I like my shed :(
Discussion
Which is not a good thing! Ill give you a bit of history of whats gone on in 2013:
Had a 2001 Volvo S60, put it in for its MOT decided it needed far too much work so chucked it in for a New Fiesta Titanium 1.0 Ecoboost. Lovely car - when it worked. Think mine was a Friday afternoon special tbh. Decided as I was in courtesy cars more than my own to cut my losses and buy a cheapish barge to get me by. Bought a 2003 Saab 9-3 Aero SS which was tidy when I bought it. Well so I thought. Drove it home 100 miles completely fine. Cue 2 months of utter hell, it wouldnt start sometimes as the steering lock played up, brake vacuum pump leaked oil onto the freshly steam cleaned bay, it would go into limp home mode for no reason, secondary air pump chucked the MIL on for no reason - in fact I actually bought a code reader to keep in the car in case it did it! Final straw was when it went into limp home mode and chucked up a throttle code, reset and straight back into it. Changed pedal and the body and no further forward, tested the loom, tested the connectors and cleaned completely - in the end the ECU was the only thing that would cure it! As it had crap loads of other faults it was sold on for breaking with all the faults listed.
After this I'd just about given up on cars. Had £1000 to play with but wanted something simple so barges with a high bork factor were out of the way. Went to look at an Vectra B SRi (fairly simple to fix yourself) which was a dog. Looked at a 1.6 Focus Zetec which was rough as hell.
Then went to look at a 2.0 Focus Zetec ESP. 100k with full history (I mean full) and every MOT from new. 1 owner from new too! 6 months tax but a short MOT Seemed clean so off I trotted with it for the princely sum of £825. Hated it at first. Saw it as transport. It loves fuel. It costs as much to insure/tax/run as the Saab but with 60% of the performance. But it was solid. Gave it a pre MOT test and it needed a NS ball joint so chucked a wishbone on it and it sailed through. Its had a few problems the thermostat housing developed a leak which I've replaced and the drivers side window regulator has failed. However you can buy them for £50 on eBay. I've just driven it in all honesty.
This brings me up to this week. Done 380 miles on a round trip journey to my sisters, and it performed as it should. Decided to take it for a B road blast as I haven't been for one recently - what a revelation. The power is there if you nail it (only 130bhp) at the top end of the power band and the chassis is simply brilliant! Why I haven't pressed on in this car before I don't know! It may only be a boring Focus but the way it drives is very good! I've always thought the 2.0's were a bit flat and dull but this one seems tidy and dare I say it fun? Maybe because its been so well looked after? Its simple too - it can be fixed relatively cheaply. I'm debating spending a few quid on making it a little more tailored to me like a USB stereo for my iPod and up-rating the speakers as the stereo isn't the best.
Anyone else ever bought a shed or other car you wouldn't normally buy and been impressed by it?
Had a 2001 Volvo S60, put it in for its MOT decided it needed far too much work so chucked it in for a New Fiesta Titanium 1.0 Ecoboost. Lovely car - when it worked. Think mine was a Friday afternoon special tbh. Decided as I was in courtesy cars more than my own to cut my losses and buy a cheapish barge to get me by. Bought a 2003 Saab 9-3 Aero SS which was tidy when I bought it. Well so I thought. Drove it home 100 miles completely fine. Cue 2 months of utter hell, it wouldnt start sometimes as the steering lock played up, brake vacuum pump leaked oil onto the freshly steam cleaned bay, it would go into limp home mode for no reason, secondary air pump chucked the MIL on for no reason - in fact I actually bought a code reader to keep in the car in case it did it! Final straw was when it went into limp home mode and chucked up a throttle code, reset and straight back into it. Changed pedal and the body and no further forward, tested the loom, tested the connectors and cleaned completely - in the end the ECU was the only thing that would cure it! As it had crap loads of other faults it was sold on for breaking with all the faults listed.
After this I'd just about given up on cars. Had £1000 to play with but wanted something simple so barges with a high bork factor were out of the way. Went to look at an Vectra B SRi (fairly simple to fix yourself) which was a dog. Looked at a 1.6 Focus Zetec which was rough as hell.
Then went to look at a 2.0 Focus Zetec ESP. 100k with full history (I mean full) and every MOT from new. 1 owner from new too! 6 months tax but a short MOT Seemed clean so off I trotted with it for the princely sum of £825. Hated it at first. Saw it as transport. It loves fuel. It costs as much to insure/tax/run as the Saab but with 60% of the performance. But it was solid. Gave it a pre MOT test and it needed a NS ball joint so chucked a wishbone on it and it sailed through. Its had a few problems the thermostat housing developed a leak which I've replaced and the drivers side window regulator has failed. However you can buy them for £50 on eBay. I've just driven it in all honesty.
