Downgrading cars - More fun than I thought !!
Discussion
Anyone else had enough of the cost & disappoinment of perceived decent cars? Or am I getting too mean to be part of the club!?. I've wasted more than I wanted on cars over the years. Was all good until 2004 when I purchased a nearly new BMW 5 series (at a supposed good price admittedly). What a POS. So many dealer visits I was glad to sell after 2 years. 'Only' lost 5K. Next was a new pre-reg Saab 93. It was good & reliable but had more rattles than a biscuit tin full of nails. Next was a 2008 Skoda Octavia vrs estate. Again pretty decent, but Skoda scrimped on sound proofing, way too noisy on motorways etc. Diesel MPG way way off the book. Lucky to get 40mpg driving like Miss Daisy. I gave up. Left the club. Now hapily drive a 2006 Micra. Practically zero to insure (under £200 a year for me). Tyres cheap. More MPG than prevous diesels. No worries about trolley dings in supermarket!. Ok the wife has a decent car for long trips etc so cheating a bit. But a cheap runabout is very liberating!
I had a Citroen C1 as a courtesy car while the BMW was in the garage. Yes, the C1 was fun and I genuinely enjoyed it for a while but I think the novelty could wear off if I'd had it permanently.I've owned a few nice cars in my time and paid the price in depreciation alone , not to mention fuel consumption and the VED hikes.
When ever I read owner's cars threads I admire the ones who paid peanuts ( say <£1000 ) for cars that were considered to be very desirable in their day as much as I do the lucky ones who've purchased £100K + exotica.
I've recently downgraded about as low as I can live with , A 12 yr old BMW 320d (E46) Tourer .
It still looks quite presentable , it's quite frugal ,it's quick enough for the normal stuff , commuting , fast(ish ) cruising and has enough of the options we take for granted these days ( A/C etc ).
I've had it about 8 months , never missed a beat , it's had one service at the local garage and it still seems to be worth what I paid for it , possibly more to replace it like for like. Long may it continue .
When ever I read owner's cars threads I admire the ones who paid peanuts ( say <£1000 ) for cars that were considered to be very desirable in their day as much as I do the lucky ones who've purchased £100K + exotica.
I've recently downgraded about as low as I can live with , A 12 yr old BMW 320d (E46) Tourer .
It still looks quite presentable , it's quite frugal ,it's quick enough for the normal stuff , commuting , fast(ish ) cruising and has enough of the options we take for granted these days ( A/C etc ).
I've had it about 8 months , never missed a beat , it's had one service at the local garage and it still seems to be worth what I paid for it , possibly more to replace it like for like. Long may it continue .
Me too. Spend and lost a fortune (like the price of a cheap flat at a guess) on all manner of things I fancied. Now I just drive my van mostly, or a super sheddy Forester.
It got vandalised outside a pub about a year ago.
No sweat, taped up the bust aerial, pushed out the dent, and drove on. I fear no car park, and it is magic.
I did join the AA though
It got vandalised outside a pub about a year ago.
No sweat, taped up the bust aerial, pushed out the dent, and drove on. I fear no car park, and it is magic.
I did join the AA though
I find it a very liberating experience - financially and pshycologically, I seem to do it every other car but I always end up going back to a relatively more expensive and powerful car.
Vauxhall Corsa>>>Honda Civic Type-R EP3
Old MK4 Golf Gti (more like GtNO!)>>> Mazda Rx8
Renault Megane R26>>>BMW Z4 Coupe
Honda HRV>>>BMW X3 3.0sd
Every time, the cheaper car lasts about 6 months then I get bored.
Vauxhall Corsa>>>Honda Civic Type-R EP3
Old MK4 Golf Gti (more like GtNO!)>>> Mazda Rx8
Renault Megane R26>>>BMW Z4 Coupe
Honda HRV>>>BMW X3 3.0sd
Every time, the cheaper car lasts about 6 months then I get bored.
Makem said:
It's a liberating experience going from a nice car to a banger. If I'm honest I've had more fun in 1k cars than 20k cars. You dont have to care if they blow up, where you park them, scrapes, shopping trolleys, cheap...lovely
My £400 Alfa 145 was crap, by all possible definitions barring the fun-factor.
