I got another shed.
Discussion
Here I go again, this is becoming a bit of a habit. I have just acquired my 3rd shed.
Shed 1 was a £1600 Zafira 2.2 sri, bought about 18 months ago, still have it and it's still in everyday use, it has proved to be absolutely faultless.
Shed 2 was the £200 Renault Megane Scenic. This has also proved to be a great little run about, I still have it but it is now used by my son as his daily driver. Owned for 8 months, so far only needed a battery.
There are threads on both of the above.
So here we have shed 3. This was bought for no real reason other than the fact my silly offer was accepted. Bought from my wife's workmates father who at 86 years old had decided to give up driving. I was given a few details and the reg number over the phone so was able to check it's current and previous mot history. Not to much to worry about but the current mot only had 5 weeks to run. Oh well in for a penny and all that......I'll give you £200 sight unseen expecting to be laughed at. An hour later my offer was accepted. So me and the wife jumped into the Zafira for the 10 mile trip to go and collect.
What greeted me was certainly an eye opener. Sat under a tree in all weathers for the best part of a yearmthe car was green with algae, bird poo, sap and leaves. The old boy was an ex serviceman an ex army mechanic to be exact(good news) but he was also very patriotic(bad news) it was covered in stickers. The bonnet was adorned with a full union jack, both rear doors the tailgate again covered in stickers.
Looking through it's appearance I could see it was solid, the interior although smelly was clean and tidy, it started first time and idled sweetly. I think this is gonna be alright I said to myself, so the money changed hands the paperwork was signed and I was on my way home.
The drive home went well and revealed that true to his word he had kept the car mechanically well maintained, the only thing to not was a knock from the o/s/f suspension area.
Half an hour later im outside with the extension lead and hair dryer removing all the stickers, they came off easily enough, the glue residue was a little harder to remove, though after a good soak with Autosmart Tardis it was finally off.
Next up was the pressure washer, took a while but finally got rid of all the green and leaves. A good going over with the soap and sponge and finally had a white car.
So what is this white £200 shed I expect your all asking yourselves...................It's a 1999 5 door Toyota Rav4 GX auto.
This is the only picture I have at the moment, will get some more over the weekend.
So what have I got for my £200, well quite a lot actually. It's solid and drives well, mechanically A1, the knocking from the front turned out to be the strut top nut a little loose, tightened it up and knocking gone. The interior responded well to a good clean and now looks and smells great. Everything works and for a 20 year old car it is pretty well speced.
The bodywork is straight and rust free, the paint however is a different story. Completely flat with no shine what so ever. If we get some decent weather this weekend I will give it a good going over with the machine polisher.
The history suggests the car has been looked after throughout it's life with the previous owner lavishing a lot of love on it. In the last 2 years it's had a cambelt and service he also spent £300 having the wheels refurbed in anthracite metallic.
I have been driving it around for the week now and I love it. It's not fast by today's standards but the 126bhp 3S-FE engine gets it down the road at an acceptable pace.
Future plans, MOT it and drive it.
Shed 1 was a £1600 Zafira 2.2 sri, bought about 18 months ago, still have it and it's still in everyday use, it has proved to be absolutely faultless.
Shed 2 was the £200 Renault Megane Scenic. This has also proved to be a great little run about, I still have it but it is now used by my son as his daily driver. Owned for 8 months, so far only needed a battery.
There are threads on both of the above.
So here we have shed 3. This was bought for no real reason other than the fact my silly offer was accepted. Bought from my wife's workmates father who at 86 years old had decided to give up driving. I was given a few details and the reg number over the phone so was able to check it's current and previous mot history. Not to much to worry about but the current mot only had 5 weeks to run. Oh well in for a penny and all that......I'll give you £200 sight unseen expecting to be laughed at. An hour later my offer was accepted. So me and the wife jumped into the Zafira for the 10 mile trip to go and collect.
What greeted me was certainly an eye opener. Sat under a tree in all weathers for the best part of a yearmthe car was green with algae, bird poo, sap and leaves. The old boy was an ex serviceman an ex army mechanic to be exact(good news) but he was also very patriotic(bad news) it was covered in stickers. The bonnet was adorned with a full union jack, both rear doors the tailgate again covered in stickers.
Looking through it's appearance I could see it was solid, the interior although smelly was clean and tidy, it started first time and idled sweetly. I think this is gonna be alright I said to myself, so the money changed hands the paperwork was signed and I was on my way home.
The drive home went well and revealed that true to his word he had kept the car mechanically well maintained, the only thing to not was a knock from the o/s/f suspension area.
Half an hour later im outside with the extension lead and hair dryer removing all the stickers, they came off easily enough, the glue residue was a little harder to remove, though after a good soak with Autosmart Tardis it was finally off.
Next up was the pressure washer, took a while but finally got rid of all the green and leaves. A good going over with the soap and sponge and finally had a white car.
So what is this white £200 shed I expect your all asking yourselves...................It's a 1999 5 door Toyota Rav4 GX auto.
This is the only picture I have at the moment, will get some more over the weekend.
So what have I got for my £200, well quite a lot actually. It's solid and drives well, mechanically A1, the knocking from the front turned out to be the strut top nut a little loose, tightened it up and knocking gone. The interior responded well to a good clean and now looks and smells great. Everything works and for a 20 year old car it is pretty well speced.
