In theory...Bangernomics

lauren_1

I want to make my car last as long as possible before it dies, i saved it from scrap and invested £800 in it, has new cambelt, brakes, exhaust....and is now as good as new.

I have probably paid out more than its worth but i would never sell it. I have been told that im stupid for paying out this for my car (N reg rover 214si) and when ever i explain that now its all fixed up it should last me a good 10yrs i just get a :rotfl:responce.

I dont want to get a car on credit or buy a sub 10yr model as its perceived as safer and more economic, please tell me there are some old car lovers out there!

mikey72

My daughters just learing to drive, she's bought herself a 22 year old mini city.

vl2588

I wholeheartedly agree. You just need to look at how much money people are throwing away when they buy brand new cars (which are also often less reliable as well) in terms of depreciation alone!

You have the last laugh IMO

I have a ten year old car on 108,000 miles and she will be mollycoddled for as long as humanly possible!

motorguy

lauren_1 wrote: »

I want to make my car last as long as possible before it dies, i saved it from scrap and invested £800 in it, has new cambelt, brakes, exhaust....and is now as good as new.

I have probably paid out more than its worth but i would never sell it. I have been told that im stupid for paying out this for my car (N reg rover 214si) and when ever i explain that now its all fixed up it should last me a good 10yrs i just get a :rotfl:responce.

I dont want to get a car on credit or buy a sub 10yr model as its perceived as safer and more economic, please tell me there are some old car lovers out there!

Hmmm.

The 214Si engine is renowned for headgasket failure. Once it goes, its likely to go again. Once it goes twice, you'll probably need a new head.

Engine parts like heads, 'boxes, drives, etc, are going to get even harder to get.

Whilst rust is much less of an issue than it was on older rovers, they're still prone to tin worm and thats only a matter of time.

I think you're £800 will only be the tip of the iceberg, compared to some of the bills you will face.

I think you've picked totally the wrong car to do this with.

Sorry.

lauren_1

pgilc1 wrote: »

Hmmm.

The 214Si engine is renowned for headgasket failure. Once it goes, its likely to go again. Once it goes twice, you'll probably need a new head.

Engine parts like heads, 'boxes, drives, etc, are going to get even harder to get.

Whilst rust is much less of an issue than it was on older rovers, they're still prone to tin worm and thats only a matter of time.

I think you're £800 will only be the tip of the iceberg, compared to some of the bills you will face.

I think you've picked totally the wrong car to do this with.

Sorry.

I probably have picked the wrong car but hindsight is a wonderful thing, in saying that The head has been replaced, the cambelt has been changed, the waterpump has been replaced, im about to do the raidiator which will cost me £60ish. The brakes/pads/shoes have been replaced along with a huge list of little things.

I am hoping nothing will go wrong in the next year but the £800 over the year i have had it works out approx £70 a month, its in tiptop condition now and hopefully i wont have to pay out for a fixture for a while. It cost me £30 initially

Or I could get it written off tomorrow by a bus but thats life

motorguy

True and no doubt it will work out cheaper than buying new or nearly new.

I've a soft spot for old rovers btw. I used to sell them actually.

mikey72

lauren_1 wrote: »

I probably have picked the wrong car but hindsight is a wonderful thing, in saying that The head has been replaced, the cambelt has been changed, the waterpump has been replaced, im about to do the raidiator which will cost me £60ish. The brakes/pads/shoes have been replaced along with a huge list of little things.

I am hoping nothing will go wrong in the next year but the £800 over the year i have had it works out approx £70 a month, its in tiptop condition now and hopefully i wont have to pay out for a fixture for a while. It cost me £30 initially

Or I could get it written off tomorrow by a bus but thats life

Not a bad price for a years motoring. One of the best cars I has was the Rover SD1, V8.

JQ.

I'm afraid that's not Bangernomics - what you've done is the opposite. The principle is that you buy a very cheap car (£200-£500) with an MOT and then run it til it breaks or fails an MOT and then buy another one but not to do any expensive repairs. Expensive repairs on very old cars can be a false economy.

If your's does die have a go at true Bangernomics, many people run their cars for years without spending a penny. Never done it myself but it's meant to be very liberating as you have very little attachment to the car so you don't care if people bash it at the supermarket. Although I do have a 12 year old car, but I'm very attached and will probably end up spending a fortune on it to keep it going, similar to yourself.

Whatagain

Apart from some battery problems I have had in the last year (see my thread if you are interested, but I doubt you will be) my 10 year old Ka is running like a dream. I've owned her for 6 years and there was one owner prior to that.

The work I've had to have done is the usual stuff at usual intervals, tyres, brakes, shocks and the like. The only real problem is rusting on the sills, but I've got a couple of sub £200 quotes to have the sills cut out, replaced and painted.

I was discussing selling the car with my mechanic last week and he told me not to do it. My car is well maintained and I know the history, when things go wrong it is cheap to repair and the only real bodywork issue will be rectified soon.

Insurance is cheap, repairs are cheap and at this point I can't really worry about depreciation.

Prior to my current car I had an ancient fiesta, 100K on the clock and the ultimate old car, at 14 years old she got through her service and MOT without even an advisory. I was devastated when she saw her demise in the middle of a multi vehicle pile up. That car never failed on me, and even in the crash the police and AA guy kept going on about how lucky I was and they couldn't believe she held together and the airbag still worked. I got a fractured sternum and ribs from the seatbelt and a fat lip, most people in a car that age would have been completely mangled. The steering column was shoved up and back and if the airbag hadn't gone off I would have smashed my face against the steering wheel, even with the airbag it bruised my face and smashed my glasses.

I love my old cars but maybe that is an advisory for get a new one unless you're not so lucky..

dorrellm

with you on that one my 1989 banger has cost me £1000 in repairs for 2 years driving reckon thats better than getting credit for a new car.

buglawton

I went from one extreme to the other - traded in a 130k miles 13 year old car for a new Scrappage Special with 5 yrs warranty. As I'm doing 50 miles/day in it is seems a fair economy - no major repair bills for 5 years and 25% less fuel with much the same comfort.

It all depends on how much you know about cars, whether you know some good fairly priced mechanics, how much you depend on the car's reliability etc.