Your Bangernomics successes

Joe_Horner

The '74 Daf 66 (DVLA insist '71, so free tax) has just finished its first year with us.

£200 to buy
£250 for a replacement windscreen (special order from Triplex)
About £100 of odds & sods recommissioning it, including rattle can respray
1st year insurance £69 fully comp
First MOT £50 (test fee)

Since then:

4 tyres (the 15+ year old ones were a bit ropey!) £120
2 front wheel bearings £25
2 front brake flexi hoses £33
1 oil / filter change £15
Second year insurance £78
Second MOT last tuesday £45 test fee (he's got more competition now)

Total: £985 + fuel (38 - 45 mpg) for 9500 miles + all paid up for the next 12 months.

SingleSue

SingleSue wrote: »

My old banger is still going (M reg Vauxhall Astra diesel estate) although I really thought she had driven her last mile nearly two weeks ago as there was a god awful noise coming from the engine area.

Dropped her off at the local garage expecting them to tell me that this time, she really was due for car heaven, phone call later in the day telling me the alternator bracket had failed...£36 later and she was back on the road.

We are now avidly looking around for my next banger and hoping it will be as good as this one was....£461 purchase cost from Ebay almost 6 years ago!

As a follow on from this post early last month, she is most def on her last legs now as the thrust bearing (?) has gone and due to the age of the car and the other little niggles she has developed over the last 6 months, it would be too expensive to repair. Poor little lady, she looks so forlorn sat outside my house, almost like she knows her next trip will be to a breakers yard

Now frantically looking around for another car with a very limited budget (thanks to bank of mum and dad), a decent sized boot (needs to carry a large drum kit/3 kids) and in a reliable condition.

sistafromanothermista

How much were you looking to spend?

SingleSue

Less than 1k...a lot less if I can get away with it.

It also needs to have enough room to carry a wheelchair in the back (folded down but still takes up quite a bit of space), rather than having a boot big enough to take a drum kit with the seats folded down.

Oh and diesel.

redmike123

I am fortunate in that I get a car allowance from my employer, its about £350 a month after tax. Most of my colleagues use the money to lease Mercs and BMW's or other decent "prestige" cars. Instead of doing this I buy a 8 or 9 year old Volvo, with a high spec, 60/70,000 miles on the clock and a full service history for about £4,000 or so. After one year its paid for, and other than servicing and repair costs ( and I allow a very generous a £1000 a year for this) I am quids in. I usually change cars every 3 years, and get about 1500 to 2k for the old car as a private sale.

mattyprice4004

As it's approaching summer and I needed something with a Rover K Series engine to test and develop parts for my Shop, I went hunting for something cheap.

In the end I came away with an MG ZS120 in Monogram Spectre paintwork, with FSH and 65k miles for a shade over £500.

The only fault is the ABS light is on (cracked reluctor ring, got a spare CV joint to fit) but loads of time before the next MOT to fit. Runs lovely, loads of power and amazing throttle response compared to my 600 diesel. Also averaging around 37MPG (50/50 town and motorway).

Head gasket has been done by the previous owner at great cost, however I'll be doing this again myself as I need to test a new MLS gasket I've been given.

Some pictures:

silverwhistle

redmike123 wrote: »

I am fortunate in that I get a car allowance from my employer, its about £350 a month after tax. <SNIP>

Some years ago I worked for a local utility where one of the distribution engineers ran a Lada on his allowance and probably retired comfortably well-off! My own first car was a Marina which cost £100, some alternator brushes and scrappy bits, fitted by a friend (I held the spanners, made the tea..) and sold after 10 months for £70.

Bangers seem to have gone up in standard since then.:-) I'm now on the look-out again as I'm moving back to the UK and it would cost too much to import my LH drive banger - even if it is driving well and no significant problems. Blow it. I reckon aged mum would prefer it if I got something slightly newer though, particularly since long-distance motoring across Europe is on the horizon, back on holiday to visit friends here.

Even if I get newer I can reassure you all that it'll end up a banger with me... :-)

worried_jim

Matty! Great price, shocking colour. You are a braver man than me but well done on such a find.

How much for a re spray?

alastairq

alastairq wrote: »

hmmm...I've currently got a fiesta too...one of those zetec things....cost £500 with almost a year's ticket, and tax as well....now has 120,000 plus on the clock, etc, etc,
Engine still sounds unrattly..brakes work...maybe treat it to new discs, but not this year.

When are you supposed to change the air bag explosives?

well, as I've posted elsewhere..£40 MoT, pass, no advisories....!

I ended up fitting new [Mintex?] disc/pad set..got 'em cheap off eBay dealer, they came so promptly, he hardly had time to wrap 'em before they were delivered! Too good to miss...easy to fit...roadside jobbie!

Fixed the leak [until next time]..it was a plastic manifold thingy..replaced cheap [got a trade price]...but what a ball-ache of a job...wheel off, underside panel off, drive belt snakey thing off,alternator off...all because I haven't got 2 foot long fingers that can bend backwards!

It had a new timing belt just after 90,000 miles, so by my reckoning it gets another one this next year.....and those rear axle bushes are a tad soft, so they need doing too.

Might just be a job-lot for my local garage? [I get aches 'n pains lying down under cars these days]....wonder what sort of cost a timing belt job will be for a small zetec? Any ideas?

gabitzul

Not more than £200 at a local indie I would have thought. Ford charge £249 on their fixed price servicing.