In theory...Bangernomics

gilbert_and_sullivan

scotsman4th wrote: »

lol, I LOVED my 827's (both white, both ex police, both L reg).

Mine was ex police too but ex Thames Valley driving school, blue grey and manual and maintained to unbelievable standards, i would have another school car in an instant.

Rolandtheroadie

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Mine was ex police too but ex Thames Valley driving school, blue grey and manual and maintained to unbelievable standards, i would have another school car in an instant.

My first one was rumoured to be a chief inspectors. No holes, cutouts, butchered wiring or anything. Just the calibrated speedo and air con.

I'm running a 1998 corsa on veg oil just now but seriously considering an 825 diesel to do the same.

Paradigm

My wife has an M reg Audi A6 we bought 2 1/2 years ago for £700 &, apart from normal service stuff, has never cost a penny.

It's up to 165000 miles & still does around 30 mpg taking her to work.

If it died tomorrow it wouldn't owe me anything!

Kilty_2

I'd get into bangernomics if my insurance was cheaper - unfortunately the best bangers (big, unpopular) would cost me thousands to insure.

Eric_Pisch

mikey72 wrote: »

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

just pray she does not hit anything

minis have the worst crash survivability of just about any car on the plant

two young girls where killed out side our house in a mini and both cars where only doing 20mph

a modern euro ncap 5star car is basically a giant battering ram and will just go through a mini

old cars may be cheap to run but they have zero survivability in a crash

watch this giant volvo built for safety (which has 10 foot more body to protect you than a mini) versus a mini mpv car, this is just at 40 mph

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBDyeWofcLY

all my family are banned from getting in a mini

motorguy

mikey72 wrote: »

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

I actually read that as 'my 22 year old daughter has bought herself a Mini' so hadnt commented.

Just to echo whats been put above, 50 year old technology and safety standards, very unreliable, cost a fortune to run - parts are cheap but lots goes wrong, subframes that rust and a body that rusts on every panel sooner or later.

petrolhead69

yes, minis dont crash well, but is that really a reason not to get in one? I for one would be bored to tears without doing something that could end in tears every now and then, be it motorbikes, mountain biking, going on speedboats and jetskis etc. You can't stop doing the things that make you happy just because you might get hurt IMO

Rolandtheroadie

Do people just copy and paste the doom and gloom from previous threads? It's like a broken record.
Banned from a Mini?
What about motorbikes?
Pushbikes?
Crossing the road?
Going in an aeroplane?
Undergoing any surgical procedure that involves a general anesthetic (wisdom teeth out?)

How many people have died in the past year involving any of the above compared to how many people have died in a mini?

Eric_Pisch

petrolhead69 wrote: »

yes, minis dont crash well, but is that really a reason not to get in one? I for one would be bored to tears without doing something that could end in tears every now and then, be it motorbikes, mountain biking, going on speedboats and jetskis etc. You can't stop doing the things that make you happy just because you might get hurt IMO

look at it this way, you sound like you can evaluate the risks involved and knowing these risks you make a judgement call, no problem with that

now your a parent, your helping to advise your child what car to drive whilst there at there most inexperienced as a driver and you recommend the most unsafe car on the road and they are killed, your going to blame yourself for ever, I certainly would.

and we are not talking about a few % more dangerous if you could put a % figure on it would be in the 1000s of % more dangerous, but the real danger comes from modern cars which are just so bloody strong they decimate anything with out a crush structure.

there was a government report a few years ago that highlighted that a contributing factor to the higher injury and fatality rate of young driver is that there often in very old cars with almost no crash survivability

there are plenty of cheap cars out there that are vastly stronger, Renault have been making 4 and 5 star cars for along time now.

catflea

pgilc1 wrote: »

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.

Granted the OEM gasket was weak, however if the replacement job is done properly with the MLS gasket there should be no danger of repeat for the lifetime of the vehicle - its also relativly straightforward to have the head skimmed rather than outright replacement.

My current car is a Rover 114GTA - the only difference in the engines is that the OP will have the twin cam version as opposed to the single in mine. Its a really nice engine to be sat behind and the car is a real hoot to drive.

So far its cost me a total of £550 excluding tax and insurance (and that includes the HG replacment) which I think is a steal for how much fun I've had in that car