The bodywork is straight and rust free, the paint however is a different story. Completely flat with no shine what so ever. If we get some decent weather this weekend I will give it a good going over with the machine polisher.
The history suggests the car has been looked after throughout it's life with the previous owner lavishing a lot of love on it. In the last 2 years it's had a cambelt and service he also spent £300 having the wheels refurbed in anthracite metallic.
I have been driving it around for the week now and I love it. It's not fast by today's standards but the 126bhp 3S-FE engine gets it down the road at an acceptable pace.
Future plans, MOT it and drive it.
I absolutely adore these. I'm still wondering about a 1997 3dr version that is for sale for £900 near me with 118k miles on it. Love the basic interior.
What's the auto gearbox like? Any word on fuel economy yet?
Best of luck with it
Edit - the one I liked has now sold. Ah well! The 5 doors of these look great
What's the auto gearbox like? Any word on fuel economy yet?
Best of luck with it
Edit - the one I liked has now sold. Ah well! The 5 doors of these look great
Awesome shed. Very capable in snow with winter tyres. Run them all all year round. My wife’s old one was 1997 and has now done over 200k miles. (Sold it a few years ago)
Clutch change is a horrible job though-but you’ve got an auto!
Clutch change is a horrible job though-but you’ve got an auto!
Edited by helix402 on Thursday 14th February 21:29
Edited by helix402 on Thursday 14th February 21:39
gman88667733 said:
I absolutely adore these. I'm still wondering about a 1997 3dr version that is for sale for £900 near me with 118k miles on it. Love the basic interior.
What's the auto gearbox like? Any word on fuel economy yet?
Best of luck with it
Edit - the one I liked has now sold. Ah well! The 5 doors of these look great
Thanks.What's the auto gearbox like? Any word on fuel economy yet?
Best of luck with it
Edit - the one I liked has now sold. Ah well! The 5 doors of these look great
The interior is basic compared with the cars of today, however electric front and rear windows, electric tilt/slide sunroof, electric heated mirrors, aircon and a few other bits all of which work made it a well equipped car 20 years ago.
The autobox works well, however it is hardly the last word in refinement, 4 speed with overdrive and low range.
Only been driving it for a week on my work commute so not really had the chance to gauge economy yet. What I can tell you is it had half a tank in it when I picked it up, I have driven it everyday since and the needle is now just above the empty.
Edited by DonaldTrump on Thursday 14th February 21:39
helix402 said:
Awesome shed. Very capable in snow with winter tyres. Run them all all year round. My wife’s old one was 1997 and has now done over 200k miles. (Sold it a few years ago)
Clutch change is a horrible job though.
I heard the clutch change was a pig of a job, this one is auto though Clutch change is a horrible job though.
Edited by helix402 on Thursday 14th February 21:29
gman88667733 said:
I'll be following this with interest! Have you got anything planned for it besides an MOT? I know it is a shed, but it is a beauty!
I'm going to machine polish it this weekend weather permitting as the paint is as flat as a pancake, will probably give it a quick service. The only other thing I will be doing is changing the wing repeaters from amber to clear (already ordered) as I think they will match the other lenses better.Then MOT and enjoy it.
Will keep the thread updated and hopefully add some more pictures over the weekend.
Looks good. The auto has a viscous centre diff.
I spent months looking for a black, 3 door, manual. Also fitted clear repeaters. They're nippy at low speeds, too much drag at higher speeds.
The headlights need uprated bulbs, check the rear brake pipes just before they connect to the flexible hoses and the rear suspension adjustment bolts can seize.
If you're interested, the special editions have a strut brace and rear spoiler. Won't cost much from a breakers.
How is the steering feel? Mine's crap.
I spent months looking for a black, 3 door, manual. Also fitted clear repeaters. They're nippy at low speeds, too much drag at higher speeds.
The headlights need uprated bulbs, check the rear brake pipes just before they connect to the flexible hoses and the rear suspension adjustment bolts can seize.
If you're interested, the special editions have a strut brace and rear spoiler. Won't cost much from a breakers.
How is the steering feel? Mine's crap.
SlimJim16v said:
Looks good. The auto has a viscous centre diff.
I spent months looking for a black, 3 door, manual. Also fitted clear repeaters. They're nippy at low speeds, too much drag at higher speeds.
The headlights need uprated bulbs, check the rear brake pipes just before they connect to the flexible hoses and the rear suspension adjustment bolts can seize.
If you're interested, the special editions have a strut brace and rear spoiler. Won't cost much from a breakers.
How is the steering feel? Mine's crap.
Thanks for the heads up. Got to admit the steering is a little vague, however I just put it down to the type of vehicle and 20+ year old technology. I spent months looking for a black, 3 door, manual. Also fitted clear repeaters. They're nippy at low speeds, too much drag at higher speeds.
The headlights need uprated bulbs, check the rear brake pipes just before they connect to the flexible hoses and the rear suspension adjustment bolts can seize.
If you're interested, the special editions have a strut brace and rear spoiler. Won't cost much from a breakers.
How is the steering feel? Mine's crap.
DonaldTrump said:
I heard the clutch change was a pig of a job, this one is auto though
I did a clutch change in one - and you're right - I still wake up in the night screaming. Rightly or not, I had the engine on the floor, and I still could barely separate it from the gearbox. yuck, terrible job.Still loved the truck though
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