
One thing to consider (my wife works in the passenger car oil industry) is that nice yellow oil can also indicate that the oil is so cheap and rubbish that it isn't picking up any of the carbon that the engine generates.She says you ideally want a nice black oil as it shows that it is working!
It's probably unlikely that this is the case, but I don't get to be the expert on things very often
Thanks for the replies.... I will tell him....
As for the oil I think it is still yellow as it's only done 600 miles since it's last service and in 7 nearly 8 years only 3,200 miles so engine not really even broken in properly....but he has today just driven near on 250 to Sheffield for a few days....at least the battery will get a full charge and near on a full years worth of driving in one day over the previous owner!
As for the oil I think it is still yellow as it's only done 600 miles since it's last service and in 7 nearly 8 years only 3,200 miles so engine not really even broken in properly....but he has today just driven near on 250 to Sheffield for a few days....at least the battery will get a full charge and near on a full years worth of driving in one day over the previous owner!
Well it's been an interesting day Granville. Quite expectedly the cheap Yaris failed it's MOT on a list as long as your arm. Mainly a bit of welding, 2 drop links, a windscreen washer pump U/S and a headlight aim. Not terrible.
Other than the drop links on these are terrible to fix. The bolts are just no long enough. For those of you who know what I mean will surely agree?
So I thought I would crack on with the welding. Grinding and heating and welding, and I'm having a lovely time. Right up until the time I looked around and though the smoke inside the car was a bit thick. That's right, some of the sound insulation I had missed had caught fire, and was merrily smouldering away. Having rushed about and put it out, I'm now left with a big patch on the wing that is literally a 'burnt orange' on a silver car.
Never mind, I suppose tomorrow we will be somewhere near an MOT. Just a service to do then, and we can release it back into the wild.
The glamour of shedding eh?
Other than the drop links on these are terrible to fix. The bolts are just no long enough. For those of you who know what I mean will surely agree?
So I thought I would crack on with the welding. Grinding and heating and welding, and I'm having a lovely time. Right up until the time I looked around and though the smoke inside the car was a bit thick. That's right, some of the sound insulation I had missed had caught fire, and was merrily smouldering away. Having rushed about and put it out, I'm now left with a big patch on the wing that is literally a 'burnt orange' on a silver car.
Never mind, I suppose tomorrow we will be somewhere near an MOT. Just a service to do then, and we can release it back into the wild.
The glamour of shedding eh?
Majorslow said:
Thanks for the replies.... I will tell him....
As for the oil I think it is still yellow as it's only done 600 miles since it's last service and in 7 nearly 8 years only 3,200 miles so engine not really even broken in properly....but he has today just driven near on 250 to Sheffield for a few days....at least the battery will get a full charge and near on a full years worth of driving in one day over the previous owner!
Mrs V.'s Mitsubishi i-Car covered a whopping 747 miles between MOTs last year. When I took it to my trusty Romanian mechanic, he checked the oil - still light gold, and refused to service it. As for the oil I think it is still yellow as it's only done 600 miles since it's last service and in 7 nearly 8 years only 3,200 miles so engine not really even broken in properly....but he has today just driven near on 250 to Sheffield for a few days....at least the battery will get a full charge and near on a full years worth of driving in one day over the previous owner!
te and punted by driveway dealers. I think I can get another two years out so will just wait. Shame the used car market is full of expensive tripe I have a dilemma looming come June. I know that the shed E Class is going to need a bit of money spending on it to get it through an MOT. I have been thinking about a cut off point as to where is just becomes a money pit so at what point do I say that's enough and weigh it in. It owes me nothing as I haven't spent a penny on it so far.
But if I do weigh it in what do I get that's equally as good for the money that I need to spend on it? This is the balancing act of shedding, a dilemma I've faced on numerous occasions. I've been thinking £500 as a cut off point, any more and it's time fir it to go. I'm not a fan of German metal as a shed and wouldn't have entertained one had it not been virtually given to me when I was in need of a car quickly.
But if I do weigh it in what do I get that's equally as good for the money that I need to spend on it? This is the balancing act of shedding, a dilemma I've faced on numerous occasions. I've been thinking £500 as a cut off point, any more and it's time fir it to go. I'm not a fan of German metal as a shed and wouldn't have entertained one had it not been virtually given to me when I was in need of a car quickly.
Edited by Gordon Hill on Thursday 30th March 09:13
Pleased to say shed Ka passed it's MOT this morning, with a couple of minor advisories that I can put right before I try to sell it. Had a look under it while it was over the pit (as the tester was showing me one of the advisories) and it's surprisingly solid and pretty clean for a 14 year old cheap Ford.
Was expecting to be rushing about sorting out parts or fixing it today, so that's a pleasant surprise. I can do the advisory bits at my leisure, perhaps on a warmer day.
Was expecting to be rushing about sorting out parts or fixing it today, so that's a pleasant surprise. I can do the advisory bits at my leisure, perhaps on a warmer day.
Picked up a £900 auction bargain this week
2002 SLK320, 87k odd miles, enthusiast previous owner, extremely clean inside and for an 00s Merc very decent outside with only a couple of rust blisters. Headlights badly need a polish, but aside from that it's tip top. It's not super fast but it goes well and the V6 makes a lovely noise, it's nice to be in a shed again!
2002 SLK320, 87k odd miles, enthusiast previous owner, extremely clean inside and for an 00s Merc very decent outside with only a couple of rust blisters. Headlights badly need a polish, but aside from that it's tip top. It's not super fast but it goes well and the V6 makes a lovely noise, it's nice to be in a shed again!
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