Your Bangernomics successes

motorguy

Got myself a 2003 Laguna last night.

1.8i Dynamique, black, black leather seats, 99K miles, timing belt done, 17 inch Renault alloys, boot spoiler, MOT Apr next year, cd player (working), 4x electric windows (working!!), remote central locking (working) and air con (icy cold!) for £350.

Needs a tyre - got a good one for £20 fitted.

Engine management light was on and my code reader said its an o2 sensor. I've reset the light and its stayed off so far. If it comes on again i'll try cleaning the sensor but a new one isnt dear from memory anyway.

Kilty_2

motorguy wrote: »

Got myself a 2003 Laguna last night.

1.8i Dynamique, black, black leather seats, 99K miles, timing belt done, 17 inch Renault alloys, boot spoiler, MOT Apr next year, cd player (working), 4x electric windows (working!!), remote central locking (working) and air con (icy cold!) for £350.

Needs a tyre - got a good one for £20 fitted.

Engine management light was on and my code reader said its an o2 sensor. I've reset the light and its stayed off so far. If it comes on again i'll try cleaning the sensor but a new one isnt dear from memory anyway.

These are always available so cheap but terrify me after seeing the bills a well looked after 3 year old low mileage one can generate!

Lovely cars though. If you get a judder in the steering it's most likely that the chocolate alloy wheels have buckled, don't bother replacing them like for like because they all do it eventually.

jase1

motorguy wrote: »

Almost by definition of buying a bangernomics car i'd avoid this one. With respect, the owner is most likely 'getting rid' because he knows of upcoming bills to get it through MOT. As Colino says they're prone to rot underneath. So you'll be buying and almost immediately spending money.

An 01 Micra with a full years ticket and lower miles than that is probably only £500 anyway.

Look for something privately owned being sold with a years ticket or close to it.

Indeed.

Rust is the big thing with older Micras. They'll usually go from test to test without needing much, then bite you on the arris on MOT day.

So buying one for £500 with a years' ticket is a good move. Buying one for £300 without is a big risk.

jase1

motorguy wrote: »

I worked for two years full time as a self employed motor trader and invariably people who traded their cars in with a couple of weeks MOT were doing so because it was going to cost a fortune to sort out. Now they ALWAYS gave the excuse 'i just fancied a change' or 'i need x or y sort of car' but invariably there was a pile of things wrong that they knew about and were getting rid.

Agree with that.

Thinking back on it I was a fool to sell on the Daewoo I had a few years back for £300 with a couple of months' test. I knew that car was OK, and would probably have not cost much to get through another MOT, but because I'd found a good replacement it just went on eBay. Shouldn't have let go that easily.

mattyprice4004

Uh oh, I bought another! MOT failure too... I think this may turn out to be expensive

MG ZT-T (Estate) CDTI, 04 plate, under £700. Could be an epic bargain or a total disaster.

davidjwest

colino wrote: »

Well done davidjwest in getting a solid, old Pug. That diesel (apart from its slightly weak gearbox) or the old 1.9, non-turbo diesel Clio must be the best two, economical, tough as old boots bangers to look for.

Thanks - yes, gearbox is a bit "notchy" but drives well overall and it is more "entertaining" to drive that modern cars as you have to think about what you are doing more.

4k miles it's done now, only problem so far was a fuel leak as the overflow pipes were shot, £24 it cost to replace those.

Could do with a new tyre soon too.

One piece of advice though if anyone can help.

The timing belt looks to have been done on 49k miles, about 9 years ago - :eek: - I've read conflicting reports about these on Pugs, some say they "last forever" others say get them done religiously at 36k or every 3 years.

It's £200 plus for the belt to be changed, I know the implications of not getting it done but that's almost half the cost of the car......

I suppose it's down to if I feel lucky punk!

motorguy

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Uh oh, I bought another! MOT failure too... I think this may turn out to be expensive

MG ZT-T (Estate) CDTI, 04 plate, under £700. Could be an epic bargain or a total disaster.

Hows the clutch?

motorguy

Kilty wrote: »

These are always available so cheap but terrify me after seeing the bills a well looked after 3 year old low mileage one can generate!

Lovely cars though. If you get a judder in the steering it's most likely that the chocolate alloy wheels have buckled, don't bother replacing them like for like because they all do it eventually.

No juddering so far - fingers crossed!

The problems tend to be with the diesel engines and with the electrics - usually the windows or the remote central locking key card.

You can now get a new regulator on ebay for £28 delivered or your window electronic bit (?) repaired for £25. A motor isnt expensive either. Its usually only one of the three and £20 will get it fitted.

The key cards, theres a guy refurbs them with new microswitches for £18 return, and its back within 2 days.

I've sold a load of petrol renaults and had no real issues with them. Diesels yes, petrols no.

I stupidly took an 05 Megane as a trade in without checking the electrics and all FOUR windows were faulty - three needed the electronic bit replaced and one was just a lose wire - got the whole lot sorted for £120 - phew!

Got my FIL a year old Modus 1.2 out of England for £6200 and hes had it 2 years with no issues at all. And i've a 3 year old Grand Modus 1.2 100BHP TCE here at the moment for resale and i've no concerns at all about it.

Plus, realistically, at £350, i can only lose about £100 on it as its worth £150 to weigh in and the alloys should make £100.

Will post a pic tomorrow of it.

Flying-High_2

Been following this thread... Some cracking posts some not.....


Surely true Bangernomics success is where youre able to do all the maintenance yourself.? Or at least the great bulk of it with ideally pittance costing used parts or elcheapo and/or decent OE parts in areas where it matters...

Buying an elcheapo car then being quoted more than you paid for it for a job a Chimp with an argos tool set could do is surely not by any means a bangernomic success?.....

sabretoothtigger

Biggest reason not to own old cars is the rip off factor from garages. Somehow people prefer the depreciation on newer metal, so yea you got to know the tricks.
Theres nothing wrong with part worn tyres for example, no need to spend 300 quid. If you ride in a taxi, those guys use part worns

Im rubbish at mechinical stuff mostly but apparently some are even worse. Its a no brainer if you are great at it, an earner even