This brings me up to this week. Done 380 miles on a round trip journey to my sisters, and it performed as it should. Decided to take it for a B road blast as I haven't been for one recently - what a revelation. The power is there if you nail it (only 130bhp) at the top end of the power band and the chassis is simply brilliant! Why I haven't pressed on in this car before I don't know! It may only be a boring Focus but the way it drives is very good! I've always thought the 2.0's were a bit flat and dull but this one seems tidy and dare I say it fun? Maybe because its been so well looked after? Its simple too - it can be fixed relatively cheaply. I'm debating spending a few quid on making it a little more tailored to me like a USB stereo for my iPod and up-rating the speakers as the stereo isn't the best.
Anyone else ever bought a shed or other car you wouldn't normally buy and been impressed by it?
Bought a Saab 9000 turbo in the dark, in the rain, to get me through the winter specifically because I had a set of winter tyres/wheels that would fit it. It had no synchro on 2nd, a couple of bits of rust, and 135k miles on it.
I still have it 2.5 years later. My 2 fun cars? One is in the garage without an MOT having done less than 50 miles in the last 12 months, the other is outside under a cover because I'm terrified of taking it out in the rain/salt and doesn't have enough seats - done maybe 1000 miles in the last year.
The 9000 is the best car I have ever bought - £750, got used to the gearbox on the way home, rust has not got any worse and has been fine with some kurust and touch up paint. Now has 155k miles on it, other than basic servicing nothing has gone wrong. Climate, heated leather, 200bhp.
Problem is, I can't justify changing it as it's worth nothing but gets the job done admirably!
OP, you bought the wrong Saab! 9000s just go on for ever and despite being a die-hard classic Saab 900 fan, the 9000 is the best car they ever built.
The 9-3SS is a great car, especially in Aero form, that is mechanically pretty good, but the electrics are a nightmare. My dad had a convertible, steering lock did the exact same thing time after time (once, notably, in the queue for a cross-channel ferry!), and the central locking used to s
t itself on a regular basis - he would just have to leave it unlocked!
Having said that, he just bought a 9-3 Aero Sportwagon - fingers crossed!
I still have it 2.5 years later. My 2 fun cars? One is in the garage without an MOT having done less than 50 miles in the last 12 months, the other is outside under a cover because I'm terrified of taking it out in the rain/salt and doesn't have enough seats - done maybe 1000 miles in the last year.
The 9000 is the best car I have ever bought - £750, got used to the gearbox on the way home, rust has not got any worse and has been fine with some kurust and touch up paint. Now has 155k miles on it, other than basic servicing nothing has gone wrong. Climate, heated leather, 200bhp.
Problem is, I can't justify changing it as it's worth nothing but gets the job done admirably!
OP, you bought the wrong Saab! 9000s just go on for ever and despite being a die-hard classic Saab 900 fan, the 9000 is the best car they ever built.
The 9-3SS is a great car, especially in Aero form, that is mechanically pretty good, but the electrics are a nightmare. My dad had a convertible, steering lock did the exact same thing time after time (once, notably, in the queue for a cross-channel ferry!), and the central locking used to s
t itself on a regular basis - he would just have to leave it unlocked!Having said that, he just bought a 9-3 Aero Sportwagon - fingers crossed!
Yep, Focus 1.8 Ghia Estate 01/Y. Purchased last July with 10 months MoT & 3 months tax for £650 - with recent brakes and tyres.
I bought it to help with a house move, with the intention of selling it on soon after.
But I love it. It drives really well, and I haven't had to spend anything on it. 127k miles on the clock and it doesn't use a drop of oil.
And I'm enjoying the 'shed' experience of not being too fussy where I park it, or if the interior might get damaged on a tip run.
Plan is to run it till the next MoT and see what happens.
I bought it to help with a house move, with the intention of selling it on soon after.
But I love it. It drives really well, and I haven't had to spend anything on it. 127k miles on the clock and it doesn't use a drop of oil.
And I'm enjoying the 'shed' experience of not being too fussy where I park it, or if the interior might get damaged on a tip run.
Plan is to run it till the next MoT and see what happens.
Had a 1.6 Ghia Focus myself, they really are a lot of fun to chuck about. Gradual understeer if you start pushing too hard which can be easily cured with lift-off oversteer.
In 10 years the only thing it needed on top of routine maintenance was a new fan belt when it started to squeak a little.
In 10 years the only thing it needed on top of routine maintenance was a new fan belt when it started to squeak a little.