Lightweight, chuckable car, 1800TSpark lump, shagged gearbox, wonky suspension...... But over the 4months I owned it, it was driven like I hated it, abandoned anywhere, and was the most fun I've ever had.
Country roads on the way home from work were a delight.
I shall probably be doing this in the new year. Currently run a nice(ish) car, but am house hunting so can't bear to think that £5k is sat outside when it could be sat in my savings account, helping the house deposit.
I was going to get rid earlier in the year but I got it serviced and MOT'd, plus it had new tyres. Thought that running it through winter and getting some usage out of my expense was the best idea.
A work friend's boyfriend bought a cheap KA at the weekend. His car broke and he found the KA in less than a day! Paid around £1k for it and says it's really good fun.
I was going to get rid earlier in the year but I got it serviced and MOT'd, plus it had new tyres. Thought that running it through winter and getting some usage out of my expense was the best idea.
A work friend's boyfriend bought a cheap KA at the weekend. His car broke and he found the KA in less than a day! Paid around £1k for it and says it's really good fun.
Yep, did this in advance of our first kid - sold my relatively new S60 T5, replaced it with a £650 Xsara diesel estate and pocketed the difference for a bit of financial security.
It wasnt exactly a driver's car and cheap tyres and ailing suspension meant I didnt have much fun in it, but it was rewarding from a financial perspective. We had a newer and more robust car for family trips.
On a related note, I find bangernomics shopping is a bit like a long term JD Power survey - its interesting to see what cars have lasted well into their dotage. Despite the reputation I find well looked after 406 HDi's a bit of a sweet spot in the market.
It wasnt exactly a driver's car and cheap tyres and ailing suspension meant I didnt have much fun in it, but it was rewarding from a financial perspective. We had a newer and more robust car for family trips.
On a related note, I find bangernomics shopping is a bit like a long term JD Power survey - its interesting to see what cars have lasted well into their dotage. Despite the reputation I find well looked after 406 HDi's a bit of a sweet spot in the market.
kpb said:
Yep, did this in advance of our first kid - sold my relatively new S60 T5, replaced it with a £650 Xsara diesel estate and pocketed the difference for a bit of financial security.
It wasnt exactly a driver's car and cheap tyres and ailing suspension meant I didnt have much fun in it, but it was rewarding from a financial perspective. We had a newer and more robust car for family trips.
On a related note, I find bangernomics shopping is a bit like a long term JD Power survey - its interesting to see what cars have lasted well into their dotage. Despite the reputation I find well looked after 406 HDi's a bit of a sweet spot in the market.
My friend ran a 51-plate 406 HDi to nearly 200,000 miles. In that time it only really has a head gasket issue (which was fixed at around 100,000 miles). Any other issue (like not re-attaching the cover under the engine properly) was generally cause by garage numpties. Good cars and they seem to last well.It wasnt exactly a driver's car and cheap tyres and ailing suspension meant I didnt have much fun in it, but it was rewarding from a financial perspective. We had a newer and more robust car for family trips.
On a related note, I find bangernomics shopping is a bit like a long term JD Power survey - its interesting to see what cars have lasted well into their dotage. Despite the reputation I find well looked after 406 HDi's a bit of a sweet spot in the market.
He only changed it in the end as it had a funny vibration when setting off in first gear. He could have had it looked at and fixed, but he had his mind set on a newer Civic.
Incidentally, he replaced the 406 first with a newer (55 plate) 307 HDi. This car came with all of the known modern diesel issues (EGR valve, DPF etc) and his two month ownership was hell. He eventually returned the car to the garage and got his old 406 back until he found the Civic.
funkyrobot said:
He only changed it in the end as it had a funny vibration when setting off in first gear. He could have had it looked at and fixed, but he had his mind set on a newer Civic.
Dual mass flywheel - there's a single plate conversion for 'em. Mine did the same for 12k miles but Mr Lithuanian who bought it off me was well aware and not peturbed at all.kpb said:
funkyrobot said:
He only changed it in the end as it had a funny vibration when setting off in first gear. He could have had it looked at and fixed, but he had his mind set on a newer Civic.
Dual mass flywheel - there's a single plate conversion for 'em. Mine did the same for 12k miles but Mr Lithuanian who bought it off me was well aware and not peturbed at all.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff