project shoestring/bangernomics

petrolhead69

for 12 quid off ebay you can get a vag com diagnostic lead that works on most audis, skodas seats and veedubs up till 2004 which is a big help for DIY maintenance

jitters

This is a great thread. I've been contemplating the "bangernomics" route recently as my '99 fez is dying a slow (expensive) death.

Petrolhead, you've definately found a bargain there, a success story.

andygb wrote: »

Perhaps we ought to make a personal list of cars which can be a good buy for under £1000.
I would start with late model Ford Mondeos, particularly the 1.8 Zetec models. They look smart, cheap to tax and insure, economical, reliable, and they will cover huge distances comfortably.

This would be great! Obviously each car has to be evaluated on an individual basis, but a list of makes/models to aim for over others may help reduce the chance of buying a total lemon.

Rolandtheroadie

Well thats my 1997 or 1998 Corsa GM 1.7 3 door ready for collecting. 72k miles, Got it in px for my Mondeo and needed a sump. £110 all in inc sump, gasket, oil, filter and labour, tabs being picked up by previous owner.
Mechanic says it's one of the cheapest cars to maintain. All future work will be done by me(didnt want oil all over my drive, was leaking like mad).
We're also still trying to get the WVO on the go to run it (still like a slushpuppy).

tomstickland

I bought a 1997 Golf MK3 TDi for £450. It's returning 50mpg, which saves me over £100 a month in fuel costs. I did spend around £1500 on improving it though (suspension rebuild, new brake parts, exhaust system at MOT). Around £500 of that was unecessary expenditure though (15" steel wheels and tyres to go, uprated springs and dampers).

As it cost me £1500 excluding the non-essential bits and saves me £100 per month it owes me £600 at the moment and £300 when I get to June this year.

I have a lot of affection for my Golf now. Nothing seems to phase it and it's fun to drive considering what it is.

I'll upload some photos in a moment.
Night I bought it (yes, I bought it in the dark!)


Bit of cleaning


Not again


New clutch


Subframe (stripped thread out on old one due to seized bush):

New arms:


Springs and dampers:


15" steel wheels


Some panel bashing:


Ring taxi:



Builder's van:


It's been a lot of fun. All done on the cheap, no real expectations.

When I can be bothered I can fit the 110BHP injectors which tend to increase the torque from 150 to 180lb-ft. There's also a simple mod that can be done to feedback signal from the pump which can increase the fueling, which on a Diesel will give more power.

anewman

petrolhead69 wrote: »

for 12 quid off ebay you can get a vag com diagnostic lead that works on most audis, skodas seats and veedubs up till 2004 which is a big help for DIY maintenance

And if you're rather naughty http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3512242/Vag-Com_409.1___Crack otherwise it's about £60 off Rosstech. Needs a bit of command line knowledge (batch files) to get it working. This is no doubt why they made it so you actually need *their* cable for the newer models.

rictus123

This is a thread im going to follow! Would love an Audi like the op but at 18 cant see me getting insured on it?

tomstickland

My previous cars were fun too.
£1200


2.0 8v GTE on twin 40 carbs, no interior, roll cage, welded shell etc




Golf is quite sensible in comparison.

anewman

rictus123 wrote: »

This is a thread im going to follow! Would love an Audi like the op but at 18 cant see me getting insured on it?

Nothing stopping you going to sites like compare.com and seeing if the dream can be made to work.

petrolhead69

some audis are cheap to insure. when I was 19 my first car after getting off my bans was an F reg audi 100 2.0e, only insurance group 10. cost 900 to insure tpft with 3 bans on my licence with a couple of mods declared(yes I know i was a bad laddie but been totally clean for 10 years, motorbikes and testosterone are a bad mixture) at the same time I got a quote for a standard rover 214 and a 1.4 orion and both were £950-1000. I never even expected to be able to insure the audi but I got a quote anyway as I was offered the car free as a non runner when scrap cars were worth nothing.
Get lots of quotes from different places and you might get a surprise.

rictus123

anewman wrote: »

Nothing stopping you going to sites like compare.com and seeing if the dream can be made to work.

Not the usual advice i get on here but i think i could look at it as my overtime pays for my car? I get by on half my salary every month and the next big expense after van mot next month is a "new to me" car! Iv been looking at bigger cars and i think im willing to pay the £1800 or so insurance...is it worth it though? Id want an Audi simular for £1k< but want under 100k miles...do able? Think i just need to search search search! Payrise this summer, itl get a whole lot easier for dreams to come true