Edited by TheTurbonator on Sunday 5th January 21:30
I dont think, touchwood, that I've ever had that amount of bad luck with a stter, it's usually worked til it fell apart or I sold it on wit the faults as they were.
I did used to have a CMAX though, and that shared some chassis with the normal Focus, was a lot more chuckable than I thought it would, and actually quite a nice car to push on with
tter, it's usually worked til it fell apart or I sold it on wit the faults as they were. I did used to have a CMAX though, and that shared some chassis with the normal Focus, was a lot more chuckable than I thought it would, and actually quite a nice car to push on with
nipsips said:
Decided to take it for a B road blast as I haven't been for one recently - what a revelation. The power is there if you nail it (only 130bhp) at the top end of the power band and the chassis is simply brilliant! Why I haven't pressed on in this car before I don't know! It may only be a boring Focus but the way it drives is very good! I've always thought the 2.0's were a bit flat and dull but this one seems tidy and dare I say it fun? Maybe because its been so well looked after?
Unless they have been badly abused/crashed they all drive brilliantly, handling way beyond the reach of many a supposed sports car. Unless you get a rusty one they actually make great sheds because they can be repaired almost anywhere and expensive parts are in plentiful supply second hand. nipsips said:
Anyone else ever bought a shed or other car you wouldn't normally buy and been impressed by it?
I always wanted an old Volvo for some reason, so when an old one came in as part ex at a local garage my mother worked at, I decided to snap it up. It had 6 months MOT and a few months rent left but was in a right state as it had been owned by a farmer! Even got the garage to valet it for me before I handed over my hard earnt £100!Ran it for 3 years, and had I not crashed it, I would probably still have it. It was a 740GLE estate with full leather, heated seats, mirrors etc.
Shame it ended up backwards through a hedge in the rain! But I replaced it with a 940 Celebration for £800 which I still have. Its cost me a few bits and pieces in consumables as you would expect, but its pretty indestructible and I have probably earnt the purchase price back in house moves and doing favours for friends
Just have no reason to get rid of it as it never goes wrong. OK it only does 15-16mpg around town, but I don't really care. It costs me so little in repairs, I can afford to pay a bit extra in fuel!
/edit - just remembered that my 940 has no reverse lights. This is the only problem I have really had with it. It spent a few days at an auto electrics place, and they couldn't find the problem, but as reverse lights apparently don't form part of the MOT, I'll just leave it as it is.
Edited by James_N on Sunday 5th January 21:47
poing said:
nipsips said:
Decided to take it for a B road blast as I haven't been for one recently - what a revelation. The power is there if you nail it (only 130bhp) at the top end of the power band and the chassis is simply brilliant! Why I haven't pressed on in this car before I don't know! It may only be a boring Focus but the way it drives is very good! I've always thought the 2.0's were a bit flat and dull but this one seems tidy and dare I say it fun? Maybe because its been so well looked after?
Unless they have been badly abused/crashed they all drive brilliantly, handling way beyond the reach of many a supposed sports car. Unless you get a rusty one they actually make great sheds because they can be repaired almost anywhere and expensive parts are in plentiful supply second hand. Its amazing how a car you look at as being a tool can stick with you for so long isn't it.
Had a mate who wanted to get rid of her 1.6 206GLX, as she'd made the exterior 'unsaleable' she was going to scrap it. Gave her £300 for it. Planned to tidy it up a bit, sell it and my car at the time at a mark up and get something tidy with the profit.
Ended up struggling to flog my old car for a while so just carried on running the 206. After giving it a service, replacing a few parts of the suspension I just ended up keeping it as it's fairly comfortable; leather seats, air con, enough poke to get you by etc.
A year and half, and 70,000 miles later it's still running perfectly an has cost me little more than consumables. Went through the last MOT sans advisories. It's a decent drive as well, the only downside is the constant questions of ''what happened to your car mate?''. I don't think it's sexist to answer ''one previous female owner'' when it's factually correct!
Does leave the awkward situation of having little value to put towards a next car but that's the price you pay I suppose.
Ended up struggling to flog my old car for a while so just carried on running the 206. After giving it a service, replacing a few parts of the suspension I just ended up keeping it as it's fairly comfortable; leather seats, air con, enough poke to get you by etc.
A year and half, and 70,000 miles later it's still running perfectly an has cost me little more than consumables. Went through the last MOT sans advisories. It's a decent drive as well, the only downside is the constant questions of ''what happened to your car mate?''. I don't think it's sexist to answer ''one previous female owner'' when it's factually correct!
Does leave the awkward situation of having little value to put towards a next car but that's the price you pay I suppose.
Edited by Calletrece on Monday 6th January 21:24
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